We received an offer in the mail about a year ago for a $100/night rate for four nights at the Westin Kierland. As we have relatives in the Scottsdale area, we decided to take advantage of the offer. While $100 is a good rate for this location, I definitely would not pay the current $369 rate quoted on Westin’s website. It’s nice, but not that nice!
My frustration began when, after making our reservations, we received no confirmation information whatsoever, via regular mail or e-mail. I requested this twice and never received anything, even though I was assured over the phone that we had a confirmed reservation and it was okay to make flight arrangements. Interestingly enough, when we arrived back home from Scottsdale, there was a letter from the Westin saying how they looked forward to our visit. It was postmarked only two days before we left on vacation – oops!
Fortunately, a concierge called the night before we were to arrive to let us know to stop by to pick up the concierge desk to pick up our welcome packet once we arrived. This should have been my first red flag that this was not a regular visit, but a timeshare pitch. Nowhere in any of our materials did it say we would be expected to attend a timeshare presentation, and had I known this, I probably would not have booked the trip. However, I won’t complain about the good room rate or the $100 Westin gift card we received!
Not having any confirmation information in writing also proved to be an issue when we arrived, as the valet staff said they couldn’t find a reservation in our name and we must be over at the vacation villas. So we got backing our car and drove a few blocks to the vacation villa check-in desk only to find out they’d jusd discovered we’re actually booked at the main hotel. We returned and decided to bypass the valet staff.
Unfortunately, the parking lots closest to the hotel are reserved for valet parking, and since we didn’t want to pay the exorbitant $24 per night rate, we had a long hike with our luggage to the front desk. Then, as our room was in a very back corner on the ground floor, it was another long hike from the front desk. As the lower floors are built with lots of twists and turns, we got turned around several times and had to backtrack. It was good exercise, but definitely a long haul to get around this place, especially with luggage and navigating around housekeeping carts.
ROOM: Our room was nice, but nothing spectacular. The complimentary USA Today at our door every morning and the nightly turn-down service were nice, especially a full ice bucket and fresh toiletries. My wife and I found the Heavenly bed too firm for our liking, but we both enjoyed the Heavenly shower very much. I also enjoyed the in-room Starbucks coffee, although it looked like someone had spilled some and left a big stain on our carpet. We also discovered a broken wine glass underneath the dresser which sat there for two days after we left a note for the housekeeping staff. We were also not a fan of the motion-activated thermostat. Good for saving energy when no one is in the room, but at night, our room got stuffy (even set at 60 degrees!) unless we got up to go to the bathroom and triggered the motion detector. Also, I sat outside on our patio one morning and got lots of mosquito bites on my ankles. As our room was on a courtyard, it would be nice if they could spray for bugs!
STAFF: Everyone on the staff was very friendly and helpful. I was especially impressed how almost all of the housekeeping staff we encountered in the halls greeted us. A very nice little lady also greeted guests as they entered the front lobby during the daytime hours - a very nice touch!
AMENITIES: As it was between 100-110 degrees during our entire four-day stay in Scottsdale, one of our favorite activities was hanging out by the pool. The Kierland has two pools – a 24-hour pool for adults and a daytime pool for families. Even though we don’t have kids, we enjoyed the atmosphere at the family pool much more. The food and drink service were excellent and we had a poolside lunch twice. We also enjoyed the lazy river (although maybe a little too lazy and slow) and the waterslide.
FOOD: We didn’t eat at any of the restaurants, but ate breakfast twice at the on-site coffee shop, which features Starbucks. If you’re not a big breakfast person like us, I highly recommend this. They also have sandwiches for lunch and gourmet ice cream. As for the on-site restaurants (like Deseo), we weren’t impressed with the menu and opted to walk across the street to Kierland Commons (free shuttle service is available, too). Our relatives introduced us to The Greene House, which we enjoyed so much that we ate dinner there two nights in a row! The food and service were excellent and much more reasonable than the Westin restaurants.
SHOPPING: The gift shop next door to the coffee shop is very nice. Interestingly, it’s the only place on the property where you can buy Coke products (thanks to Lana, our concierge, for pointing this out). There’s no other retail within walking distance except for the very nice Kierland Commons outdoor mall across the street. Lots of restaurants and shopping, including Cheesecake Factory, Crate & Barrel and Barnes & Noble.
TIMESHARE PRESENTATION: The 90-minute timeshare presentation ended up being 2.5 hours. It was about as painful for my wife and me as buying a new car – dealing with a salesperson, a business manager and then a person who wanted to survey us about our experience. Starwood Vacations offers some good incentives, but my wife and I decided we just aren’t timeshare people. However, we also received another $100 in American Express gift cards for sitting through the sales pitch.
