First Timer's Thoughts on Crystal Shores

[NboroGirl]

We checked in around 3:00 and our villa was ready. This was a trade via II and we got Gulf View, which put is in Osprey Towers, B building. We can see beach and water!! (We're on the 7th floor - not bad.) I like the resort and all the little seating areas they have for gathering. I spied two unattended hammocks at sunset in an out-of-the-way place that I got to relax in and watch the sun set behind the palm trees. Cool.

I love our huge balcony but the master bedroom and bath leave me feeling claustrophobic. Why would they make such a small master bed and bath? Or has Grande Vista spoiled me? Even our home's master and bath are much larger. The thermostat kept beeping, claiming the A/C won't run if the doors and windows are open. We checked all the sliders but everything was shut tight. I had to call maintenance because it was driving us crazy and they seemed to fix it. (Due to COVID you can't be in the villa when a maintenance worker is working in there.)

I can't wait to check out the pools and/or beach tomorrow.

(BTW, our flights here on United were packed full! )

 

[dioxide45]

We stayed there a few weeks ago and really loved the resort. We had a low floor in Osprey and found the noise from to Grotto Pool to be a little bothersome in the unit. We didn't have the issue with the thermostat unless we left the balcony door open too long. I do agree about those balconies, they are fantastic! We had a lot of late afternoon thunderstorms the week we went and didn't get many great sunsets

I don't know what the master is like in the newer towers, but with those original towers they may have been somewhat restricted based on the original configuration since it was a hotel conversion.

I did do a likes/dislikes video of the resort from our stay. You will have to let me know how this lines up with your experience. All those sitting areas is on the list of likes!

Marriott Crystal Shores - 10 Things We Liked and What We Didn't

Let's take a walk around this beautiful resort, Marriott Crystal Shores in Marco Island Florida. We will cover our favorites from around the resort to inside...

bit.ly

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I actually prefer the small bedrooms as long as there is a spacious living room. I spend eight hours a night sleeping in the bedroom, while I spend far more time during daylight hours either in the living room, balcony or at the pool and/or beach.

Not good that United is packing their flights, but I hope you had a great fare rate.



.

 

[NboroGirl]

We stayed there a few weeks ago and really loved the resort. We had a low floor in Osprey and found the noise from to Grotto Pool to be a little bothersome in the unit. We didn't have the issue with the thermostat unless we left the balcony door open too long. I do agree about those balconies, they are fantastic! We had a lot of late afternoon thunderstorms the week we went and didn't get many great sunsets

I don't know what the master is like in the newer towers, but with those original towers they may have been somewhat restricted based on the original configuration since it was a hotel conversion.

I did do a likes/dislikes video of the resort from our stay. You will have to let me know how this lines up with your experience. All those sitting areas is on the list of likes!

Marriott Crystal Shores - 10 Things We Liked and What We Didn't

Let's take a walk around this beautiful resort, Marriott Crystal Shores in Marco Island Florida. We will cover our favorites from around the resort to inside...

bit.ly

I watched your video...don't know how I missed that one before. I agree with all your LIKES except for "covered parking". I originally disliked the garage because it was hot and smelly inside, inconvenient to the Osprey Towers (a long walk and 2 different elevator rides), and I found the spots to be very narrow. We rented a mid-size car but there were a lot of large SUVs that barely fit so when we parked next to one/them we could barely get out of our car. I imagine a lot of cars get dinged in the garage. But when you said "covered parking" as a LIKE, I realized having covered parking in hot, sunny Florida WAS a good thing. You also mentioned the lamps on the island. I like the lamps because I like the light they give off. We don't do a lot of cooking on vacation so I don't mind them taking up island space, though I wouldn't want them in my own home.

As for your DISLIKES, I was shocked that you mentioned the hard beds. I prefer a medium to soft bed and ours is definitely on the 'too soft' side. I usually love Marriott beds and sleep very well on them, but today I woke up with a back ache from the bed. Also, being on the 7th floor, I didn't notice any noise from the grotto pool, but I do hear water running and toilets flushing from nearby (or above?) villas. It's not super-loud and it's not enough to wake me up or anything, but I do hear it. And I heartily agree with your dislike of the maze-like quality of the resort. It's awkward for newbies to get around. I spent the evening walking around the place, trying to get my bearings.

