Marker 8 Hotel and Marina

Where the Bridge of Lions Meets Its Own Private Marina

Marker 8 sits at the point where the Matanzas River slides under the Bridge of Lions, on the Anastasia Island side, with its own 24-slip marina tied up at the door. The hotel was renovated as an upscale boutique property built around that setting: rooms face the water rather than a parking lot, and a heated pool looks straight across the bay toward downtown St. Augustine. It reads as much like a marina with rooms attached as a hotel with a marina attached, and that balance shows in almost everything about the place.

Why It Works

We picked Marker 8 because it solves a problem most waterfront hotels only gesture at: a working marina, not a decorative one, with slips long enough for a 103-foot yacht and power to match, right beside rooms built to look at it. That combination, a real marina and a genuinely renovated boutique hotel, is rarer on this coast than the view alone would suggest. It also means the welcome extends to boaters as naturally as to anyone arriving by car, with a complimentary drink and breakfast lounge that make no distinction between the two.

Why This Location

The Bridge of Lions is the hinge between Anastasia Island and St. Augustine's historic downtown, and Marker 8 sits right at it, close enough to cross on foot into the old city's forts, tours and restaurants. Stay on the Anastasia Island side instead and there is a short walk to the island's own restaurants, a market and live music, with the beach itself not far beyond. Few addresses in St. Augustine put both the historic district and the island within walking distance of the same front door.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Boutique, nautical, waterfront

• Rooms: Signature suites with king or queen beds, fridge and private bath

• Best For: Boaters docking their own vessel, couples wanting a bayfront view, travellers who want downtown St. Augustine within walking distance

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The 24-slip marina handling yachts up to 103 feet, right outside rooms built to face it

• Dining: Breakfast lounge and a bar on the event deck, overlooking the bayfront

• Amenities: Heated pool overlooking the bay, fitness center, 1,700-square-foot event deck, marina with power, water and laundry facilities

• Attractions: Bridge of Lions and St. Augustine's historic downtown on foot, Anastasia Island's restaurants and beaches a short walk away

A Marina Built for Serious Boats

The marina is the hotel's real signature: twenty-four floating concrete docks with enough approach depth and power service to take a 103-foot yacht, plus fuel nearby, showers, laundry and a boater's lounge. Slips rent by the day, week or month, which means Marker 8 functions as a stopover for boats working down the Intracoastal as readily as it does a hotel for anyone who simply likes watching the traffic on the water.

Rooms and a Pool Facing the Water

Inside, the signature suites keep things straightforward, king or queen beds, a fridge, a private bath, cable television, with the emphasis placed on the view rather than on decoration for its own sake. The heated pool carries that logic outside, set to look across the bay toward downtown rather than tucked behind the building, so the water stays in view whether a guest is in the room or beside the pool.

The Deck, the Bar, and Sundown Over the Bay

Marker 8's 1,700 square feet of deck, bar and banquet space is built for the hour when the light goes gold over the Matanzas River, with the Bridge of Lions and downtown St. Augustine as the backdrop. It is where the hotel's two audiences meet, guests who arrived by car and boaters who tied up for the night, over a drink with the same view everyone came for.