JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa

We found ourselves without family for the holidays and decided to visit friends in Phoenix. We landed at the JW with our two little beagle boys in tow thanks to their new pet policy welcoming furry family members. It was a wonderful stay. We loved the fire pit rooms and expansive pet areas near the pet friendly rooms. Ground level - patio door exit for our fur babies needs. Perfect! I also appreciated the Starbucks on property and all the warmth and friendliness received by that staff. We enjoyed our breakfasts at the hotel restaurant and our evenings at the outdoor fire pit area of the hotel. All the servers were attentive and just a delight. We enjoyed our week stay so much that we returned in January to celebrate my birthday! Traveling during Co19 can be a bit daunting. There are so many personal views on this subject, masking etc. Hotels are barely able to stay open at the restricted level of occupancy. My expectation for the JW was exceeded in so many areas - from the accommodations - food -staffing and the beautiful resort grounds. Thank you JW Marriott Phoenix for being open and for helping us make beautiful memories. We are planning to return for our 35th anniversary this summer!

It was a welcome retreat. This was my first post covid hotel stay. The room was so very clean. The lobby seating was appropriately spaced, employees were universally wearing masks, fellow vacationers were also wearing their masks and the hotel had friendly employees to remind people to keep their masks on. JW got it right! And of course the resort itself was lush and beautiful. One pool was closed but the lazy river and the griffin pools were open with plenty of well spaced places to sit.

So, I want to preface this review with the fact that I am kind of a critical person; however, I am honest. I call a spade a spade. If something is great, I will hail it for being so. If not so great, I call that as I see it as well. Now, for this resort, I'll say my wife and I had a pleasant experience. I thought the resort was nice, but I did have a few bones to pick with them. The people that work at the resort were completely awesome! Everyone I encountered was top notch, friendly, and went above and beyond to make sure that we were taken care of! The only problem was that I felt the resort was understaffed at the bell desk area. I have been to many resorts where you can barely pull up to the entrance, and you will immediately be greeted and have someone grabbing your bags. Here, not so much. Even our driver that dropped us off made a comment as to the fact that we had to carry our own bags. I am not trying to sound like a prima donna here, and quite frankly I am perfectly fine carrying my bags. I just do not really see this type of service at a resort that is supposed to be of such high caliber. Once checked in and settled I did a walk around the property it was pretty nice. However, much to my surprise half of the pool area was under construction! Now, again this is understandable, upgrading things is a great thing to do. However, we were completely unaware that this was going on prior to our travels. So, basically the pool area was halved, and then on top of that the other half of that was reserved for "Griffen Club Members". So, us 'common folk' had to crowd in the area that was left. A lot of people had to just grab chairs off the stack (again self service resort) and plop down in some grass where they could find a spot. So, again I get the fact of construction, but I thought it was poorly handled. More so, it was not high class. Relax all day to the sound of jackhammers, ugh! The resort also draws criticism from me for some other basic things. They may chose to blame COVID protocols, but we have been other places that have handled things perfectly. First, I am an early riser and you cannot even get a cup of coffee till 6:30 in the morning. And when you go down to get a coffee (Starbucks is your only option), plan on all of the early risers to be lined up. So, you may be able to get a cup by 6:45, if you are lucky. Furthermore, like coffee you cannot get breakfast till 7:30, unless you want to get something 'snacky' from Starbucks. Now for the golf. I think the golf area is pretty......well just okay. The driving range is good; however, there were no chipping or bunker practice areas. We all know that these are definitely not a given, but for a 'top notch' place you will generally find them. The course is nice, I played the Faldo, and I enjoyed the round. However, I found it to not impress for $300. I have played several courses in the area, and yes at resorts, that were in the neighborhood of half of this one AND just as nice. Again, in total it was all just okay. I know this is long winded, but just wanted to be thorough. I also know that this was quite a bit negative. We did overall have a good trip, but I was just definitely not wowed. The people are great and doing their best, but I think the resort kind of lets them down. I would guess the resort would claim a lot of it's shortcomings on the current COVID situation, but I just feel that this would be a poor excuse. Other resorts are still doing a great job. In the end, if you book this place, I think you will be able to have a good trip. Will I ever stay here again? Ummmm.......probably not.

Attended for a conference. Rooms were great and comfortable. Still no room service due to COVID, bummer. Conference was well hosted and mass meals very well done and presented. Parking there is confusing. Some rates include, others charge; signage is awful. Many enter one way, then back out not being clear what status they are and where they belong. Valet is nice and but an undue expense . . . maybe that is the point.

This was our second stay at the Desert Ridge location. It's a very nice resort with a lot of amenities and awesome location! In fact, we decided to extend our stay a few more days when the weather back here in Chicago was getting worse by the minute. While we did experience a few somewhat frustrating issues with charges we shouldn't have received, the hotel quickly amended and sent a beautiful amenity to the room to make up for it. This is definitely our hotel of choice when visiting the area, which we do fairly regularly. I will second what I've read about how great the food was at Stonegrill! We had breakfast included in our package and were consistently pleased with our food. I will also second the suggestion to have coffee available someplace in the lobby early in the morning. As the hotel filled up on Valentine's Day weekend, on our last day, the line for Starbucks was out the door and past the gift shop, but I will say I was surprised at how quickly it moved.