Business Golf Texas Hill Country Style: Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort Review

When it comes to places to go to relax, be pampered, play a lot of golf and sit in a quiet place to talk business, the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort and Spa is the place to be in Texas.  What makes it the place to be has to do mainly with its location.  It is way out in the sticks of the Hill Country of Texas.   However, the remoteness could be why most business golfers have not used this facility.

While the hotel is managed by Marriott, it’s owned by Horseshoe Bay Resort, HBR, (a high-end and somewhat famed resort community).  Staying there gives you the ability to use all of the resort amenities without restriction.

So, with the Horseshoe Bay golf facilities so off the beaten path, how did it become the place to be for business meetings and golf?   Good question and was one I set out to find the answer.

Review Set-Up:

Like most of us, when you hear about a bargain deal for a two night-two day stay, all the golf you can play and a fabulous Marriott Breakfast Buffet, there is an anxiety that builds up to asking.. what’s the catch?  

Of course there really was no catch, but one has to wonder when a very affordable golf package is offered at a Marriott facility. One also has to realize the golf package is just one of the ways the Marriott at Horseshoe Bay markets their facility.  Good plan, but still does not answer the question of why should I even consider the facility.

Like any professional social mediaist would do, I went to the social spaces to see what the word was about Horseshoe Bay Resort before I made my reservations.

I was really not too surprised to see that HBR’s digital footprint was nearly non-existent.  OH, yes they have a Facebook Page with Blah-Blah-Blah and a Twitter account that is spammed beyond all get out.  They do not have a G+ presence which they need to have.  Overall, none of what is found for their presence online was very convincing primarily because there did not seem to be a real person representing Marriott or Horseshoe Bay Resort, reaching out to visit with people who would enjoy their facility.  This was the first ‘fail’ I found for my answer to why not many people know the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort even exists.

On Yelp.com the Marriott HBR had received several recent less than satisfactory ratings of their facility which outlined in detail a number of issues Marriott should have responded to immediately.  This lack of public responsiveness to these major issues confirms their lack of understanding of social media and how damaging this type of review can be to their image as a hassle free place to go spend money.

These Yelp.com reviews caught my interest since we were in the process of planned to secure our reservations to make the 220+ mile drive down to Horseshoe Bay.  So, I was very alert when we arrived at HBR to seeing if I saw the same things as the Yelp Reviewers mentioned.  

Review:

So..here is my non-paid review of the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort and Spa.

Travel Issues:

Let’s start with the drive from Dallas, Tx to Horseshoe Bay, TX.  To say there is no good, fast way to get there from here is a pretty good assumption when you break out the Google Map and start to answer the question …where heck is Horseshoe Bay, Texas?

You can check out the history of Horseshoe Bay here. 

Horseshoe Bay is located on the south shores of Lake LBJ, one of only a few constant water level lakes in Texas.  In the draught ridden plains of Texas, lakes with lots of water in them are rare.  The most populated town near Horseshoe Bay is Marble Falls, Texas.  Overall, Horseshoe Bay is located nearly in the center of Texas right in the middle of what is called the Texas Hill Country.

Of course there is the Horseshoe Bay Jet Center for those well healed enough to charter a plane into Horseshoe, but for us regular business golfers, making the trip to Horseshoe Bay is done via ground vehicle..a 3 hour and 45 minute drive from Dallas thru mostly rural Texas.

The most suggested route of travel to Horseshoe Bay is down Interstate Hwy 35 to Gerogetown,TX, then west to Burnet, Texas and then south to Marble Falls.

This route is a nerve racking drive down I35 which is famous for it’s perpetual construction projects all along the way which create hazards, fast stops..and yes…the numerous (now near daily) major traffic accidents.  To most people, traveling at 80 mph in bumper to bumper traffic is not leisure travel..but if you don’t travel at that speed you probably will become one of the traffic accident statistics.

