ADERO Scottsdale Resort, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Fountain Hills

Like others who have posted here, I had high hopes for our Adero Scottsdale stay. As former residents of Fountain Hills, we had frequently visited the wonderful restaurant and spa at Copperwynd (the resort’s previous name). We hoped Adero management would ensure the same warm, welcoming vibe and great food, to go with the resort’s beautiful view of the McDowell Mountain Range.

Well, as they say, “you can’t go home again.” The room we were given on the second floor in the “new” building had no view. Furnishings were adequate, but nothing to write home about. Disappointing, but we looked forward to that fine dining experience.

That is, until we decided to eat breakfast at Cielo, the Adero restaurant whose proud tagline boasts “Cuisine, Elevated.” Hardly. I first requested an iced latte and was given iced coffee. When I requested a replacement, I was served what tasted like iced coffee with milk. The full breakfast was jammed on a dish slightly larger than a salad plate, with the omelet and potatoes fighting one another and the English muffin struggling on top. The ham and cheese omelet was fried so hard you could bounce a silver dollar off it. After digging around, I uncovered a few desultory cubes of ham and a feathery hint of mozzarella cheese. The small squares of barely warm potato (which had clearly emerged from the freezer) were dressed up with tiny chunks of wilted red and green pepper.

I also noticed something another reviewer here has mentioned – the strikingly sad-sack resort staff. Our waitress seemed polite but worn out. Another server was busy angrily dressing down two patrons for seating themselves rather than waiting by the unstaffed podium. “After all, this IS a restaurant, you know”, he proclaimed haughtily. At other times of the day and night we noticed how empty the bar area was, with just a scattering of guests attended to by the same unsmiling staff.

Yet, none of this compares to my post-visit phone conversations with a front-desk person and then her manager. I had tried first – repeatedly - to reach the “accounting department” (extension 7, the automated voice proclaimed), and each time, the call appeared to be picked up, then immediately terminated. Perhaps it was another depressed employee making a point?

I had booked a three-night stay by calling the Adero Scottsdale phone number. Who knows who picked up, but the gentlemen who took my reservation quoted a flat rate of $350/night. Steep, but after all, this is high season in Scottsdale.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered these billings: Night 1: $455.05, Night 2: $341.05 and Night 3: $325.85. When I objected to this variable rate scheme, which I can assure you the individual who took my reservation did not advise me of, I was, for the first and only time, treated to the one aspect of Adero Scottsdale that might befit their reputation as a “high-end” establishment. That was the distinctly high-end attitude of both individuals I spoke with. The terms ‘haughty’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘un-apologetic’ come to mind. Did they offer any guest-oriented solution to the situation? Of course not. It was clearly beneath them and they were both solidly intent on putting me in my place.

You may or may not know that Adero Scottsdale entered receivership in December 2023, but has since been rescued by a company pledging to make good on all of those unpaid bills. I wish the new owner the best of luck. It’s going to be a long road to redemption for this formerly...

When first arriving at the resort in Scottsdale, AZ using GPS it was telling me to make the first turn on the right - that is actually not where you turn in to go to the main lobby and the "self park" area/main parking lot - it is THE NEXT right turn.

You can have the valets monitor your car while you check-in, though, I wasn't really comfortable with leaving the keys in it. They do also offer valet parking for your vehicle.

Checking into the resort was not a problem and everybody was nice. I paid for a Mountain View room and they did assign me that type of room, though there are Mountain View rooms and then there are Mountain. View. rooms. My room had the parking lot then some foothills nearby. The rooms on the back of the hotel are "parking lot-free" and show foothills also.

The room I was in was nice and featured:

-A wardrobe to hang close in along with an iron, hangers, a plastic bag for laundry, and a suitcase stand. -A mini refrigerator. -A small desk with a chair. -A good size flat screen television with standard/local satellite channels as well as some of the networks such as TNT/CNBC, etc. -A full size restroom with basic toiletries such as soap, shampoo, and conditioner. -A comfortable bed with night tables and lamps on each side. -The room I reserved also had a balcony with chairs outside which was especially nice not long after dark.

All of the employees I encountered - front desk personnel/housekeeping personnel/etc. - were all professional and nice.

Even the employees working at 1AM in the morning were happy to help me determine where to find nearby restaurants that were open late at night.

