Marriott Adds Free Coronavirus Testing At Select Caribbean & Mexico Resorts

By: Ben Schlappig

Updated: July 12, 2021
Published: February 22, 2021

8 comments

In late January the US added a pre-travel testing requirement for all arriving international travelers. Hotels outside the US have been trying to adapt to this, given that it’s a potential complication for international travel. Well, Marriott has just introduced a (somewhat) coordinated testing procedure for the Caribbean and Mexico.

In this post:

Marriott’s free coronavirus testing at select resorts

Marriott is introducing complimentary COVID-19 testing at select resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico:

This free testing is available for up to two registered guests per room per stay
Guests must be staying at the resort for three nights or longer

The following nine Marriott properties in Mexico are participating:

JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa
Marriott Cancun Resort
The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun
Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa
W Punta de Mita
The Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta
The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort
Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos
Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Meanwhile the following two Marriott properties in the Caribbean are participating:

Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba

Ritz-Carlton Aruba

Marriott offering discounts on extended stays

In addition to offering complimentary testing, the above resorts are also offering discounts of up to 50% off the flexible rate when needing to extend stays. This is available to guests who can’t complete their travel due to test-related issues, whether it’s not getting results in time, or testing positive.

St. Regis Punta Mita

Bottom line

Marriott is finally introducing a somewhat coordinated program to offer free testing for guests. While this is a step in the right direction, it also so perfectly highlights the difference between Hyatt and Marriott.

Hyatt started offering free testing at resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico, and beyond, as of January 26, when the testing requirements went into place, rather than nearly a month later. On top of that, all Hyatt resorts in the region are participating, while here only a subset of Marriott’s resort portfolio is participating.

Does anyone have an upcoming stay where they’ll benefit from this new Marriott testing feature?

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Angie Zwicker Guest

February 23, 2021, 10:30 am

@guflyer Aruba has very specific protocols for dealing with COVID-19. All arriving visitors must present a negative PCR test (administered within 72 hours of travel to the island, or test upon arrival at the airport and quarantining at their booked accommodation until results are received). If a visitor tests positive (either upon arrival or departure), they are taken to an undisclosed quarantine location for a minimum of 10 days. All visitors are required to purchase special COVID insurance coverage from the island, which covers accommodations and medical care (up to $75k) if one should become ill. The quarantine facility is not a single facility. The government has contracted with local property owners to lease out their vacation properties for this purpose. Anyone going into quarantine is bound by a confidentiality agreement (which is rumored to include no social media posting). There is little published info on quarantining. What is available can be found here: https://www.aruba.com/us/traveler-health-requirements#symptoms

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Nige Guest

February 23, 2021, 8:16 am

Someone needs to get this stupid testing requirement dropped! If you’re cowardly enough to believe in this time wasting garbage then just stay home.

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Erica T Gold

February 23, 2021, 1:17 am

I've been through the testing at the JW Marriott in Cancun, which is the same site as the regular Marriott. It was a huge relief to not have to figure out testing. I can't emphasize enough how grateful I am for the testing program. But, the process is not smooth and you need to prepare for it. They contract with a pharmacy for testing and the online system necessary for the process was up and down constantly. I had to wait 3hrs for the system to come online on my test day. One woman waiting with me hadn't been able to get tested the previous two days due to the system being offline, and was leaving for her flight in two hours. My advice is to sign up for testing as soon as your arrive, for the earliest day possible. Only plan to be at the hotel on testing day - don't make plans to leave. Make sure your kids are well fed and have entertainment when you leave in case your wait is hours. Just be prepared for things to be a bit bumpy.

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sharon Guest

February 22, 2021, 10:32 pm

surprised westin lagunamar is not included AA flight attendents stay at the Cancun Casamanga Marriot often

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guflyer Guest

February 22, 2021, 9:32 pm

@Angie Zwicker I would be interested in learning what the rules are for various countries regarding where one is required to stay when quarantined. Do you have a source for this for Aruba? For other countries? In Aruba, what is the quarantine facility like?

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