Grand Hotel

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The Grand Hotel

Overview

Situated on five hundred fifty secluded waterfront acres overlooking scenic Mobile Bay in Point Clear, Marriott's Grand Hotel features a rich history dating back to 1847. Offering a dramatic departure from standard Gulf coast resorts, the Grand Hotel boasts luxurious accommodations, outstanding cuisine prepared by the resort's experienced culinary staff and recreational activities including a marina, twenty thousand square foot European-style spa and two challenging golf courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Delightful beaches and an extraordinary pool complex offer plenty of entertainment for the whole family. Our thirty-seven thousand square feet of elegant meeting and event space is ideal for corporate events and social occasions. Escape from ordinary beach resorts and discover the Queen of Southern Resorts at Marriott's Grand Hotel.

Standard daily services for guests include afternoon tea and cookies in the lobby, arts and crafts, the bayside putting green, children's playground, croquet, horseshoes and water aerobics, historical and horticultural tours of the property, nightly turndown service upon request, a rotating art exhibit and sale on the Grand Hotel's second floor lobby and two daily shuttles to downtown Fairhope for shopping.

Hurricane Katrina

Debris fills one of the ballrooms of the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa after floodwaters following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Repairs at the Point Clear hotel took 14 months.

• Hurricane Katrina struck August 29, 2005
• Storm surge flooded the main building to a depth of six feet
• Water lapped the top of the central fireplace in the main lobby
• Had to lay off more than 600 employees, but paid workers through October 2005

The formal dining room of the Grand Hotel days after Katrina

• Closing and renovations allowed hotel workers to make some improvements to the 160-year-old facility
  • Ballroom meeting areas completely redone
  • Added the Saltwater Grill, a new casual restaurant
  • Formal Grand Dining Room moved to the former site of the Bayview Room
  • Replaced communication equipment with fiber-optic system, requiring digging up areas of driveway & parking lot
• Fully re-opened November 1, 2006
• Hired back 60-75% of the original staff