WE WILL BE BACK......Outstanding......Fantastic.....Great....
by TripAdvisor Member Commish123
We love the Arizona Biltmore....and why wouldn't you.....Great Facility, interesting building, comfy beds, great service, outstanding food, just a perfect vacation spot......The SPA was wonderful with staff aiming to please and the massage heavenly.......Our room was clean, well maintained and very well suited for a week long vacation....the bath room was nice with a full spa bath......best was the pools lots of lounge chairs, well manitained and clean and what a variety.....Best of all was the service attentive but not intrusive......My hats off every bit as nice a Greenbraier of White Sulfer Springs and the several other resorts and spa we have stayed. We will be back...it is our new favorite.
A bit dreary
by TripAdvisor Member martineber
Satyed at the Biltmore in Phoenix for a short stay with my husband in March 2005. My overall impression is that this resort needs some updating. The first room we were put in had a view of a wall and seemed like a basement room in a cheap Holiday Inn -- not really what we paid for as part of a $750/night spa/golf package that included a premium room "with a view". The second room we were put in was much larger, but frankly (no pun intended -- Frank Lloyd Wright) was still dark and dreary. The furnishings were dark, upholstery was dingy. The bathroom had nowhere to hang a towel, and the shower had no place to set a bottle of shampoo, soap, etc... The shower drain was very slow, and the toilet ran constantly. The staff at the check-in desk seemed unpolished and a bit overwhelmed. The resort is HUGE and seemed to be filled with a lot of business groups. On a positive note, the grounds were very pretty, and there were lots of comfortable places to sit and relax and read a book. Unfortunately, there was no one around to serve a drink or snack -- in order to get a drink or something to eat, you had to be in one of the restaurants or on thr back terrace where seating is minimal at best! The restaurants were average. The spa was quite tired -- the waiting room in which you were placed to wait for your aesthetician/massage therapist was bright (in a bad way), uncomfortable, and had only a couple of magazines that were outdated and totally unappealing. The chairs were scratched/banged up and uncomfortable.
My husband and I were on a spa/golf package, but somehow there were no tee-times for my husband. If the resort sells you a golf package, they should certailnly have a tee time for you?!
I took a Pilates lesson three days in a row with two different instructors. A private session was $95.00 but both instructors joined me in the workout, so I didn't get any feedback or one-on-one instruction -- very lame.
Wrapping up, I probably would not return to this resort. For a spa experience, I will try somewhere else.
a mixed review
by TripAdvisor Member waifsandvagrants
having read previous reviews i was all geared up for scorpions and dreariness...well, i saw no scorpions and i think the dreariness referred to may be a lack of appreciation of frank lloyd wright. the architecture is gorgeous, the grounds are well maintained with beautiful fountains and flowers. this hotel is extremely family oriented. i think it would be a great place to bring small children (there were billions of 'em) and also great for teens...lots of other teenagers, large safe grounds to roam around in, as well as basketball, golf, etc.
on the down side, the food was really bad and the service in the restaurant terrible. also, no coffee makers in the room so you have to go to starbucks for a $4 coffee... that is until i discovered free tea and coffee (and bagels, creamcheese, jelly on sat/sun) in the gym (a.m.) or in the salon (p.m).
Good for kids who love the pool
by TripAdvisor Member Megala
We stayed here March 27th for several days. We have 2 boys, 5 and 7. I read many reviews via tripadvisor to try and decide what hotel would be the best. First let me say that this is an upscale hotel. Our goal was to find a hotel with several pools, in a great location. This hotel has 8 pools..1 main pool with a waterslide and swim up bar. All the chairs were taken before 7 a.m. every morning so we didn't use this pool. All the other pools are nice size with good size baby pools and less crowded. They provide the towels, waitresses come up every so often if you'd like something from the bar and the kids had a blast. The pools have fountains the kids can play in, basketball hoops, etc. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Keep in mind tennis, bikes, and anything else does cost and is not free. The room was fine...2 double beds, decent bathroom, but unlike some other hotels where you have 1 bed in one part of the room with a tv(where the kids can watch cartoons) and another where mom and dad can watch something different. The people were very helpful and nice. It is in Phoenix so to get to good restaurants or putt putt your going to want to go to Scottsdale Rd. which is about 15 min. drive. Overall our stay was great...I'd recommend this hotel if swimming and relaxing is your forte.
A nice stay
by TripAdvisor Member TKitty
My sister and I just returned from a four-night stay at the Biltmore, April 13-16. Not being a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan, I was somewhat anxious about our stay. There have been many reviews posted on this board, some bad, some good, so I will try to address those areas of concern as much as possible in this review.
