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Phone: 800-947-2148

Street Address: 555 N.E. Ocean Boulevard, Stuart, Florida 34996

* Note: I did a surprise inspection visit to this hotel on March 1, 2005. I was vacationing in the area, and it appeared that this was the area's best hotel.

Rates: In-season $249 to $269. Off-season $129 to $169. (As of March 1, 2005.)

Location Rating: This hotel is located about an hour's drive north of Palm Beach International Airport on a fairly thin island with the Intracoastal Waterway located on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. There are two buildings. The "Sandpiper" building is absolutely the best for having an ocean view and easy access to the beach. It seems to be a quiet beach area - not lots of people. Rush hour traffic over the bridge to Stuart seems to be pretty bad right now (a new bridge is being constructed).

Lobby Appearance: I actually had some trouble finding the main building. It is right off the main road. The aura of this place from a distance led me to believe that my expectations should be high. At the entrance there was a doorman dressed in a very casual style with a safari type of hat. I almost thought he was just an employee who had strayed from some other work area, but he was the doorman. (It was just interesting to me since a top big city hotel like in Philadelphia would have formally dressed people at the door.)

The lobby is nice as you would expect of a Marriott. But not big. Not old. Clean. An interesting thing is that Caribbean type music plays quietly in public spaces. I liked it. It gave the place a certain mood. It seemed refreshing to me. Not far from the lobby are some nice fountains making pleasant water sounds, and a nice pool area is there where you can play ping pong, or lie in the sun by the pool, or enjoy some food from the tiki bar at a table in the shade... delightful.

Room Appearance: As is my usual technique, I ambushed the hotel with a surprise visit, and the sales director was not in the mood to show the rooms (she said they were all occupied - oh well). I guess it's a hassle for them. Sometimes when a hotel is full, the people still try to show a room or make some calls to see if anything is available. I had timed my visit to be certain that some rooms would have been cleaned. Anyway, no efforts were exerted. However, I still have the impression that it is a fine hotel.

Beach in front of the Sandpiper Building.

Useful Nearby Businesses: There appears to be a supermarket and a few shops across the street from the main hotel. At the Sandpiper complex there is nothing except residential buildings.

Hotel Restaurants: Across from the entrance to the hotel lobby area is another lobby where their "Baha Grille" restaurant can be found. I found it intriguing that a large plasma-type television over the bar had a high definition video running of fish in a fish tank. It almost looked like the real thing. And no fish food or tank cleaning necessary!

The Baha Grille's decor did not wow me and the noise level for the number of people there at lunch time was high. It's an okay place. It just seemed a bit plain to me. I did not see other restaurants in this area.

By the delightful pool area of the hotel is the "Hotel Tiki Bar." I would really enjoy having a light meal there. They serve things like burgers, salads and sandwiches. I loved the palm trees in the courtyard. It felt refreshing to be there.

From the hotel you can ride a "tram" to the Sandpiper portion of the hotel. It is a jeep that pulls a trailer with covered seating. A member of the staff says it stops by every 5 minutes. The wait seemed more like 15 to me. The tram can drop you off at the golf course club house, or you can just sit for another minute or so until you arrive at Sandpiper. I like the Caribbean music that plays in the tram. That's a great idea. It makes the ride pleasant.

Sandpiper has a pool area that is not quite as impressive as the main pool, but it is still nice. You can have burgers, salads and sandwiches at the "Sandpiper Tiki Bar" or sit under an umbrella at a table. I had a broiled chicken sandwich with bacon and melted Swiss cheese in it and assorted fruit chunks on the side for $9.01 including sales tax. It was okay. Didn't wow me. I noticed that they had big $4.95 hotdogs.

Other Amenities: They have a 77 slip marina. There are lunch cruises, site seeing cruises, kayaking. There are 5 tennis courts. I did not see the fitness center. I was told that it overlooks "the lake" and that they have a half dozen cardio machines like walking things and bike things, plus free weights and a universal-type weight training machine. There is also an 18 hole, par-61 golf course, plus a driving range. The cost for hotel guests to use it is $57. Eco-tours are available. A facility described to me as the Florida Oceanographic is in the neighborhood. It is an educational type of place where you can feed the sting rays and things like that.

Would I Stay Here? Actually, I think it would be a great place to stay, especially in the Sandpiper building with a view of the ocean. First of all, it is refreshing just to be there. The main hotel is along a road that can be busy. The Sandpiper building is in a much quieter area with no busy traffic nearby. Another great advantage of the Sandpiper building is its proximity to the beach. It is right there. And it is a quiet beach with not a lot of people. The water color is a beautiful aqua green by the shore. Waves are small. And there are lots of interesting shells waiting to be found on the beach. I enjoyed seeing the sandpiper birds and the pelicans, and I found some nice shells to take home. Yes, I would be glad to stay there, but I think I would strongly prefer their Sandpiper building over the main building.

Comments: The hotel considers itself to be pet friendly. There is a $75 fee to bring a dog (to cover the additional cleaning costs involved). The hotel opened in 1988. Rooms were last updated in 2000. I saw a lot of mattresses being thrown away into a dumpster, so I imagine they are upgrading the mattresses. Altogether they have 276 rooms. Two hurricanes hit this area in autumn 2004. The second hurricane shut the hotel down for a month. They are the only hotel in business on this island. The nearby Holiday Inn and the Marriott Courtyard are still undergoing repairs.

This area has a very interesting story. It was a pirates home. Don Pedro Gilbert and his gang of thugs would wait for a passing ship and then give chase. Sometimes they would set a fire on the shore to attract a ship's attention and plead with their body language for help. Then they would attack. In 1832, one ship known as the "Mexican," which was based in Salem Massachusetts, fell victim to this pirate. They could not outrun the pilot ship, and discovered that their cannon ammunition would not fit their cannons! Around $20,000 worth of gold was stolen. Don Pedro Gilbert ordered his men to kill everyone on board and torch the ship. For unknown reasons, the men decided instead to lock everyone below and let them burn alive. After they left, the captain was able to free himself and then his sailors. They put out most of the fire, but kept part of it going since they feared the pirates would return if they saw the flames go out. Whatever they threw on the flames, it did a convincing job. Don Pedro Gilbert sailed away with the loot and with peace of mind in knowing the evidence of his crimes had been destroyed. That was a big mistake. The Mexican sailed to New York and reported what had happened. A massive search for the criminals then took place. Don Pedro Gilbert's ship and his men were found off the coast of Africa by the British Navy. They were involved in the slave business, probably thanks to that $20,000 they had stolen. The British Navy captured the men and blew up the pirate ship. Eventually, they were all brought back to the United States for trial and hanged. They were the last pirates to operate in US waters. And this place, Hutchinson Island was their home!

Near this resort is downtown Stuart (too far to walk there). It is a nice place to go for a stroll and enjoy art shops and other stores. What a surprise... parking is free! And the town has free shuttle buses. I'm impressed. I had a delicious orange (sherbet?) shake at the Nature's Way Cafe. There are nice little cafes where you can enjoy your meal outside along the sidewalk area - very pleasant. They had a "riverwalk" area. It was like a boardwalk along the river. But the hurricanes destroyed it. Hopefully they will get funding to repair it soon. I also liked the nearby Jenson Beach area.

The temperature during my February 22 to March 2 visit routinely hit daily highs of about 80 degrees or a little less with nice breezes. Delightful!

Sandpiper building of Hutchinson Island Marriott.