Isla Bella Beach Resort & Spa — Hotel in Marathon

We had the most magical wedding weekend at Isla Bella Beach Resort in March 2025, and it exceeded every expectation. After years of visiting this beautiful property, we knew it was the place for our big day—and we were right. We had 100 guests join us, and every one of them was blown away by the experience.

Venue & Atmosphere: The resort is absolutely stunning—elegant and serene without feeling overly themed or flashy. It’s the perfect blend of luxury and simplicity. The property is large enough to offer variety (we used four different locations for our weekend events), yet still feels intimate and walkable. Highly recommend planning around the sunset time—we did, and it made for an unforgettable ceremony backdrop!

Pre-Wedding & Planning Process: We booked about a year in advance and had a smooth planning process. Sales Manager Kate Kachugina gave us a great in-person tour, and everything else was handled virtually with prompt, clear communication. The star of our experience was our Event Manager Abbey Jones. She coordinated our entire three-day wedding weekend (Friday rehearsal/welcome party, Saturday ceremony/reception, Sunday brunch) with professionalism, warmth, and efficiency. Her attention to detail was unmatched—she went above and beyond every step of the way, always calm and incredibly responsive.

Wedding Packages & Cost: We selected the premium package, which included the basics (tables, chairs, linens, food/drink for cocktail hour + reception) but did not include entertainment or high-end décor. Pricing is fair for the quality of the venue, though you should budget extra for plated dinners, top-shelf liquor, or upgraded décor. Abbey was transparent and helpful when it came to breaking down costs and helping us make informed decisions.

Accommodations & Amenities: Guests were wowed by the rooms—spacious, clean, and all with gorgeous views. First-floor rooms offer beach access, while upper levels have private balconies with ocean views. The resort features three pools (family-friendly and adults-only), multiple dining options, a marketplace, a spa, and a solid gym. While the spa services are a bit pricey, I found the massage incredibly relaxing. The resort is ideal for guests of all ages, with enough space and amenities to spread out without it ever feeling crowded.

Staff & Service: Every team member we interacted with was professional and welcoming. Special shoutouts to: Kate, for helping us book and get started. Abbey, who truly made this wedding seamless and special. Cindy Facenda, who managed our 30+ room block with grace, accommodating specific guest requests and changes without missing a beat. Carlos and Rafael, who stood out with their friendly, professional service at our events.

That said, be aware that the resort is slightly understaffed in some areas—particularly at the Beach Bar—so service can be slower during peak hours. But the quality and attitude of the team more than made up for it.

Food & Beverage: The food across all five of our events was consistently excellent! Isla Bella doesn’t allow outside food (besides your wedding cake), but they do offer a generous tasting experience so you can customize your menu. We chose a formal plated dinner for the reception, and our guests raved about it. Their team is flexible and able to accommodate dietary needs and preferences with ease.

Vendors & Execution: We worked with Destination Wedding Studio and a few other outside vendors, and the integration with Isla Bella’s team was smooth. Everyone worked seamlessly together to bring our vision to life.

In short, Isla Bella was a dream wedding venue for us—gorgeous setting, excellent food, amazing service, and the best team to support us through it all. I can’t imagine having our wedding anywhere else. If you’re considering a Florida Keys destination wedding, look no further. This place is truly special.

(Evan R...

Pros:

Beautiful and lush grounds. Isla Bella successfully planned a beautiful property.

The resort feels clean. Expansive white architecture, walls, and linens give the space a refreshed and peaceful feeling.

The staff is kind and helpful. Everyone we interacted with from the guest services at the main desk, wait staff, housekeeping, gate guard, marketplace store staff, and ground maintenance was friendly and helpful. The host team at the main restaurant Mahina, was exceptionally helpful when we got our reservation dates mixed up.

There are plenty of pools to choose from. =

They offer a wide variety of fun options that I would have been eager to try had my own children been vacationing with us.

Our meals were beautifully prepared and tasted yummy. I do think everything overpriced, but that is to be expected at a tropical resort.

Cons:

The room set up does not feel private at all. Noise travels exceptionally well. Rooms jut out only slightly from one another and a privacy wall with a large gap between ceiling and the top of the structure is all that is provided to separate one guest room from another.

Further, the entry to the rooms is exterior access. Meaning, anytime any guests walk past, or a noisy housekeeping cart roams by to their destination, you will hear EVERYTHING. Get ready to feel as though you are mingling with your neighbors at any moment.

