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The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, AZ [Master Thread]
Introduction Having never stayed at a true 5 star resort, I was quite excited when I came across the The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, while looking at American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts list close to me. Located less than two hours from Phoenix, and a quick drive to Tucson, The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain was a perfect location for a weekend staycation for my wife and I. Back to booking the property. The listed price on the Fine Hotels & Resorts booking page for a Saturday night in the summer, was $139. This came with a $100 resort credit, good for anything at the resort except for room price and golf, a $65 breakfast for two at CORE KITCHEN & WINE BAR, as well as 12:00 noon check-in (when available) and 4:00pm checkout (guaranteed). Booking through the AMEX travel portal gained me 5x AMEX points and allowed me to put in my Marriott Bonvoy number for Gold status perks. Check In Staying one night, and having booked through the Fine Hotels & Resorts website, we wanted to arrive early, to soak in all the hotel amenities. We arrived around 1:00pm. Upon entering the property grounds, you go through a security guard at a gated entrance. Simply give your last name and you will be allowed to enter the property. The hotel is about one mile up the road from the gate. Entering the area, valets are quick to greet you. Valet is included in the hefty $50 (plus $7 tax) resort fee. I had read online that the property will happily subtract $21 from your resort fee if you self park. I asked the valet if any self park option was available, he said there was, but it was a five minute walk away. Seeing as it was 100+ degrees and I had my wife with me, I decided to just eat the valet fee. Entering the lobby the doorman and valet were polite and helpful in directing me to the check-in area. We were told our room was not ready and the hotel was at full capacity. Although the noon check-in is never guaranteed, this was an unpleasant way to start the trip. The front desk offered us cold water while we waited, and went over the hotel amenities. We were thanked for being Bonvoy gold members, and offered 500 bonus points and a 2:00pm late checkout, which we did not need. About an hour after check-in, we were called by the front desk and told our room was ready. It was a little weird in the waiting time. Wasn't really a bathroom that was convenient to check into. One thing I'd advise hotels to do when rooms aren't available with members with status to check into is, offer some sort of drink. Even a buy one-get-one drink at the lobby bar could go a long way. Check-In: 3 out of 5 Room We were upgraded (I think) to a CANYON VIEW ROOM. The view overlooked the front valet area of the hotel and the Canyon of Dove Mountain. The view was good, but nothing spectacular. The room has a southwestern design. The room featured a king bed with 400-thread count linens by Frette. Chair and otter-man. Table with two chairs. 55 inch TV. Six Nespresso coffee pods. Two bottles of water. Refrigerator. Large walk in closet. And a balcony with a table and two chairs. The bathroom was large with full marble, a separate bathtub and shower, Rainforest Shower Head Oversized soaking tubs Double sink and a Lighted shaving/make-up mirror.Room: 4.5 out of 5 Service The service at the hotel is excellent. All employees greet you by your last name when known. They are down to earth and not pretentious. The concierge desk was very helpful in making reservations, helping you find resort amenities and anything else that you need. The only thing I overheard while at the resort, were people at the pool complaining about pool side service. The pool was packed due to a conference and families taking one final trip before school starts. One person I overheard said he was waiting over 30 minutes for his drink to arrive. The servers were doing the best they could with what they had. But, I suppose people at a 5 star resort expect instant service. On Sunday pool side service was instant when we needed it, and we had zero complaints. Service: 5 out of 5 Pool The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain features three pools. We only saw two, so I assume the third is at the spa, which we did not go to. The Turquesa Pool is the main resort pool. The views around this area fantastic, overlooking desert mountain landscape and the resort itself. There is plenty of shade around this pool. When we went on Saturday, it was a bit full, but not impossible to find a seat. Towel service is available along with water. This pool, though not exclusive to adults, served as the more adult pool.The Water slide pool was geared more towards family and children. This pool featured, you guessed it, a water slide. The slide was surprisingly pretty good and kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. There is a splash pad also featured at this pool. Pools: 5 out of 5 Dining There are several dining options at the resort. CORE KITCHEN & WINE BAR served as the signature restaurant with SUSHI BAR & SAKE attached to it. IGNITE was a lobby lounge that had a great feel to it. TURQUESA LATIN GRILL served as the poolside bar and restaurant. CAYTON'S BURGER BISTRO was attached to the nearby golf course.We decided in a quest to try as many of the resorts dining options as possible to have dinner at CAYTON'S BURGER BISTRO. There is a continuous shuttle that will take you from the resort to the golf course. This shuttle is never hard to catch.We had a waguburger, which is not on the restaurant website menu, pull apart rolls, a side of crispy cauliflower and mac anc cheese, two drinks and a desert. In total with tip, our bill came to about $80. All options were great and we ordered way too much food. When the server brings you your bill at the end, they will ask if you need a shuttle back to the resort, the shuttle arrived quickly which minimized any wait times. The next morning we used our $65 breakfast credit at CORE KITCHEN & WINE BAR. I ordered BRAISED SHORT RIB & POTATO HASH with orange juice and coffee and my wife had HUEVOS RANCHEROS. Both were really good. The bill came to about $45, and we left the remaining $20 credit as a tip to our server. Breakfast was very filling and left us quite stuffed despite biking and hitting golfballs in the afternoon. Before we checked out and while we were at the pool, we tried poolside service at TURQUESA LATIN GRILL. We ordered three steak tacos and a side of chips, salsa and guacamole. This was an excellent snack. In total, our bill came to $40 including tax. This put us $20 over the $165 credit we received for our stay. Not bad for three meals for two people. Dining: 5 out of 5 Location The location of the resort was in the planned community of Dove mountain. About one hour and 30 minutes from phones and 30-40 minutes from Tucson. There is not a ton sourrounding the resort, so if you're looking for a getway from the hustle of big cities this is your spot. If you want to be closer, and try off site dinning, other hotels suit you better. Location 4.5 out of 5 Resort Fee Value The amenities you receive for the $50 (plus tax) resort fee will be debated. I personally didn't mind this fee, but I'm sure others will. If I were paying $300+ I'm sure the fee would be more annoying. The website lists resort fees covering: Overnight valet parkingUnlimited and enhanced guest room high-speed Internet accessDaily group fitness class located in Movement Studio (i.e. Yoga or Pilates)Access to golf driving range and putting green (club rental included)Unlimited use of specialized mountain and road bikesRecreation activities such as Guided Morning Walk, Desert Friends Experience, family board games, bocce ball, horseshoes and moreUnlimited use of tennis courts (equipment rental included)Evening mixology classSelection of daily newspapers24-Hour use of computer and printing services in Business CenterWe took advantage of valet parking, the driving range and putting green along with club rental and use of mountain bikes.The valet parking, meh, not worth $21, but better than walking 5 minutes with luggage.The driving range and putting green was a cool features. The golf course once played host to a PGA event. So to hit golf balls and putt on a pga course, was pretty cool. The course was much to nice and hard for a person of my skill level. Still, provided a good activity for my wife and I to do. The mountain biking was fun. The trails are very well kept and moderately hard. There is also a ranger station that includes a tortoise. The tortoise is usually out and about in the evening and cool addition. There are snakes, lizards and scorpions that you can view from a safe distance. One thing not listed, was a star gazing telescope the hotel offered every Saturday night. Though it was very cloudy that night, we could still see Jupiter and the moons around it. Pretty cool.Another amenity not listed but perhaps should be, was the access to bottled water at the resort. You could always find someone offering you a cold water. From the valet, to concierge desk, to the check-in staff, to the house keeping, bottled water was constantly being offered to you for no charge. I thought this was a very nice touch and maybe something they might want to list as a good add on to make other people okay with the resort fee. Resort Fee Value: 4 out of 5 Overall This hotel met all of my expectations for a 5 star resort. The rooms were comfortable and the service was nice. Outside of a check in that I wish could have been more favorable for me, I can't complain about anything... Now, with that said, I have stayed at 4 star resorts which offer the same if not better comfort and service. For instance, the Westin Hapuna Beach in Hawaii, I thought exceeded this property. But I am just splitting hairs at this point. From golfers, to families, to a couples weekend out, this is a fantastic place to stay. My total bill, including room, food, resort fee and tax, came out to $191! Exceptional value for a 5 star resort. We will be back. Overall 4.4 out of 5
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Review of Ritz Dove Mountain - October 2020
Note - I am posting this here as well as in the Luxury Travel forum review thread for this property.
Three night stay over Columbus Day weekend 2020. Paid ~$280/night on a AAA rate, plus taxes and the $50/night resort fee. The quick verdict is that this hotel remains one of my favorite Ritz Carltons. It’s really a wonderful hotel in both hard and soft product and it excels in multiple ways for multiple types of guests. Checked in around noon and, even though we’d alerted them to our arrival time, were told our room wasn’t quite ready. We took a seat on the patio at Ignite, and within about ten minutes, got a call that the room was ready for us. We were given a third floor room overlooking the adjacent mountain and event lawns. Hard to say if it counts as an upgraded room (I am platinum) but getting in and unpacking was more important to us than the “highest” room type. Front desk was friendly and efficient, and gave us a great rundown of what the current status was of all outlets and activities due to Covid (more on that later). Rooms seem to have been refreshed since our last visit in 2018 and honestly the hard product of the room - really, the entire hotel - is almost perfect. Lovely, understated decor, spacious room, walk in closet, really nice and spacious bathroom, pleasant balcony with chairs and table in every room, and zero wear and tear. The hotel feels essentially brand new even though it’s gotta be ten years old at this point. One positive and one related quibble on the room design. Positive - the rooms are all designed to be adjoining in that the adjacent rooms are paired with an alcove that serves both doors, and if you book adjacent rooms they use/lock the door on the outside of the alcove so that your rooms are acoustically and physically separated but able to be passed between freely. Great design - except that the negative is the door is directly connected to, and very close to, the wall the bed frame is nailed into. So that when your neighbor slams their door it is loud and shakes the wall and the bed. Our neighbors definitely woke us up with a door closing a couple times. Surprising they didn’t think about this, and it is a real issue. Outside the rooms, the hotel continues to impress. Lovely lobby and a super pleasant bar area and patio - called Ignite - that looks out over the pool area and mountains beyond. It’s a wonderful place for drinks and dinner. Some have noted the exterior design isn’t particularly stylish or impressive. It’s not. It’s brown. I get it. If you want sexy design, you won’t find it. My take is that the hotel is designed to quietly and luxuriously feel a part of its surroundings. In this way I think it succeeds admirably. Anyway, the pool setup is a nice one-two punch of quieter infinity pool on the upper level with hot tub and louder kid-oriented pool on the lower level. The lower pool has an awesome, long, water park quality waterside that is really impressive. Another quibble here would be that the upper pool is obviously designed to be an adult pool. I have no idea why they don’t enforce it as such. If they installed a hot tub at the lower pool and enforced an age limit on the upper I’m sure everyone would be happier about it. Not sure what the reticence is around this question. Service at the pool is outstanding. Everyone remembers your name, even over multiple days, drinks come quickly, and the food quality was very high. Highly recommend the quinoa bowl. In fact, the service and soft product excel pretty much everywhere. The massage was great - exactly what I needed. The spa facility seems to have been refreshed recently and feels pretty new all around. Whirlpools are open but steam and sauna are closed due to Covid. The nicest place in the whole resort is the spa pool complex. I wish we’d spent more time there. It’s very peaceful, they have food and drink service, it has its own whirlpool... it’s perfect. A world away. I can’t compliment it enough. Covid-19 did put some dampers on the stay - the breakfast restaurant was inexplicably closed on our last day when clearly the occupancy was well high enough to support it. Literally dozens of people were in line or waiting to get food at the to-go coffee/breakfast outlet. The spa is also closed Mondays. And the burger place at the golf club is only open for HH and dinner Thursday-Sunday. Moral of the story is call ahead to learn what’s open and plan your visit accordingly. The food at all outlets is excellent. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all of very high quality. The dinner at Ignite was outstanding. I was a bit annoyed with the 1pm checkout granted on our last day, but we pushed it to 1:30 and no one said anything so I’ll call it even. A note on location and resort fee. Location - this hotel is on an island so to speak. It’s the end of the road in the Dove Mountain resort, 40 minutes from Tucson. To me, this is its best attribute. Stunningly beautiful surroundings, ample hiking, great weather, and you never feel crowded even though it’s a large complex. However, know what you’re getting into. Other than the golf club there just isn’t anything nearby. Resort fee - I hate them just like everyone, but this place does better than most in terms of providing value for something you can’t choose to not spend. Includes range balls, tennis balls, tennis racquets, self parking, dozens of bottles of water a day (sorry to all environmentalists), and probably a gallon of sunscreen over the course of a weekend. Was it $150 worth? Likely not, but I didn’t feel ripped off like I usually do with resort fees. On that note, don’t bother to valet. The self parking lot is a three min walk. Overall this is a resort I could come back to again and again. It’s gotten better with age and I continue to be very, very impressed by it. Highly recommended. I can’t wait to return. |
Considering this place for a stay over Thanksgiving. Looks like I can get it on points for a shade over 0.8 cents per point redemption value which seems decent. A few follow-up questions to the post below for anyone who knows the property well.
