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3463 reviews
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Jul 08, 2025Desert Ridge delivers mixed bag in 4th of July Staycation
Here’s everything you need to know as you plan your stay in a three-minute read. Our experience was a mixed bag and hopefully this review will assist your planning and expectations for your future stay. Staycations are a lot about hanging out and enjoying the hotel property. It’s been 10 years since our last staycation at the Marriott Desert Ridge and a lot has changed. The hotel completed a major renovation project a few years back with noticeable upgrades to their pool area, specifically a new waterpark that is great for kids say 9 and up. Other changes: the conspicuous presence of lifeguards (a good thing) and security checking wristbands, bags & backpacks for alcohol at every entrance. If you are a fan of the “stealth beer” to avoid the $12 beer ($10 plus a mandatory 20% service change for all food and beverage at the pool) you’ll need to get creative. There was even a Scottsdale uniformed police officer there on the fourth of July weekend. Recommended that one avoids holiday weekends as the pool area was inundated with day trippers on the 4th of July. The very cleaver folks in the Marriott marketing department have found creative ways to monetize your Marriott experience at seemingly every turn. Gone are the days when you simply picked any spot to lay out your towel and pool survival kit. Now, more than 50% of the seating is reserved; chairs start at $150 with more expensive cabana options extending into several hundred dollars. This situation has led to a long line of guests (I estimated over 150 the morning of 7/4) queuing up for the 8AM “Battle Royale” of free seat wars. Within 45 minutes everyone had completed the “towel and book” claim on their real estate then left the pool area for breakfast. Unless you want to enter the arena and play the Hunger Games for seats, you’ll just have to buck up. So, we did; choosing paid seats in the adults only pool area where we anticipated some serenity from the zoo of a scene at the other pools overrun with 3–15-year-olds. This was where this service/experience went off the rails. A DJ showed up playing music that was defining. All 14 guests at the adult pool banded together to complain and asked that the volume be turned down only to be met with literal tone def “supervisors”, two of them who refused to comply siting some type of “summer fiesta” that hotel was sponsoring. Stunning that when 100% of guests ask respectfully to lower the volume a tad that somehow these pin head supervisors just did not get it; some serious managerial counseling is in order. All that said, our pool server, Tori, was one of the most attentive and friendly we’ve experienced – high marks! Another recommendation concerns the check-in process – recommend that you bring a copy of your reservation confirmation. Marriott offers several promotional offers and somehow not all of our promotional details flowed through to the front desk team. This created an awkward situation as I was forced to rifle through my phone looking for our reservation confirmation during check in. I detest being put into a position of having to be confrontational with hotel staff but it was only when I produced my documentation that they honored all the terms of the promotion which included a paid upgrade for the Griffin Lounge experience. Both the check in agent and on duty supervisor fumbled this. The Griffin Lounge Experience offers a members only access with a robust breakfast that includes an omelette chef. Lunch includes two kinds of soup, sandwich and salad; dinner is light finger food all accompanied by top-shelf beer, wine and spirits. I am compelled to call attention to the excellent staff working in the lounge on the fourth of July weekend. There were two young chaps in the evening and two ladies that worked the days; all of them were exceptional models of hospitality – thank you for making our experience memorable. Worth it the $300 per day per couple? Given the heat, cost of drinks & food at the pool bars, we chose to hydrate at the pool and consume our food and alcohol in the lounge; a good choice for us. Finally, it’s notable that the Marriott Brand in general, at least domestically, has quietly moved away from free club lounges for guests with elite status – this is in bad form as it literally bites the hand that feeds. The introduction of only pay for lounges pushes the bounds of reasonableness. Want to create that elite lounge experience? Fine, I get it but when your members drink all of the Marriott Kool-Aid (credit card, 500+ nights in the last 15 years enough to make you lifetime platinum) one question will ALWAYS be asked by elite guests…..how is my loyalty being rewarded? At this hotel, it looks to be all pay to play. Just sayn’…..
