The Monarch — Hotel in Scottsdale

So the best thing about this place is that it’s pet friendly and if you have a service animal, they’re very accommodating. However, there are some negative components that I believe outweigh the positive experience that I started off with. They allowed me to check in early, which is great considering I had an early morning spa appointment there onsite.

The spa is amazing. The bodywork and massage had me feeling the best I have in years. I highly recommend the spa & the spa services ONLY

When I got there, the heater on the main pool was out so there was no swimming which stinks because I had my son with me and nobody made me aware of that when I booked directly through the hotel. I love local and resort/hotel pools are why we pick at place!:)

Secondly, the room 1119 that they provided me had a spacious outdoor area, but it was not enclosed fully And I had a service animal with me. Open access to my neighbors patio is not the ideal situation and is a safety concern. Not to mention the outdoor area of the first room was primarily desert landscaping. Someone could literally walk onto our back patio from the main hallway through the unsecured gate. Not to mention the desert landscaping.that wild mushrooms growing. I literally had to stick my hand down my dog throat to pull a wild mushroom from his mouth. When I went to go take a bath, there was absolutely no hot water. And I waited a good 15 minutes with the water on and it never got hot.

The bottom of the bathtub was rusted out. There was no plug to fill the bathtub even though it was a bath, shower combination and the vent directly above the shower Had peeling paint, rust, stains, and evidence of moisture which to me means evidence of mold?

Not to mention half the water was coming out of the bathtub Spicket and not out of the showerhead. When I tried to explain that to the front desk coordinator Todd and tell him that there’s a cartridge in the Spicket that needs to be replaced he looked at me like I was stupid. I told Todd it wasn’t something I could really take a picture of, but I had a video of it if he wanted to see it.

Todd had the audacity to ask me if I. could I wait till the morning and he would have maintenance look at it. Mind you the hotel is empty. I walked the grounds with my service animal and my son to go eat in old town and notice that most if not all the rooms were empty. On top of that when I walked into the office because they have no room phones and their phone system was malfunctioning I hadI all my luggage in hand and my six-year-old and service dog in tow.

Why would I wait till the morning to have hot water when I paid for a room? I’m not sure What possessed him to ask that question or if he’s coached to do such a thing but to me, that’s not a proper resolution. After I told him no, he stated he had two rooms one on the third floor & one Ist floor- I had to reminded him that I had a service animal so I would prefer the first floor and then he put me in a room in the third building. This room was “Better.

Buy better I mean it had hot water. He put us in a room that had a patio that wasn’t closed, which was better. However the patio in the room were adjacent to the busy street drink water. So now, as opposed to an interior room, which was semi-quiet but disgusting. We have an exterior room that’s cleaner but extremely noisy. I get to listen to traffic all night And all these rooms in this place are empty.Humm?

All and in all- I give this a two star experience. I understand it’s a three star hotel but it is old town Scottsdale, which has a certain standard here in the valley. As an Arizona native and somebody who frequently stays locally with my friends and family, I will not be booking this hotel again.

Should a member of management wanna reach me I took video. I didn’t really take pictures and I can’t post video here, but I have it available if anybody’s interested.

Kathryn 12/19 stay Ps. pretty sure I saw a roach as I was in the parking lot. A house roach. Not desert roaches or water bugs, or any other excuse for an...

Pro: the mattress was decent and they provided 6 pillows. Room was clean when we arrived.

