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 an upgrade option to the Chase Ritz-Carlton® Card.

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 two guests to enter Priority Pass™ lounges for each cardholder and lets you add unlimited authorized users for free. It also gives you unlimited access to the new Chase Sapphire Lounges at JFK, LGA, BOS, PHL, PHX, LAS, and SAN,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

Best Marriott Card from Chase

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!