Marriotts Willow Ridge Branson Lodge resort written review

[jp10558]

Here is my abridged TUG review of the Marriott Willow Ridge Lodge in Branson.

This is in Branson MO. It's the first Marriott branded location I've been to. The resort and what it has is all excellent. It manages to feel like you're in the woods on a hill while actually being right in the middle of greater Branson.

Pros:
Everything is in working order.
The showers have hand held sprayers (Why don't all of them?)
The lock-off is actually great because separate climate control for each bedroom. Again, every bedroom should have its own climate control IMO.
The resort is small, each building is easily walkable to the club house with almost every diversion you could imagine.
There's full sized shuffle board, horseshoes, basket ball half/pickleball court. It has a wiffleball field.
Set up is such that Instacart and Walmart will deliver food and groceries directly to the room, even when on the 5th floor.
Beds are amazing.
They have many grills, and in each setup there's both a propane and charcoal option.
0 - NO attempt to get me to a presentation, no calls etc. I got the high floor (actually top floor) I asked for and IMHO a good location basically far away from the elevator. And this was an II exchange not in preference.


Cons:
Middling ice maker only in the main 1BR fridge. The below freezer setup is IMHO badly designed, especially if you want something like a frozen Pizza. The same setup could hold 1/3 more if it was on top and didn't need all the space and clearance for the sliding rails etc.
Pillows are not great - struggle to get comfortable. It's sad because the beds are really good, but I keep having neck pain from the pillows.
NO SAUNA or steam room. Loses .5 pts
Elevators are SLOW. Probably the slowest I've seen. I can't really overstate how slow these elevators are.

Other considerations:
These aren't pluses or negatives in my mind, but do kinda give the whole thing a vibe for me.

The housekeeping is a bit stingy if you ask for toilet paper and tissues. I got one of each. I can't think of another resort that if asking for toilet paper didn't bring at least 2 rolls.

The big other consideration is location. The resort itself is probably one of the top ones I've ever been to and is a blast.

The problem is Branson. Not that it's bad, no, there's a bunch of things to do, but at least so far there's nothing unique to Branson. So if you live close to Branson, this is a good place to come for outlets, "Disney springs style" outdoor malls, some minor shows, and restaurants, resorts and mini-golf. The problem is - if you're like me, I could either drive less time and get to the same sorts of setups in Myrtle Beach or even the Berkshires to some extent and still get inexpensive exchanges or last call bookings etc, OR I could drive about the same and get to Orlando which is Branson times 100 in all that stuff. It's also warmer longer. I think if you're on the West Coast the same is true (I just don't know the areas as well). So Branson is where you go if you're in the middle of the country and want a watered down Orlando basically.

And that surrounding location weakness holds the resort back from a 8.5 also. It's a great resort, but it's not a self contained vacation destination like some of the reports of the Mexican resorts. It's missing some of the stuff I'd want to absolutely want to come back for that setup or features, namely a Sauna and Steam room. And it's not in a "forget the resort", go do stuff location. So I don't know if you could do better if you are coming to Branson, I just don't really know why you would come to Branson unless you lived close. Everything it does I've seen done as well closer or a similar distance done better.

8 TUG score.

 

[Pennytx]

You missed a lot of unique opportunities in Branson
I highly recommend you check out the restaurants etc at Big Cedar Lodge including their entertainment facility which is sponsored by Bass Pro Shop, Johnnie Morris… celebrities such as Kevin Costner, Gwen Stephanie, Blake etc go there frequently.
Sight and Sound Theater is amazing and top notch, broadway quality.
The recent production of The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe ..Narnia was so good that The Museum of the Bible in DC is hosting them for a special two plus month engagement.
If you would like additional info on Branson other than shopping malls please let me know
I’d be happy to give you recommendations

 

[Pennytx]

I would like to add I do not own at the Marriott in Branson, but I have had the opportunity to visit friends staying there… it’s centrally located, well maintained and staffed appropriately from my personal experience.
The next time you have a chance to go I highly recommend you take the opportunity to visit
Silver Dollar City, which per USA Today beat out Disney.
Or any of the various live performances, more per night than Las Vegas.
Or Keating Center, top three always on trip advisor for dining, run by college kids at “The College of the Ozarks”… where kids learn a trade as well as a degree.

 

[dougp26364]

Branson is definitely a regional vacation destination. We have a lot of visitors from Kansas City, St. Louis, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita and even Chicago. Most drive and a lot of them have boats for all the water activities on Table Rock Lake, which is one of three lakes I. The area. The lakes are the big draw for many families with great fishing and boating.

Willow ridge was suppose to be a much larger resort. The area which has 3 building was suppose to have 5. The long driveway goes past what was suppose to be phase 2, with a second pool area and another’s 5 buildings. This resort was part of Marriotts failed Horizons project, which was also billed as Marriott light. Fewer amenities but Marriott quality. They only started 2 of these resorts, one in Branson and one in Orlando, neither of which was ever built out and both which have been converted to “full” Marriott status with upgrades to in room amenities.

We like Willow Ridge and the Branson area because it’s a relatively easy drive for us. I’m not certain I’d recommend it for those flying into the area. As you mentioned, there’s closer vacation spots very similar that can be driven too. Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Wisconsin Dells, Disneyland in CA, Gatlinburg et…. All offer something unique but many are more regional with most vacationers driving in vs flying in. Several years ago Branson built its own airport. Pun intended, it never really took off. I’m not really certain if there are any major airlines with regular service into Branson anymore and the sales reps have pretty much stopped mentioning it.