The secondary route is to travel down State Hwy 281.  This is a good route but getting to the hwys from Dallas means a long gauntlet of streets filled with frequent red lights to negotiate thru to just get to the open road of Hwy 281.  Once there, the drive is straight and yes..fast…unless you get stuck behind a piece of slow moving farm equipment or the many, many RV’s that seem to not be able to get up to the speed limit.

And, then of course, you could take a short commercial flight to Austin, rent a car and make the hour and half drive in from Austin airport…the overall time of travel for that method of travel could be over 4 hours…
So you make the choice.  None of them really are fast ways to get to Horseshoe Bay, which is probably the biggest challenge Marriott has to honestly be a place for frequent visits to its facilities.

The bottonline is, getting to Horseshoe Bay is not an easy task which makes the interest in the Marriott Horseshoe Bay by the regular business golfing public a lot lower than other more convenient resorts located close to major highways or airports.  This would explain the need Marriott Horseshoe Bay has in offering very affordable golf packages.  However, once you get there the atmosphere is relaxing and quiet… that is until you have to think about the drive back.

Drive Up Appeal:

Once you enter the Horseshoe Bay Resort there is this aura of relaxation that becomes visible.  The very long well landscaped cobblestone drive way to the Marriott is the first sign you have arrived.  Once you pull into the Marriot you have this feeling of…really!!!..a Marriott out here in nowhere?  But it is true, you are greeted just like you drove up to any of the upper level Marriott resorts.  It is not quite at the JW level of Marriott but they seem to be trying to get there.

The seven story structure sits in the middle of a well manicured garden which includes their large pool and an 18 Hole Miniature Golf course.  There is also a nice size Conference Center attached to the Hotel that makes a perfect setting for conferences or weddings.  Fortunately, the traffic entrance for conference only guests is completely separate from the hotel guests.

Parking:

Yes, you always have the choice of doing the valet thing or self parking and like most Marriott’s there always seems to be this push towards making you rethink the price of valet parking by placing the self parking lot in the next zip code.  This makes forgetting something you left in the car after unloading at the front door one of those…dam, do I really have to go get it..moments.

It seemed like during the construction of the facility Marriott forgot they needed guest parking and quickly found a vacant lot to pave over for remote parking. Unfortunately that vacant lot was well over 600 yards from the front door of the hotel. ‘FAIL’

My operations management instincts kicked with thinking it would seem the Marriott would have a shuttle vehicle to pick up guests who have to park in the remote parking lot.  Or is that too simple of a solution?

Lobby:

Once you get over the reality that anytime you want to go anywhere you are going to have to walk the better part of a mile to get to the car in the parking lot, you enter the lobby of the Marriott at Horseshoe Bay with it’s usual luxury you expect from a Marriott. 

There is a live parrot just inside the first door that greets you with a Cat Call whistle..guess that is their alarm system. 

Then you get to the typical Marriott decor with a rustic western theme to go with the fact that you are in the middle of Texas.  Very comfortable looking sitting area in front of a fireplace.

The strong smell of mesquite wood burning somewhere in the hotel greets you and gets you in the mood to find some Barbeque…or BBQ as it is written everywhere in Texas.

The check-in desk was its usual high efficient check-in process facilitated with a very friendly and cheery receptionist.   No problems here..smooth sailing right on up to the room, which was a side bar adventure in itself.

Resort Fees:

Of course, I am not wild about the Resort Fee they seem to mention after the fact.  The spill we got was it covered the Free WiFi..  Excuse me!..you pay a $22 Resort Fee to get Free Wifi?…does that still make it Free?  ‘FAIL’

I have always felt these add-on fees should just be part of the room rates.  This nonsense I hear from resort managers that the separate fee gives them flexibility in adjusting the price by waiving the resort fee for larger groups, always gets me on how stupid they think the consumer is today. 