BTW, with COVID, only one person or family unit is allowed to ride the elevators at a time. Every time we wait for an elevator, the doors open and there are people already on it, so we end up taking the stairs a lot.

As for the master bedroom, my side of the bed(room) is farthest from the balcony. It is LITERALLY only 4 steps from the bed to the bathroom and 2 steps to the kitchen/living room. The space between the foot of the bed and the dresser/TV stand is tight, as is the area from the closet (also on my side of the room) to the bed. My side of the bed has a small, maybe 18" end table next to it. The only outlet near it is used by a lamp and the clock. I had to unplug the clock so I could plug in my Kindle, which I like to have next to the bed so I can read the paper early in the morning without having to get out of bed. The other side of the bed nearest the balcony has a 3 ft desk (whose lamp has an outlet in it!)and about 2 extra feet of wasted space. I think they should have centered the bed in the room more.

There is a LOT more to like about Crystal Shores than dislike, that's for sure. There really isn't much to complain about - I am happy to be here and look forward to an enjoyable week.

 

[Bunk]

Thanks everyone.
We're scheduled to spend 5 nights at Marco Island in early December. We'd appreciate it if you give us recommendations about restaurants to eat at (or avoid) and things to do, including day trips.

@NboroGirl : Hope you enjoy yourself

 

[Dean]

I watched your video...don't know how I missed that one before. I agree with all your LIKES except for "covered parking". I originally disliked the garage because it was hot and smelly inside, inconvenient to the Osprey Towers (a long walk and 2 different elevator rides), and I found the spots to be very narrow. We rented a mid-size car but there were a lot of large SUVs that barely fit so when we parked next to one/them we could barely get out of our car. I imagine a lot of cars get dinged in the garage. But when you said "covered parking" as a LIKE, I realized having covered parking in hot, sunny Florida WAS a good thing. You also mentioned the lamps on the island. I like the lamps because I like the light they give off. We don't do a lot of cooking on vacation so I don't mind them taking up island space, though I wouldn't want them in my own home.

As for your DISLIKES, I was shocked that you mentioned the hard beds. I prefer a medium to soft bed and ours is definitely on the 'too soft' side. I usually love Marriott beds and sleep very well on them, but today I woke up with a back ache from the bed. Also, being on the 7th floor, I didn't notice any noise from the grotto pool, but I do hear water running and toilets flushing from nearby (or above?) villas. It's not super-loud and it's not enough to wake me up or anything, but I do hear it. And I heartily agree with your dislike of the maze-like quality of the resort. It's awkward for newbies to get around. I spent the evening walking around the place, trying to get my bearings.

BTW, with COVID, only one person or family unit is allowed to ride the elevators at a time. Every time we wait for an elevator, the doors open and there are people already on it, so we end up taking the stairs a lot.

As for the master bedroom, my side of the bed(room) is farthest from the balcony. It is LITERALLY only 4 steps from the bed to the bathroom and 2 steps to the kitchen/living room. The space between the foot of the bed and the dresser/TV stand is tight, as is the area from the closet (also on my side of the room) to the bed. My side of the bed has a small, maybe 18" end table next to it. The only outlet near it is used by a lamp and the clock. I had to unplug the clock so I could plug in my Kindle, which I like to have next to the bed so I can read the paper early in the morning without having to get out of bed. The other side of the bed nearest the balcony has a 3 ft desk (whose lamp has an outlet in it!)and about 2 extra feet of wasted space. I think they should have centered the bed in the room more.

There is a LOT more to like about Crystal Shores than dislike, that's for sure. There really isn't much to complain about - I am happy to be here and look forward to an enjoyable week.

When there we only parked in the upper deck but I found the spaces of variable size. Some where fairly roomy, others not so much. We had a mid sized SUV and I was always able to find a spot I felt comfortable with in the upper deck. Either a spot protected on both sides, a spot that was protected on one side (post, next to charging station. etc) where I could hug that side or a spot that was larger.

Thanks everyone.
We're scheduled to spend 5 nights at Marco Island in early December. We'd appreciate it if you give us recommendations about restaurants to eat at (or avoid) and things to do, including day trips.

