Clearwater Beach Sheraton Resort on Sand Key in Clearwater Beach

Valentine’s Weekend Stay – Extremely Disappointing Experience

We booked a Valentine’s weekend stay and paid well over $1,200 for two nights in a 6th-floor king room with balcony and ocean view. We checked in Friday around 4:30 p.m., expecting a relaxing oceanfront getaway. Unfortunately, we ended up leaving by 1:00 a.m.

The guests in the connecting room next to us were extremely loud and disruptive well past 11:00 p.m. — shouting, cutting up, and making it impossible to rest. We called the front desk twice and contacted security, but there was no meaningful resolution. While the staff was polite, the issue was never effectively addressed.

The hotel’s solution was to downgrade us to a two-bed queen room with no ocean view. That was a significant downgrade from the premium king oceanfront balcony room we had reserved and paid for, and it did not feel like an appropriate remedy.

Additionally, the recently remodeled rooms feel sterile and lack the warmth and comfort one would expect from a high-end oceanfront property.

No refund or partial accommodation was offered, so we ultimately lost the entire $1,200+ for a stay we could not complete.

If you are seeking a peaceful, romantic, or relaxing stay — especially at premium pricing — I would strongly recommend caution. Based on our experience, management did not provide an adequate solution when faced with disruptive guests.

I would like to share my major dissatisfaction with the way Marriott Bonvoy handles reservations, and especially with its Best Rate Guarantee.
On three separate occasions, I provided clear evidence of lower prices found on third-party websites. Each time, Marriott Bonvoy either deliberately or not delayed its responses, only to later claim that the 48-hour deadline had been exceeded. Responses were often sent late at night (between 9:38 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.), following my messages sent early the same day (around 6:00 a.m.), which makes any follow-up within the allowed timeframe almost impossible — and clearly gives the impression that this deadline is being used as a strategy to deny price adjustment requests.
I was also denied a price comparison on the grounds that the third-party site supposedly does not transmit reservations to the hotel, which is completely false. I booked through that site and then confirmed directly with the hotel, which did indeed have my reservation on file.
Result:
I saved approximately $1,000 by booking through a comparison site, even after accounting for the so-called 25% discount offered by Marriott — a discount applied only to their own selected rates and never to the rates I personally provided.
To put things into perspective:
Marriott direct price initially: approximately $5,900 USD for 10 nights
Third-party site price: approximately $4,400 CAD (≈ $2,900 USD) for the same 10 nights
😳 A difference of approximately $3,000 USD for the exact same reservation!!!!!!!
This is simply unjustifiable.
Comparison websites clearly offer far better prices, and this experience confirms that shopping around is absolutely worth it — despite Marriott Bonvoy’s promises of offering the best rates.
Important to note:
The hotel itself is excellent.
The location is beautiful, the on-site staff is professional, and the amenities and restaurants are very enjoyable. I have stayed there before and have always liked the property.
My 0% rating applies only to:
the interactions with Marriott Bonvoy
the handling of price match requests
the lack of transparency and the clear impression that loopholes are being sought to avoid applying their own policy
An extremely frustrating and disappointing experience for a program that claims to reward loyalty and offer the best prices.