Anyone stay at the Sawgrass Marriott before?

[AkiraRaptor]

Has anyone stayed at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Beach Club
in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (outside of Jacksonville FL)?

I'm looking for a nice place to stay overnight. We will be driving down to WDW, and last year we stayed in another Marriott, but it was more in Jacksonville.

I'd like to stay somewhere outside of Jacksonville, and I perfer it be past Jacksonville so I don't have to be trouble with the traffic the next moring.

I'll looking for any comments, good or bad, about this place. It looks nice, runs about $160 a night. Safe, clean and it's near A1A, which is where I'd like to be to do a bit of site seeing while we finish the WDW drive.

Any comments welcome...

 

[AkiraRaptor]

*Bump*

Has no one stayed here before?

 

[AkiraRaptor]

*Bump*

I'll bump it one more time, otherwise I'm guessing noone here has stayed at this hotel.

 

[jordanyosh]

Had a short break

Did a little surfing on the Web and found a site http://www.tripadvisor.com and entered sawgrass marriott and it only gave 1 trip report. But further down there were links to a few more reports. You might want to check it out....hope you find a good place and even more...that you have an awesome time at WDW.

 

[The Mom]

I stayed there a long, long time ago, so can't give you much info. I do remember that it really isn't on the beach; you have to take a shuttle or drive. Plus, the time I stayed there we were in the middle of a Northeaster, so there was flooding all over the place, and not too much outside activity. If you're continuing south down A1A traffic isn't too much of a problem (just slow);JTButler is a parking lot from around 7:30 AM-9AM heading west, then reverses from 4PM - 6PM.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Re: Had a short break

Originally posted by jordanyosh
Did a little surfing on the Web and found a site http://www.tripadvisor.com and entered sawgrass marriott and it only gave 1 trip report. But further down there were links to a few more reports. You might want to check it out....hope you find a good place and even more...that you have an awesome time at WDW.

Thanks, that was very helpful. I found another good write-up at eopinions as well.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by The Mom
I stayed there a long, long time ago, so can't give you much info. I do remember that it really isn't on the beach; you have to take a shuttle or drive. Plus, the time I stayed there we were in the middle of a Northeaster, so there was flooding all over the place, and not too much outside activity. If you're continuing south down A1A traffic isn't too much of a problem (just slow);JTButler is a parking lot from around 7:30 AM-9AM heading west, then reverses from 4PM - 6PM.

Hey Mom, you helped me out last year when I asked about a Marriott off of Butler. I'm doing the same thing this year, driving down and staying overnight near Jacksonville, asnd finishing the drive the next morning to WDW.

Last year it was a mess getting out of Jacksonville in the morning, so I thought I'd look at something a bit more past Jacksonville. And we were planning to drive A1A to see the ocean in the morning, so it looks like the Sawgrass place would be a good place to furfill these needs.

The one review (which is repeated on two sites), the guy had a noise problem along with other issues. But the other reviews seemed to be ok to great. I'm betting it on good side. I just didn't want to be paying $160 for a rat's nest.

Thanks!

 

[The Mom]

It is definitely NOT a rat's nest! It is actually a lot nicer than the one next to I-95. Nice landscaping, upscale, that sort of thing. It is a bit out of the way, but if that's what you're looking for, go for it!

I would have suggested the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, but it's VERY pricey because it's on the ocean. It's really a destination resort, rather than an overnight stay.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by The Mom
It is definitely NOT a rat's nest! It is actually a lot nicer than the one next to I-95. Nice landscaping, upscale, that sort of thing. It is a bit out of the way, but if that's what you're looking for, go for it!

I would have suggested the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, but it's VERY pricey because it's on the ocean. It's really a destination resort, rather than an overnight stay.

Wow, cool place, but man, $190 and way way up from there. Yep, it's VERY pricey. Looks neat though.

You say Sawgrass is a bit out of the way, and I'm not sure what you mean. From the maps, it looks to be south east of Jacksonville, which means we will not have to go through that traffic in the morning, and it looks like it's a quick shot to A1A, so it will be easy to get to that road as well. Correct me if I'm not seeing it. You know this area better than I.

I wanted a decent place to lay pur heads, and I don't have a problem with spending $150 just for one night (but I just can't see spending $190 at the Ponte Vedra Inn, but I'd love to ). But more important to me is a place that is past Jacksonville's heavy traffic on the main highways. I don't want to do that again first thing in the morning. And I want to drive A1A down to Daytona, then jump on I-4 to Orlando.

Let me know if this all sounds good with the Sagrass, or should I keep looking around.

Thanks Mom!

 

[The Mom]

It's out of the way in relation to I-95; about 20 minutes in non-rush hour. However, since you aren't planning to continue on 95, it'll be fine. A1A is a nice route, although it has a slower speed limit and is only 2 lanes in many areas. Some stretches take you VERY close to the ocean, with many undeveloped areas just south of Ponte Vedra. I've never tried it (too impatient) but perhaps I will next trip.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by The Mom
It's out of the way in relation to I-95; about 20 minutes in non-rush hour. However, since you aren't planning to continue on 95, it'll be fine. A1A is a nice route, although it has a slower speed limit and is only 2 lanes in many areas. Some stretches take you VERY close to the ocean, with many undeveloped areas just south of Ponte Vedra. I've never tried it (too impatient) but perhaps I will next trip.

Thanks Mom, this is exactly what I wanted to do. I miscalculated one year, and it was about 5 AM, to dark to see the ocean. Last year, I got on A1A too late and all we saw was building in Daytona. :brick:

I'm gonna get it right this year. I did it a few years back, and it was a nice fun drive, and got a lot of good pictures of the beaches and ocean. We'll be leaving the hotel at 8 AM, so we'll have plenty of time.

Thanks for all you help! :wave: