Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa

We stayed in the main hotel and - while the lobby is quite beautiful - our stay overall wasn’t very comfortable or pleasant. First we found a large dead Palmetto bug under the sofa upon arrival (among several other smaller dead bugs housekeeping didn’t bother to clean up). Later we had to kill an even bigger live roach which was on the curtain in the room. I’ve stayed in plenty of resorts and hotels in Florida that don’t have this issue, but in reading other reviews it seems this has been reported for 10+ years and they’ve done nothing to fix it. Many areas of the hotel are quite outdated and don’t seem air conditioned; even the elevators are musty and quite hot. Service at the bar by the pool was poor - they were badly understaffed and the bartender was rude and unapologetic about the lengthy wait once he finally got around to serving us. On our second day housekeeping knocked and wasn’t shy about expressing her irritation that we were occupying the room - I told her we were on our way out and asked for 5 minutes and she laughed sarcastically and acted quite put out. Some front desk staff were polite and others were very rude - the man checking us out when we left openly scoffed at our very simple request to print our itemized receipt, then gave no word of thanks or even a “goodbye,” just stared impatiently after handing me the receipt to indicate it was time for me to go away now.

We stayed in the villas. We stayed one night. It could use some updating. The rug had what appeared to be animal urine on it and was dirty! There were bugs in our villa. The bedding looked out a motel. Old and worn. The beach is a drive away from the resort. The pool was nice. Towels offered. The people working were super nice and friendly. The property was nice but some parts need cleaning!!! We were not in the main hotel. Maybe that is nicer?!?!?

Landscaping gorgeous Pool nice Villas are spacious

90’s decor Broken shower shampoo dispenser Cockroaches Broken window blind in room

Location was good

Room was a bit old and outdated Definitely not worth the money

You’re right — here is a **review version**, written firmly but professionally: I am extremely disappointed in my recent experience at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach. I have been coming to this property for well over 20 years. Our church has also hosted at least seven or eight marriage retreats here over the years, so this property has held a special place for us. I am also a Lifetime Platinum Marriott member, so I expected a much higher level of service and care. During this stay, my husband went to the front desk to extend our reservation before leaving to return to town for business. Later, around 1:13 p.m., I received a call from the front desk stating that they had no record of the extension and that I needed to leave the room. I was alone and was expected to pack up all of our belongings — both mine and my husband’s — and move immediately. When I spoke with the manager, she showed very little concern or willingness to help. She acknowledged that she could see where my husband had changed the date, but said she did not see the change for today. That made no sense to me. Why would my husband leave me there alone if he knew we had to check out that day? What bothered me most was not just the reservation issue, but the way it was handled. There was no compassion, no real attempt to resolve the situation, and no sense of concern for a loyal guest who has supported this property for decades. I felt dismissed, disrespected, and unfairly treated. The experience was so troubling that it left me questioning whether bias played a role in the way I was handled. After more than 20 years of coming to this property, I am deeply saddened to say that I do not plan to return. I also do not plan to bring our couples back here for future marriage retreats. This was unacceptable customer service from a property I once trusted and recommended.

Joined my husband for a 3-day conference at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. As Marriott Gold Bonvoy member and Amex Platinum cardholders, we are eligible for complimentary upgrades when available. At check-in, we were told we had been “upgraded” to the Villas. When I asked what that meant, I was informed it was not located in the Towers where the conference was actually being held, but about a 10-minute walk away. A shuttle/walk is not the way to go when you are attending a conference and like to go for breaks to your room in between sessions. I explained that this arrangement would not work well for my husband since he would be attending the conference at the Towers all day, and the hotel was aware of this because we booked through the conference website. The response I received was essentially that the hotel was fully booked and that we would at least “have a view of nature.” We drove to the Villas and, unfortunately, were assigned one of the units furthest from the Towers. Upon entering the suite, we were immediately hit with a horrible odor — moldy, musty, and extremely unpleasant. There were bugs in the bathroom sinks, rust covering the coffee table, and the bed frame area looked like it had not been vacuumed in years. The room also felt extremely humid and sticky. I spent over an hour trying to call the front desk to request a dehumidifier, but the phones were down. They were still down the following morning when I tried again. I finally messaged through the Marriott app explaining the situation, including that the AC was set to 60 degrees but kept shutting off, while the room still felt closer to 75 degrees and very damp. At 11:30 PM, there was a knock at the door while my husband was asleep and I was already in bed in my pajamas. Despite having the “Privacy Please” sign on the door, an engineer arrived unexpectedly. He came into the room, checked the thermostat, then went outside to inspect the unit for freon. It completely defeated the purpose of having a privacy sign on the door in the first place. They could have sent me a message via the app asking if that was ok or to make me aware... My main frustration is that what was described as an “upgrade” actually moved us farther away from the conference location, requiring my husband to walk back and forth in the Florida heat with no covered walkway connecting the Villas to the Towers. The suite did not even have mugs for coffee! It felt like this suite had not been used in a while. The ice bucket had something splattered all over it and had not been wiped off. Finally, around 11:40 PM, we were offered a double-bed room in the Towers. We moved the next day, but even that room had wet carpet on the ground floor. At that point, I honestly did not even want to ask why. Overall, the experience was extremely disappointing and frustrating. I now understand the resort’s 3.9 rating. Even though I shared the lack of cleanliness of the room, I was not even offered someone to come and clean or check it out. Marriott, you can do better.

Went in with low expectations based on the recent reviews, and the hotel definitely did exceed those. The staff was friendly, the bars were solid (really enjoyed sitting outside for beers at Alice and Pete's while watching guys hit to the floating green), fire pits to sit around and relax, etc. Pools were nice, beach club was good, shuttle was super easy to use to the golf course and beach club, etc. I can see why people wouldn't give it 5 stars...the Villas could really use a fresh coat a paint, the bathroom had some obvious spackling and no hook to hang anything, no microwave in the room (though we called and they brought one down quickly), a bit of a musty smell (the smell I get used to at resorts in Mexico/the Carribean), etc. But it (for us at least) was way beyond the 1 star reviews that I keep seeing. The hotel had everything that we wanted for a 3 night golf trip, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

If you like roaches in your bathroom, spiders in your bed, and flying bugs in your room then the Sawgrass Marriott Villas are for you! It’s like glamping but actually indoors. The good news is you are guaranteed to get one of these insects in your room. Who knows what is crawling around when the lights are off. The main hotel is much nicer, just don’t stay in the nearby villas.