Scottsdale Western Get Away

Scottsdale and Phoenix are cities that are side by side. The best features of both are available to visitors who choose to stay in either. The winter climate is an ideal escape from snow and ice. The sports facilities are wonderful--featuring golf and tennis--and the variety of restaurants and activities is impressive.

Quick Tips:

Without doubt, study in advance of your arrival. So much information is available to visitors that you can plan much of your stay long prior to arrival. I most enjoyed the Desert Botanical Gardens, as well as Christopher's Brasserie. Don't miss either!

Best Way To Get Around:

Well, I walked a lot and took taxis. I didn't rent a car. A major mistake in such a place. I was limited to the restaurants at the hotel most of the time. A poor alternative in an area with so many fine choices for meals. It was high season, and by the time we decided to rent a car, it was nearly impossible; so plan ahead and enjoy!

This is a vast hotel property of more than 40 acres. The central building includes the restaurants, check-in desk, conference rooms, and J D's Bar. The accommodations are scattered around the acreage in one- and two-story buildings and casitas. There are many sports facilities, including five heated pools, several large spas, five tennis courts, a lush putting green, and over a mile of walking paths through desert gardens. Several golf courses are nearby.

The two-story buildings do not have elevators. If climbing a steep flight of stairs is a problem for you or a member of your party, be sure to reserve a ground-floor room. All "handicapped" rooms are in building 100. Some of the suites and casitas are also two stories.

This is a world where traditionally winter visitors stay for a long time--several weeks of the season. All of the bedrooms are large with plenty of closet and drawer space. However, many of the two-bedded rooms have beds much smaller than king size. I believe ours were doubles. All bath products come in generously sized containers in the "Sonoran Breeze" scent exclusive to the resort.

Fair warning. Your bill will include a mandatory daily charge of up to $2 for the housekeeping staff and a frequent charge of $8 for the bell staff. On my bill, that was on day of arrival and also departure. I have never encountered this anywhere else in the world, and I didn't care for it.

Not fancy, posh or heavily decorated, I would say that the style of this resort is a couple levels above Holiday Inn so far as the bedrooms are concerned. The public areas have traditional furnishings with a slight touch of the Southwest.

I am only giving this resort a "recommended" rating due to the mandatory tip policy and strange problems with service, and the restaurants, which were mostly unavailable. Most of the guests seemed to vacate the resort for dinners elsewhere. Chicken-or-the-egg argument on this. Did they go elsewhere because the resort restaurants were not good, or did the restaurants become poor because they were little used? I will leave the decision to you.

This is a wonderful place to stay, as the attention to detail in this former Embassy Suites is amazing. My room (#287) had the usual living room with kitchenette, bathroom and bedroom with two beds, two large dressers, etc. The improvement over the old Embassy Suites is in the details. A full set of dishes and silverware in the kitchenette--all wrapped in plastic. Plenty of towels, shampoos and other goos and daily newspapers. A TV at each end of the suite with dozens of channels. Free high-speed internet connections and multiple telephones.

So where is the improved value of this property? The tennis courts, large swimming pools and massive conference center are all very nice, but the staff is what makes the difference. Nice things being done for guests without having to ask, such as extra hair washing gear for me, extra pillows for my husband and plenty of smiles. Free 24-hour van service to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, about 25 minutes away. Van service to shopping and sometimes to golf, depending on how busy the vans are.

This is a large, open-air property. When you step outside your room, you are outside in the heat. If you are a sun worshiper, this is a treat. If you are dressed for a business meeting, it means that you will wilt. This hotel is now my first choice for Scottsdale. The attitude makes a great difference. I felt very much at home.

The cost of your room includes a free cooked-to-order breakfast with a long list of choices on eggs, waffles, pancakes and sides. As much coffee, orange juice, oatmeal, cream of wheat and tea as you please. The quality of all the meals served in the hotel is very high.

Also, there are coin-op washers and dryers with reasonably priced supplies in the gift shop.

A very good choice for a family vacation. However, it was a supurb choice for our meeting, as those facilities are top grade and extremely efficient. Most highly recommended!! This is a four-story-high property served by elevators and stairs. Rooms on the ground floor can be accessed by handicapped people, but that being the need, I would request a suite close to your destination: conference center, main building with services, or the breakfast restaurant.

Nearby shopping is great, with Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Robinson-May and a few dozen other stores about a 12-minute walk to the south. 355 days of year of golfing weather answer the question of what to do if you love that sport.

www.chaparralsuites.com

The restaurants were a real sore point for me at this resort. Most were either closed (due to slow business), booked for private parties, or hard to pin down. So out of the five restaurants in this hotel, I managed to eat most of my meals in JD's Lounge. Sadly, often a smoky and noisy place. The Room Service menu nearly duplicated the JD's menu. The only option I had was to order from the menu of the closed "Nina's Cantina." A nice menu of handmade Mexican food.

Do I sound irritated on this subject? Well, I am. Due to lack of other choices, I had at least four meals in JD's Lounge. Home of what they claim to be "the best popcorn in the world," but also slipshod service and less-than-desirable conditions. A very poor situation for an expensive resort!!!

I ordered potato soup one lunchtime and they couldn't find a spoon. By the time I got the spoon, the soup was cold.

One dinner I ordered a massive serving of nachos. Nachos and a bucket of popcorn. Health food? Taco Bell has better nachos!

Most guests left the hotel for meals. No doubt!

