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Best Marriott Family Hotels and Resorts to Book on Points [Map]
What are the top Marriott family hotels? What about the best Marriott family resorts? I’ve compiled a map that shows you Marriott family hotels by categories like occupancy, great location, and which ones have water parks.
Note: Starting in March 2022, pricing became dynamic, meaning it has more variability. These point estimates are based on the 2022 pricing, but may have increased since then.
Also, note that if you are looking to redeem a Marriott Free Night Certificate, Marriott allows people to “top off” free night certificates with up to 15,000 points. This means if you have a free night certificate worth 50,000 points, you could use up to 15,000 additional points to book a hotel that costs 65,000 points.
MAP: Best Marriott hotels families
Here’s some of the family friendly properties where these certificates would provide great family getaways.
Marriott has tons of properties so this map is not exhaustive. If you have a property you’d like to recommend, let me know in the comments! I focused on properties that sleep 6+, have waterslides, or have a great location.
Click the [ ] to see it in full screen. Purple shows properties that sleep 6+, Blue shows properties with water parks and the red is properties that have great locations.
How to earn Marriott points
Marriott Bonvoy is the rewards program for Marriott hotels. Brands include everything from basic brands like Springhill Suites and Residence Inn to St. Regis and Ritz Carlton. Hotels range in price from about 5,000-100,000 points per night.
Marriott credit cards are issued by both Chase and American Express. Opening a new credit card is the fastest way to earn points or free night certificates for Marriott hotel stays.
You can also transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards® or American Express Membership Rewards® to your Marriott account. I generally don’t recommend doing this as there are other higher value ways to redeem those points, but it can make sense if you need a few more points to book a certain hotel.
Perk: 5th Night Free with points
One of the great perks of booking Marriott award nights is that the 5th night on award bookings is free! It is not technically the 5th night that is free, but if you book 5 nights, your cost will be 4/5 of the total price (they average out the cost per night and deduct 1/5).
If you use a Free Night Certificate, the 5th night free will not apply.
What’s a good Marriott credit card offer?
Offers change frequently with the Marriott cards. A standard offer is generally about 100,000 points. Sometimes offers come with free night certificates instead of points, or a combination.
The downside of free night certificates vs. points is that they expire 12 months after you receive them. Sometimes I have luck getting Marriott to extend certificates by calling in and asking, but there is no guarantee.
Which card should I get to earn Marriott points?
There are five (!) different Marriott cards you can get but somewhat complicated rules on eligibility. Read the terms carefully before applying to make sure you are eligible.
If you have a small business or side hustle – the advantage to the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is that it won’t show up on your credit report or count towards your 5/24 status.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card gives you a pathway to a secret upgrade option to the Ritz Carlton card. While I love the Capital One Venture X for its family friendly lounge policies, it does not include Priority Pass Restaurants.
The information related to the Chase Ritz-Carlton® Card was collected by Katie’s Travel Tricks and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product/card. Product details may vary. Please see the issuer website for current information. Katie’s Travel Tricks does not receive commission for this product.
After holding this card for 1 year, you can upgrade to the Ritz Carlton card, which is one option for families to get airport lounge access. It allows all immediate family members to enter Priority Pass lounges (other cards usually max out at 2 guests) and lets you add unlimited authorized users for free. It also gives you unlimited access to the new Chase Sapphire Lounges at JFK and LGA so if these are your home airports, you’ll want to consider this. The Ritz card is not available for new sign ups, you can only get it by upgrading a Chase Marriott card. Once you upgrade to the Ritz card and wait 24 months since receiving your Boundless bonus, you would also become eligible for the American Express Business card.
See my full comparison of these two cards here.
Generally speaking, I don’t see a compelling reason to get the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card or Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
Best Marriott Cards from American Express
welcome offer:
Earn 3 Free Night Awards
after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.† Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
(Personal Referral) All information about this card has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. This card is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
welcome offer:
185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Bonus points
Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Ends 5/14/2025
All information about this card has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. This card is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
Best Marriott Card from Chase
community referral
Current Offer:
Earn 3 free nights (up to 50k)
Earn 3 Free Nights valued up to 150,000 points (up to 50,000 per night) after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card.