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Jun 11, 2025A nightmare of a stay
Under no uncertain circumstances would I ever stay at this hotel again.I paid an extra 174.00 for this room. So not worth it. All the light sconce’s were broken one by the bed and the other by the bathroom. The alarm and outlets were broken. The first day we got into the room the showers handle fell off. The coffee maker also was not working. The refrigerator temp was too high and the toilet ran all night. The QR code on the outdoor chairs was not working to place an order. There was food left over from the night before in the hallways and ice room. Th e desk called me and asked me to come down telling me about a problem with my credit card. I went down to the lobby and the agent tried to charge an additional 1950.00 onto my credit card. After showing the agent that the hotel already deducted 1300.00 from my bill she referred me to a female night manager who was very rude and said they needed an additional 500.00 for valet. The lazy river had grates had water holes in the bottom.we stepped on them many times.its very dangerous. Reiterating, I will never stay there again. Being a Bonvoy member I had great stays in Arizona but this was my last at this overpriced hotel. There was even a fire alarm at 1:00am on 6-5-25 and the hotel gave no direction at all besides not answering calls from us and other guests.
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Jun 07, 2025Title: Beautiful Resort but Overpriced and Disorganized During Emergency
We stayed one night at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix for an anniversary staycation. The property itself is stunning — beautifully landscaped grounds, well-designed pools, and a relaxing atmosphere. Our King corner room had a great pool view and was very clean and comfortable. The bathroom was also spacious and well-kept. That said, several things detracted from our experience: • The resort fee was $55, which felt high considering a 350-500$ price per night for room for access to standard amenities like pools and the lazy river. • The gift shop charged $42 for flip-flops, which seemed excessive. • A shrimp cocktail and smoothie poolside cost $59, and the breakfast buffet was $42 per person — both far beyond reasonable pricing. • The most disappointing moment: at 1:00 AM, the fire alarms went off throughout the property. We poked our head out but There were no announcements or guidance from staff. The housekeeping staff was continuing to mop as if nothing was wrong. No evacuation occurred, and the lobby staff showed no concern. At checkout, we were told it was a real emergency, which was alarming considering the lack of communication or response. We asked were the fire was and the lobby agent stated "it was real emergency but we don't know any details. If it had been a real emergency they probably would have evacuated The resort is visually beautiful and relaxing in many ways, but the combination of inflated pricing and lack of clear protocols during a potential emergency made our stay fall short of expectations.
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Jun 05, 2025
One word: FEES
One word: FEES. There’s some really bad communication with the front desk. I could write a really long story about it but I’ll keep it short. Every day they contacted us saying we were $70, then $20, then $30 SHORT for our stay. I kindly asked them why they didn’t just inform us this earlier instead of everyday on our trip. Their answer was “we check it 4 times a day”….On top of that we had a $400 credit for each night booking with Marriott. That was absolutely pointless after them saying we were “short” everyday of our stay. We will not be staying here again. Communicate better with your guest UPFRONT. One more thing-food & drink were sooo pricey. Not worth it
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Jun 03, 2025Glorious Spring Family Vacation
***WARNING: LONG REVIEW*** Our family traveled to the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa this year for four nights to celebrate Easter. A few days before arrival, we were assisted by Evynn at the front desk to answer last-minute questions and requests – she was extremely helpful. The property itself is big (950 guestrooms, including 81 suites) on 300+ acres in the Sonoran Desert, making it Arizona’s largest resort. It’s an easy 15-20 minute drive from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Even though it opened in 2002, the resort and its grounds have been adequately maintained with renovations over the years. We’re sticklers for cleanliness and it delivered. Prior to arriving, we were given the option to pay $50 for an early check-in (12pm) which we did and were graciously checked-in by Hitomi with two connecting rooms on the fourth floor with resort views, overlooking the gardens (resort has six floors