I name this place as having the BEST caffe latte in Scottsdale. Really great. Hubby gives it his rating as the BEST gelato he has ever had, and he has had much gelato. A really nice, casual place in the shopping district of Old Scottsdale. Well worth your time and money. Both inside and outside seating. Very shady. Remember this for a hot day. Also serves sandwiches, hot dogs, and salads as well as fresh baked goods. A real bargain!

I've visited other Dick Clark restaurants and they all feature authentic rock & roll costumes, records, photos and plenty of era paraphernalia. The menu is similar to what you might have found in a drive-in during the 1950's, but with up-to-date prices. We were interested in real malted milk shakes and ordered one each of chocolate and strawberry. Although it took a long time for our shakes to be made, they tasted very good.

Fair warning: the portions are huge!! At least twice as much as we could eat. They serve one glass full with a huge 2nd helping also. Too much of a good thing! If you are ordering a burger, it would be fair to share a shake with a friend. At $3.59 each, they were a decent value.

The atmosphere and music are very enjoyable. A full bar in the front of the restaurant seemed to do a huge business. The food service area was not crowded at mid-afternoon. I would visit another Dick Clark restaurant gladly.

WOW! This is the place! In the famed Biltmore Fashion Park (read that as really upscale shopping), the restaurant attracted us because the food smelled so wonderful. I had a cheese plate with fresh fruit and my husband had a salmon salad and a very nice glass of the house Chablis. A wonderful, grand, and purely enjoyable experience all the way around!

This restaurant is famous for using extremely fresh, locally grown ingredients and the best available fish, beef and fowl. Looking back, I really cherish the cheese plate I enjoyed so much at the time and do hope I will have a second visit to this restaurant when I return to Scottsdale. Over 100 different wines are offered by the glass and there is a full selection of cigars. Yes, there are smoking and non-smoking sections of this attractive restaurant.

This review is going to surprise some folks. This resort has excellent food, both in the restaurants and in the convention center/meeting services. This is the best meeting food I've had. I should know, as my meeting lasted 4 days. The dinners were absolutely wonderful and featured properly cooked fresh fish, excellent cuts of beef and top-quality desserts. Yes, top quality on those desserts.

The free breakfast that comes along with the price of your suite is cooked to order and the serving hours are long. You won't be rushed unless you have to trot off to a meeting in the conference center, which is at the far end of this resort.

I remained impressed by both the quality of the training of the waiters in the banquet services and their kindness. They demonstrated great hospitality. Much appreciated when you are cooped up inside for 4 days for meetings and meals!

On the fourth floor of this hotel is a restaurant called the Grille. The food there is excellent and the bar service is very good. It is worth hunting the location of this restaurant.

I've been to a jillion meetings and this is the first time I've ever had such positive things to say about the meals that are served during the meetings. The chef and management of this resort are to be complimented.

These are the prettiest tennis courts I've ever seen. Never a crowd, even during the high-season week of my visit. You could play whenever you pleased during the hours the courts are open. Situated in lovely gardens with plenty of shade on most courts.

Swimming in five heated pools, most with large spas, very handy to all bedrooms at this resort. The pools are beautiful as well as functional. Plenty of chairs with and without sun umbrellas.

Golf on the lush putting green also at hand. For golf games, the hotel can make reservations at many nearby courses and arrange transportation.

I would rate the sports facilities at this hotel very highly. Also, however, underused. Never a crowd at all.

The streets of the oldest part of Scottsdale have been tidied up, the buildings either restored or rebuilt entirely and the tourist essentials added. Plenty of free parking, restrooms, benches for resting, shops, and restaurants. Also dozens of art galleries on the Arts and Antiques side of the area west of Scottsdale Road. Old Town is to the east. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. There is a trolley that runs around the area, which is a good way to get an overview. A specialty of the area is Western-style clothing and leather goods, especially boots and bags.

This is nearly the end-all of gallery shopping and looking. Everything from the finest of European art to quality Native created items. Restaurants and bars also in this area that is absolutely dense with galleries. Be warned that the usual closing hour is no later than 6pm for the galleries. We also found a few closed much earlier with a “gone fishing” sign on the door. Well worth your time and trouble. A really lovely district.

Nothing can prepare you for the beauty of this place. Mountains alongside the gardens, wild birds, hundreds of rare and curious specimens of cactus and other plants. I could have spent an entire day there...couldn't take that much time. Easy to get to from the side-by-side cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale. From the intersection of 64th St. and McDowell Road, you drive south until 64th St. becomes Galvin Parkway, then 1/4 mile on the left.

Of interest to people of all ages and very easy walking. As the sun was setting, I saw a family of road runners zipping around the garden. Great fun!

Hard by the airport and the train tracks, this ancient archeological site was saved during the 1930s by the diligence and determination of the city of Phoenix. This otherwise extremely valuable land has been saved from overbuilding and has the long-term protection of that city's Parks and Recreation department. There is a visitor center, easy walkways, and shade spots to rest and enjoy the site. Even in winter, the sun is blinding white. Settled as early as 950 and assumed to have been abandoned in the 15th century, this site has many things typical of such a historic situation, including a ball court, pithouses, and a platform mound. Of interest to most people, a very small admission charge of $2 gets you into the site. Free on Sundays. I was there virtually alone. Quite an experience!!! Allow about 90 minutes to walk the entire site and to see the film about the site in the visitor center theater.