Additionally, everybody working at the upstairs bar and restaurant by the main lobby area.], was very nice and were very patient. They offer your standard bar drinks and hard liquor.

All of the food I had while I was there - from the Grilled Chicken Sandwich [minus the Red Cabbage Slaw and minus the Aleppo Pepper Chimichurri sauce.], with French Fries, to the 8oz. Filet of Beef with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Butter Poached Asparagus, and the Chicken Fingers with French Fries, were awesome and bartenders as well as the employees making the food were awesome with how I requested the food ["no sauce", "French Fries instead of Garlic Mashed Potatoes", etc.].

I'm not sure if it is daily, though at least on Sunday, the main upstairs bar area did not open until 12PM in the day. I think they mentioned food and drinks could still be ordered at the bar by the swimming pool.

There were days I stayed at the resort and just slept and relaxed and hung out at the bar ordering drinks and food. If so inclined, and depending on your reason for being at the resort, you could relax, eat, drink, swim, play movies and TV, without ever leaving the resort.

Different days I went to what I would call "semi-local" attractions [some of these may sound far at 20/30/40 miles, and though there is traffic on the roads and highways, it moves.]:

-The Phoenix Zoo [24 miles.] -The San Marcos Historic Hotel [restaurant and bar, also a golf course. -South Mountain hiking trails/horseback riding [33 miles.] -Chandler Fashion Center [30 miles.] -Biltmore Area of Phoenix [22 miles.] -Also [though noticeably further] The Titan II Minute Missile Silo/Museum [154 miles./two hours thirty minutes.] -Taliesin West which is the location of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and is open for...

This review is specific to Cielo restaurant at Adero, not the resort at large. I could write a book or do a comedy routine on how bad the service was here, and I tried before realizing I had run out of characters a quarter of the way in. So, I'll try to be brief. We arrived a half hour early, for a reservation made two weeks prior to celebrate a special occasion. I had requested a patio table and that a personal note and a rose be placed on the table for my fiance. We checked in at the host's station and informed them that we would be at the bar when our table was ready, which they acknowledged. The bar was a sh#* show. As many as 5 or 6 people in a space designed for two. We were the only customers at the bar yet it took them 15 minutes to fill our drink order and even then, only after we asked about the status of our drinks. They did not have favored liquors. The drinks we settled for were very poorly made and tasted so. 45 minutes after our arrival, the personal note I requested was essentially thrown on the bar. It did not have my fiance's name on it, and there was no rose. We were finally seated an hour after arriving, 30 minutes after our reserved time, and NOT at a patio table. Upon being seated, we were informed that one of the main courses on the menu (the steak I wanted) was no longer available. At 7:30 in the evening! The wait for EVERYTHING was inordinately long, in spite of the fact that they appeared to have an abundance of staff milling around at various locations with nothing to do. The ambience was good, though the lights kept raising and lowering significantly. Not sure if they were having an electrical issue or if this was human caused. The food was decent, my fiance got the salmon and said it was cooked correctly but lacked seasoning. I settled for the chicken which was fine, but frankly, Costco rotisserie chicken is better. And alot cheaper. The manager did stop by in an effort to understand our disappointment. After that, the drinks got better, but not the service. A couple seated at the table next to us shared that they had had essentially the same experience. They claimed time of arrival to food on the table was 2 hours. A final note which I feel must be included: There was an elderly woman sitting at an adjoining table who, during the course of her meal, had an "accident", resulting in a large puddle on the floor beneath her. She appeared not to notice, as she never left her seat, which was metal and designed such that the fluid ran through it. I was curious to see whether, in the age of Covid, the staff was sanitizing all hard surfaces, including hard seats, as appropriate. I am sad to report, they were not. We watched the staff clean three different tables with the same type of hard seats, and while they were very thorough with the table tops, they didn't touch the chairs. We did inform our waitress before we left and (curious again) stuck around to see what would happen. Soon, the waitress appeared with sanitizing spray, cleaned the single seat I had identified, then walked away. I'm not sure what the protocol is relative to this, but I would think that regardless of mandated protocols, a restaurant should clean any and all hard surfaces between patrons. I get that soft seating isn't as easy to do, especially between customers, but any hard surfaces that people touch should be...