The information related to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was collected by Katie’s Travel Tricks and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product/card. Product details may vary. Please see the issuer website for current information. Katie’s Travel Tricks does not receive commission for this product.
Annual Fee:
$95
(Terms Apply)
Highlight of Best Marriott Family Resorts and Hotels by State
Arizona:
JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa
The resort features five heated pools: Mesa Pool, Wildfire Pool, Lazy River Pool, Griffin Bay Pool, and the Revive Spa pool. There are also two Jacuzzis, the serpentine Waterslide and Kids Splash Pad. The Family Escape kids club offers drop off services (for a fee) as well as free family movie nights and crafts. There are also tennis courts on site and free bikes. Resort fee of $40/night
California:
Courtyard Anaheim Themepark Entrance
50,000-70,000 points per night. But rooms with 2 Queens actually also have a bunk bed and sleep 6. Includes entrance to on-site Surfside Waterpark as well. Parking is $29/night
Florida:
Walt Disney World Dolphin and Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
Walking distance to Disney World. You also get access to Disney “Extra Magic Hours.” Six pools and on site! This hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to Disney World. $35 per night resort fee and $29 parking fee.
JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa
Hotel guests enjoy complimentary entrance to Tidal Cove Water Park on site, which includes FlowRider stationary surfing machines, a lazy river, and seven water slides. Resort fee of $40/day. Unfortunately, I could not find any rooms available to families of 4+, so this probably works best if you are a family of 3 or have Marriott elite status and could get a room upgrade.
Marriott’s Villas at Doral (near Miami)
2 bedroom villas sleep 8! Full kitchens. 30-40,000 points per night.
Utah:
SpringHill Suites Springdale Zion National Park
Located only 1 mile from Zion’s gate and a short distance from Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon North Rim, Lake Powell and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Enjoy the outdoor pool and hot tub with amazing canyon views, splash pad, balconies, patios and fireplaces. Rooms sleep 5. Free breakfast!
Colorado
Sheraton Lakeside Terrace Villas at Mountain Vista, Avon, Vail Valley
Vail is only 15 minutes away. Resort guests are given complimentary passes to the adjacent Avon Recreation Center, which includes an indoor pool, a water slide and modern fitness center. Two bedrooms villas here sleep 8 and include a full kitchen and living room with fireplace. Furnished balconies and patios include gas grills . Other villa features also include washers and dryers and free Wi-Fi.
Gaylord Rockies
30,000-40,000 points per night. Resort fee of $23/night plus parking fee of $29/night. Includes indoor and outdoor waterslides and a lazy river in summer. Sleeps 4.
Hawai’i
Sheraton Kauai Resort
Resort fee of $35/night. 40-60,000 points per night. Sleeps 4.
South Carolina
Marriott’s OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes (Myrtle Beach)
Villa-like condos sleep 8 and have two bedrooms each with a fully equipped kitchen and balcony. Gaze out on views of the ocean or our resort’s beautiful gardens from your furnished balcony. Property includes pools, beach access, and an outdoor playground as well as a resort putting green, volleyball, shuffleboard and table tennis. Limited availability on points outside of winter. Check the map I created for other Marriott properties in this area, too
What other Marriott Family hotels do you love? Let me know in the comments and I will add them to this list!
Table of Contents
- MAP: Best Marriott hotels families
- How to earn Marriott points
- Perk: 5th Night Free with points
- What’s a good Marriott credit card offer?
- Which card should I get to earn Marriott points?
- Best Marriott Cards from American Express
- Best Marriott Card from Chase
- Highlight of Best Marriott Family Resorts and Hotels by State
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[…] full post on Marriott properties for families highlights a number of Vacation Club […]
Love this! Would love more updates on connecting family rooms, other family Marriott potential stays. The Marriott sight is awful at allowing room combinations
I will try to add more updates!
We’ve used the free night certificates to stay at the Residence Inn Maui Wailea. It sleeps our family of 5 and includes breakfast. The points fluctuate alot. I wait until the points drop to 65,000 or below and then book. I can usually book each night at 58,000 points or less. Our first stay we were upgraded from a studio to a one bedroom for free.