Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
#76
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: MIA
Programs: AA EXP (AC), DL G (SC), Bonvoy LTP, & IHG AMB
Posts: 1,798
Thanks for the review, TheTravelPlaybook. We've been looking at the three Hyatt resorts in Scottsdale for an October holiday week-end. The facilities look impressive and I'm very impressed with the Globalist amenities offered. Pretty generous.
#81
#82
Join Date: Jun 2015
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Delta GM, Marriott Platinum Premier
Posts: 161
Just got back from a 3-night stay here and we enjoyed it! We had reached out via our Hyatt Concierge before to let them know that my wife and I were here for our babymoon and they had some chocolate and sparkling cider in our room waiting for us. We were upgraded to an XL room (not sure the room types anymore since they seem to have changed the names) and really enjoyed the spacious bathroom and shower. I was hoping for a suite upgrade, but it appears that there are only 4 for the entire property and a presidential suite right near the pool that looked nice.
Breakfast food quality in Weft & Warp was great each morning with everything proactively taken off of the bill before checkout. The service left a little to be desired though with slow food delivery times and having to ask for re-fills of water. Pool was nice, but the waitstaff seemed overwhelmed especially on Saturday until a few manager's showed up to help with drink orders and such. The burger I had at the pool left something to be desired so we decided not to eat on property for lunch or supper the other nights. My wife also enjoyed the spa amenities one day and really enjoyed it, saying that she thought the spa was at a similar level of the Andaz Mayakoba. It would have been nice if they offered free use of spa amenities for globalist's since they wanted me to pay for a $20 day pass. One minor housekeeping fail where they forgot to re-fill the toilet paper one day, but that was quickly fixed within about 30 minutes.
Overall a great stay, but maybe not $400 level (the rates over the days we stayed).
Breakfast food quality in Weft & Warp was great each morning with everything proactively taken off of the bill before checkout. The service left a little to be desired though with slow food delivery times and having to ask for re-fills of water. Pool was nice, but the waitstaff seemed overwhelmed especially on Saturday until a few manager's showed up to help with drink orders and such. The burger I had at the pool left something to be desired so we decided not to eat on property for lunch or supper the other nights. My wife also enjoyed the spa amenities one day and really enjoyed it, saying that she thought the spa was at a similar level of the Andaz Mayakoba. It would have been nice if they offered free use of spa amenities for globalist's since they wanted me to pay for a $20 day pass. One minor housekeeping fail where they forgot to re-fill the toilet paper one day, but that was quickly fixed within about 30 minutes.
Overall a great stay, but maybe not $400 level (the rates over the days we stayed).
#83
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Silicon Valley
Programs: Hyatt Diamond since 1989, Singapore Air PPS now Gold, AA Gold Since 1982, Starwood Gold
Posts: 18
Underwhelmed, Not up to par with Andaz Brand/cost
As a loyal lifetime for 30 years who hardly ever complains. I wanted to inform you of my huge disappointment at the Andaz Scottsdale stay as I was only Expecting the new property to exceed Hyatt Gainey ranch and it was a huge miss at this price point.
I am rarely disappointed by the Hyatt experience but baffled by the strategy on Andaz Scottsdale. Here are my thoughts for Hyatt CMO and loyal FlyerTalk members which I am happy to discuss:
1- There are only 4 suites which is unacceptable for an Andaz and other than one presidents suite, they are 500 SQ ft. Huge land to work with, should be 800-1200 sq ft.
2- Non suite upgrade rooms are small at 485sq ft with low ceilings, room is dark with no skylight and no view of the mountains. Very disappointed given the vast land bank they could have leveraged.
Full Glass door rear entrance near bathroom could provide easy break-in access or peeping over wall. Furnishing/Wood/linen/sheets were premium Ikea not even close to W 600 thread linen count or high grade wood. The shower is overly large for a 485 Sq ft room and could fit 10 people. This is not a smart use of space. A Smart decision would be to have rooftop access with a view of the mountains to leverage natural Scottsdale surroundings
3- Poor Service for a one year old hotel. (Front Desk was pleasant). Housekeeping woke me up at 9am despite having my Do NOT disturb sign on the door. Breakfast service was very slow as they were understaffed.
