Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort, Scottsdale

So far we have had just wonderful service. My husband is organizing a reunion that is hosted in a different city every two years and this is the year he is to host. Normally the reunions is attended by 15-20 couples, we visited and received quotes from 10 Scottsdale Resorts to see what they offered. Nine of the resorts were wonderful, felt the same, with a polite doorman, well appointed front lobby, which was quite modern with the feel of hotels across the country and rooms that were off central halls. When we went to the Cottonwoods we arrived to a polite doorman, a smaller lobby, but no hallway in sight. The Cottonwoods is spread out with like the wonderful classic resorts of Scottsdale before the standard Hyatt and Hiltons were built. We walked through winding paths with freshly cut grass. Every room we saw had it's own little patio and larger rooms that are updated and kitchens available. This is the Snow Bird Resort that Scottsdale was famous for. The pool was not quite as fancy as the other resorts but it was large with a bar and a lunch. All the resorts had suites available but The Cottonwoods had this really nice Private House. It was the original house and has a full kitchen, 2 or 3 bedrooms and a private pool. When we first went to see the resort they had a corporate function there so we had to go back to see it. When the quotes came in The Cottonwoods offered a great price, including one room comped (all the resorts did to be fair) and the house at No Charge. We decided this was the best offer. The Resort stayed in touch, let my husband know how many of the group had booked their rooms and within two weeks of our cut off date for the group rate, we had only 5 rooms booked. The group is all over 60 and as our last day to book came closer my husband was on the phone with all the people he expected. He found out that most of the people we expected just weren't coming. They had not told us because they hoped they would be able to and of course they thought they were the only couple not coming. Today was the last day to book a room on our group rate and we only had 6 rooms booked. My husband called concerned about what the extra costs would be for the great reduction in guests. The Cottonwoods coordinator was wonderful. My husband incurred no fee for the rooms that were not booked nor did he loose all the wonderful extras, the free room and private home with private pool full kitchen and even more rooms at no cost. The coordinator was not concerned about the number of rooms that we could not fill he was just concerned that all the people expected were alright. My husband sighed with relief. I will update my review after our actual reunion in a month.

In my personal life Im totally into nature and being out in the open. This place was great, like being in a time warp or living at an old ghost town. Some people are into that "brand new", "fresh paint" smell and feel of a place. Not me. I like the smell of mold and mildue. Like being in the forest and sleeping on moss all night; waking up and finding a bear licking your toes. That's what it felt like just taking a shower at the Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort. Half scared to death that something might spring out of the old warped end tables or that you might contract tetanus if you scratch your finger. Reminded me of staying in a haunted house. Fantastic! Heard a creepy old owl hooting at night and heard the cockroaches running around under the bed. You should definately check out the Cottonwoods! Well worth the sleepness nights, bites all over your body from the bed bugs. Didn't seem like they cleaned the room for about 4 months! Awesome!

After having traveled all day to arrive at the Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort, we were greeting with "Sorry, your room is not available." What? After reading some other reviews today I decided to post. Wasn't going to originally, but people need to be aware. The management loves to respond on TripAdvisor about Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort in political fashion. Claiming the grounds have a "quaint" feel to them in response to a reviewer saying "in other countries, dated and old are endearing terms." We're not in another country and since when is filthy, bad service, bait and switch tactics, and thievery considered endearing? The Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort is nasty. A skid mark on the underpants of Scottsdale. All these beautiful shops right there within a few seconds walk, but are walled off from the parking lot... as if these classy places want nothing to do with the Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort's bed-bug infested casitas.

My husband always takes me somewhere nice for New Years which is my birthday as well. We were highly, disappointed the rooms are less than resort, electronics are all outdated, furniture wore out smells and the kitchen was from the 1960's and last but not least make sure you eat before you return to the room they do not have room service.

