Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale [Master Thread]
Jan 19, 2012, 3:59 pm
#136
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: UK
Programs: IHG Diamond Amb, Bonvoy Plat (+LTP), VS Silver
Posts: 1,393
There seems to be an issue over the last day or so on spg.com with the hotel (not the villas). It is not appearing in searches and my future reservation is calling the hotel Null.
Anyone know if this a technical problem or is hotel no longer part of Starwood?
Anyone know if this a technical problem or is hotel no longer part of Starwood?
Jan 19, 2012, 4:04 pm
#137
Join Date: Dec 2010
Programs: spg gold, CO Platinum, MR Gold
Posts: 619
most likely a technical problem since I am on their website right now.
Feb 21, 2012, 12:25 pm
#138
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: UAL SPG Hyatt
Posts: 570
Recent stay over the Presidents' Day weekend at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale. Overall, good experience with a SPG "resort". Summary as follows :
- Upgraded to "deluxe" room as a plat. Basically I think all this is a better view of the golf course.
- Lounge access offered. Good continental breakfast. However, they can do better on the coffee. Maybe get one of those "make by the cup" machines that seem to be cropping up all over the place.
- Room was typical Westin standard, nice and modern, spacious.
- Hotel was pretty crowded with various conventions going on. However, did not seem "overrun" which was nice. It is a huge place so that helped.
- Pool (adult-only and the general kids one) was heated. Air was in the 60s this time of year in Scottsdale so heating much appreciated.
- Pool side food and drinks service was great and reasonably priced.
- Self parking was free.
- Resort fee waived for plat.
- Upgraded to "deluxe" room as a plat. Basically I think all this is a better view of the golf course.
- Lounge access offered. Good continental breakfast. However, they can do better on the coffee. Maybe get one of those "make by the cup" machines that seem to be cropping up all over the place.
- Room was typical Westin standard, nice and modern, spacious.
- Hotel was pretty crowded with various conventions going on. However, did not seem "overrun" which was nice. It is a huge place so that helped.
- Pool (adult-only and the general kids one) was heated. Air was in the 60s this time of year in Scottsdale so heating much appreciated.
- Pool side food and drinks service was great and reasonably priced.
- Self parking was free.
- Resort fee waived for plat.
Jun 15, 2012, 7:17 am
#139
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 930
Anybody ever stay at this resort in July (and survived)? I'm thinking of combining a business trip with pleasure for a few days. Are there umbrellas and shade at the pools? Is it bearable in the shade? Don't want to get upgraded just to spend each day in the room.
Aug 4, 2012, 10:54 am
#140
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA EXP(.96MM), AMEX Platinum, United Premier Silver, Delta Gold, SPG Platinum 50, Hilton Gold VIP
Posts: 1,744
I will be staying here in a few weeks, any recent stays? I'm glad the resort fee is waived for this property. A lot of guests will be staying at this hotel because of the joint 10,000 starpoint bonus in conjunction with the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass 10 year Anniversary promo
Aug 4, 2012, 10:56 am
#141
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA EXP(.96MM), AMEX Platinum, United Premier Silver, Delta Gold, SPG Platinum 50, Hilton Gold VIP
Posts: 1,744
FYI,
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Deseo Restaurant - Temporary Closure
From July 23 through August 29, 2012, Deseo will be closed their annual "Summer Siesta." The dining facility will re-open on August 30, 2012.
Brittlebush Bar & Grill - Temporary Closure
From July 1 through September 30, 2012, Brittlebush Bar & Grill we be closed. The dining facility will re-open on October 1, 2012.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Deseo Restaurant - Temporary Closure
From July 23 through August 29, 2012, Deseo will be closed their annual "Summer Siesta." The dining facility will re-open on August 30, 2012.
Brittlebush Bar & Grill - Temporary Closure
From July 1 through September 30, 2012, Brittlebush Bar & Grill we be closed. The dining facility will re-open on October 1, 2012.
Aug 12, 2012, 6:41 pm
#142
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: PHX
Posts: 4,787
Did a "staycation" for a night to take advantage of the 10year 10k bonus.
Given deluxe room facing golf course on the club floor. Nice room. Standard westin amenities. I loved the view actually. Watched bad, sweaty duffers play the 18th. Lounge was fine -- nice view, cold water bottles and powerade, good cookies. They gave me 500 points, breakfast and waived the resort fee, which I didn't even ask for. Put up a bit of resistence about 4 pm checkout, but gave me 1:30 no problem.
