The Belgrove, West Palm Beach, Autograph Collection

We came down to Florida for a 3-day stay. We had stayed at the other Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in the West Palm Beach area roughly a year earlier. We wanted to try this new facility. We read the online reviews. As is sometimes the case, online reviews can be inaccurate, but, in this case, they proved highly useful: the physical attributes are bright and shiny, however, a segment of the staff are clueless (sort of like a Keystone Cops routine), a fact that can affect your stay. For instance, when we checked in, Jeremy at the front desk forgot to offer us the personally-engraved water bottles that are one of the signature benefits of this hotel. We eventually realized his omission, having read the online reviews, and then went back to the front desk to pick up these beautiful momentos. Jeremy also told us at check-in that one of the two rooms we had reserved was not ready for occupancy, even though we had arrived around 4 p.m. in the afternoon, and that the second room would be ready in about 10 minutes. We waited for about an hour before the room was ready even though we asked Jeremy repeatedly if he could help. The rooms are nice. Being Platinum with Marriott allowed us to get an upgrade for one of the two rooms. Both of our rooms had balconies looking out towards the golf course. You cannot see the ocean from this hotel, but it is still nice to have a view. I did notice that there were small ants in the room. You have to go through a security gate in order to reach the front door of the hotel. No one had advised us about this in advance. The security is for a gated community, the Belgrove is only one of many properties within the gated perimeter. We had a visitor come to the hotel, we had to organize with her to get her through security. In addition, one night when we returned to the hotel the main road into the gated community had been, mysteriously, blocked off. The brightest spot of our stay was Eric, a concierge, who turned out to be somewhat like a beacon of light. When we ran into issues with the other staff, we always sought out Eric, who was typically able to straighten things out. He was polite, informative, and helpful (as well as being fluent in a few foreign languages). There were a few other nice touches for this place. The staff wear name tags that indicate where they are from, sort of like the staff at Disneyland. Many of the staff are from foreign countries, such as Egypt, Jamaica, and Germany. They offer a sort of "bicycle-built-for-two," which is actually built for 4 people, that you can pedal around with for free within the gated community. We had pleasant conversations with some of the staff. The situation regarding "complimentary" breakfast for Platinum, or higher, Marriott guests is confusing. This detracted from our stay. We had two rooms, but we were still only able to get breakfast for two of the three people in our party. And, it was not a full, all-you-can-eat, complementary offering,

My husband and I stayed 3 nights at this hotel. The rooms are gorgeous, brand new, spacious and beautifully appointed. There are even throw rugs on the floors as pictured. The bathroom was too tight for the two of us. We could have used a double sink or larger vanity. From the photos, it appears that some rooms do have larger sink areas. We had hoped to be given a better view. Instead, we were given a room facing the ongoing construction. Not great. Even so, we ate at the restaurants having breakfast, lunch dinner and drinks. All of the staff were so friendly and eager to please. They come over to us often to check and see if we needed anything. They even served hors d'oeuvres at the pool. I was disappointed at the number of children in the hot tub. That really ruined my experience as they hogged it and even told each other that they peed in the hot tub. Yuk!!! Their parents were clueless not paying attention to their kids. I get that they are on vacation too, but please be respectful of other guests, especially ones who were looking forward to using the hot tub child free! The property is not large, but it is beautiful. The landscape is very beautiful, giving a tropical feel. Drinks were done well. The lobby is beautifully appointed, allowing for a relaxing space to read and relax. The touches were really special -- free water bottles to all guests, turn down pillow service, slippers and robes in the rooms. I loved the ability to fill my water bottle at the station in the coffee area. All in all, our stay was memorable and enjoyable. The things we really did not like -- the $50 per night resort fee and the $48 per day valet charge. We could have easily parked our car independently. Not sure what the resort fee was for other than it covered all the "extras" provided like the chocolate, water bottles, etc. One last thing, the mattress in our room was not comfortable at all and we had a hard time getting to sleep. The pillows are really, really soft. Very comfy, but provided no support. They do offer a pillow menu, but I was just too tired to change my pillow. All in all, we really enjoyed our stay. I always look to stay in a new hotel while traveling. This resort is clean, comfy and really offers a Palm Beach feel. They have a beautiful bar in the center of the main restaurant. My husband and I enjoyed a drink one evening here. Very relaxing. At night, they have fire pits to enjoy. During the day, there is a covered porch area to enjoy. Aside from the nuisances mentioned, I would highly recommend this hotel. It's new, clean, has a friendly staff and great food. We did not get to order room service, but breakfast, lunch and dinner were all really enjoyable. We will stay here again during our next stay in West Palm Beach.