The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain — Hotel in Marana

Wow, where to begin. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite guest, I know what great looks and feels like and this property is nothing short of amazing. I booked a two-night stay for a one-night solo retreat and the second night to celebrate my brother's graduation from University of Arizona. It all started when I called and spoke with Jennifer in Resort Services. I explained that in addition to my full-time corporate job, I am a full-time caregiver for my sick mother and am looking for complete respite. She graciously listened to all of my special requests and got right on it - ensuring my stay was set up for success. Overall, I was indulgently pampered by all of the staff here and the serene atmosphere was exactly what I needed to find myself again. I am eternally grateful for my experience and hope to return very soon. ||What's Wired (Highlights)|1. I was offered a One-Bedroom Suite upgrade for my Titanium Elite status which was so appreciated. It was stunning. Large living room with an American Leather pullout sofa (SO COMFORTABLE) paired with a spacious bedroom and two balconies that overlooked the desert mountains and pool area - perfect for my brother and I to share. The suite had two bathrooms, one powder room in the living room and a large bathroom in the bedroom with two sinks, a deep soaking tub, and private toilet/shower closets. |2. THE SPA. One of the best spa facilities and experiences I've had in many years. The Men's locker area (which typically is neglected) is extensive and luxurious (Stone showers and shaving/moisturizing area with designer products, private hot tub with fire pit, cold cucumber face towels, spa pool with poolside drink/food service, and more. My facial and deep tissue massage felt personalized and I was so relaxed after each service. Loved that the spa rooms were creatively named after geodes. |3. The resort pool area was spotless and well stocked with sunscreen, resort towels, aloe vera, water, etc. I enjoyed that there was a family pool area for kids and the waterslide was a fun experience! The poolside menu was diverse and the drinks and food served were fresh with smiling service. |4. Breakfast st CORE was delicious (seriously the best breakfast burrito I've ever had) and there was a lovely, shaded patio with mountain view to enjoy al fresco dining. |5. Resort programming was plentiful - guided hikes, stargazing, etc. My brother and I enjoyed the Ranger Station (I forget the Lead Ranger's name but he was AWESOME!) where they had scorpions, tarantulas, and of course WAMBA, the resident African tortoise. |6. The Concierge Team sent a few amenities to celebrate my personal life milestone plus my brother's graduation -- we both felt so celebrated! |7. Both the cleanliness of the rooms and public areas (a given at a 5 star resort) and the landscaping of the natural foliage was so on point. Everything felt fresh and inspiring. |8. Overall the service was exceptional (except for one man described in Tired) and made me feel welcomed, seen, heard, and valued. Bottom line, I was pampered and even when things went wrong, recovery was swift and more than fair to make up for the shortcomings. Don't hesitate to contact the property before your stay and explain exactly what you are looking to do and any special requests, they seem to take these seriously. ||I would like to recognize the following ladies and gentlemen: |A. Suzanne in the Spa (Wow, what a delight - we bonded over being caregivers and she made my Spa visit feel like the 8th wonder of the world). |B. Jennifer in Resort Services (When I first called she offered a wonderful first impression, showing empathy for my situation and ensuring everything was set up beautifully for my arrival)|C. Valentina in Front Office Management (She was the one who contacted me when I had a few room issues, completely owning the opportunity and providing persona-based recovery that made me forget the issues) |D. Elicia in the Spa (My facial was to die for - I didn't want it to end! She made me feel so relaxed and offered wonderful product recommendations)|E. Luisa in Concierge (Responded to my requests and ensured my arrival was well prepared) |F. Tyler in Valet (Provided honest options for parking) and Jeremiah in Bellhop (Helped me with my bags and made me feel so comfortable departing) ||What's Tired (Improvement Opportunities)|1. There was a belligerently rude gate keeper worker at the front of the property where they stop your car, I believe his name was Carl or Karl. He treated me as if I was a criminal who was up to something suspicious simply driving back from exploring. It was bizarre. I asked if he could please ensure my brother was on the list for entry as I already added him to my reservation and he screamed at me that I have to do that with the front desk I can't just add random guests on the list. Excuse me? This man is supposed to be the first impression of a luxury five star resort, not a wannabe cop who's working a nightclub door job at a sketchy downtown area. He must be dealt with. |2. The building is aging a bit and could benefit from renovation - worn carpets, clogged/gurgling tub/sink/shower drains, weak HVAC, etc.|3. The steam room and sauna in the Men's spa area were MUCH TOO HOT and almost burned me. I highly suggest turning the temps down for both...