Pool area did not meet expectations. It was nice, but it is supposed to be a selling point. The lazy river was just ok. Slide the same. Chairs were a bit old. Staff was a touch surly, but in their defense it was 115 degrees. Whoever though red brick decking was appropriate in Phoenix wasn't really thinking. People were really struggling to walk around. The golf couse looked beautiful. I have done overnights in other PHX resorts in the summer, and I would put this one relatively low on the list. From out of town the outdoor mall across the street is really nice, I guess, but who comes to Scottsdale and doesn't rent a car? Gainey Hyatt still my favorite.
Given deluxe room facing golf course on the club floor. Nice room. Standard westin amenities. I loved the view actually. Watched bad, sweaty duffers play the 18th. Lounge was fine -- nice view, cold water bottles and powerade, good cookies. They gave me 500 points, breakfast and waived the resort fee, which I didn't even ask for. Put up a bit of resistence about 4 pm checkout, but gave me 1:30 no problem.
Pool area did not meet expectations. It was nice, but it is supposed to be a selling point. The lazy river was just ok. Slide the same. Chairs were a bit old. Staff was a touch surly, but in their defense it was 115 degrees. Whoever though red brick decking was appropriate in Phoenix wasn't really thinking. People were really struggling to walk around. The golf couse looked beautiful. I have done overnights in other PHX resorts in the summer, and I would put this one relatively low on the list. From out of town the outdoor mall across the street is really nice, I guess, but who comes to Scottsdale and doesn't rent a car? Gainey Hyatt still my favorite.
Aug 26, 2012, 10:16 am
#145
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Posts: 1,145
Recent Stay
Here is my full review of the property after staying:
I didn't use a lot of the amenities like the pool and whatnot, so this will be sort of limited. Check-in seemed to take a long time, even as a platinum. I checked in with two other people and I don't know if it is a system issue or what, but took a good 15 mins or more to check us in. Did not get an upgrade even though suites were showing online as available. This is the one times I might actually agree with the hotel when they said there were none available as my friend checking in at the same time asked if suites were available to pay for the upgrade and the FD girl said none were available. Not a big deal; however, I didn't even get put on the club floor. I did have a decent view of the golf course from my patio. Room was spacious (typical Westin room) but I was put pretty much at the end of the hallway, which in this hotel means walking about 200 yards down hallways back to the elevator.
Now for the not so good: We checked in late, around 12:30am. I was happy to hear that room service was still open so ordered some food. Food was decent, nothing special, but outrageously overpriced with their 22% gratuity, $3 delivery charge, and then you almost always feel obligated to tip on top of that. Sandwich and fries came to $31. Now it was time for bed...pull the sheets back and find stains on one of the sheets. Pretty annoyed by this as it was not something housekeeping should have missed. Too late in the day to care, just didn't sleep on that side of the bed. Get up the next day and realize not only was there stains on that one side, but also black dirt or whatever on the top of the sheets, like they had been dragged across the floor. Amazing housekeeping would put these on a bed. I had a fridge in the room, but there was no point, the fridge wouldn't cool anything below maybe 50 degrees, even when I adjusted the setting on it. The sink plug was broken, I actually had to get under the sink and pull the handle manually to get the plug to work properly. Again, housekeeping doesn't notice this when they are cleaning? Also, as I mentioned above, I was given a $25 off coupon for one of their restaurants that wasn't even open. As Eastside pointed out, I guess I could have used it for the lounge, but wasn't told that at check-in, which I think would be a good thing to tell somebody.
I asked for a late checkout when I arrived, and was told 1 was all they could do at that time, but check in the morning on day of checkout and see what was available. I went online the morning of my checkout to see if I could book rooms for that night and there were plenty available it seemed. Went down to the front desk and asked...it was almost like pulling teeth to get a 2pm checkout (when I should be able to get a 4pm no problem). I understand this is a resort and it is based on availability, but it sure seemed like there were plenty of rooms available for that night. Luckily, 2pm worked out just fine, it was still frustrating.
Overall, not a bad hotel, just needs a little attention to details in some areas. I don't think I would stay here again unless I had to. I suppose if you used all the amenities like pool, spa, etc, you might get your money/points worth...but i'd never spend 12K points to stay here. I was here on business and it was close to the office I needed to get to.
I didn't use a lot of the amenities like the pool and whatnot, so this will be sort of limited. Check-in seemed to take a long time, even as a platinum. I checked in with two other people and I don't know if it is a system issue or what, but took a good 15 mins or more to check us in. Did not get an upgrade even though suites were showing online as available. This is the one times I might actually agree with the hotel when they said there were none available as my friend checking in at the same time asked if suites were available to pay for the upgrade and the FD girl said none were available. Not a big deal; however, I didn't even get put on the club floor. I did have a decent view of the golf course from my patio. Room was spacious (typical Westin room) but I was put pretty much at the end of the hallway, which in this hotel means walking about 200 yards down hallways back to the elevator.