4- One restaurant option is not enough and the breakfast quality was average for Andaz with very limited 5 breakfast choices. The coffee was discussed as high end but tasted burnt like Starbuck's. They could learn from Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle which uses high end victrola beans dispensed from a high end La Marzocco machine. This is what Andaz guests expect at this price range, Americans have become more sophisticated and automatic machines don’t cut it especially for Millenials whose benchmark is Blue Bottle coffee, not Starbucks.
5- There is NO signage upon driving in to the property and it is very dark at night and i had to get out of my car and confirm which building was check-in after 15 minutes circling the round about parking lot/very frustrating. The lighting as I walk the property and signage is also very dark and minimal signage is not crisp with direction and no large signage on multiple buildings. I have to approach a room within 2 feet to read the number of the room. This could be interpreted as peeping by some guests. I also could not find my car as I got lost on the property and I was mentally fit with no alcohol and a veteran of over 150 Hyatt Globally for 30 years as a Lifetime.
When i asked the employees, they were candid and said they get many complaints and the owner preferred the low lighting and lack of signage as they believe it creates a certain mood. Form over function and poor user experience.
I will be very direct in saying the mood i got is that I did not get "andaz" brand value with all of the above trouble and will go out of my way to recommend my companies/friends do NOT stay at this property given the multiple problems. .
Who at Hyatt HQ approved a property with Andaz branding with bad architectural design, poor service/food and no special touches like a view of the mountains in Scottsdale from the room or basic natural light? There is no brand consistency with the other 5 Andaz's I have stayed at which are outstanding. This new property smacks of a CPA accounting leader in charge of design trying to meet a low price point per construction cost per room.
In Scottsdale where’there are numerous high end properties at Andaz price point with luxury/elegance and high end experience/service like Four Season’s, Biltmore/Westin and even lower priced Hyatt Gainey ranch, Hyatt HQ has to deliver above the bar of competitors. No surprise during one of the busiest weeks Scottsdale Auto auctions that there were many rooms open at Andaz Scottsdale. Word gets out on poor value
I am obviously a huge fan of the Hyatt brand and Andaz brand and this is one of my only poor experiences I have had in 30 years. I am merely a lifetime but if i worked at Hyatt, I would deflag the property or downgrade it to a regular Hyatt as the local hyattGainey Ranch experience is way more Andaz than the Andaz Scottsdale.
I am rarely disappointed by the Hyatt experience but baffled by the strategy on Andaz Scottsdale. Here are my thoughts for Hyatt CMO and loyal FlyerTalk members which I am happy to discuss:
1- There are only 4 suites which is unacceptable for an Andaz and other than one presidents suite, they are 500 SQ ft. Huge land to work with, should be 800-1200 sq ft.
2- Non suite upgrade rooms are small at 485sq ft with low ceilings, room is dark with no skylight and no view of the mountains. Very disappointed given the vast land bank they could have leveraged.
Full Glass door rear entrance near bathroom could provide easy break-in access or peeping over wall. Furnishing/Wood/linen/sheets were premium Ikea not even close to W 600 thread linen count or high grade wood. The shower is overly large for a 485 Sq ft room and could fit 10 people. This is not a smart use of space. A Smart decision would be to have rooftop access with a view of the mountains to leverage natural Scottsdale surroundings
3- Poor Service for a one year old hotel. (Front Desk was pleasant). Housekeeping woke me up at 9am despite having my Do NOT disturb sign on the door. Breakfast service was very slow as they were understaffed.
4- One restaurant option is not enough and the breakfast quality was average for Andaz with very limited 5 breakfast choices. The coffee was discussed as high end but tasted burnt like Starbuck's. They could learn from Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle which uses high end victrola beans dispensed from a high end La Marzocco machine. This is what Andaz guests expect at this price range, Americans have become more sophisticated and automatic machines don’t cut it especially for Millenials whose benchmark is Blue Bottle coffee, not Starbucks.