Against the advice of friends and Yahoo reviews, we decided to book a suite here as we had wonderful experiences at this hotel when our children were little. OMG!! What a dump! The paving was cracked everywhere with mature-looking weeds growing out of the cracks, even the walk-ways! The desk clerk must have been on some kind of drug as she barely acknowledged our presence and we had to tell her four times that we were trying to check in. The reservations were all screwed up as they had the wrong date for our arrival and the wrong room designation (we had booked a suite not a tiny little room in the back). The manager was most uncooperative until we showed him our print-out and then became disgustingly oily and obsequious. It took at least an hour to check in. There were no bell-hops (unlike our previous stays) and we had to park our car fairly far away from the suite (due to the layout of the place) and trundle our luggage over uneven paths. The suite that we were finally able to get was smelly, dank, and had that general aura of no one being in it for a good long time. There were no towels, there was no toilet paper or bathroom amenities such as glasses and kleenex, and the refrigerator didn't work. I was afraid to even look at the sheets! As well, there were no kitchen implements such as wine glasses, etc. Calling the front desk brought towels about 2 hours later but nothing else. There were no maids anywhere! The smell was so bad that we finally didn't even stay the night, getting a suite at the Residence Inn right next door. They were very difficult about us checking out and instead of offering to make everything right, they were belligerent about our paying for the full reservation. Thank God for our credit card company who helped us "convince" them that they would get NO money! There did not seem to be any guests that we could see in our four or five hours there....no one wandering around nor anyone at the pool. It's really a shame as it was a wonderful place, both when Stouffers and Renaissance owned them.

filthy. filthy. filthy rooms. housekeeing barely makes a pass at cleaning a he disgusting rooms. way past run-down inside and out. everywhere you look, you see broken, worn out, not working. this property looks as though it was abandoned for years, allowed to decay, then reopened without any maintenance whatsoever. the rooms are very dirty and smelly, with barely functioning bathrooms. the grounds are run-down, the buildings look abandoned from the outside and inside with broken fixtures, peeling paint, rotten wood, etc. The tennis courts are unusable with giant cracks through-out the courts and broken falling apart benches and nets. DO NOT STAY HERE!!!!! THIS IS NOT A RESORT..THIS IS A RUN DOWN ROAD SIDE MOTEL. This property is guilty of false advertising, is a rip off and huge disappointment.

The smell inside the casita was absolutely foul, much like an old, untended porta-pottie. Attempts to fix the problem weren't successful. The advertised refrigerator didn't work and when two complaints finally brought a new one to the suite, it looked as if raccoons had nested in it. To avoid further delay, we cleaned it. Housekeeping was hyper to get into our suite but didn't leave enough soap and shampoo, no body lotion and no coffee. They didn't even take our trash out when we started complaining. We had to call for glasses, etc. and borrowed wine glasses from the bar. And the capper was my son's expensive swimsuit being stolen from the walled, locked hot tub off the back patio. We were very disappointed in this place as we had stayed there many times in the past with positive experiences. The desk staff was absolutely moronic and we had to carry our own bags (not what we had experienced in the past). Breakfast was very good but excruciatingly slow in service. The manager was sympathetic but useless . No compensations were offered as do many hotels when there are so many problems. We probably won't go back there as there are many very nice resorts in Scottsdale. It's a real shame. The property looks as if they are on their last legs, financially. Now we know why it was so inexpensive!

The place is old and run down. It is inaccessable to fine dining and other activities. The food is marginal yet way overpriced. We had a conference last week and the restrooms were minimal for the attendees and they were poorly maintained. The rolls & cookies were stale and burnt. They do not have wireless internet and charge $15 a day for wired internet. The TV's had very minimal selection for free and the TV's were very old. I only had one chair in my room. They offered complementary water for $4 each. I have stayed at far nicer places in Scottsdale and Phoenix for far less. This is the worst resort I have stayed at ever in Scottsdale & Phoenix. This place belongs on Van Buren.

After flying cross country, arrived to find "Management" unaware of meeting scheduled MONTHS in advance. The layout is totally bizarre. Guests must walk 1/2 a mile around a shopping mall and private apartments to reach the lobby and restaurant! Rooms outdated and smell moldy. Front desk staff rude - "too busy" to assist guests in obtaining transportation. The only nice thing I can say about this supposed "Resort" was that the bell boys were helpful, and there are a few nice hammocks outside to escape from the terrible rooms.