Waterline Villas & Marina, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Holmes Beach

If you are traveling to this area, check out Zota Beach Resort instead! It is absolutely gorgeous, has a much nicer pool and hottub area, it is directly on the beach unlike Waterline where you have to take a shuttle to the beach, and the food and cocktails are absolutely incredible. The rooms are stunning and have spectacular beach views.They have a restaurant overlooking the ocean where you can watch the sunset as you dine, a fantastic indoor and outdoor bar, watersport rentals all on property and a truly wonderful and welcoming staff. Our family from NY and NJ thoroughly enjoyed this place and my new husband and I did too. You won't be disappointed!

We booked a room block here for our wedding (11/10/17) and I'm so incredibly sorry that we did. We had over 70 guests flying in from the northeast and wanted to make sure they were well taken care of in a beautiful waterfront place. We had contracted a room block for our November wedding back in the Spring of 2017, when the hotel was under construction but set to open in May. Then it was set to open the next month, then a month after that...and so on. We checked in regularly with our contact at the hotel and were always reassured that of course the hotel would be up and running and ready to greet our guests come November. As October approached we were nervous but once again reassured that hotel opening was right around the corner and they would be open with time to spare to greet our guests. About 2 weeks before our wedding we found out that the hotel would not be open in time and we needed to relocate our guests. We found out not from the contact we had worked with for months, but from the front desk person when we called to try to speak with someone else. At this point it became clear that our contact had been lying to us about the status of the hotel for several days and was wasting our precious time in trying to find a new place for our guests. Waterline was not helpful at all, and suggested sending our guests to two other places - one which was our wedding venue where we already had another room block (Resort at Longboat Key Club) and had been booked for months and another seriously low end hotel about 18 miles south in Lido Beach (Sand Castle). After fighting, threatening, numerous phone calls and emails with our Waterline contact, we finally were able to get our guests booked at Zota Beach Resort. The prices were different between Waterline and Zota and we had to try and fight to get Waterline to cover the $40 a night difference. My fiance and I felt that this situation was completely their fault and the burden should not be placed on our guests to cover the difference. The Waterline was the worst experience we encountered during wedding planning by far. If they are willing to treat people bringing in several thousand dollars from a room block this way, I can't imagine they treat anyone else much better. I am just so very thankful we did not choose this place as a...

I spent five nights at the Waterline Villas Autograph Collection hotel while on vacation with my family. I am a lifetime Titanium with Marriott with over 1,400 nights stayed. This is a very, very nice hotel and should be considered a go to place to stay if you plan to visit Anna Maria Island. ||We booked a two bedroom villa with a water view and large balcony. Be aware that the hotel will charge you a one-night deposit upon booking (which is refundable if you cancel before the cancellation deadline). Upon arrival, check in went very smoothly. The hotel is pet friendly ($150 fee for the entire stay) and we brought our 20 lb. dog with us which worked out wonderfully.||The room/villa was fantastic....I can't praise it enough. Perhaps one of the nicest Marriott rooms I've ever stayed in. It was listed at 1,200 ft^2 but it seemed bigger than that. It comes with a nice-sized living room and full kitchen with a range, full-sized fridge, microwave, dishwasher, dishes, utensils, etc. There was a master bedroom with King bed, master bath with two small WICs. The second bedroom was bigger with two Queens and another full bath. No closet in the second bedroom but they had a dresser where you can hang up your clothes. Our room had a full-size washer and dryer which was extremely convenient. The balcony was huge and we could access it from both bedrooms and the living room. The decor in the room was very nicely done as well....top notch. As far as the view goes, our room was a 'water view' overlooking the swimming pool but the only water we could see was the marina that surrounds the hotel. Any view to Anna Maria Sound or Tampa Bay was blocked by trees and buildings.||Waterline is located on the east side of Anna Maria and about half way up (north / south) the island. It is about a three block / five minute walk to Holmes Beach. There are several shops and restaurants within walking distance of Waterline. Downtown Anna Maria and Bean Point Beach (nicer than Holmes Beach IMO) are 1.5-2 miles away and about a 10 minute drive from Waterline. There is a Publix and some other stores about a seven minute drive away as well. There is a trolley (really a bus) stop right outside of the hotel.||The hotel amenities were decent. We ate at the hotel restaurant - the Chateau Anna Maria - and it was quite good. The swimming pool was a little underwhelming. Pretty small but it usually was not busy. The hotel gym is also pretty small with a couple of treadmills, ellipticals, a bike and some weights. The equipment was of good quality. They have an onsite office to book boat / dolphin tours which we did not do.||Housekeeping was solid and we really appreciate their flexibility because getting the room made up was a little tricky with our dog in the room. Great service from the front desk throughout our stay.||If you plan to visit Anna Maria Island, I strongly recommend the Waterline Villas Autograph...

The suites are spacious and well decorated. We had everything we needed in the kitchen. The location is perfect. Middle of the island and easy, quick access to everything.

The beach club is nice. Free boogie boards and sand toys to borrow. We paid for chairs and umbrellas, but I didn’t mind because there are no resort fees. I’d rather pay for actual use. Just don’t put drinks in the fridge at the club. We put in waters and gatorades to keep them cold while we were at the beach. They were gone a few hours later. I guess someone thought they were a freebie.

The pool however, was a disappointment. It was advertised as “resort style”. Maybe if resort style means “tiny, boring rectangle full of water”. No extras, slides, features, hot tub. Nothing.

Platinum status doesn’t get you much here. It’s either pool/marina view or parking lot view. We looked at a parking lot. Not unexpected at a resort. We did get breakfast credit per day, but there isn’t really anything for under $8. No guaranteed late check out. We called and they offered us noon. I pushed and was able to get 1:00. Also given a “welcome item” of a one-time 500 points or $10 restaurant credit.

Desk staff was very nice, but they don’t offer much help. You need to ask for a map, ask for a new schedule of activities, etc. I even had to ask for directions to the fitness center as I couldn’t find it. There is no map and nobody pointed anything out.

We were also confused about pool/beach towels. You have to request them at the desk, give your room number. Kind of weird for a resort. The beach club had some waiting for us. But if you plan to go to any other beach on the island- you better bring your own beach towels.

But our big problem, and the reason why we probably won’t return to this property, was housekeeping. Our room had quite a bit of trash around at check in (nasty, crumpled tissue by the bed). And they service the rooms (for those not checking out) between 2-5:00pm. It’s such a small property, this really surprised me. It was inconvenient because we typically come back to the room around this time.

None of those things are a big deal- but the day housekeeping skipped our room was a big deal. We were gone all day at Busch Gardens and I had stripped a bed due to some sand in the sheets. I had to put sheets on the bed at 11pm on vacation. I’m still annoyed about it. The girl at the desk ran up towels and sheets. No apology from housekeeping or attempt to...