We had a spectacular vacation! We almost booked Scottsdale (again) but thought we’d try something different and so glad we did. TUS airport is small, renovated, friendly employees, easy to navigate. We were whisked away by car it only took 40 minutes to arrive at the Ritz Dove Mountain. ||You arrive thru a security guard/gate who calls your name to the valet who is waiting to help. Our Casita was ready at 10am when we arrived, we check in at the desk very quick w/champagne & chilled waters, and they golf carted us to the Casita immediately. ||By 10:30am we were unpacked and changing into our swimsuits for a pool day and lunch. The 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath Casita was rustic lovely, 2 covered patios, huge living room, a side hallway area to store golf clubs, nice bedroom with TONS of storage to as many clothes as you can bring. I loved the dressing area for makeup and styling your hair, plus a walk in closet w/shelves. My husband had a nice work desk area plus a dinner table and chairs. The marble shower is large with a bench, plenty of space for toiletries, deep soaking tub w/salts provided daily, twice a day housekeeping, post beam ceilings in the living & bedroom, plenty of good lighting & good water pressure. ||We tried all the restaurants and all are highly recommended. We especially liked Cayton’s because it reminds us of a country club vs hotel. All the employees are highly trained, friendly, professional, seeking to help you, and addresses us by name as soon as they see us. We took the shuttle 10 times atleast for golf & dinner, easy and quick. We had someone pick us up at our Casita in a golf cart and take us to the main hotel often. Each and every employee was excellent. (Actually the only employee that could use retrained was the manager at Turquesa/lunch, as he didn’t engaged at all with vacationers). Employees here seem to actually LIKE their jobs and are happy! ||Fitness center- nice sized for a hotel gym, we could get our workouts in fine, not a fan of Technogym equipment but it was in good condition. Bottled waters. Towels. No complaints. The prime times of 7-9am is very busy so if you can go at other times, you’ll enjoy your workout more, which is what we did. ||All the restaurants are excellent- I did individual detailed reviews for them.||SPA is lovely and they have summer specials||Husband is a current Titanium, Lifetime Platinum, former Ambassador status Marriott member and the front desk recognized his status immediately and thanked him. ||Pool- 2 main pools, 1 is definitely more kid friendly, 1 more adult friendly, but not noted as such. They have a slide which looks fun. Plenty of Cabanas for rent. Plenty of pool loungers and umbrellas for every 2 loungers plus plenty of trees for shade. Pool water temp was warm. During the week the pools are great meaning quiet, weekends get busy, but you don’t have to rush down early in the morning to grab chairs. If you go at 11am you can still get prime seating. ||Rangers- they have a full time ranger or two at the kids camp area. Turtles, owls, Javelinas, tons for kids to learn. They do S’Mores twice a week, for a nominal fee you get a s'mores kit, they light a fire pit, you have benches, and make your own s'mores, at dusk. ||The landscape is just beautiful and so different for those coming from the East Coast. The Saguaro cactus were flowering during our stay. The hotel is built into the mountain (kinda) but it feels that way. Your view is the top of mountains & boulders. ||3 suggestions: 1) they sell a Day-Pass for $85 to locals. It’s too cheap. On weekends the pool and restaurants get too crowded. Either raise the price of these passes, limit the number especially on holiday weekends, or only allow during week days. 2) pool bar should be open for drinks at 9am. Daily we thought… I could go for a Blood Mary or Mudslide but had to wait until 11am. 3) pool loungers- the price of adding a pad to the chair of $25 is fine but raising that to $100 on holidays or weekends to too much. If you kept it at $25 daily more people would purchase this service. Frankly, it’s ridiculous that at a Ritz the loungers aren’t padded for free. ||We highly recommend this Ritz and will return. Overall...

3.3 / 5 - A Marriot in Ritz clothing Amazing setting and views with a lack of attention to detail and missing the hallmark Ritz service

When you are paying premium rates from $700+ this resort is just not Ritz standard. If you staying in off season when you can pay more like $300-400 then it’s a different story. Ultimately the level of service is just not there to call this a Ritz. The setting and landscape are fabulous and the pools are great. You feel tucked away in a private oasis when at the resort and have access to beautiful hikes right out your door. Nice options both in the hotel and the Casitas, which are like private apartments at the top of the hill. The overall decor is decent but starting to get a little dated. There were times of the Ritz touch, such as some sweets around Easter and chocolate cake delivered for a birthday. Generally speaking the staff are very young, inexperienced, and from other countries. Nothing wrong with any of that but should this Ritz really be the training ground for inexperienced staff? What happened to world class service. “The suits” as I like to call them, or management, rarely interact with guests and have no real interest if everything is meeting your needs…I don’t think they really want to know. While there the cable was out for days with no real effort to make it up to guests impacted. We truly felt we could have just stayed at a nicer Marriot to get the same experience, yet we were paying Ritz prices. Other than the main restaurant where the buffet breakfast was excellent and the dinners were very good, food is quite disappointing. The poolside restaurant felt like a cheap taqueria, the lobby bar food was so-so, and the service at the golf course was terrible. Yet leaving the hotel for dinner means at least 30 minutes to find a decent restaurant alternative.

If you wish to learn more here are a list of some specific good things and some the not so good notes from our week at the resort;

Stand out people; Mike bellman, Meredith, Aaron Becker and Marcus at Core, Rene and rose from ignite. Jules from the pool. Andrea from the slide. Tortoise comes out to eat in the afternoon and there are reptiles to see in the kids room Free bike use (nice Specialized bikes) but you have to go when someone in the ranger station is available, it takes a while, and they ask you to stay on the main road or just off it, so there are limited places to go. pool was kind of a mess all over and no one came around to take drinks order or offer anything Kids meals are meant for little kids not big. Sushi rolls very small. $185 for kids meal, 2 adult meals, appetizer and each a drink Easter brunch was good but as a late sitting they were trying to rush us out in less than an hour after paying $145/each to attend Systems are poor. Literally on every purchase have to spell name and give room number sometimes multiple times. They almost always spell the name wrong and you have to repeat multiple times. Attendance to room is spotty - Turn down could come anywhere from 5 to 9 or 10pm. Sometimes they make sure you have enough coffee, sometimes leave a little card on bed about the stars and sometimes two chocolates a person…sometimes none of those things or they come so late it’s too late Left over plates from Saturday, were placed outside of room (by staff at some point) and were still there on Tuesday and we had to call for them to be collected. This is Ritz? Around property regularly see cups lying around, umbrellas in same place for days or napkins or papers. Kids/families allowed to run around and cause chaos with no one saying anything. Just didn’t feel that nice in the common areas Lot of the restaurant workers are like diner workers. Pour coffee that overspills on plate and ask for new plate. New plate comes, picks up coffee cup (with coffee dripping on bottom), puts on new plate and kind of drops spoon on there. Then later overspills water. Some of the staff are just robotic with no care. more but exceeding...