carzaddict

we ended up staying at the Phoenecian. nice resort. The first day was the Sunday of labor day weekend, so the hotel was PACKED...so there were no upgrades available. On the next day, the hotel started thinning out. I asked the desk if there were any suites available now that people were leaving, sure enough they upgraded me! the rest of the week the hotel was a ghost town. literally had the whole lazy river to myself

One thing i thought was really nice that they did: I called to ask where the club lounge was, they mentioned that they dont have one. ok fine, no problem. later that day i get to my room and see a bottle of wine and some chocolates with a handwritten note apologizing for not having a club lounge. absolutely didnt have to do that, but was a nice touch.

damon88

We had a wonderful stay at the Phoenician Residences over Thanksgiving. We booked it back when we could snag 60K/night We stayed 8 nights and were sad to leave. It is a great property and our new "go to" for a quick getaway. Even at the new points redemption I think it is one of the best values in the portfolio.

shanna135

Flying into PHX and want to stay one night using a Marriott 25000 certificate or Hyatt cat. 4 cerificate before driving to Tucson. Don't want to drive far because it'll be rush hour when we arrive. Thanks for any ones help.

UA-NYC

A Hyatt Cat 4 (w/o Peak controls) will go a lot further than a Marriott 25K

Kacee

I don't necessarily agree with that in Phoenix. The three decent Hyatt resorts are all Cat 5. The only Cat 4 or lower that I would consider is Mission Palms in Tempe.

Marriott has a wealth of 25k options in the Valley. I've stayed at the AC Biltmore, which is not bad at all, though it's the wrong direction if heading to Tucson. Something in Tempe or Chandler area would be more convenient for that. Many places have free parking, so look out for the ones that charge!

Note that Tucson is an easy 90 minute drive (less if you're heading to North Tucson), so you might consider just driving through.

TheTravelPlaybook

I just stayed at the Moxy Phoenix/Tempe ASU and didn't see a thread. Really thought the lobby was one of the most well thought out ones I've been to, though unfortunately all geared towards pre-COVID interactivity. I did play a few rounds of pinball on the machines in the lobby. Rooms were small, but had some great touches. I took a video of the property in case anyone was interested in what it looks like:

Jaimito Cartero

I stayed at my first Moxy last month, in BDO. Wasn’t really familiar with the brand. The rooms look similar to your video, but all the other amenities look far superior at the Phoenix/Tempe location. Still, an interesting concept, even if you’re not a millennial.

Kacee

Just spent six nights here. With free parking and no resort fees, this is an excellent extended stay option in North Scottsdale. Booked the "smaller 1 BR villa" and despite upgrades supposedly not being a Vistana benefit, was upgraded to the larger 1 BR villa. Not really a villa, but a large 1BR suite, with full kitchen, w/d, dining table, and separate living and bedrooms. We heard nothing from adjoining rooms. Location is excellent, assuming you have a car. Minimal dining options onsite (just the poolside bar, during the afternoon, with an extremely limited snack menu). Adults pool was closed (not quite sure of the logic there, with capacity controls in place at the main pool). So perhaps not a great choice if you're seeking a resort atmosphere.

cfabar1

Is the JW Marriott Camelback Inn a nice resort? How does it compare to Phoencian? Is it much worse? Looking for somewhere to relax, have nice meals, recouperate for a 4 day stay in October. Also considering Miraval Arizona.

Kacee

It's a historic property which in years past has justly been called the jewel of the Marriott system. Physically it's gorgeous, in many respects nicer than the Phoenician, particularly the desert landscaping and views of Camelback. They've recently renovated the rooms. Personally I'm not a fan of the new furnishings, but YMMV. Service has in recent years been extremely hit or miss IME, and they've fired much of the long-time staff. I've had particular issues with room assignments my last half-dozen stays. They have done a good job during the pandemic providing an elite breakfast (as has Phoenician). The main pool is unimpressive (certainly less so than Phoenician's), but the spa pool is very nice. Personally I prefer the Paradise Valley location and overall feel to Phoenician but that's a matter of personal preference.
You understand that Miraval is outside Tucson, nearly two hours south of Phoenix, right?

CMK10

I like this hotel a lot but if you're expecting a traditional "resort" then you might feel disappointed. There aren't pools in front of every cluster of rooms or water slides or anything like this. It's a classic desert oasis that incorporates the landscape into its amenities and has a traditional adobe feel to its rooms. If that's what you're looking for you'll be happy, if you're looking for the most Orlando feel of a property the Hilton Tapatio Cliffs or Squaw Peak might be more to your liking.

cfabar1

Thanks for this. We are looking for somewhere that feels restful, a little more secluded, and in nature, but still have some resort amenities, spa, good food, etc.. Somewhere where upon arrival we can leave, if we wish, or not need to, given the relatively short stay. Based on what I am reading, I think this might just be the perfect place to go.