total). Ideally, we would have liked to been on the other side of the hallway (Mountain View) facing the “Isle of Capri” and Koi Pond. Additionally, there is a $55 Resort Fee that includes daily WaterPark access; Pickleball/Tennis equipment and court times; daily driving range access at their golf club and two-hour bike rentals. Also on the fourth floor is where the Griffin Club Lounge is located. We paid $150 per adult and $50 per child (ages 3-12) to have daily access to the Club Lounge which had sufficient food and beverage offerings from 7am-9pm with limited alcohol. This allowed our family flexibility to eat when hungry, graze when needed and unlimited water/sodas throughout the day. Club access also grants guests daily access to the Revive Spa & Pool amenities, fitness center and fitness classes. We experienced excellent service in the lounge from Andrew during our stay. Other food options on property include: • Kembara (Asian) – Open Tue-Sat 4pm-9pm, closed Sunday/Monday • Tia Carmen (Southwestern) – Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner – 6:30am-1pm; 5pm-9pm • Just a Splash Pool Bar & Grill – 11am-4pm • Starbucks – 6am-5pm • Desert Ridge Taqueria – located in water park; open for lunch on wknds • Copper Alley Games + Bar + Bites (food available on Fri/Sat evenings) – 8:30am-9pm The resort activities offered during Easter weekend were endless. We weren’t able to do everything but enjoyed: Koi Fish & Turtle Feeding; Bubble Bash Foam Party on the Lawn; and ALL of the offerings on Easter itself as the weather was perfect. We thoroughly enjoyed their annual Easter Sunday Religious Service outside (30min) followed by a petting zoo on the Sunset Lawn. There were also activities with the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt. A few weeks prior to our stay, we made reservations for their Grand Easter Brunch Buffet at Tia Carmen restaurant ($169 per adult/$49 per child – ages 5-12yrs…..NOTE: Buffet price does NOT include any alcohol/wine/mimosas) but was a huge display of Southwestern and Asian Cuisines: a highlight was fresh Sushi being rolled to order as well as traditional breakfast items and desserts – we spent 2 hours eating our money’s worth!!!! And for the entire duration of our stay, we enjoyed their on-site AquaRidge Water Park with a lazy river; 2 splash pads; Wildfire Grove main pool; waterfall tower; activity pool ; three large water slides (Waterpark Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5; Sat/Sun 9-5). Resort pools are open from 8am-10pm. We are very well traveled and are typically hyper-observant and hyper-critical of every resort we stay at – and for the most part, we were super pleased and only noted trivial details which says a lot! • No makeup mirrors in the bathroom made it challenging to insert contact lenses! • Resort offers Pepsi products as opposed to Coca-Cola products • In-Room Dining options were super limited and not great • This property is part of ResortPass so large numbers of families infiltrated the resort using DayPasses during our stay which made competition for pool loungers challenging – we ended up getting one or two side-by-side loungers which was okay since we did the Water Park and Lazy River mostly but witnessed many frustrated resort guests wandering to claim a chair or two. PRO TIPS: • Self-parking at the resort is super easy to come and go • Anything you need is merely a half-mile down the street from the resort at Desert Ridge Marketplace (Target; Huge Albertson’s grocery store with liquor store attached; Smoothie King; Sub shop; Nail salon; Einstein Bagels; CVS; BJs Restaurant; AMC movie theater; Old Navy; Fly Bye Pizza; In N Out Burger) • A MUST SEE: Go to the OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale (15-20min away from resort) – it’s the largest aquarium in the Southwest and has the world’s only rotating aquarium experience (the Voyager)….and there’s even a shark tank in the lower-level bathrooms! It’s home to 6,000 animals/300 species and it’s super clean – nearly all of the tanks were spotless. In closing, the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge was a wonderful family vacation over Easter where many memories were made. This property is a mirror image of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in its size and in being family-friendly with the water slides and lazy river. Having been to both properties, we prefer Desert Ridge far more than San Antonio for many reasons – the Griffin Club Lounge and Moutain View Backdrops. We highly recommend considering this Arizona resort for an Easter getaway – the climate is perfect that time of year and all of the activities offered for kids cannot be beat – and we had zero service issues during our stay. We look forward to returning to the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa again soon - a job well done to Management & Staff!