Our stay extended into a weekend. By 9 am on Saturday morning the resort staff had already began setting up for a wedding. At the adult pool we were subject to loud banging as a tent was set up. This was also accompanied by loud directions given amongst the staff setting up the space. As the day continued, it was disappointing to feel bottlenecked into sharing spaces with so many other guests as much of the resort was already closing down or being redirected due to a wedding. I say this with full understanding that weddings at this location are beautiful and must be a large revenue profit for the resort. However, as a paying guest myself, it’s discouraging that we must make sacrifices in the amenities of our stay to accommodate a wedding. Whether it be being subjected to an entire day of construction and assembly noises (tent raising, poles pounding, gator driving, uHaul delivery trucks etc) or being asked to vacate spaces advertised as resort amenities hours before another event takes place.

Additionally, the resort is a non-smoking resort (with a designated area for smokers). As a guest you sign and acknowledge this at check-in. Much to our dismay, however, not all guests adhered to this policy. And as previously stated, the proximity of guests rooms to one another, allowed for smoke to travel into our space easily. At one point, my husband and I had to reluctantly leave our balcony to retreat to another area of the resort to avoid the smoke wafting up from a guest smoking on their outdoor space below us. We did alert staff to this, and stated you can see the guest still smoking right there on his patio and asked them to ask him to stop as it was against resort policy and effecting our visit. They seemed unconcerned to address the issue at hand, rather preoccupied with the day’s wedding setup.

Conclusion: Isla Bella is a lush and beautiful resort. The amenities are sufficient, but somewhat lacking. You will not feel moments of privacy, rather, you will feel very much apart of everyone else’s vacation as you overlap other guests at every step. Guests are valued at an uneven measure. Weddings will trump other guests experiences for example. Staff is extremely nice and kind, if not extremely knowledgeable or helpful. Isla Bella Resort is missed the mark on being able to label themselves as “setting a new standard for modern luxury resorts”. We enjoyed our time, but left with no eagerness to return...

• WARNING * This resort has massive service issues. Run by EOS “Hospitality” the resort is pretty but unfortunately that’s where the nice ends and abruptly eclipsed by issues after issues.

If you plan to enjoy the 10 or so hammocks they have, be prepared for the resort to take them all away during your stay blaming “special events”. You’re in a tropical paradise yet can’t have a hammock in a “4 star” resort? How about spreading hammocks throughout other areas of the resort??

Breakfast at Mahina is hit or miss. Lunch at the other 2 venues by the pool or beach bar is a catastrophe. Severely overpriced and hit or miss food quality. Over an hour to get a pizza. Staff constantly has excuses to blame other departments, short staffing, etc.

Guest Relations has the worst staff I have come across in over 25 years in hospitality. They have zero clue on how to own the problem and fix it for the guest. Attitude is “sorry…nothing I can do”. Asked 3 times to speak to the manager yet never got a call. Heard the General Manager here is someone called “Justin”. Staff in general tell me that he’s hands off and doesn’t create channels in between departments for staff to voice problems and get resolutions. As such the staff is equally frustrated taking the heat from customer complaints.

The room has a terrible layout with the master bedroom facing the hallway and no window with the smallest bathroom inside the master bedroom. Master bedroom has zero storage!! There’s only a tiny hallway closet to hang 5 shirts. The balcony is nice but the table has glass that easily slips off so warning if you have kids. Housekeeping is supposed to come every day. The reality is that they missed our room after asking 2 times to a floor supervisor who promised to quickly deploy a team to get us help. The walls are paper thin and you can easily hear conversations next door. Bring ear plugs if you plan to sleep before midnight.

The beach has no ocean during the day because of low tide. There’s groundskeepers constantly shutting down your beach umbrellas claiming it’s “too windy” yet the winds are 10-15 mph here in Marathon and the umbrellas have zero issues withstanding those winds. As such, bring lots of sunscreen as beach/pool umbrellas are a NO GO the moment a slight breeze kicks off. The pool shower is clearly an afterthought and hard to find.

I could go on and on but there’s no point. I was initially irritated in the booking process on the large amount of extra fees on top of a high room fee that I was able to convince myself and the family that I would put that aside as we were about to embark on a 4 star resort experience. And here I am after the fact beyond upset on the massive service shortfall, poor room layout and other general resort mishaps.

I am generally willing to overlook certain issues when I travel and go out of my way to recommend good places, whether resorts, hotels, restaurants, etc. Unfortunately there’s absolutely no way I will be doing this for Isla Bella and will be writing to EOS Hospitality demanding an apology and a partial credit for my stay. I gave you my hard earned money expecting top notch service which I did not get. I hope you take this feedback as constructive. You have a beautiful resort in the Florida Keys but your lack of management and service are disappointing to say the least. I spoke to other guests who also expressed similar issues and concerns. Most indicated as first time here and last time I will...