@NboroGirl : Hope you enjoy yourself

We were there early Sept with 2 previous trips. This trip we ate at Flemings in Naples, Oyster Society, Pinchers, Sami's Pizza and Joey's Pizza (pasta). We enjoyed them all and wouldn't hesitate to return to any of them. Pinchers was a pleasant surprise, good, lot's of choices and more budget friendly than many other options plus a discount for MVC guests and really great and friendly service, we actually went there twice. The best meal by far was Oyster Society for their sunset menu but I don't think they have that now though Flemings was a good rival and obviously a different type of place. On previous trips we've been to Doreen's for breakfast, Little Bar (closed while we were there) and Mango's Dockside; all of which were great in their own way. We also went to Snook in for lunch on one trip and it was just OK. There were lots of other choices to try that looked inviting. I spend a fair amount to time looking at ratings, recommendations then menu's and I would say that the menu's for many of the places seems a little off cycle for what we would normally order.

 

[Fasttr]

BTW, with COVID, only one person or family unit is allowed to ride the elevators at a time. Every time we wait for an elevator, the doors open and there are people already on it, so we end up taking the stairs a lot.

We had this same issue at Custom House. I find it hard to believe there isn’t a setting that could be selected for the elevator to go directly to a chosen floor without stopping. If only one person/family per elevator is the Covid rule, why have it stop multiple times on the way down, causing a 15+ second delay each time door opens/closes. Better to go directly to the chosen floor, freeing the elevator for the next person.

 

[deniseh]

We really enjoyed our stay at crystal shores. Loved the gulf front villa. We were on the 8th floor so didn’t hear the noise from the grotto pool but as mentioned above it does attract a lot of kids and the noise does echo quite a bit. We actually liked sitting at that pool as it had more shade. We loved the kitchen except for the lamps on the island. We just came back from a week at Shadow Ridge and the kitchen there is only big enough for one person at a time. So the layout with crystal shores’ kitchen is very nice.

 

[NboroGirl]

Up here on the 7th floor, I can DEFINITELY hear the pool noise from the grotto pool today. WOW! It's like an echo chamber outside. Funny I didn't notice it the first 2 days we were here.

Our villa didn't contain a toaster. Imagine our surprise when we went to toast our Eggos and couldn't find one. We asked at the front desk if the villas were supposed to contain one and they said yes and had one sent up.

Question: As we are walking towards Chrystal Shores from the north on Collier, the top couple of floors in the corner, sort of facing north, show this lush vegetation. What IS that?

 

[dioxide45]

What IS that?

Looks like plants I honestly am not sure what is up there. I did go to the 11th floor in that building and walk all the way to the south end. On a clear day they say you can see the dome houses from up there.

 

[cwtkm3]

We had a fantastic time at Crystal Shores back in January. I booked Poolside floor 6-15 using points plus encore package. We were lucky enough to be kept in the same room for the 12 nights. Friends from Tampa joined us to celebrate my husband's 60th and we dined at The Oyster Society which IMO was silly money. $30 for a plate of salmon was ridiculous but we're from UK and really surprised at how expensive Marco Island is! Absolutely loved the sunsets. We were very happy with our view and gorgeous villa and balcony. Loved Marco and Naples, Everglades etc and hope to return one day.

 

[LolaC]

NboroGirl,

I remember when u said u were going to Marco in Oct and now you're already there!

Hope u get to try some of those restaurants/attractions.

Enjoy your week.

Watching the sunset from swaying hammocks between the palms sounds lovely.

Just today, we cancelled our Nov trip to Marco.

Maybe next year.

Is the resort mostly full?

How has the weather been the last few days?

 

[NboroGirl]

NboroGirl,

I remember when u said u were going to Marco in Oct and now you're already there!

Hope u get to try some of those restaurants/attractions.

Enjoy your week.

Watching the sunset from swaying hammocks between the palms sounds lovely.

Just today, we cancelled our Nov trip to Marco.

Maybe next year.

Is the resort mostly full?

How has the weather been the last few days?