Kacee

Sounds like a good choice for that. I like the Signature View Casitas up near the spa (500/600 series, with 619 my favorite). These are junior suite sized rooms, many with gorgeous views of Camelback. If you book any kind of spa treatment, you get full spa access for the day, including the pool. They also sell a day pass for $30. If you go, be sure to check out the historic pics in the lobby (like Jimmy Stewart standing in the chow line).

The only thing I'll caution is that service has slipped since they opened the big conference center two years ago, as the focus has changed from personalized service to a more corporate events-focused property.

PurdueFlyer

Just returned from a 4-night stay at the Aloft Tempe. $91 / night rate. I didn't get any nibbles on my original post asking for experience, so I thought I would do a mini-report.

Checked in around 4pm and was booked into my requested room with a king bed. The hotel is shaped like a lower-case letter "r" ... I was on the northwest side of the building. This side faces the 202 freeway. There was quite a bit of noise on this side- not so much from the freeway itself, but from traffic gunning the accelerator on the on-ramp. Normally I don't mind that steady hum of traffic, but this was noticeable. I called the front desk and they switched me to the back side of the property facing the pool. This was a huge improvement and I had no noise issues for the remainder of the stay. I would highly recommend requesting a room on the pool side of the property.

At check-in, the front desk guy said "because of COVID, there's no breakfast" for Elites and offered the points. Since everything in Arizona is open, I pressed him about this. He disappeared into the back office (presumably to ask a manager) and when he came back, said "I misspoke, we do offer a grab-and-go bag in the morning, but if you want anything hot prepared for you, it'll be an extra charge." It's been about 2 years since I stayed in any Aloft property, and I thought they offered some type of hot items on demand, but that Elites got some type of credit they could apply to that. I don't know if thats still the case or not, but I'm not a huge breakfast guy anyways, so I didn't press the issue further. Technically they were offering SOMETHING.

However, I woke up the next morning (I slept in late) and went downstairs and asked the desk if the grab-n-go bags were still available, and the agent looked at me weird and said "grab-n-go? we don't do those..." OK great. What are you doing for Titanium breakfast then? She said I could select from the items on the counter that were laid out (similar to the Market items at Courtyards) and that I could take a bagel or piece of fruit or something ... she didn't say I had a price or quantity limit, although there was a price sheet on the counter, presumably for the common folk. They had those Otis Spunkmeyer muffins under a glass dome, the big 400 calorie gut-bomb sized ones, so I took one of those. They also have an espresso machine and a large carafe of coffee. However 3 out of the 4 days I went down for brekkie, the coffee was empty. I had to ask the desk if they could make more. They were always happy to do it, and only took about 5 minutes, but I felt like the whole consistency of the breakfast offerings and coffee supply were choppy at best. It just didn't seem to be a priority for them, but again, it was technically offered, but the process wasn't too polished.

Brekkie aside, everything else was fine. Parking at the hotel was free & also had a few electric charging stations incase you have a hybrid vehicle. There is a small plaza adjacent to the hotel, which has a Starbucks, Jersey Mikes and In-n-Out among the bigger eateries. The hotel is right by the Scottsdale / Rural Road bridge on the north side of the river, which you can walk across towards the ASU football stadium and into Tempe proper. There are walking / jogging paths along both banks of the river, although the north bank path is sandwiched between the freeway and the river, so there aren't really many establishments within walking distance of the hotel aside from that little plaza. Mill Avenue in Tempe is about a 1 mile walk away, which has ample food and retail diversions. But its great if you are wanting to jog or bike. The path continues north of the hotel and connects to Vista del Camino Park, El Dorado Park, and Chapparal Park right up into the heart of Scottsdale.

Overall, a good stay (and great value) for the rate, but if you're gonna be there for more than 2-3 nights you'll probably want a car do to any kind of exploring.

Out of my Element

Looking for Luxury for a 5 night stay in October in Phoenix/Scottsdale, using points (pay 4 stay 5). We were hoping to return to Bahia Beach in PR and might still do so, but recent reviews have been pretty bad. We would prefer a Cat 6 or 7, but for the right property a Category 8 would work. 2 Adults

We need at least one good pool where we don't have to fight for loungers as well as a hot tub.
Don't mind being in a hotel building as opposed to a Casita.
Currently Platinum, so chance for an upgrade is nice, but a good Plat Breakfast would be very important.
We are fine being an hour or so from Phoenix or Scottsdale, as we expect to spend our days hiking and driving in beautiful areas

We enjoyed the JW Marriott Desert Springs for a short visit in late 2019, if that helps with things we like. And we used to love the S.R. Monarch Beach, but that's not an option

Based on a quick search at Marriott.com, I think we have 8 choices:

JW Phoenix Desert Ridge
JW Scottsdale Camelback
Phoenician
Westin Kierland
Sheraton Grand Wild Horse
Westin Kierland Villas
Marriott Phoenix Resort Tempe (?)
Marriott's Canyon Villas (?)

Thanks for the input!