Willow Ridge does have what’s labeled as a sales floor. I’ve never seen the doors open and we’ve never been offered an owners update. I suspect there is no sales staff, or it’s only one or two people. The large building down by the entrance use to be the sales gallery. It’s been closed for over a decade I’m sure.

 

[jp10558]

Yea, the only reason I'm in Branson is the timeshares and the deals and wondering what made it popular for TS. I don't think I'd ever have come here or driven this far west in my life otherwise (well, maybe if I ever did a cross country road trip). St Louis was "cool", sort of a bucket list see the arch I didn't know I had. But that was like a 1 hour sort of thing to basically do everything but ride the internal pod thingy, 2 hours if you do that.

It doesn't really seem to "be in the Ozarks" which I had sort of hoped would be like the Smoky Mountains area or at least Massanutten. I guess it's close to Massanutten with caves, but 2 more days of driving lol. I'm here for another week at a different resort to review for Youtube etc, so I'll hopefully do some more stuff this weekend also - Titanic Museum is on the list.

 

[rickandcindy23]

You should have stayed in the Wyndham dumps to compare, then you would better appreciate the Marriott experience in Branson. The one-piece fiberglass showers are from the 1980's. Wyndham should step it up.

Try the elevator at Wyndham Branson Meadows. Talk about slow. What a stinky small elevator. We happened to step into the elevator right after the housekeeper used a rag mop and used disgusting, smelly water. Why bother to clean with filthy water. I saw the bucket and the mop but didn't expect to be nauseated by the odor. I felt trapped in that elevator with that terrible stink.

I told Rick that the smell is such a bad memory, I will take the stairs at Meadows and not the elevator. We still stay there for a night or two on the road to Florida and South Carolina.

And in general, Wyndham resorts do not smell clean, and maybe they use that stank water to mop the interiors of the rooms. You won't smell anything but clean at Marriott.

We have yet to try the Welk/ Hyatt resort. We should do that sometime. My fear is it is going to go downhill fast with the uncertainty of management. Welk was taken over by Hyatt, Hyatt is now managed by Marriott. But all Welk resorts don't fit the mold.

I would say Marriott is the best in Branson, but maybe it's second behind former Welk and not first.

At least Marriott has the foresight to put in tiled showers and not one-piece fiberglass crap tub/showers. You won't see a single one of those showers in a Marriott/ Sheraton/ Westin. I love the shower wand. Makes the shower quicker for me and all showers should have them. Saves water.

We had a two bedroom at Marriott's Willow Ridge, and it was different from our lockoff unit in that it had a more commercial type of lighting in the hallway/ laundry area. The view beyond the kitchen from the living/ dining area did not match the rest of the unit. The entry was stark and oversized. It was just kind of odd for Marriott and not like the lockoff entry we had a few months before. The lockoff didn't have that lighting in the hallway. I have never seen a Marriott with a lack of design in a front hallway.

Other than the plain look of the hallway into the kitchen, everything Marriott is several steps above Wyndham. Wyndham should upgrade every resort that isn't as nice as Bonnet Creek. Even Bali Hai is in sore need of updates. Shearwater is always great.

Ask for additional pillows, Marriott will bring you some. I sleep elevated due to a disability in my arm and bring my own pillow. Branson is a drive for us. The My Pillow pillow I use every night is great.

Branson is a great area, lots of shows, mini golf, and family oriented. Christmas is fun in Branson.

@dougp26364 We stayed at Willow Ridge before it was Willow Ridge, in 2003. We went on a sales' tour. No pressure to buy. I asked if I bought Marriott, would I be able to get Hawaii? The answer was no, not from Branson.

 

[dougp26364]

Yea, the only reason I'm in Branson is the timeshares and the deals and wondering what made it popular for TS. I don't think I'd ever have come here or driven this far west in my life otherwise (well, maybe if I ever did a cross country road trip). St Louis was "cool", sort of a bucket list see the arch I didn't know I had. But that was like a 1 hour sort of thing to basically do everything but ride the internal pod thingy, 2 hours if you do that.

It doesn't really seem to "be in the Ozarks" which I had sort of hoped would be like the Smoky Mountains area or at least Massanutten. I guess it's close to Massanutten with caves, but 2 more days of driving lol. I'm here for another week at a different resort to review for Youtube etc, so I'll hopefully do some more stuff this weekend also - Titanic Museum is on the list.

The big draw for the Missouri Ozarks are the lakes. Most people in the area travel for the lake activities and fishing.
If you have time, take a day trip south to Eureka Springs. Talk about an eclectic funky little town.

 

[dioxide45]

Middling ice maker only in the main 1BR fridge. The below freezer setup is IMHO badly designed, especially if you want something like a frozen Pizza. The same setup could hold 1/3 more if it was on top and didn't need all the space and clearance for the sliding rails etc.

A lot of Marriott resorts have put in bottom freezer refrigerators. I don't like them.

 

[dougp26364]

Almost forgot, don’t miss Dick’s Five and Dime in downtown Branson. It’s a throw back to the old five and dimes right down to the smell

 

[jp10558]

The big draw for the Missouri Ozarks are the lakes. Most people in the area travel for the lake activities and fishing.
If you have time, take a day trip south to Eureka Springs. Talk about an eclectic funky little town.

Ahh, I guess the lakes are kinda lost on me as I live in the Finger Lakes so get plenty of lake stuff all the time (well, and also I'm not really a boat / fishing person).