TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Enjoyable stay. Nice restaurant options. Lots of amenities. Comfortable room and bed. Highly recommend the spa- cafe, pool, jacuzzi, steam/sauna, relaxation room and excellent massage! Outdoor area is gorgeous but I didn’t get to use it. Reliable Starbucks.

We visited JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa over Labor Day weekend hoping for a relaxing getaway, but unfortunately, it did not meet our expectations. While the room upgrade was a nice touch—thank you for that—the room itself was surprisingly disappointing. It was large, but the bathroom only had a small, old-fashioned bathtub as the shower, which felt out of place for a luxury resort. On top of that, housekeeping left much to be desired. Our bed was not properly made, and the floor wasn’t cleaned. The biggest issue, however, was the resort environment. The resort felt more like a playground, with kids and teenagers running and screaming everywhere, making it impossible to relax. The place didn’t feel clean or hygienic at all. The one adult pool was a huge letdown—it was small, crowded, and felt more like a pond. To make matters worse, you have to pay for a regular seat by the adult pool, not even for cabanas or anything fancy, which felt unreasonable. There were no proper rules or regulations for the adult pool, either. We saw people enter the water fully clothed—shirts, leggings, and even washing their sandals in the pool and jacuzzi, which was very unhygienic and disturbing. There were also people who didn’t seem to pay for the adult pool, using the facilities without paying. Families with kids renting cabanas nearby would let their kids run in and out of the adult area. It was complete chaos. Even the lobby was chaotic, like a busy airport, with no regulation or control over who was coming and going. Overall, our experience was far from relaxing, and given the high cost, we expected much more in terms of cleanliness, control, and service. Unfortunately, we will not be returning.

I'm updating my review to include improvements which could be made Pillows are too soft, the shower head is for a basketball ball player 7 feet tall Otherwise this is a lovely hotel and spa The room is clean, no complaints. I did get room service one night it was prompt. The chicken was delicious and the chocolate raspberry cake was really good. I took advantage of the spa and had a pedicure and massage. The grounds are kept immaculate. The staff overall are helpful. In the future I would stay here again. In ate Tia Carmen 2 nights. I highly recommend the purple yams.

Great resort. Check in was good. Room had all the expected JW amenities. Good shower, comfy bed, good Illy in room coffee. Daily housekeeping was great. Fantastic pool area with a “lazy river” and an adults only area. Breakfast was good and complimentary for Marriott Platinums and above. No lounge for Elites but the breakfast restaurant was perfect. Restaurants had good food - did not have to leave property for this! This is a solid property for a business trip or a vacation.

This stay was for a 4 day treat for myself and my family, having worked in Phoenix the previous week. It was unfortunately not quite such a treat as hoped but I will explain the good and bad points to help others plan their stays. Good Once you have got through a very underwhelming check in experience, the rest of the staff are incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. If we did have any issues (which we did) they did everything they could to help and made us feel they really did care about us having a nice stay. Bad This is a big hotel, so it can be a very long walk to and from the pool so if you have kids, do beg for a room near the centre of the hotel or you will cry every time you have to go to and from the room. On a Saturday and Sunday they clearly open up the aqua area to day visitors and on a hot weekend it was unbearable. Literally no sunbeds available and the lazy river so full of inflatables it was quite unpleasant as all you had was peoples heads and feet bumping into you. The water quality in the pools was clearly struggling with the number of people too which is not nice to think about. On the quieter week days it went back to clear blue water thank goodness. The Cabanas are paid for and we checked the price and they ranged from $600 a day at the weekend to $400 in the week. At the weekend they were all booked out but they were mainly unused in the week. They also offer reserved sunbeds in one section that were $100 a day per bed. This meant there was a struggle to get “free”beds which is not fun in 40deg C heat.