Tranquility Bay Beachfront Resort — Hotel in Marathon

1st things 1st, the Marathon area was a great location and place to stay on vacation. There are a lot of different restaurants and places to visit and see and you are only an hour from Key West. Great location!

My biggest complaint was the Villa. The price we paid was what I would consider a premium and felt the actual villa was just average. The upstairs had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (one was the en suite to the main bedroom) The bedrooms and bathrooms felt small and cramped with little room other than the beds to sit on. The beds were nice and each room had a ceiling fan. There was also a washer and dryer in the kids room which was nice to have. Each room had a tv.

The main floor had a kitchen with a table and chairs and sitting area with television. There was also a bathroom on the first floor. The kitchen barely had what I would consider pots and pans and tableware. There were maybe 4 plates and 4 bowls with 4 glasses and 4 additional wine like glasses. There was a single saute pan with a sauce pan but no strainer (we cooked pasta and used a slotted spoon to drain the water). There isn't a silverware drawer, it's just on the counter in a plastic holder laying flat on the counter. The refrigerator freezer was full size and nice and the Oven Range and microwave were good too.

The dining table had 4 chairs and was right by the TV and seating area. The seating area had a couch and a chair but could have used a couple more chairs. The TV was very limited as far as channels and options (you don't come to a place like this for television but maybe I expect a bit more these days than basic cable and no option to stream or cast to the TV).

After staying in several AirBnB's and VRBO's, I would probably consider those properties first as the Villa just didn't stand up to my expectations compared to what we paid. Note, I gave it a 3 stars so it's not like it's a horrible place. It just felt like a Best Western vs a Hilton or Marriott hotel.

As for the property, the main pool was excellent. The temperature was perfect and was a great size. It could use more seating but there wasn't a time when we couldn't find at least a table or chairs to sit on. There is a separate pool that is adult only which is a nice option if you do not have kids. Towels are provided at the pool and food is available from the tiki bar at the beach. The beach front was very nice and had plenty of seating and places to enjoy the sand and water.

As for the Services provided, I am used to more of a front desk that is there to answer questions and provide information or additional towels...etc and I feel like this property is in transition toward more of what I would say is a more "modern" type of service where you text a number rather than go to the front desk. For example, the landline phones in our villa didn't work so we didn't know how to "call" the front desk. The recommendation was to text first. When we texted for additional towels (we were very specific saying we needed 6 full size towels, they texted back "We are happy to help, how many towels do you need?". They said they would be right over and after an hour we went to the pool and when we got back to our villa, there were 4 full sets of towels including hand towels and body towels. The people working on the property were very courteous and polite.

Overall, the property is very nice while the accommodations were just average. We probably would not stay in these villas again (at least not at the price we paid) when there are probably better...

There are some lovely elements at this resort but as a few reviews have mentioned... it could be better and does not quite live up to the marketing.

Location is lovely and on the surface appears to be one of the nicest in Marathon, but we stayed Dec. 7-9 and the swim beach was completely covered in seaweed. I realize this happens in FL but the swim beach was a selling point for booking with a 5 year old and on the day we were leaving we noticed a small bulldozer pushing the seaweed to the side. A bit of a bandaid for charging nearly $1800 for two nights in a two bedroom beachfront house. My kiddo was never able to play at that beach. Sombrero beach 5 min away was a win however!

Upon checking in (which was easy and quick) we were clearly informed that if you want to schedule water activities, rent kayaks, etc that you have to call the number provided. No problem! All very clear, information packet was great. Only problem was that at 3pm on Friday when we called to rent kayaks, no one answered or called back.

Next issue was the lagoon pool. The landscaping is BEAUTIFUL but the water was cool at best, and only by afternoon. A couple we met at the pool in the morning had checked with the front desk and was told that "if you want the pool heated you have to request it from maintenence and it can take 2 hours to get warm". I'm sorry what? Another huge selling point for breezy Dec, and my nearly 70 year old mom wasn't able to swim the entire visit because the pool never got warm.

Service at the tiki bar was fantastic, the bartenders were great, and the view from the shore there is stunning. Prepare to pay $15+ for cocktails in small plastic cups but that's resort prices, no real shock there. Drinks were tasty!

Service at the Butterfly Cafe was also great. Food and cocktails were really good as well.

We didn't have any issues with housekeeping as we only stayed two nights but the plumbing is clearly old. Toilet paper in the rooms is like tissue paper (and probably eco-friendly which is good) but you basically had to hold your breath after every flush hoping the tiny bit of TP you used actually flushed in a slow slow spin.

The rooms are fine. Clean, comfortable bedding and lovely views but all the railings are sticky. Again moisture/ocean can make painted railing sticky but a good clean can help. And on a similar note the tv remote was so sticky it could literally stick to your open palm. Ew.

Also, this was not a huge deal, but there was not any bellhop/bag service to the room. Not a huge surprise for a smaller beach resort, but if you are older guests, just something to note. Especially in terms of dragging your suitcases up the steep beachhouse stairs to the actual rooms.

The Christmas decor around the resort and the wrapped palm trees were very pretty and again the landscaping/greenery was all lovely.

If we had paid off-season prices, or simply less in general, I can see myself being less frustrated, and easily couldve given 3 to 4 stars, but for truly almost 2K for two nights, this was underwhelming for our first visit...

This resort is absolutely amazing because it has the comfort and space of an Airbnb combined with the luxury amenities of a hotel.

Rooms:

We stayed in a 2 Bedroom Waterview Villa which was great. Although the decor was not modern and trendy, the villa was fun, bright, and beachy decorated with local wall art that gave it an authentic vibe. The two covered decks were absolutely the best part. Our unit close to the pool which was great because it made it feel like a beach club cabana.

Service All of the staff throughout our stay were great and attentive to our needs. At our arrival we were greeted by the friendly front desk staff that took their time to go over all the resort information, amenities, and nearby attractions. Also, the front desk answered all of our questions when we called and even sent maintaince and housekeeping over right away at 9:30pm when we had a small leak in our sink.

Pool/Beach

The resort has three gorgeous heated pools which are all very warm. The heated pools are amazing and make such a difference on days that are in the lower 70s. The landscaping and grounds around the pool and resort are beautiful and very meticulously maintained. Although the Florida keys is typically not known for its beaches, the resort did a great job with making a beautiful manmade lagoon. This resort has one of the nicest beaches compared to other resorts in Marathon (most don't even have a beach). My only one minor complaint would be is the rule of no outside food by the pool, so you buy food/drink service from the tiki bar (not a major issue at all though)

Amenities

My favorite amenity was the nightly live music at TJs Tiki bar. It was really nice to listen to the song Key Lime Pie while eating key lime pie by a firepit watching the sunset. There are also a lot of fun beach games such as cornhole, volleyball, large chess, and Ping-Pong. The 18 hole putting green is great for some competitive family fun after dinner. There is a small gym with a weight set and lots of cardio, maybe would like some machines but it was clean and the AC was on cool which was nice during a workout. The free bikes are a HUGE plus because there are greating biking routes in Marathon

Location

Marathon Florida is a quiet "salty" beach town with plenty to do. There is plenty to do in Marathon, but it is only an hour drive from Key West which I recommend for a day trip. If you are looking for a beach with an open ocean feel that is a switch up from the resort lagoon I highly reccomend Sombrero Beach which is less than 3 miles and has plenty of parking. The 7 Mile Bridge is great for running or biking with the resorts provided bikes. Take the Florida Keys Overseas Highway trail directly from the resort to the bridge trail which is 2 miles each way. At the end is histroic pigeon key which is a cool establishment to check out.

Thank you Tranquility Bay staff for...