Tod Miller's Spa & Wellness at The Monarch Hotel — Attraction in Scottsdale

Wow, where do I start. Our group, 18-20 Retired Army Veterans and their spouses and other family members were here over the last few days to a week. Our hosts that live in the Phoenix area scheduled our stay here. They were supposed to have all of our rooms together. This has been planned for almost two years. The facility could not even do that. We were scattered over four buildings and three floors. We were supposed to have a conference room. The little bitty room we had was hardly big enough for half of us. The hosts and two others were there to hear what the hosts were promised almost two years ago. Such as being able to bring in our wine to toast the fallen servicemen at the Memorial Service we have at each of these reunions. That was a lie. They were told that they could bring in food for us to eat on this same night. We are not children and clean up after ourselves. The bringing in of food was a lie too. It seems that the sales rep or whoever it was, sold them a bill of goods just so the rest of the group would book rooms. Once the rooms were booked and we were there, the promises changed. Any drinks or food had to be purchased there. We were afforded little to no privacy as a little weasel kept walking through the area that was supposed to be ours for the evening. He would look around and text someone. Right after that, our host was called and told that we could not have any alcohol in the public area unless it was purchased there. Now, if that was not bad enough, the room charge was more than we have paid anywhere. Should have been a nicer set up. No microwave. A poor excuse for a fridge. Really small and no shelves. A noisy air conditioner that did not put out very cold air, always saw dirty dishes under the stairwells and in the halls. Shameful way to treat anyone, especially Veterans. Would not recommend...

My bf & I did a staycation at the Saguaro over the weekend, and booked the 'Sole to Sole' couple's massage, 60 minutes for $290. If you side eyed that price, keep in mind this is the heart of Scottsdale. When in Rome...

Love the Saguaro, it's an eclectic, fun property, but had no idea what to expect from the spa. It is rather small, and only offers massages and facials (no nails). However, what they do offer, they do exceptionally well.

We were both asked some questions about what we were hoping to focus on for the massage, as well as desired pressure and any injuries. We went back and were surprised, and a bit disappointed, that we were simply in adjoining rooms and could have the door open if we wanted. We were not physically close to one another or anything, so we felt that the 'Sole to Sole' name is pretty misleading. Since it's not as if we're going to converse across 2 rooms, we just opted for the door to stay shut and had individual massages. Afterward, we agreed they were absolutely phenomenal and we were very happy. A great way to start our vacay weekend.

The spa itself is no-frills, so don't expect a cozy robe and cucumber infused water to be waiting for you. ABSOLUTELY worth it for massage services though, and then you can enjoy their phenomenal pool after.

Fun fact, the guy who runs it, Tod Miller, is a triathlete who found some notoriety for bringing Body Walking, a type of massage, to Shark Tank. I don't know how often Tod himself does treatments, but he introduced himself to us, and it makes perfect sense that this spa is massage therapy-focused.

Finally, it's worth noting that we had to pay in full upfront. I am no stranger to salon/massage services, and have literally never done this before. Put a card down as a deposit, sure, but we definitely paid in full ahead of time, and that was...

I had the most horrendous experience at this "spa," leaving me in pain, frazzled, and humiliated.

My wife surprised me with couples massages after work on Saturday, and I was looking forward to a relaxing nap. Unfortunately, the massage was a nightmare. I had to ask the therapist to go softer over a dozen times. She never inquired about my preferences, and after I specifically requested a relaxing massage, it lasted a mere ten seconds before she returned to a punishing routine.

Once the session finally ended, I tried to regroup but found myself drenched in an excessive amount of oil with no towels in sight. There were no hand towels available, nor a robe to wear. I had to call out for assistance, but no one came. Eventually, I found a bathrobe hanging in the hallway and put it on, then ventured to the front desk to request a towel. Todd eventually brought me a large pool towel, which felt completely inappropriate for the situation.

As I tried to clean up with the clumsy beach towel, Todd kept knocking on my door, rushing me and causing me immense panic. What happened to "take your time"? I wouldn't have taken so long if the staff had been better prepared!

To make matters worse, I later found out that Todd told my wife he thought I was stoned and advised her not to bring me next time. Excuse me? I was not stoned; I was just a victim of poor service!

The next day, I woke up feeling completely bruised. This was not only the worst massage I've ever received but also the worst customer service experience I've...