Originally Posted by Nash_Andrew
(Post 32744564)
Checked in around noon and, even though we’d alerted them to our arrival time, were told our room wasn’t quite ready. We took a seat on the patio at Ignite, and within about ten minutes, got a call that the room was ready for us. We were given a third floor room overlooking the adjacent mountain and event lawns. Hard to say if it counts as an upgraded room (I am platinum) but getting in and unpacking was more important to us than the “highest” room type.
...the negative is the door is directly connected to, and very close to, the wall the bed frame is nailed into. So that when your neighbor slams their door it is loud and shakes the wall and the bed. Our neighbors definitely woke us up with a door closing a couple times. Surprising they didn’t think about this, and it is a real issue. A note on location and resort fee. Location - this hotel is on an island so to speak. It’s the end of the road in the Dove Mountain resort, 40 minutes from Tucson. To me, this is its best attribute. Stunningly beautiful surroundings, ample hiking, great weather, and you never feel crowded even though it’s a large complex. However, know what you’re getting into. Other than the golf club there just isn’t anything nearby. Resort fee - I hate them just like everyone, but this place does better than most in terms of providing value for something you can’t choose to not spend. Includes range balls, tennis balls, tennis racquets, self parking, dozens of bottles of water a day (sorry to all environmentalists), and probably a gallon of sunscreen over the course of a weekend. Was it $150 worth? Likely not, but I didn’t feel ripped off like I usually do with resort fees. On that note, don’t bother to valet. The self parking lot is a three min walk. |
LOVE this property!
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Unfortunately I don’t have enough info to answer your first two questions - but you may simply want to directly ask the front desk for a room that doesn’t have a connecting door vestibule. They’ll understand what you mean I am sure.
To answer your last question, yes, the rental clubs are included to hit balls. Hope you have a great trip! |
We have stayed at Several Ritz properties. This is certainly our favorite
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How is the treatment for Titanium members here, specifically with suite upgrades?
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Here is the original thread. I've asked the mod to combine them.
Mod team suggested to create the WIKI post to direct the discussion to the original thread. Ritz Carlton, Dove Mountain , AZ-- Initial Observations - FlyerTalk Forums |
Originally Posted by Jimgotkp
(Post 32949142)
How is the treatment for Titanium members here, specifically with suite upgrades?
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Originally Posted by ryandc99
(Post 33167223)
I am also very interested in this... anyone?
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Here now, and upgraded to a Canyon View room. We’re here on two free nights. I’m sensing that this is the standard upgrade. Nice property. It’s my wife’s birthday and everyone from the woman at the front gate to the valet wished her “happy birthday”
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Originally Posted by michelin
(Post 33210401)
Here now, and upgraded to a Canyon View room. We’re here on two free nights. I’m sensing that this is the standard upgrade. Nice property. It’s my wife’s birthday and everyone from the woman at the front gate to the valet wished her “happy birthday”
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Originally Posted by Nash_Andrew
(Post 33213431)
Have all the F&B outlets reopened? Some were still operating with limited hours or closed when we were there last fall. And enjoy your stay - one of my favorite Bonvoy properties.
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Originally Posted by michelin
(Post 33217431)
There are still limitations in place, though Core is now open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday (website still says Thursday through Saturday).
We are considering a 5-7 day long stay next month and having a decent mix of on-site dining is key for us. Appreciate any thoughts you may be able to share about dining options or the resort in general (we would be traveling with an infant). Thank you! |
Originally Posted by troyb
(Post 33217938)
Are there any restaurants open every day or is there some sort of rotating schedule? How about service at the pool?
We are considering a 5-7 day long stay next month and having a decent mix of on-site dining is key for us. Appreciate any thoughts you may be able to share about dining options or the resort in general (we would be traveling with an infant). Thank you!
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