Arizona Biltmore A Waldorf Astoria Resort

“Decent Business Stay; Fitness & Tennis are Noteworthy”

I recently stayed at the Arizona Biltmore in connection with a conference. While the grounds of the resort were beautiful, they were a bit too expansive for a conference. There was a long walk everywhere (e.g., conference space, hotel rooms, especially the villas) and you just got the sense you wer… more

I recently stayed at the Arizona Biltmore in connection with a conference. While the grounds of the resort were beautiful, they were a bit too expansive for a conference. There was a long walk everywhere (e.g., conference space, hotel rooms, especially the villas) and you just got the sense you were missing fellow attendees because the space was so massive (e.g., two ships passing in the night). Housekeeping works hard, but their timing was inconsistent. They didn't turn up the first day because I left my room around noon and they skipped my room and said they would double-back in the afternoon, but they never did. Other days they would try to clean the room very early in the morning (when you were just getting out of bed). Room service trays languished in the hallways for collection. At first blush, this does not scream 'luxury'/high end property. The real highlight was the fitness center and the tennis program, led by tennis pro, Brendan Easterling. I take regular tennis lessons at my local club, and if I could in some way recruit him for my club, I would. I schedule a 60-minute lesson with Brendan, and even in that short amount of time, I felt like I 'upped' my game. Brendan asks really insightful questions at the start to assess not only your skill level, but what your goals are for the lesson. And during the lesson, he was friendly and focused when it came to providing expert feedback. To further support his guidance, and this is what I found endearing even, was that Brendan has a robust binder of photos of tennis pros and their various playing styles to underscore that there is no 'right way to play tennis'. Lastly, the fitness center is top notch and has any equipment that you would want to use while traveling.

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“Average hotel in average city”

Went with my brother from nyc to visit an uncle in arizona. Never been to phoenix. Figured we woukd make it into a luxury bro vacation for 4 days. The hotel is billed as luxury and the price for a room(800 to 1k) matches the expectation. The hotel is very nice but is not over the top. The decor i… more

Went with my brother from nyc to visit an uncle in arizona. Never been to phoenix. Figured we woukd make it into a luxury bro vacation for 4 days. The hotel is billed as luxury and the price for a room(800 to 1k) matches the expectation. The hotel is very nice but is not over the top. The decor is nice, service average, resteraunts average, pool average, drinks average. The price though, is way above average. Nothing was above average and so the price paid did not make it worth it. Also, unless you are a hear for an event, there is not much to do. The city is vert quite with no great attractions, night life, or vibe.

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