First of all, there were no scorpions or cockroaches, or any other scary insects, spiders, etc. The property is beautiful and extremely well-kept. The majority of the rooms seemed to center around one of the eight pools, we were in one of the Catalina villas. What I think was the main pool was quite large and had a small slide, although I don't remember ever seeing any children use it. This pool was very chilly, too cool to really enjoy for most people from some of the comments I heard. It had a bar with a swim-up area and there was also a nice area to dine for lunch by the bar where one would be comfortable in swimwear. ($10-15 price range). Our pool was much warmer and had palm trees and lots of chairs. There was a wading pool attatched for small children. Plenty of towels and chairs. Drink service was spotty at times. It was clean at all times
The "villa" was nothing special, but certainly not shabby either. There was a small entryway with a closet and a chest, a good-sized bathroom with a large vanity and two sinks, perfect for my sister and I. The tub/shower was very basic with glass doors so as only one person could use the bathroom at a time in our situation. There were two queen beds, nice and comfy with feather pillows and nice furnishings, although I did notice some wear and tear on my spread. The nicest part of the room was a large balcony that overlooked our pool. BUT the downside was that it was a shared balcony with three other rooms, so you couldn't feel safe leaving the patio door open at night to listen to the lovely sound of the pool fountain at night, which we would have loved to do. If you were sitting at the table there was a sort of screen that made it more private, but if we would have had a large group next to us I could see it being a real problem. The ideal situation would be to book the whole set-up which seemed to consist of a large villa with two smaller rooms on either side, that way you would have the entire balcony to your group. I cannot imagine what the cost would be though!
We ate at the Biltmore Grill on the patio one day for lunch which was nice. Not too pricey. We didn't have any other meals there during our stay as we spent the majority of our time sight-seeing, this being our first visit to the area. We didn't use many of the facilities but the exercise room looked really nice and well-equipped and was included in the cost of the room. I am pretty sure there was a $16.00 a day "resort fee" for all nights stayed.
Valet parking was offered but we never used it. There was a fairly large self-parking area in back of our area of villas. It was a bit of a trek at times depending on where we found a spot but we used bellhops for our luggage so that was no problem. I think we may have been there at a fairly quiet time of the year so I couldn't say if there would be a problem if the property was booked. The location of the Biltmore seemed perfect for our first visit to Arizona-close to Scottsdale and the freeways to head up to Prescott and Sedona.
Having read previous reviews and being a coffee drinker, I brought my own pot from home. It was no problem setting it up in the bathroom. There is a Starbucks on property if that is more to your liking. There is a well-equipped honor bar, pricey as always. We used room service the first night for a pizza, fast and OK. The price was listed as $16.00 but we didn't read the fine print about the $10.00 delivery add-on. OUCH. A daily paper was outside our door early each am and they gave us one while checking out without asking. There was a hairdryer and two nice robes to use, a limited selection of toilitries but they were replaced during our stay. Towels were always fresh and comfy. You need to call for ice but during the time the pool bar was open we could run down and ask for it with no problems.
My only major complaint was with housekeeping. The first day we returned about 1pm from our travels to an unmade room. There wasn't a card to hang on the door asking for early service which wouldn't have been practical due to the layout of the rooms, I guess. I called housekeeping to inquire and they said all I needed to do was to request early cleaning which I then did, by 10:30 each am. The next day we were gone until after 6pm and the room was clean but the maid hadn't taken all of our dirty, obviously used glasses, etc. The following day we were out by the pool, returning at 11 to a dirty room, back again at 3:30 to a dirty room. By this time I had given up, the maid finally came at 4pm. I did say something to her and she did apologize but said no one had told her about our request for early cleaning. This is a huge pet-peeve of mine, but there is no point in letting it ruin my vacation...but it will figure in when making another reservation at a Phoenix property.
To summarize, we had a wonderful time at the Biltmore. Our rate was probably about $225 per night, we booked air/hotel through Orbitz. The buildings themselves are pretty stark, with the architecture and all, but the grounds and plantings help soften that hard look of cement. The staff was pleasant and very helpful, excluding our housekeeping problems. But if we were to return to Phoenix I would try somewhere new if I could get as good of rate at another nice property. Hope this helps you in your search for a Phoenix resort.
Forum Posts
Thanksgiving Dinner
by willylang
I will be arriving in Phoenix on Thanksgiving and looking for a nice place for a traditional holiday dinner. A lot of restaurants are closed. I will be staying in the North Phoenix area near the Metrocenter mall. Thank you.
RE: Thanksgiving Dinner
by mccalpin
You might look at http://phoenix.about.com/od/foodanddrink/a/thanksgivingout.htm for some suggestions...sorry I can't be of more help...
Bill
RE: RE: Thanksgiving Dinner
by YVRDave
All the hotels will have the restaurants open, you may want to check some of them out. The Arizona Biltmore, the Ritz Carlton, Phoenecian and the Royal palms might be helpful
RE: Thanksgiving Dinner
by jimdaz
The post about the resorts around 24th St and Camelback, and in Scottsdale is good. That is where you will find the best places to eat. There is a "Four Points Sheraton" at Metrocenter, but I don't know much about it. From a local viewpoint, I like the Calico Cow, on Central, just south of Dunlap. About three miles east of Metrocenter. I eat there often, and never have been disappointed. Locally owned, and well known for thier pies - especially at Thanksgiving. I see they will be open on Thanksgiving from 8:00am until 6:00pm. The phone number is 602-235-9480.
