During our most recent holiday to Florida, we decided to stay for a few nights at one of its most famous beach towns, Clearwater beach. We had considered visiting Clearwater on previous trips to Florida, but we opted for the tried and tested surroundings of Orlando. However, with our returning flight to the UK leaving from Tampa, we are so glad we finally visited Clearwater.
With so many hotels to choose from – we spent hours researching where would be best to stay with kids, but I’m so happy with our choice of the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach for our first time in Clearwater and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
This is one of those hotels that delivers on every promise, making it an ideal destination for those looking to unwind in style away from the theme parks of central Florida.
We spent several days here during our visit to Florida to check out its family friendly credentials, this is our honest review.
Location
The JW Marriott Clearwater Beach is a relatively new oceanfront hotel which opened in 2023 and is situated on the more exclusive southern end of one of the world’s most famous and best beaches. The location of the hotel is one of the primary reasons why we decided to book a stay here.
Being able to step out of the hotel onto a white sandy beach with crystal clear waters and views over the Gulf of Mexico are hard to beat! If you’re travelling to Florida primarily for the theme parks or can only spare a couple of nights here, then the hotel is well worth visiting for its location alone.
It’s within walking distance of the main beach area of Clearwater and its popular attractions, bars and restaurants, but we really liked its more secluded location away from the more bustling areas of Clearwater beach.
We drove down to Clearwater from Orlando, which took us around 2 hours to get to the hotel in some traffic. It’s also conveniently located for Tampa airport which was 22 miles away where we caught our flight back to London – it took us just under an hour’s drive – but it is dependent on traffic.
First Impressions
Upon arrival, you’re greeted by the modernist architecture of the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach, one of Florida’s newest hotels to open. We arrived by car from Orlando and there is no self–parking option here, only their valet service at $45 a night, which might seem a little steep, but parking is at a premium on the beachfront.
The lobby is impressive with its calming coastal colours and ocean-inspired art installations of seagrass and waves. There is also a cosy library area and its floor to ceiling windows that look out onto the hotels private beach – you instantly feel relaxed, taking in the chilled vibes.
The moment I stepped through the doors at JW Marriott, I was captivated by the unique interiors and its beautiful scent. You get the impression you’ve walked into one of the most luxurious beachfront hotels in Clearwater, everything is spotlessly clean and new, so everything is well maintained.
Just off the main entrance is a small grab and go coffee shop, plenty of comfortable seating areas and a stylish restaurant and bar. As you would expect at a hotel of this standard, fruit infused water, complimentary bottled water and newspapers were available in the lobby.
Arrival
It’s not just the decor that has been given great attention; it’s the staff’s level of service that goes above and beyond! Check in couldn’t have been friendlier as they welcomed us as Bonvoy Gold guests and gave a rundown of the facilities of the hotel, whilst the valet staff took care of our car.
An ice cream stand was also on hand to pass us freshly made gelato after we checked in, much to the delight of the kids and my husband!
Rooms
The 162 room choices at the hotel are extensive, many of which are well suited for families, from their standard double queen rooms to 36 apartment sized residences – all of which have the wow factor. We booked one of their 2 queen beach view rooms, which was not only spacious enough for a family of four but also had a style that delivered that luxury coastal feel that we were looking for.
We loved everything about our room but the highlight for me was the floor-to-ceiling doors that opened up onto our balcony complete with comfortable chairs. Overlooking the beach and the sea, this was always a favourite spot of mine to relax and catching the evening sunset. I would definitely suggest booking this type of room to make the most of the incredible views from this hotel.
Both beds in our room were big and comfy, it felt like sinking into a cloud every night, so we all slept really well here. Opposite the bed, there was a large 55-inch smart HDTV, which came complete with streaming services such as Netflix that you could connect to. There was plenty of wardrobe and storage space, and more than what we needed for our short stay here.
The plush carpet, art-deco inspired lighting and comfortable chair added to the sense of cosiness in the room. Added to this it had all the amenities expected of a luxury hotel, such as a Nespresso bar, a safe, air conditioning, free high speed wifi and a mini bar. The room was also regularly serviced by housekeeping including my favourite, turn-down, ensuring things always felt fresh, clean and well-stocked!
Just like the bedside tables, the desk had plenty of charging points and USB chargers. Another example of clean modern design including touchscreen controls to manage the rooms lights etc.
As much as I liked the bedroom, the bathroom was equally as nice. It had a clean, modern, and functional design with a large sink, plenty of country top space, walk-in rainfall shower with added attachment and a great large mirror with a backlight. It was stocked with toiletries from Aromatherapy Associates London as well as the usual amenities you’d expect – including bathrobes, slippers, vanity kits, mouthwash and facial wipes.
Food and drink
JW Marriott Clearwater Beach offers several dining options.
Latitude 28
We had dinner plans each night that we were in Clearwater, so we only ate breakfast at Latitide 28 restaurant, located right on the beachfront, and it was a great experience each morning. Breakfast buffets can be a bit hit and miss in hotel chains, but I was so impressed by the selection of food on offer, and you can tell the team work really hard to make sure it looks pristine for all the guests.
There was a standard selection of hot and cold items you’d expect plus a wide selection of fresh fruit, cakes, pastries and more. A chef was also on hand to create freshly made egg dishes or pancakes to order. My favourite was ordering from their a la carte breakfast menu – there was nothing quite like eating freshly made buttermilk pancakes whilst gazing out at the crystal clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico!
