My dad was all in on frequent flyer programs. He signed my brother and me up before I was old enough to toddle down the jetway, and somewhere along the line, I absorbed both the habit and the curiosity that comes with it.
Once you start dabbling in loyalty programs, you don’t just take note of the points accruing in your account. You think about the different ways to use them. Free nights. Extra perks. Limited-time offers that nudge you to try somewhere or something new. Sometimes because you really want to. Sometimes because it just sounds fun.
So when a couple of my credit cards recently rolled out end-of-year hotel offers, I said “double staycation? Yes, and yes”. Two Scottsdale resorts. Two very different properties. Same week. I figured it was a good excuse to compare (and take advantage of some indulgences).
As noted in a prior blog, before I moved to Phoenix, I’d been traveling to Arizona for years with my mom – rotating through resorts and spas, mixing relaxation with exploration. My goal this time was to try places I hadn’t yet been.
Resort #1: JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa
(Try saying that five times fast.)
The Camelback Inn sits on roughly 125 acres, and it felt every bit its size. After checking in, I drove through a few quiet internal roads to reach my home-for-the-night, with easy parking nearby. As I made my way around the property, something registered as oddly familiar…
Yep, I’d stayed here before, years ago, with my mom (so much for the ‘trying new places’ goal). I had a flash-back to a second-floor room with a private rooftop patio, just steps from the pool. Sure enough, a quick email search confirmed it: 2015 (I should probably clean out my inbox). Ten years later, I was back, this time in a ground-floor casita.
The Room
It was spacious and opened onto a pleasant view of the grounds. That said, my perception was there’d been no updates from the last visit. The furniture showed wear, particularly in the bathroom, and while everything functioned fine, it had a “tired” quality (which is how I felt after trying to sleep in the not-quite-comfy bed).
Food & Dining
Dinner spots ranged from a steakhouse to Rita’s Cantina to room service. I opted for the Southwestern cuisine, which delivered on flavor. Service, however, was… uneven. Polite enough, but inattentive and noticeably more casual than expected at a resort of this caliber.
The “included” breakfast the next morning was a full buffet for two (a pity, as I have but one stomach), which included everything from fresh fruit, smoked salmon, cheeses & oatmeal with abundant toppings, to a chef preparing eggs, pancakes, and (my pick) macadamia-encrusted French toast. It was plentiful and satisfying, though the waitstaff’s lack of focus apparently spilled into the daylight hours.
Service
One logistical quirk of the offer: the $100 property credit had to be used in full, or it wouldn’t apply. Since dinner hadn’t quite gotten me there, I made a stop at the gift shop and finally encountered a standout customer experience. Rose, who couldn’t have been more welcoming, turned a must-find-something-to-buy errand into a genuinely pleasant interaction. I left with a bottle of saguaro cactus lotion (presumably de-prickled) and a smile.
Before leaving, I wandered over to the spa. Outside, a few staff members were gathered chatting and scrolling on their phones, and no one offered a greeting. But inside, Serena quickly made up for it as she warmly provided a tour, enthusiastically sharing details about a new, expanded spa space currently under construction and painting a clear picture of why a future booking might be worthwhile.
Other Observations
- The resort was lively and festive, with plenty of guests enjoying the December sunshine.
- The well-worn gym was quite small for a property of this size and shared bathrooms with the pool area.
- Water availability was limited to tiny bottles in the room and gym, with additional bigger sizes available for purchase.
Overall impression: The Camelback Inn has beautiful grounds, ample food options, and there were extremely positive staff moments. But, the room and gym were dated, customer service was hit-or-miss (mostly in the dining areas), and the whole thing didn’t quite align with its 4.5-star online rating, at least not this time around.
Reset
Home for 24 hours to get a non-resort palate cleanser (plus a good night’s sleep in my comfy bed), and it was time to re-pack and head to…
Resort #2: Scottsdale Resort & Spa (Curio Collection by Hilton)
This property sits on about 20 acres and immediately felt more compact and contained – it was less sprawling-resort, more upscale-hotel-with-resort-amenities. Parking was easy via a garage, and the overall tone seemed to promise more intimacy from the start. According to their website, they had a $40 million upgrade in 2024. It showed.
The Room
While more traditionally “hotel” in layout, the space felt fresh and thoughtfully designed. The finishes were modern, the décor stylish, and it conveyed a “well-maintained” atmosphere. I slept fine (but there’s just something about my own pillows).
Food & Dining
There was a main restaurant, a bar with overlapping selections, a speakeasy (which embodied the ‘hard-to-find/secretive’ vibe well as I never came across it) and a combined coffee/gift shop stocked with snacks and baked goods.
The first night’s dinner was fine but unremarkable. However, a fresh-out-of-the-oven, extra-large chocolate chip cookie from the coffee shop easily atoned for it.
Night two was better all around – guacamole with plantain chips, a Margherita pizza, and yes… another cookie. Using the property credit here was easy if not calorie-laden.
Service
Throughout the stay, this remained polished and aware. I received check-in texts, and staff at the front desk and dining areas were consistently friendly and engaged. The smaller scale likely helped, as the tone was noticeably more personal.
Other Observations
- The gym was excellent: bright, clean, well-equipped, with large bathrooms and amenities.
- Water was readily available everywhere. There were aluminum bottles in the room, filling stations on each floor, bottled water at the front desk & gym and flavored varieties in the lobby. Feeling a bit dehydrated? That’s on you.
- A Luna spa employee gave an enthusiastic (but not pushy) tour with encouragement to book.
- The grounds were attractive with festive photo-op backgrounds like reindeer and oversized nutcrackers.
- Despite seeing guests throughout my visit, the property never appeared crowded and radiated a relaxed, low-key aura.
Overall impression: While officially a 4-star property, the Scottsdale Resort & Spa came across as more upscale, current, and thoughtfully run.
Takeaways
I usually gravitate toward big resorts with more space to wander, more places to explore, more steps that get logged without trying. But this time, the smaller property surprised me. On paper, it’s the lesser star. In reality, it was more comfortable, more special, more my speed.
Plus, those cookies…
I’m not saying baked goods should factor into hotel ratings, but it’s possible that one or three of them might have come home with me and are currently residing in the freezer. For now…