The Clarendon Hotel and Spa — Hotel in Phoenix

Just got here after a long flight and it’s late. We almost couldn’t find the door and I started to wonder who the clientele were here, it’s looking really sketchy. The front desk agent asked for my card to charge a refundable deposit, which I confirmed was refundable. She said yes. We got to the room and the el cheapo 80’s vertical blinds broke as soon as we tried to open them to look outside, then while my daughter took a shower, the bathtub drain wouldn’t drain. I called the front desk to ask if we can switch rooms in the morning…she said they are all booked up this weekend. I am shocked that I am paying over $200 a night for this room. The floors feel sticky and the bathroom fixtures are all in disrepair and need to be caulked, etc. There are some funky spots on the bed frame/headboard. There are hardly any amenities, no microwave, no bottled water, no full length mirror, no blow dryer, no information in the room about amenities, or the area, and not even a real closet. I’m just hoping we can sleep tonight and that there aren’t cockroaches. Then I read the reviews and there’s no way I am paying even more for this room in a “resort fee”. At this point, the only good thing is that it is close to where we need to be. I am definitely feeling ripped off. UPDATE: So, the next morning, after a terrible night’s sleep, after staying up until 2 AM trying to make a decision on other hotels in the area and whether I will out twice as much money if I cancel the next two nights, I talked to the morning desk agent around 9:00 AM on the Friday morning. I asked for the Manager but they weren’t available(?!!). The desk agent did offer to switch our room to a double queen two rooms down the hall. She gave me the key and we quickly gathered our things and switched rooms. This room seemed cleaner, but since I was in a hurry to get to our appointment, I didn’t check thoroughly. Was just glad there were more lights, and it looked like it had been cleaned and ready for guests. When we returned, I saw that there were other issues: no emergency fire exit information in the sleeve attached to the door, and no safety latch, the same weird iron shaped blue paint splotch on the bathroom wall, artwork hanging on for dear life to loose screws hanging down an inch out of the wall over the desk, same lack of toiletries and those available unidentifiable in hotel label jars, no iron, no blow dryer, no microwave. The bedside table between the bed had no lamp and no outlets to plug our phones in. I still kept a light on all night in case of cockroaches. The shower did drain, but the sink drain also did not have a screen and there was a thick layer of gross gunk down the drain. This hotel is not a luxury hotel! Beware! The website is a huge misrepresentation and I am pretty sure the 4 star rating is from bots or people paid to prop up the ratings. There’s no way someone would think this is a good value for their money. The funniest part was meeting a couple in the elevator who were trying to figure out if The Clarendon was worse than the worst hotel they ever stayed at before, in...

The pictures and information about this hotel are very deceiving. I chose this hotel because it is supposedly cannabis-friendly and I was having a little self-care weekend. I called and asked about the cannabis rooms, and found they were too expensive for my budget. So I made sure to ask about the Elevations Lounge, a place where you can smoke MJ located in the hotel. The staff told me the hours but did not mention that if you don't book a cannabis room, you have to pay a $25 fee to access it. The $25 gets you a day pass and access to their smoking devices. However, not knowing this, I went an hour before closing. I was not going to pay $25 for smoking a joint.

When I arrived, I was surprised that it was kind of a mess, even in the lobby. There was a couch in front of the restaurant that was honestly so dirty that I didn't want to sit on it. But there was a big, loud pool party that day so I chalked it up to cleaning up after the pool party. Not so. I will say that the front desk staff were nice. But I went to my room and I was really disappointed. First of all, the only window looked out onto a dirty, loud AC unit. Someone's gotta get that window, so fine. But the room was so shabby! All the furniture was in bad shape with water damage and nicks. The carpet didn't seem clean. The wall paint was also nicked all over the place. It smelled super musty. Luckily the bed was clean (believe me, I checked) and comfortable. A saving grace.

There was also no phone in the room to call the front desk, which became a real problem. There wasn't a sign in there with the number and I really didn't feel like Googling the number of the hotel I was sitting in and using my own phone to do it. First I realized that I didn't have toothpaste. So I had to go down to the front desk to ask, and they didn't have it. I had to go to Safeway. Fine. I also realized that my TV wasn't working. I had to go down again to ask someone to fix it. The repair guy was nice and it appeared that it was missing an HDMI cord?? Finally, the next morning, while in the shower, I realized that the hotel shower gel was running super low. I had to really whack the thing to get enough. What was I going to do? Get out, get dressed, and go down, ask for the shower gel, and shower again? Come on.

The best part is that I now have a mystery $80 charge the day after I left, and I can't get a hold of anyone at the hotel. It just rings and then says "the line is engaged" and the call drops. Great.

So a recap: unless you plan to be super drunk the entire time you're there (which frankly, most of the guests seemed to be), skip this one. If you're sober, you will feel icky and annoyed. 2 stars only for the nice staff working the desk. There was also interesting live music in the restaurant....

Let me preface this by saying I have stayed here multiple times since 2021 and have stayed in different rooms from the basic king to deluxe king suite and have to say, this is not a 4-star hotel based solely on the rooms. Front desk service is exceptional and to be at the level advertised. Pool, restaurant, and spa are okay. But the rooms, there are many shortcomings that show the cracks. Several similarities between different rooms are as follows:

High amount of scuffing on any waist-height furniture, on lamp shades, and surrounding areas by doors. Electrical wiring for TVs haphazardly put together and are an eyesore. Retro and modern decor/furniture that either go exceptionally well together or feel like a room put together from random items found at a Goodwill. Shower heads that are nice to look at, but water pressure is severely lacking. Mix of warm and harsh lighting that clash. Walls have an oddly high amount of covers for what I assume to be for switches and electrical wiring. Bathroom vanities that are large, but just have a 3-inch rim of countertop space. Room ventilation is sub-par as I could constantly smell people smoking outside while my air conditioner was running at full-blast. Beds are comfortable and are possibly the only item up to the standard of a 4-star hotel.

I could continue to nitpick, but the list would continue for a lot longer. Why do I nitpick? The Clarendon is supposed to be 4-stars, but the above list of shortcomings are items I don't notice at other 4-star hotels because they don't exist at other 4-star hotels.

The basic king rooms are absolutely below the standard of that of Motel 6, with the only good thing about the rooms being the bed itself. I have seen studio apartments in the bad parts of Phoenix be at the same level of these king rooms.

The king deluxe suite rooms do appear to have more care taken into them, but that is unacceptable. All rooms in a hotel advertised at this level should have the same care and attention to detail across the board.

Most recently, the security has been upped, and I completely understand for the area, but to get to a point where I, as a guest, have to wear a wristband essentially at all times outside of my room is unacceptable and feels less like a hotel and more like a dorm with an out of touch RA.

To reiterate, staff and housekeeping are exceptional, but, the ownership and top-level management are not, and it shows by how clean the rooms are, but many problems stem from the facilities and foundation of the hotel. Whether or not ownership has noticed these shortcomings, this is an abysmal hotel in comparison to what...