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| - I have lived in Phoenix for just over a year and my fiancé surprised with a two night stay at the Royal Palms resort for my birthday this past weekend. This resort has always been at the top of my list to stay since every time we drive past it, the entrance looks incredible. I was more than thrilled when I found out we would be spending two nights there!
Since my fiancé had to work one of the days, he invited my girlfriends to accompany me to the hotel pool. Upon arriving, the resort was as impressive as I had hoped for and we were greeted nicely by the valet service. We asked for self parking and was directed to go down to the garage located nearby. The other two cars ended up using valet but they weren't offered the self parking option and ended up tipping the valet. No big deal but the option would have been nice.
The reception area is a small room with two love seats and while intimate, it wasn't as grand as I expected. Checkin was fast but since we arrived at 9:30am I was told that we could use the pool until the room was ready and we could change in the spa. We made our way to the spa and the grounds are very beautiful. Everything is green and lush, a big contrast from the desert this time of year. There are lots of fountains and intimate seating arrangements through out the property. The spa staff was friendly but the spa did seem a bit small. The locker area was small and only two stalls with toilets and another two shower stalls. Again, this is a boutique resort though and it matched the architecture and the finishes were all nice in the area.
The pool chairs are very comfy and have large towels that won't slip down the chair. I was surprised to see that one of the towels on my girlfriend's chair was nearly warn through in several places. That's not something you see in a five star resort. Friendly wait staff came by within 10 minutes and gave us each a big plastic cup of lemon water. The pool is small but there were numerous chairs around the pool. The pool temperature was great and the landscaping was very nice. Something that was really disappointing was there was no music. After looking around further, I realized there aren't speakers except in the bathroom. I've never been to a resort pool without music so it was a bit... quiet. I'm all for quiet and relaxing but at times, it was TOO quite. On the second day there was a family there with their kids and it made their splashing and loud talking all the more noticeable. Also, they had three pool floaters that had definitely seen better days. I'm not sure why this resort wouldn't replace them? It seems like such a small, easy and inexpensive thing to do. Pool service was a bit sparse and several times we had to make our way to the bar to order items. We always had to ask for everything which was unusual. Menus, towels, water....nothing seemed preemptive on their end. Additionally, the second day, the area was a mess. Towels everywhere, chairs not setup for the next guest, empty drinks on several tables. I think there was only one person working but I still wouldn't expect to see that at a resort of this caliber. There were also several ugly crows in the area that were very aggressive. One landed on my friend as she ate her lunch and the waiter told us a story of how just the other day one dive bombed a customer and took her taco. Ummm, aren't there bird wranglers or something?
Our room was ready by 12pm and we were in an upgraded Valencia Casita. We were way in the back of the property and were directly next to another resort. Upon entering the room, they did have a nice plate of chocolate fudge and fruit and said Happy Birthday on the plate. Unfortunately, my birthday wasn't until the next day but it was a nice gesture.
The room was nice but it did seem a bit dark. The ceilings were low and the exposed beams on the ceiling added to the feeling. The furnishings and the bathroom finishes were nice. The tile floors added some character and it was nice having a Keurig machine in the room. The shower had great pressure and nice tile. Our bed was comfy but it was really high off the ground so it was a definite jump to get in. The pillows were both flat, one down and one regular cotton fill. The nightly turn down service gave you two tiny water bottles on your bedside and filled the ice bucket. On our second day, we left the room at 10am and returned at 2pm and the room had yet to be cleaned. Our turndown service came around 7:30pm the second day and left a dirty plate outside our door.
Overall, the resort is nice but that's just it. Nice. For the value and the reputation, it wasn't up to my expectations. I expected to be wowed by this place but it just never happened.
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