Now for the not so good: We checked in late, around 12:30am. I was happy to hear that room service was still open so ordered some food. Food was decent, nothing special, but outrageously overpriced with their 22% gratuity, $3 delivery charge, and then you almost always feel obligated to tip on top of that. Sandwich and fries came to $31. Now it was time for bed...pull the sheets back and find stains on one of the sheets. Pretty annoyed by this as it was not something housekeeping should have missed. Too late in the day to care, just didn't sleep on that side of the bed. Get up the next day and realize not only was there stains on that one side, but also black dirt or whatever on the top of the sheets, like they had been dragged across the floor. Amazing housekeeping would put these on a bed. I had a fridge in the room, but there was no point, the fridge wouldn't cool anything below maybe 50 degrees, even when I adjusted the setting on it. The sink plug was broken, I actually had to get under the sink and pull the handle manually to get the plug to work properly. Again, housekeeping doesn't notice this when they are cleaning? Also, as I mentioned above, I was given a $25 off coupon for one of their restaurants that wasn't even open. As Eastside pointed out, I guess I could have used it for the lounge, but wasn't told that at check-in, which I think would be a good thing to tell somebody.
I asked for a late checkout when I arrived, and was told 1 was all they could do at that time, but check in the morning on day of checkout and see what was available. I went online the morning of my checkout to see if I could book rooms for that night and there were plenty available it seemed. Went down to the front desk and asked...it was almost like pulling teeth to get a 2pm checkout (when I should be able to get a 4pm no problem). I understand this is a resort and it is based on availability, but it sure seemed like there were plenty of rooms available for that night. Luckily, 2pm worked out just fine, it was still frustrating.
Overall, not a bad hotel, just needs a little attention to details in some areas. I don't think I would stay here again unless I had to. I suppose if you used all the amenities like pool, spa, etc, you might get your money/points worth...but i'd never spend 12K points to stay here. I was here on business and it was close to the office I needed to get to.
Aug 28, 2012, 7:16 am
#146
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Pasadena,Ca.,US.
Programs: AA, Delta, United, SPG plat, Hyatt dia
Posts: 7,140
Had a great stay this past weekend.
Really nice/friendly staff
A friend took advantage of a travelzoo spa package http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Phoenix/Spa/23351 and reported back that the spa was excellent.
Free parking(a small hike)and waived resort fee(for Plat's)plus the very nice lounge were the pluses.
Upgrade only to a "deluxe" room and some misses by the housekeeping staff were minuses.
I liked it enough to bite on a package for the time share presentation
Really nice/friendly staff
A friend took advantage of a travelzoo spa package http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Phoenix/Spa/23351 and reported back that the spa was excellent.
Free parking(a small hike)and waived resort fee(for Plat's)plus the very nice lounge were the pluses.
Upgrade only to a "deluxe" room and some misses by the housekeeping staff were minuses.
I liked it enough to bite on a package for the time share presentation
Aug 29, 2012, 10:33 pm
#147
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,393
Had a great stay this past weekend.
Really nice/friendly staff
A friend took advantage of a travelzoo spa package http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Phoenix/Spa/23351 and reported back that the spa was excellent.
Free parking(a small hike)and waived resort fee(for Plat's)plus the very nice lounge were the pluses.
Upgrade only to a "deluxe" room and some misses by the housekeeping staff were minuses.
I liked it enough to bite on a package for the time share presentation
Really nice/friendly staff
A friend took advantage of a travelzoo spa package http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Phoenix/Spa/23351 and reported back that the spa was excellent.
Free parking(a small hike)and waived resort fee(for Plat's)plus the very nice lounge were the pluses.
Upgrade only to a "deluxe" room and some misses by the housekeeping staff were minuses.
I liked it enough to bite on a package for the time share presentation
And I too bit on taking the timeshare presentation. Offered 6500 SPG points. Asked for 10k. Got the 10k.
Aug 30, 2012, 6:37 am
#148
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: YOW
Programs: Aeroplan 25K, Marriott Lifetime Platinum Elite, IHG Gold, Hertz President's Club, VIA Premier
Posts: 283
Approx how long was the presentation? I'm heading there in a couple of weeks. Did they insist that u be married to qualify?
Aug 30, 2012, 7:05 am
#150
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Pasadena,Ca.,US.
Programs: AA, Delta, United, SPG plat, Hyatt dia
Posts: 7,140
I did the prepay TS deal. Just under $400 all in. I will get 7,500 bonus spg points and a $50 resort credit during my stay. This will be a deal during high season when I was planning on returning anyway.There ARE blackouts for this during holiday weekends.
I was promised(in writing)that the TS presentation will take 90-120 minutes.
I was promised(in writing)that the TS presentation will take 90-120 minutes.