"Happy Easter to all!\n\nHere is my revised review of the Zona Hotel.\n\nWe just got home from our night at the Zona and I am pleased to report a MUCH better experience!\n\nWe were greeted by Ben at the front desk and he was very pleasant and smiley.... I liked it!\n\nHe got us checked in and we went to our casitas right off the pool.\n\nThe room was updated and very clean. \n\nThe pool was crazy crowded (even though there 4 of them situated around the grounds) so we sat on our patio and enjoyed the desert landscape and the birds chirping and we just relaxed.\n\nI tried on 3 occasions to get ice which was no where near our room and all 3 times the ice machine was empty .\n\nWe called up front to inquire about some ice and 10 minutes later had a knock at the door and they delivered a bag of ice! I was very impressed. \n\nWe visited the restaurant for late lunch and found the outdoor area to be very quaint and again quiet ... Which we enjoyed.\n\nAlthough service was very slow... Only 1 girl appeared to be manning the bar and outside area so she had her hands full the server HEATHER did get to us and she was friendly and did the best she could on her own.\n\nThe food was ok.. Nothing special by a long shot... Hubby had salmon sandwich and the salmon was overlooked and dry... I had a cowboy burger which was also way over cooked and as my side dish I got a cucumber/ tomatoe salad that had red onion and I thought was light cool and refreshing!\n\nWe spent the day just relaxing and reading and enjoying strolls thru the nicely kept grounds. You will find a variety of cacti and trees and desert flowers... The mountains make for a calming background .\n\nLater that night we went back tot the restaurant for dinner and the patio took a transformation from day to night!\n\nThe big fireplace was on and they had a couple singing and playing guitar playing a lot of older and folky type music.\n\nWe each had a steak... Everything is a la cart.. The steak was tasty ... Mine came with 3 unappetizing potatoe wedges.\n\nMy husband steak came with rice and some veggies.\n\nWe did have a desert of a peach tart? It was flaky philo crust with very bland peaches. It was just ok but it did come with a nice vanilla ice cream.\n\nOverall.....very enjoyable.\n\nWe waited for the pool to clear out and soaked in the perfectly temperatured spa for a bit and then I finally had the pool all to myself... The temperature was warm enough that you can walk right in but not too hot that it feels you are swimming in a giant tub!\n\nThe pool felt so great I didn't want to leave... Luckily I am an early riser and in the morning enjoyed the pool and spa again.\n\nWe decided to have breakfast, go back to he room grab our bags , soda and ice and leave.\n\nWe got to the restaurant and we were there 10 minutes before anyone showed up to seat us.. Mind you there was party in front of us and 2 behind us... Where was the hostess? Where were the employees? \n\nFinally we were seated and had the buffet.. It was nasty as one could imagine... Everything looked like it had been sitting out there and the fruit consisted of vcantaloupe, honeydew both of which were not ripe... No berries at all!\n\nThe oatmeal tasted like glouby water and our server was seen rarely not to mention we were seated 10 minutes before anyone acknowledged us.\n\nDefinitely NOT worth the price!\n\nWhen we got to the room housekeeping was there and had taken our soda and ice? \n\nWe hadent even checked out... It was 9:30a and they were taking our stuff!\n\nI checked out and had to wait 15 minutes for someone to return our items....\n\nAll in all it was a pleasant trip... I do agree still with the reviews about front desk employees... Except for the man we had.... I took time to observe how the employees interacted with the guests and what I saw was NO warm greetings like:\n\nHi how are you today? \n\nNobody smiled or seemed to enjoy what they did.. It was kind of sad.\n\nSo... To sum up our experience... I would definitely come back if could get the $65.00 groupon rate. And in the summer I am sure they will have great rates.\n\nThe hotel needs to work on their personnel and staffing.. They need more \nemployees in the restaurant during all hours they are open and it would be great to be greeted by happy people when you check in.\n\nSo, for the ZONA hotel I suggest if you can get the good rate give it a try... You will enjoy the peaceful beautiful grounds.\n\nWe would like to give special thanks to Doug and Nichole ( I hope is Spelled that right) who went above and beyond to make it a very special weekend!\n\n\nIn closing...... Always Remember to take time to stop and smell the roses!"^^ . . . "0"^^ . "2014-04-20T00:00:00"^^ . "0"^^ . "3"^^ . . "0"^^ .