The Deep End
The Deep End restaurant on the hotels 11th floor was our favourite stop for lunch. The menu is mostly light options like snacks, burgers, and sandwiches and their drinks menu had everything from the house beer to craft cocktails.
Eskape Beach Bar and Grille
Whether at the beach or at the poolside, staff were always on hand to take drinks or food orders, and we enjoyed some delicious drinks and meals here including the kids favourites whilst in America, chicken tenders and fries from the comfort of their loungers.
Dining in Clearwater Beach
With so many restaurants in close proximity of the hotel, we didn’t have dinner at the hotel because no more than a 5-minute walk away were an abundance of family friendly restaurants to choose from! On our first night, because of a torrential rainstorm we didn’t venture far and called into a little Italian restaurant called ‘Gondolier’ across the road from our hotel. It didn’t look much from the outside but the food quality and levels of service here were excellent and was excellent value.
Another restaurant that we visited was the famous Crabbys restaurant close to the marina which had a brilliant range of seafood dishes. I highly recommend the grouper sandwich!
Amenities
One of the main reasons why we chose the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach was because of its excellent amenities, including its own private beach, rooftop pool, spa, water sports and bike rentals. It would be really hard to get bored at this hotel, not to mention being surrounded by everything else Clearwater Beach has to offer.
Whether you’re looking for a relaxing drink by the pool, a swim in the ocean, cycling, or even water sports, you’ll be able to find it here.
Pool
Despite it being a public holiday weekend when we arrived, we never struggled to find sun lounger at the pool perhaps due to the advantage of having its own private beach a two-minute walk away. When we arrived, a pool party was in full flow much to the delight of our teenage daughters, with their resident DJ blasting out dance tunes – Ibiza eat your heart out!
Private Beach
The pool at the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach is nice, but the private beach is the showstopper. The soft, powdery sand looked like play sand, and the warm water was perfectly clear and blue. The beach is highly manicured, throughout the day we would see staff frequently raking the sand, so it remained picture-perfect round the clock.
Beach access is no more than a 2-minute walk out of the back door of the lobby and like the pool, there were plenty of attendants to welcome us and set up our towels and seating in our chosen area of the beach. This narrow path leading to the beach was one of many places where you’ll want to stop for a photo break, as it’s lined with palm trees with views towards the ocean. The sunsets here offered some incredible lighting and memorable family photos. The waterfront firepits are also here, perfect for some sunset s’mores.
The beach here really was beautiful and secluded, filled with hammocks, day beds, chairs, umbrellas and comfortable sun loungers finished with blue and white “JW Marriott” branding.
As part of the resort fee, beach toys (really liked this for kids), 1 umbrella, and 2 beach chairs were available for guests to use, although as a family of four we never had an issue of using more than 2 chairs during our stay. The sea is a lovely warm temperature here and is also incredibly clear, seeing fish swim past our feet was an experience!
Water sports
The bay offers the perfect kayaking and paddleboarding location with its calm, turquoise waters. We took advantage of hiring paddleboards from the hotel and whilst I only had relaxation on my agenda and watched from dry land, the girls and Ian had a workout as they paddled along the bay which is worth doing for the views. Especially the crystal-clear waters which allowed them to see the bottom of the sea throughout their entire session.
One of my favourite amenities that we were really looking forward to using were its bikes that are offered to guests to see the local area.
My husband planned on using the JW Marriott bicycles one morning after breakfast for an early morning ride along the beachfront. However, for some strange reason we were not able to because of our UK mobile phone which was needed to gain access to the bikes and the hotel didn’t know how to get around this which was a little disappointing, given this was included in a hefty $35 daily resort fee.
Spa and fitness
I didn’t use the Spa on our trip, but it looked gorgeous. You’ll find four private treatment rooms, on-site retail boutique, and a gym with state-of-the-art equipment.
JW Market
In the lobby was a convenient grab-and-go option, serving Starbucks hot drinks and was well-stocked with a variety of snack items, fresh fruit and drinks. There is also a small gift shop selling items from Curated by JW shop, which allows you to being the JW Marriott experience home with you, such as the resort scent, which as I mentioned earlier was incredible.
JW Kid’s Club
For families with younger children there was also the JW kids club, offering daily programs for kids aged 5 – 12 years old. Throughout the day they had child-friendly activities running which is shown on the resort activities calendar in the lobby or via the web app.
Local Area
Clearwater is one of those locations that you would go back to again. We happily spent the majority of our time at the hotel especially given that the beach and pool here was just what we needed after a busy fortnight at the theme parks, but there’s plenty on offer in Clearwater Beach.
There is even a sunset countdown clock nearby, so you don’t miss it. Clearwater has that Floridian beach town vibe, and we loved it! Surf shops, ice cream parlours, souvenir shops, beachfront restaurants and even Hulk Hogan has a bar here where he allegedly performs karaoke once a week! To get around town, the Jolley Trolley operates two routes up and down the strip and beyond. Rideshares such as Uber and Lyft are also available everywhere.
Overall
Both Clearwater Beach and the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach exceeded every expectation. The combination of beautiful rooms, private beach and other amenities, along with impeccable service made this hotel a fantastic choice for families looking for a luxurious and fun holiday.
For me, a sign of a good hotel is when you can’t stop talking about it and you want to go back. That is exactly how I feel after this stay!