Marriott's Frenchman's Cove

I tend to write reviews only if I believe it to be exceptionally good or exceptionally disappointing. This review is a bit different. The Marriott Frenchman’s Cove had some parts that were outstanding and others where we continued to be frustrated. First the good, amazingly beautiful property in a prime location. The pool and beach are outstanding. The second part of the resort that we enjoyed were the people working there. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. When we had some issues that I will mention soon, they took good care of us and made up for some of the problems. For that reason I went with 4 stars instead of 3. To the problems. First the food. Disappointing is an under statement. The resort is a bit isolated so the food options are already very limited. So to have the one restaurant available to you be so bad, really brings down the overall experience. For us the first issue led to the second. Since the food was so poor, we ended up going to the Westin next door for most meals. The Westin is a beautiful redone property with a lot of great food options. Even their marketplace had better pricing. The issue we had, the Marriott shuttle set up was terrible. They advertise shuttles every hour, which just doesn’t make logical sense. The Westin, another Marriott property is less than a 5 min drive away. A shuttle is the only way back or forth. So we would take a shuttle on the hour and be stuck there till the next hour to get back. The Westin runs their own shuttles but not to the Marriott unless they aren’t busy with their own guests. A couple other more minor issues. We found a lot of contradictions from different staff members, as previously stated they were all very nice. But the details just weren’t there. We also had some challenges with the “tour” from the vacation club. We understood that this sales pitch and free offer is part of the vacation club experience. However we had a major issue, albeit resolved in the end, with how ours was scheduled and what was allowed and not. In the end. We enjoyed this property and this destination a lot. A recommendation from our experience. Rent a car. Don’t rely on taxis or the shuttle and don’t waste your time eating on property. Otherwise, it is a great spot.

We have been owners at the Cove since 2008 & always look forward to our 2 week stay in March. The villas are spacious & well appointed. The beach is nice for snorkeling & soaking up the sun. Great addition of the beach bar service & tables on the dock. With the Westin now open access to their amenities is a plus. Love the spa! The ferry shuttle to town is a great convenience as town traffic can be heavy. Navigating around the cruise boats is easy; those heavy days I hang out on the beach. Always love seeing many of the same staff each year. Marvin makes my beach days a delight… I love him! He makes sure the beach looks great each morning!

Good luck finding a chair by the beach or pool. We were there for a week and everyday groups of people and families would “reserve” their chairs early in the morning for the entire day. Also, customer service at all parts of the resort was just ok. Definitely was not inviting and often seemed forced and just going through the motions. In some cases rude. We have experienced better service at other Marriott resorts. Finally, no fault of resort but the cruise ship traffic really ruins the island. On some days the population of the island doubles due to cruise ship passengers really impacting the entire island. We definitely picked days with the fewest boat people to explore the island.