The management team also feels that adding the resort fees…and all the other add on fees for that matter..would produce ‘sticker shock’ which would turn off the consumers they market their resort to.   I am not sure why Marriott wants to be this way.  It is obvious from the reviews posted online for all of their resorts the consumer is not wanting these added on.  But, OH wait! They don’t seem to be reading those reviews…or at least not responding to the issues.   Maybe they will see the need someday.  Or maybe they should hire me to be their Community Manager..hint, hint

The Room:

Here is where I started seeing some of the issues mentioned in the Yelp.com reviews. The long, long, long walk, pulling suitcases and carrying bags down the long hallway to the near end of the wing of the hotel did bring up the question..why don’t they have elevators on this end of the joint?

The long walk did give me time to see that the decor was a little worn from what you would suspect is from high usage or is it from old age.  This is very unusual for a Marriott management team to let the quality of the facility get this low.  Maybe they have plans to update that in the off season…hint, hint!

The room was the usual Marriott standard of Greatness.  Very comfortable and roomy. ‘Winning’

The bathroom was a little small for two, but workable.  The King size bed was..as usual for me..too soft and short..but hey..I am roughing it at a Marriott..can’t bitch about that.  My back will just have to suck it up.

The view from the wide window was probably not their best but from the fifth floor I was able to see our car in the remote parking lot.

Eateries:

Since this is not our first trip to the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort (visited the resort in 2004 the year before the Marriott was completed, then two visits after it opened) we knew what to expect as far as the limited selection of menu items in the Lantana Grill for lunch and dinner.  So we passed on eating lunch and dinner at the Marriott.

Generally, everyone wants to experience the local restaurants in the area.  This is what we did, however we did indulge in the world famous Marriott Breakfast Buffet. (See my upcoming reviews of the local restaurants in the area .)

As can be expected the breakfast buffet at the Marriott was over the top awesome.  Very well done with a wide variety.  Since the Golf Package included the breakfast we took advantage of it.

Of course, it never could be explained, by the waiter or waitress, why they would give me a bill charged to the room for the price of the breakfast buffet.  I had to correct the bill each morning..this could be improved upon.  Or at least provide the wait help with explanation on WHY!

Golf:

Oh, now we are getting to the nitty-gritty.  As I mentioned in my Mr Business Golf Blog, the golf is great at Horseshoe Bay.

The play on both the Ram Rock and Apple rock courses was awesome.  As always, the fairways were lush and the greens rolled true making for an outstanding golf outing each round.  The courses always play better if you have played them before.  It had been three years since I had teed it up there so it took a bit to remember I either had to focus on the golf or the spectacular views, but not both.

I quickly found out that the expensive cameras we had to take the photos for this trip could not match what the eye captures in real life.  The clean air and sky’s of Texas Hill Country just makes all the cares in the world go away until you have to make your next golf shot.  Then things get interesting since there is hardly a level place anywhere on these Robert Trent Jones Sr., designed golf courses.

The challenge and skill level of each course is created by the tee selection. I have heard that even the Professionals who roam the course noses starts to bleed a little from playing from the tips.  However, playing from the championship or Executive tees works well for a casual friendly round of golf.

I highly recommend the golf courses at Horseshoe Bay as long as they are connected to the golf package.  Other than that, the green fee is off the chart too high. ‘Fail’

Overall experience:

I really enjoy my time at the Horseshoe Bay Resort.  Being a native Texan and having seen most of Texas, the Hill Country of Texas really does relax me by it’s natural beauty.  The rolling hills and shrub high trees just allow for some great views of the clear horizons of Texas.

When you throw on all the Texas charm and friendly people you meet, the experience of being at Marriot Horseshoe Bay Golf Resort becomes a special outing.

There are the issues with the facilities I am hoping Marriott and the ownership of Horseshoe Bay will take a look at to improve.  I am sure they could and might write off my review of their resort as something they don’t take serious, but since this blog and my Mr Business Golf Blog, do touch over 25k golfers and professional in the golf industry and my recent Google Verification Certification places my reviews on the first page of the search engine, I am sure this review may catch a few golfer’s interest…just saying.

I could see a round of business golf on any of these golf courses offering up some very positive results.

I’m sure I will be back again if the golf packages are offered and as usual, I’ll be bringing my posse.

Let me know how I can help.