Charleston Kiawah Island/Andell Inn — Hotel in Kiawah Island

Went to Kiawah for a mini vacay and picked this property because it wasn't the cookie cutter same ole same ole. This boutique version of Marriott was intimate, mod and updated lobby and rooms and had a really nice resort style pool (as opposed to some that are literally in the parking lot). King suite was spacious and nicely decorated, had a full working updated kitchen (which was great - not to have to eat out at every meal) and the complimentary breakfast was actually quite good! Fresh eggs, fruits that were ripe and not just apples and bananas..., coffee that had some robustness and mimosas.

All in all the property was fantastic. The location was excellent, right on the marsh with views of the inlet and lake but also steps away from the village with small shops and restaurants, which had a green space in the center, used for movie night, a farmers market and other events and entertainment, and all the buildings were designed differently which gave the feel of an elegant seaside town.

Here is the "except" part: We would go back in a heartbeat if Marriott would just change their way-too-soft and mushy mattresses! (They need to offer options - we can't get a good night's sleep on these.... UGH!) Although we ALWAYS ask, they never have firm mattresses. I know the whole pillowtop thing sounds like they have upgraded to the most expensive mattresses - but the fact is, just because they are thick and have all that top padding, they just aren't comfortable for everyone! There are other "expensive" mattresses that have good support and there should be an option to request those if you need one. Marriott prides itself on having luxury amenities, but that should also mean choices, not standardization across the board. Just having a few at each property would be enough - then thye should do a survey and see what people prefer. I'm not saying to get rid of the plush mattresses, and they can leave the down comforters, etc... but at least offer an option. We litterealy came away ever morning with major back pain and not feeling rested which isn't what you want (either when on vacation, or traveling for work!).
Hopefully they will do something about this across all their upper tier brands, or at the least, do the survey! We like Marriott and travel very often for work and pleasure, but if we can't get a decent night's sleep at these properties, there are plenty of other nice hotels that can...

Chic hotel if you plan on never leaving your hotel. There is very little to do on Kiawah besides golf. The hotel needs to do a better job finding out exactly what alternative activities they can offer more active guests. Keep in mind if you are a couple that consists of 1 more active, adventurous partner that person will start to feel trapped and will soon act up and ruin your stay. There is not much to do but ride your bike to , at best, a creek with potential for birdwatching maybe 5 miles away, all the while pestered by mosquitoes and such. Otherwise you will be biking forever with a view of only trees. There is a beach with a friggin curfew of 10 am to 5 pm. The Night Heron Nature park tours nearby are expensive and insist on a 2 person minimum that the hotel could have emphasized from the get-go. I am 44 traveling with my 70 year old mom who was happy to do nothing and we both loved the hotel room and chic decor. However that grew old fast When she refused to come Along for a dolphin tour and the Night Heron staff flat out refused to take me by myself. My expectation was that I could let my mom rest while I did all kinds of outdoorsy stuff. It's nice that there is a beach but beaches are no big deal to someone from Los Angeles where it's summer 365 days a year since global warming-- and mosquito free. I had to bust out of this island and drive over 20 miles back to Charleston so I would not feel trapped with zero to do. The hotel will start to feel like the Shining after a while. We were there off season so there was hardly anyone there. Nobody to talk to but the staff, and I think they were also dying to see someone under 65 for once ( no age-ism intended, Im just used to diversityon my travels) and I got excellent dining recommendations from a foodie female staff who was familiar with the nearby dining options as well as fine dining in Historic district and Mt Pleasant. I would recommend this hotel to a madly in love couple that don't see the need to leave their room--you know who you are--make sure you get a 3rd floor room with the view of the water (beautiful sunset)! And they stock Jeni's in the lobby ... And go when it's warmer so you can enjoy the porch swings and pool. For my purposes and my restless nature that likes to be around people, I made a big mistake choosing to stay here. My mom said my father, another hyper person, would've gone nuts...

Really disappointed in the reservation management. My husband has been a Marriott member for 10 years. He has apent 10's of thousands of dollars and hundreds of nights in their hotels. We have always been approved or denied for upgrade requests at least 3 days prior to our check in. My husband and I requested an upgrade for a one night stay this weekend with my kids and my dad. My husband called the hotel last week to ask when we would receive an answer on the upgrade. He was told that 5 days prior to check in we would receive a decision. It was cutting it close, but if it got denied we would still have time to sort out accommodations. We will have 6 people in our group, and we are trying to stay in a 2 bedroom suite. We used points for this trip, points that were earned by staying in Marriott hotels and using our Marriott credit card. Well today is 5 days before our trip and we had not gotten any email letting us know one way or the other. My husband calls, and the person who answers says they have to ask their manager. The manager says that they actually have up until 2 hours before check in to inform of their decision. This has never been an issue for us in the 10 years we have been staying with Marriott. Not to mention, someone else who works at that hotel told us just last week that we would know one way or the other by today. If the upgrade got denied, we would need to make plans to accommodate everyone. Now we are stuck in limbo, and we absolutely cannot wait until the day of, or even a couple days beforehand. Had we known this was the case last week, we would have made other arrangements. We were lied to. We love this hotel. We stayed here once before and it was a great experience. But the mixed information is now impacting our plans and we will probably have to cancel our trip, which is really disappointing for myself and our kids. Again, we weren't demanding an upgrade, we just wanted to know one way or the other by today so we could handle the logistics. Had we known we wouldn't find out until 5 seconds before check in, we would have made plans accordingly. My husband explained all this to the front desk, but to no avail. Clearly Marriott cares more about making a quick buck off a last minute reservation than they do about rewarding long time members who spend thousands of dollars a year with them. maybe we should consider...