Continuation of our stay in the southeastern United States. After an excellent stay of several nights at the Springhill Suites by Marriott Pensacola Beach, we went to the Sheraton Bay Point Resort, Panama City Beach, also booked with our points.
During this busy time of year, all hotels are expensive in Florida. It is therefore very interesting to use points to save on the cost of the room! We booked this hotel the day we arrived: we left our previous hotel in the morning and didn’t really know which city we would be in at night!
This hotel was available on the Marriott Bonvoy website for 10,000 starpoints per night (equivalent to 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) instead of CA$299 (+taxes).
On August 18, 2018, the Marriott Bonvoy and Marriott Bonvoy programs are joining forces. Thus 1 starpoint = 3 Marriott Bonvoy points
To get 10,000 starpoints, I converted 20,000 Select Membership Rewards points from my American Express Cobalt Card. As of August 2018, Membership Rewards/Select Membership Rewards points transfer to Marriott is at the 1,000:1,200 rate.
Gold status can be achieved with the Platinum CardMD from American Express. This allows you to obtain an upgrade subject to availability, as well as various advantages.
We arrive at the end of the day at the Sheraton Bay Point Resort Panama City Beach. When we checked in, I learned that I had been upgraded to theHoneymoon Suite because of my SPG Platinum status.
A general view of the hotel on a map:
And activities on the resort:
Here are some pictures of the daytime reception:
Our room is located in Building #3 “Magnolia”.
Our suite is actually called “ St Andrews Suite “room 3316.
The suite is thus composed of a living room…
… living room that intrigues our two children who wonder:
Daddy, where is our bed?
The living room has a nice desk… strangely without seat…!
And a television connected to Netflix.
Next to the living room, there is a small kitchen with a refrigerator, sink and microwave, very practical for “the babes”!
On the other hand, the mini-refrigerator is located… in the middle of the entrance.
The room is made up of a King bed.
On the pillow is the in-room breakfast menu… and a reminder to earn points for not cleaning “Make a Green Choice”.
Facing the bed, a television identical to the living room… but not connected to Netflix.
I like the colors of the furniture.
Connected to the room, the bathroom, composed of a bathtub and a shower.
As well as toilets.
The classic bath products are placed near the two sinks. The lighting is not the best…!
When we wake up, we discover a magnificent view from our windows:
But also our two balconies:
From our window, we can also see one of the two swimming pools.
We can access it directly by a staircase located next to our room: convenient!
After a short night, surprise in the morning: power failure in our building (which lasted a little more than 3 hours). Passing by the reception, I hear several people complaining… and getting a free breakfast as compensation.
Despite my SPG Platinum status, breakfast is not included at this Sheraton. I also get the inconvenience of the power outage for free.
The restaurant seems empty…
…in fact not!
I think the staff was even caught off guard by the influx… due to the power outage and the freebie offered by the front desk! For almost 20 minutes, the buffet will be… empty! We are waiting patiently with the children.
Here is a small tour of the buffet – “very American” – once refilled:
A gym is well equipped. Accessible to all hotel residents:
A playroom is available for young and old children:
A store in case you forget your hat and sun cream:
And a coffee:
Bicycles are available upon request:
The hotel has two swimming pools separated by a bar-restaurant.
An outdoor lounge area that is particularly pleasant in the evening.
The view of the second pool from the stairs leaving our room.
The view of the building from our room from this pool. We can see the two balconies of our room making the angle of the 3rd floor… and the staircase which allows to go down directly to the swimming pool:
And on the left, we have access to the private beach (which is a good walking distance after passing several pontoons).
Alexandra takes the lead to reach the beach (behind the trees on the left of the picture):
Small view on our hotel from the pontoon:
And on the bay:
At the halfway point, there is a restaurant-bar as well as a pier for nautical activities and the shuttle to Shell Island.
Here are the different activities proposed:
and in pictures:
Second part of the pontoon to reach the beach. It’s a pleasant walk:
We arrived at the beach. Small but well sufficient and pleasant:
A mixed feeling about this hotel: at 30,000 Marriott points in July 2018, it’s a good value. However, we sometimes feel the “old-fashioned” side (bathroom, corridors, pool area) and a certain disorganization among the staff.
But the location is ideal for people who want to relax without being stuck with beachfront resorts in Panama City Beach.
Savings are here:
