Let me preface what will mostly be a scathing review, by first putting things in perspective with regard to my previous travel. I have stayed at numerous hotels around the globe, always choosing to stay at Hilton Properties when they are available.

I am a Diamond member and have come to rely upon the service and quality a Hilton provides. Never have I been so disappointed as with my stay the Hilton "Resort" in Scottsdale. I will try to temper my experience at this hotel by being fair and pointing out the positives, when I can.

I will start with the positives.

The valet service was flawless. The gentlemen at the valet desk were prompt, opened the door every time we entered the hotel, and were bright and courteous. They offered good advice for the area and seemed to genuinely care about the guests.

The Lobby is lovely, well maintained and the hotel is very clean. I was happy with the room service provided. The towels at the pool were abundant and the lemon-flavored water a nice touch. Overall, the hotel was clean, neat and quiet.

The gift shoppe was a nice surprise and they sell individual stamps. :) A wonderful amenity for any traveler. The cashiers that worked there were kind and courteous. I always found them helpful and engaging.

The Negatives:

The front desk:

Upon arriving my husband and I were "upgraded" to a first level room facing the pool. The room was not remarkable, but that isn't something I am looking for in a Hilton. There were 2 double beds as requested, a patio that we Shared with our neighbor and a well appointed, yet Tiny bath. Honestly, it was one of the smallest bathrooms I have ever encountered in a Hilton (Even my bath in London was larger, and for those of you who have traveled outside the US, you know European standards are smaller than here in the US). My husband, who is over 6 feet, could barely close the door to have some privacy. However, we weren't there for the bath, so we managed just fine. And the water was hot, so that was nice. :)

Our "upgraded" room had an issue. The door didn't close properly and wouldn't lock upon our exiting the room. When I addressed the front desk and let them know about the issue, I was told that I simply didn't know how to work the deadbolt properly. The two female receptionists at the front desk repeatedly told me to just "Jiggle" the handle from the inside and it would close. I explained that I couldn't "jiggle" the handle from the inside, when I was out in the hall, expecting the door to lock behind me. And, I explained that the deadbolt mechanism wasn't engaging, and the door was closing all the way, but not locking. They honestly couldn't fathom that there was something wrong with the door, and kept arguing, until a facility worker, who happened upon the lobby, intervened and said he would have a look. Upon seeing the issue with the door, he pronounced that the entire door mechanism had to be replaced. I honestly was stunned that the front desk receptionists would argue with a hotel guest about something so easily rectified. All they had to say was "I'll call facilities and send them to your room."

The following day, my husband and I went to the front desk to inquire about the lack of breakfast coupons in our packet. Normally, Diamond members are "comped" a breakfast because we stay so often at their hotels. It is a simple courtesy. The front desk had only given us enough breakfast coupons for my husband, and not myself or my daughter. So, when we broached the subject with the front desk, we assumed there would be no issue.

The receptionist at the front desk chided us and said that we should have "properly" booked our room and that if we had done that, we would have our certificates and there wouldn't be all this "difficulty." My husband and I were wondering “What difficulty?” Taking care of a guest is a difficulty now?
We used the Diamond phone line to make the reservation. We assumed the reservation clerk typed it in correctly. How could we know there was an “issue” with our reservation, if the didn’t tell us upon check-in? They gave us 2 keys. We were both there, with my daughter. One would logically assume the person checking us in would have gone into the reservation and corrected any errors for the guest and give the proper amount of breakfast coupons. But No, instead, we had to go back the next day and deal with a rather rude receptionist who accused us of mis-booking the reservation. She begrudgingly handed over the extra coupons. I had to wonder if this hotel is having financial difficulties? The entire exchange was petty. All she had to do was apologize for the error, and fix the issue. The conversation started with us smiling and speaking in polite tones, but degraded quickly as did our overall experience at this Hilton.

Finally, with regard to the front desk... We had a package arriving from FedEx. We told the front desk to please call us when the package arrived so we could return to the hotel immediately. We gave them our cell phone # and were assured that we would get a call. We didn't. My husband had to call the front desk twice on the day it arrived ( the second time after 3 PM, because we assumed that all deliveries would have arrived by then) and found out it was Already in our room. No-one had called us to alert us of the arrival of the package. We asked them to check our room record and see if indeed there was a note to call us about the package, and yes, it was there. But no one "had the time" to call us.

The POOL:

We visited the pool every day, with our 3-year-old daughter. The water is unusual. It isn’t simply chlorinated. I do believe there is salt in it as well…. It “tasted horrible” according to our daughter. We didn’t find it problematic though. And the water was always a lovely temperature.

Unfortunately the rest of our experience was “hit or miss” with the pool. Four of the evenings we swam at the pool were absolutely lovely. The fifth evening they were getting ready for a function the next day. It was 8:00 at night (the pool is open until 10) and the staff started hauling the lounge chairs to a far corner and setting up tables at the end near the restaurant. My daughter was almost run over by a staff member. We thought it was really odd that they would disturb guests before the pool closed. We ended up having to leave because all the activity was so loud and distracting.

We also went for a swim at 7:00 AM one morning and the pool wasn’t cleaned yet, and there wasn’t any water out for the guests. The pool opens at 6:00 according to the signs posted on the gated area and their handbook. So we were surprised to find debris (old cups etc) floating in the pool in the morning. Apparently they hadn’t gotten around to servicing it yet. We only swam the one morning. So I can’t say if it is indicative of the service overall, or if they just forgot to take care of the pool that one morning.

Also, there were some really oddly placed inflatable rings and such in the pool. At first I wondered if a guest had left them. They were in fairly sad condition. I am not quite sure why the Hilton has half-inflated things in their pool.

How this hotel differs from others:

The coffee in the lobby isn't free. My husband actually had to pay $2.00 for a to-go cup of coffee? I have Never stayed at a Hilton and had to pay for the coffee before.

There is an automatic 20% charge for gratuity with the coupons, even if you eat in the restaurant, and don't order room service. This does not encourage the wait staff to provide the best service, as they know they are already getting tipped when you procure the breakfast coupons. This is the only hotel I have encountered that added the 20% in the restaurant.

The service at the front desk was Deplorable.