My husband and I went to The Phoenician for our 2 years wedding anniveresary last week. The AAA travel agent told us about this hotel and said we should try it once. We often stay at a 5 stars hotels. We don't mind spending on a good services and good meals at the restaurant. It was the worst experience we ever had. We told AAA travel agent not to recommend any to this hotel again. We should have gone to The Four Seasons instead. We would rate this hotel 2 stars for the fact that service was absolutely horrible start from room reservations. Don't ever ask to speak to "Cheryl". She needs to be fired for being rude to her guests. Front Desk staff is NOT properly trained either. Front Desk Manager, Jill, is clueless and rude in every way. We don't mind spending on good food, but restaurant food quality iwas horrible. We were told that service staffs were cut due to low occupancy at the resort. Due to majot dissappoimement at this hotel, we wanted to check out early. Front Desk Manager, Jill, told us that if we checked out early we would be charged for the 2nd day that we were not there. We called Amex right away and stop the payment. Why shoud we pay for the service that we did not use? Low occupancy at the hotel and not enough staffs to service guests are not our problems. General Manager and Revenue Manager of the reseort should have figured this out and solve the problems on their own. Never Again !!

I booked at stay for myself and my daughter for 3-5 July 2008. We were visiting the area to do some shopping. I sent an email requesting a room located close to handicapped parking. A very nice woman called to discuss my needs and she stated that she would assign us a room in the casitas so that I could park right outside of my room. I also enquired about very specific dietary restrictions and if it would be a problem accomodating them (basically, grilled/steamed fish or chicken with steamed vegetables - no spices, sauces) and I was told that they would be happy to assist me. We arrived around 7:30 pm after driving all day. We were given the room keys and we left. Valet was supposed to escort us to our room. They did not. We were not told which building our room was in and we kept pulling in looking for our room number. I had to call the front desk to ask which building we had been assigned to. We were hungry and decided to order room service while we were unpacking. I looked at the menu and there was nothing listed that I was able to eat (it was italian - with spices, heavy sauces, etc) and my daughter only wanted a simple grilled steak and vegetables. So I called (since I HAD been told that they would accomodate my restrictions) and requested grilled fish and steamed veggies for myself and a steak and veggies for my daughter. The woman told me that they would not get food from one of their other restaurants and that we must choose from the menu. We both ordered plain kobe burgers and small salads (greens only). When the food arrived we still had to pick items out of the salad. The next morning my daughter wanted only plain french toast and ordered off the childrens menu and specifically stated "plain". Her food arrived coated in nuts and sitting in a pool of chocolate sauce. I ordered wheat toast hoping that they could handle THIS simple request. On Friday, we returned to the resort to retrieve something from our room before finding a place to dine (one that WOULD accomodate my restrictions) and we could not find any parking at all near our room. People were illegally parked in handicapped parking, double parked and parked in fire lanes. When we returned a few hours later, still the same. We drove to the front desk to speak to the manager and he did not seem to care that there were no available handicapped parking spots and that they had been taken by vehicles that had no authorization to park there. He just stated that many couples arrived, each driving a seperate vehicle, and that alot of their children drove seperately too. I tried to explain that there was an issue of double parking and parking in the fire lanes which besides being illegal, was a safety issue. We left and parked in a parking lot by a golf course and I walked all the way to my room. Two hours later, he called to apologize because he verified that what I had said was true. He claims to have put notices on the vehicles in handicapped parking that displayed no tags, and have notice to the other illegally parked vehicles. He asked about our stay and I told him about the food issues too. He stated that they SHOULD have accomodated my needs. I knew that! I told him that it was not a matter of being "picky" but this was totally unacceptable. What happens if someone has a severe food allergy and they refuse to make any adjustments. He again apologized and offered a free night stay. I told him that we were leaving the following morning. He offered a free night the next time I returned and I told him that I would not stay there again. Too many things wrong, uncaring attitudes, incorrect information, etc. We also had been informed that the spa accepted their last appointment at 7pm since they closed at 8. I called at 5:40 and was told that they quit taking appointments at 5:30. He did not say that they were fully booked, just that I was calling too late to book any spa services. The facilities may look nice, the rooms are spacious....but they do not have the level of service that is expected at a "luxury resort."

I stayed here on a 3 day business trip, for a business convention. The rooms are large and well appointed. The dining is fine ... I attended a special event dinner on the 'lawn area' that was buffet style and pretty good; I also ate several 'working business meals' in their restaurant (the one on the top floor over the lobby, which was buffet style for our business event). Surrounded by golf opportunities (if you like that sort of thing). It was a bit fancy for my liking, but the staff seemed nice. As I recall, was pretty basic on business amenities (seemed you had to pay for some of them) and had I not gotten a corporate rate, it would be too expensive for my tastes. Takes a bit of time to get there from the airport ... not sure of shuttle services, but seemed the easiest way to get there was via car.

I stayed at The Phoenician for 6 nights and have to say that although it was nice, it wasn't all that it was hyped up to be. Pros: - The room was nice and spacious, as was the marble bathroom and balcony (I was lucky enough to face the pool). - The hotel staff was very friendly and accomodating. - The views of Camelback mountain & proximity to Cholla Trail were excellent. (however the resort entrance they tell you to exit to get to the trail is always closed, so you have to climb around the side of the gates to exit) Problems: - The pool....it's small & nothing to write home about considering the size of the resort grounds. The service at the pool wasn't very timely. At least there is an area that is designated for adults only if you are travelling without kids and do not want to be disturbed. - The spa...there was NOTHING special about this spa. There's no easy way to get there from the main resort, besides taking a 5-10 zig zagging walk through & around the pool. The spa is small and looks like it was an afterthought. They have the nerve to charge more than much better resorts without hiring good spa techs. The first day the whirlpool was closed due to maintenance. The second day I return and layed on the massage table I was looking straight up at a rusted vent. Thankfully my massage was comped by the hotel because I would have been mortified if I paid for bad service & lack of amenities. I would never return to this spa (and I'm not sure how they get away with calling it a spa - its more like a locker room). - Restaurants - the on-site restaurants were ok. To be honest, the Oasis pool bar & grill had the best food (try the lobster quesadillas) - Bar - The hotel bar closed at midnight on a Friday night even though there were 8 of us drinking. As we finished our 'last call' drink they must have turned away at least 10 other hotel guests telling them they were closed for the evening. Take note that there is no where to walk to from this resort, so if you just wanted a nightcap, better do so before midnight! If you plan to sit on the gorgeous patio off the main lobby for any amount of time (they have beautiful fire pits & a huge telescope with a resident 'scientist' to assist you) you will notice very quickly that the same ONE elevator song will replay over and over and over again. It will bother you to the point that you have to leave. We complained to the staff who had it turned off for a little while, only to turn on and repeat the same one song over again and again. If I were to return to Scottsdale The Phoenician would be on the bottom of my list. I have now been told that the Royal Palm or Westin Kierland is much better.