Wish you were here?
Hotel overview
Property information
{{title}}
Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
3459 reviews
-
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.
-
Jun 05, 2025One 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
-
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!
-
May 16, 2025Great for Relaxation, Not Dining
After having lived in the area for over 17 years, we had stopped at this resort numerous times in the past for drinks, appetizers and dinner meals at the restaurants. Now visiting the are we spent several days taking in the amenities of the resort which we never had the opportunity to enjoy when we lived there. There are so many amenities to utilize as one would e pest from a JW. Staff is very friendly, helpful and attentive to your needs, rooms are nicely furnished and attended to, the pool area is very large with plenty of lounging opportunities. Would have give it five stars, but their restaurants are not places we would ever return to. Two of the feature restaurants are under the same chef and they need to change that. There is not really a restaurant with a full breakfast menu, only specialty items chosen by the same chef. The Meritage restaurant has such a very limited menu that we walked out after reviewing it. When we return, there are so many great dining opportunities in the area outside of the resort. We would recommend dining elsewhere.
-
May 13, 2025
Nice resort, but communication and services can be better
There were some hits and misses during our stay which can be expected of any stay. Pros *The highlight of. our stay was meeting with JC, the onsite gardener with whom we had a great conversation and tour of the garden. He allowed me to make a bouquet for my wife for Mother's Day from the flowers in the garden. *As Titanium, our upgraded suite was nice, allowing us to spread out with a comfortable sofa bed for our son *The property is nicely laid out with nice gardens, although they should update the signs in the Desert Botanic garden area. *Harsh, the front desk manager sent up a nice tray of chocolates for an occasion for my birthday. Challenges * When booking, be aware that there is a $55 + tax resort fee which does not include the $29+tax daily parking fee (a long walk to the room). As I did not take advantage of any of the benefits (golf, pickleball, etc.) the up charge was of no benefit to me. * Although the resort fee includes use of the pool area, it is gated and not open until 8:00 am, so you can't get in an early morning swim. Also, you have to pay an additional fee to sit at any of the prime spots by the pool. Free seating is limited so good luck finding seating with shade. It is this sort of nickel and diming that leaves a bad impression with a hotel guest. When I mentioned to the chat agent about substituting any benefits for the resort fees which were of no use to me, they got surly and said that I should have read the terms and conditions when booking, even though what compromises the resort fees is not mentioned when booking. *Internet service was spotty and the high speed Internet did not work and I tried trouble shooting with the service line to no avail. *I got up early for a tour, but the guide did not show up and the team scrambled to find someone else last minute after waiting for half an hour. * Turndown service is not offered, which was surprising for a high end resort. * No titanium lounge. The Griffin lounge is offered for a fee, again another upcharge. *The restaurant was closed for a Mother's Day event, so rather than being able to enjoy a nice breakfast outdoors on Mother's Day (as we did on the first day), a limited breakfast was. offered in a closed dark ballroom. *After check out, I dropped off the room keys and was told that I could press the help button to get out of the parking lot. When I did so, nobody from valet responded and the cars lining up behind me started getting upset, understandably. I had to call the front desk who called valet to open the gate. This took 15 minutes and was unnecessary and showed the disorganization of the staff.