We had a wonderful stay at the beautiful Newport Coast Villas. We are Marriott Vacation Club members and had requested a unit on the top floor but were given one on the third floor in Building 2800, which did have a wonderful view. The beds were comfy, even the fold-out couches, and the setup (for 7 of us including two small children) worked well. DH was a little disappointed our unit still had tube TVs instead of flat screens. As “owners” we did not opt to pay for daily maid service, so as instructed, we set our bags of garbage outside the front door for daily pickup between 8 and 10 AM. The problem was that the local crows have noticed this system and immediately rip into the plastic bags. It happened every morning, so I imagine the resort will work on some alternate arrangement.
Thanks to other TA reviews, we knew about the nearby grocery stores, plus the discount Marriott guests receive at the Pavilions (although you can get the same discount if you’re a Safeway Club member). Our family had two rental cars, so driving to restaurants and other sites near the Villas was not a problem. We received two parking passes but only one of our cars could be parked at our building; the other had to be left in a parking garage a short walk away. Wasn’t a problem for us, but I guess it could be for others.
We spent three days at Disneyland, went to an Anaheim Angels game, and took drives along the coast (had a delicious lunch at Nick’s in Laguna Beach). Also did some shopping at Fashion Island and had a nice dinner at El Torito Grill. Some of our family went to Balboa Peninsula, but most of the attractions were closed on a non-peak-season weekday. Also ate at the Beachcomber but the weather was too windy to spend much time at Crystal Cove State Park.
We witnessed one fender-bender in Laguna Beach, and the next day our daughter saw (and stopped to help) an elderly gentlemen who fell asleep at the wheel and crossed all oncoming lanes of PCH to narrowly miss a ravine and end up in the shrubbery. He was fine—but both car accidents served to remind us that as visitors to the area, it pays to stay alert and not get too distracted looking at the scenery or the GPS!
The location of the Marriott Villas was convenient for us, and provided a relaxing break from our Disney activities. We used the Grotto pool and the main pools. DH enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby on the poolside bar TV, and he and our 5-yr-old grandson played putt-putt golf and spent time in the arcade.
As others have mentioned, we did hear guests walking around in the unit above us. It became very obvious that new guests had checked in the day before we left, because they were much noisier than the previous ones.
We had a great time on our vacation, and look forward to staying at the Marriott Newport Coast Villas again on future trips.