5- There is NO signage upon driving in to the property and it is very dark at night and i had to get out of my car and confirm which building was check-in after 15 minutes circling the round about parking lot/very frustrating. The lighting as I walk the property and signage is also very dark and minimal signage is not crisp with direction and no large signage on multiple buildings. I have to approach a room within 2 feet to read the number of the room. This could be interpreted as peeping by some guests. I also could not find my car as I got lost on the property and I was mentally fit with no alcohol and a veteran of over 150 Hyatt Globally for 30 years as a Lifetime.
When i asked the employees, they were candid and said they get many complaints and the owner preferred the low lighting and lack of signage as they believe it creates a certain mood. Form over function and poor user experience.
I will be very direct in saying the mood i got is that I did not get "andaz" brand value with all of the above trouble and will go out of my way to recommend my companies/friends do NOT stay at this property given the multiple problems. .
Who at Hyatt HQ approved a property with Andaz branding with bad architectural design, poor service/food and no special touches like a view of the mountains in Scottsdale from the room or basic natural light? There is no brand consistency with the other 5 Andaz's I have stayed at which are outstanding. This new property smacks of a CPA accounting leader in charge of design trying to meet a low price point per construction cost per room.
In Scottsdale where’there are numerous high end properties at Andaz price point with luxury/elegance and high end experience/service like Four Season’s, Biltmore/Westin and even lower priced Hyatt Gainey ranch, Hyatt HQ has to deliver above the bar of competitors. No surprise during one of the busiest weeks Scottsdale Auto auctions that there were many rooms open at Andaz Scottsdale. Word gets out on poor value
I am obviously a huge fan of the Hyatt brand and Andaz brand and this is one of my only poor experiences I have had in 30 years. I am merely a lifetime but if i worked at Hyatt, I would deflag the property or downgrade it to a regular Hyatt as the local hyattGainey Ranch experience is way more Andaz than the Andaz Scottsdale.
Last edited by gtarr; Feb 4, 2018 at 12:19 pm Reason: Clarification/typo
#85
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 449
I think the food is quite good. It’s all menu ordering, no buffet. They make their own hot sauce in house. I believe they have 3 different types, all quite tasty.
#86
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Whitefish, Montana
Programs: Four Seasons PP, RW Elite, Dorchester Diamond, Virtuoso, PenClub, Privé, Oetker Pearl, etc.
Posts: 142
We recently stayed at the Andaz Scottsdale and loved it. Breakfast & dinner at Weft & Warp Art Bar + Kitchen were excellent. The pool is on the smaller side as compared to other Scottsdale resorts, but has a great vibe with plenty of umbrellas, cabanas, corn hole, beautiful views of Camelback Mountain, and excellent service from Turquoise, the pool side bar. We also took advantage of their complimentary Tesla house car that will run you around within a 5 mile radius of the resort between 7am - 7pm.
In addition to a fourth night free offer, they are also offering amazing nightly rates through the summer. I just booked a 1-night stay for a client at the $159.00 Prive rate, which also includes $100 Property Credit, full daily breakfast for 2 at Weft + Warp, confirmed upgrade at booking if available, etc. A truly phenomenal value for a quick getaway at this excellent resort.
In addition to a fourth night free offer, they are also offering amazing nightly rates through the summer. I just booked a 1-night stay for a client at the $159.00 Prive rate, which also includes $100 Property Credit, full daily breakfast for 2 at Weft + Warp, confirmed upgrade at booking if available, etc. A truly phenomenal value for a quick getaway at this excellent resort.
#88
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Whitefish, Montana
Programs: Four Seasons PP, RW Elite, Dorchester Diamond, Virtuoso, PenClub, Privé, Oetker Pearl, etc.
Posts: 142
#89
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,413