We are trying restaurants but only eating outside. Outside seating has been first-come-first-serve. We went to Marco Prime (YUM!) and DaVinci's (been there before but still YUM!) so far and are planning on going to Oyster Society and Joey's Pizza (been to Joey's before) later this week. We are skipping the attractions on this trip since we did most of the touristy stuff on our trip last March and we are trying to avoid people as much as possible.

The resort doesn't seem too crowded, nor do the off-site restaurants. I chalk that up to shoulder season. The pools practically empty out by 6 p.m! And even during the peak daylight hours, pool loungers are not difficult to get.

The weather has been pretty hot. We've been here for 5 days and it's been sunny every day. At some point during the day some big puffy clouds roll in, which is actually a relief, but it usually clears up again in an hour or two. The temps have been in the upper 80s, and today hit 91 (will be the warmest day of the week, supposedly). The dew points were oppressive the first few days (dew points of 78-80, which is unfathomable to me) are now down to 72-74. It is breezy, especially on our 7th floor balcony, which faces north thank heavens, so it never feels hot out there.

I'm sorry you canceled our Nov. trip. I would have gone.

 

[NboroGirl]

Today I discovered the "lawn beds" . I can't believe it took me until today to notice them. Very comfy.

 

[NboroGirl]

Question: As we are walking towards Chrystal Shores from the north on Collier, the top couple of floors in the corner, sort of facing north, show this lush vegetation. What IS that?

I'll answer my own question... it's just a rooftop with plants around the edge. I went up to the 11th floor and looked (and took this pic looking down from the 14th floor).

 

[jont]

Overall, Crystal Shores is a great resort. A little on the quiet side but there is nothing wrong with that. We really enjoyed our stay last year and are looking forward to returning at some point in the post covid era.

 

[Luvtoride]

We stayed there a few weeks ago and really loved the resort. We had a low floor in Osprey and found the noise from to Grotto Pool to be a little bothersome in the unit. We didn't have the issue with the thermostat unless we left the balcony door open too long. I do agree about those balconies, they are fantastic! We had a lot of late afternoon thunderstorms the week we went and didn't get many great sunsets

I don't know what the master is like in the newer towers, but with those original towers they may have been somewhat restricted based on the original configuration since it was a hotel conversion.

I did do a likes/dislikes video of the resort from our stay. You will have to let me know how this lines up with your experience. All those sitting areas is on the list of likes!

Marriott Crystal Shores - 10 Things We Liked and What We Didn't

Let's take a walk around this beautiful resort, Marriott Crystal Shores in Marco Island Florida. We will cover our favorites from around the resort to inside...

bit.ly

Thanks for posting the video review link along with your comments! There were a couple of good videos by him there.

We will be visiting Crystal Shores during Christmas week. We have reserved with points (alot of points!) 8 Nights in a 3 bedroom Poolside Villa floors 6-15. Do you know which building this will be in and do you have any recommendations for a specific location if we can request (we are Chairman's Club and usually get pretty good Villa assignments). I assume this will be in the Egret building.
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks for posting the video review link along with your comments! There were a couple of good videos by him there.

We will be visiting Crystal Shores during Christmas week. We have reserved with points (alot of points!) 8 Nights in a 3 bedroom Poolside Villa floors 6-15. Do you know which building this will be in and do you have any recommendations for a specific location if we can request (we are Chairman's Club and usually get pretty good Villa assignments). I assume this will be in the Egret building.
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

I don't know the specific villa locations of the 3BR Pool View units, though I think they be the end units in Egret Tower (new towers).

 

[Superchief]

Thanks for posting the video review link along with your comments! There were a couple of good videos by him there.

We will be visiting Crystal Shores during Christmas week. We have reserved with points (alot of points!) 8 Nights in a 3 bedroom Poolside Villa floors 6-15. Do you know which building this will be in and do you have any recommendations for a specific location if we can request (we are Chairman's Club and usually get pretty good Villa assignments). I assume this will be in the Egret building.
Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

I suggest you request a West view. The poolside villas are in both wings of the Egret building. We spent four nights on the 6th floor with a West view and could clearly see the Gulf. We actually requested the lowest floor so we could walk the stairs (4 flights from lobby level) to avoid the elevator jams due to covid capacity limits.