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| - The Saguaro is not what I expected.
This converted hotel is a mix of hip, colorful and southwest with a dash of pool party mixed in. I guess from the photos I wasn't expecting this spot to have as much of a "party" vibe as it does, and that's a pleasant surprise to me.
The upsides to this hotel are the service, color and flair. From the lobby decked out in a midcentury-modern/southwest feel complete with vintage Arizona Highway magazines scattered about to the yellow-and-orange poolside cabanas to the mod rooms, it's a mish-mash of boutique hotel design styles all thrown in to one. The front desk is helpful and all smiles, as are the valets. You can tell by walking through the pool area that they host plenty of parties, but the pool itself is huge - nice and long but never too deep. Perfect for a mass of people.
The rooms are comfy and decent-size, equipped with showers, tubs, comfy king beds, flat-screens, free wi-fi, some vintage/mod accents, a desk area and some decent quality soaps/lotions. Each room has an air conditioner, safe, fridge and lighted closet space. Oh, and there is plenty of purple carpet around. The pathways are outdoors, which kind of sucks in the Scottsdale heat, but the air con keeps the rooms themselves cool enough.
What knocks this hotel up a notch for me is the permissive vibe of the staff. Numerous times we were in the pool well past "closing" and as long as we were behaving ourselves they didn't seem to care that we were there. Instead of the usual hotel SS that kicks you out the moment it's supposed to be closed, we were in the pool and hot tub as late as 1am with no consequence. Also, the hotel is a block off of Old Town Scottsdale, with lots of stuff to do.
Also in the hotel are a whiskey bar and Distrito, a fairly stylish restaurant with pretty decent food. The bar has a great happy hour with $6 old fashioned cocktails (a good price for a hotel bar) and the pool offers a bar during daytime hours as well.
I'd totally stay here again, especially at the price we paid. Dig it.
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