Cons: Many. When we arrived for our 3 night stay there was a crew jack hammering up the floor in the corridor probably to fix a sewer leak which they covered with a thin piece of plywood and a few traffic cones. Dangerous to say the least. The doors and exterior looked freshly painted but like the old saying goes, "you can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig" applies here. When we tried to register our car's license we were informed that there would be a $15 dollar a night charge for parking which was listed on their website as included with the room. Then were told that there was a $25 maid service charge. Really? The bed linen was some kind of "blend" that felt crinkly and plastic like. The room was like a dorm room that was furnished by an 18 yr old college kid from IKEA. No rhyme or reason and the layout was "funky" and not user friendly. The bathroom? Not only was the towel rack mounted INSIDE the shower (and not ADA type, dangerous if one slipped and tried to grab on to to steady), the water pressure was pathetic and we couldn't get the tub drain to close in order to take a bath The closet door latches (2) were both broken and the door tended to swing open randomly. The sliding door to the patio was very difficult (obvious lack of maintenance) and my fiance had nothing but trouble opening it to go outside. The "enclosed" patio was not private (open at the back) and at least one random person walked right by the back of our room and looked in while we had the blinds open to let in light. Whoa. In the room there was some kind of device that randomly flashed a bright blue light at all hours of the day and night like some kind of surveillance device. Try to sleep or "what ever" thru that. We inquired at the front desk about this and were told it was the door lock and to "cover it with a towel". It was not the door lock. There were actually 2 devices randomly flashing a bright (almost strobe like) blue light, one in the closet and one on a device near the floor by the $35 dorm room fridge. The place is very noisy with buses, police, fire and emergency sirens going off all nights we were there. And every time a loud car or Harley went by on Indian School or Drinkwater blvd it was like we were standing next to the road. With room closed up tight. Oh, they kindly provided one of those cheap Homedics white noise devices (didn't help) and 2 pair of those .50 cent foam ear plugs (didn't help either). To add insult to injury Friday morning around 7:45 am a hispanic looking worker fired up a leaf blower in the corridor right in front of our room waking me up from what little sleep I was able to get that night (2-3 hours). Fed up, I opened the door at about 5 minutes to 8 and asked him just what the "$*@^" he thought he was doing and if he thought before 8 am was an appropriate time to be doing that when people were trying to sleep and got the usual "Sorry so Sorry". Thankfully he left before I showed him a place to store the leaf blower. This place bills itself (and charges as) a "three star resort"? Maybe in Calcutta. I have had far superior hospitality at a Motel 6 or Super 8 when I was traveling for business.

In conclusion, if you want to stay somewhere in the Scottsdale area and want to be over charged for declasse quarters, service and comfort, book into Sonder. On the other hand, if you want privacy, comfort, a modicum of safety, good service, decent value and to be able to sleep or spend "personal" time with your significant other without feeling like you are being videoed there are plenty of better choices right around the corner and at the nearby...

This is hardly the 4 star "resort" or hotel that it is listed as on many booking sites. It is basically an upgraded Motel 6 or Days Inn, where you check in at the front desk, drive around and park outside or directly below your assigned room, in their parking lot, and carry your luggage upstairs or in the dirty elevator that sounded liked it was about to quit working, or worse. The white stucco and bright colors in the outdoor walkways are dirty and in need of a major refresh, and carpeting along the walkways is filthy. There was chewed gum stuck to our hotel room door upon arrival...and 4 days later, still there when we checked out. Inside the rooms, the white sheer curtains and hanging lamps, and cheap media shelving with stainless steel accents is the same as when then place was the Mondrian and I stayed there back in 2007. The A/C units in the rooms work well, but are the old wall mounted motel style units, and very noisy. The linens are equally worn out and haven't had a drop of fabric softener in years. Even with 2 towels on the floor, the shower still leaked water all over the bathroom every time it was used. The place has one saving grace, or two, which is its two swimming pools that seem nicely maintained and enjoyable to be at.

One of the more frustrating or irritating things about The Saguaro is that they charge a daily resort fee of $37.50, yet the place is still operating as though we are in the middle of the worst part of the pandemic. There was no daily maid service, and no maid service at all, and we were there for 4 nights. We were only told this when we checked in, and none of the booking sites disclosed this upfront. The room had 3 sets of towels upon arrival, and when I did find a cleaning person with a towel cart, and asked for a couple extra towels, they seemed irritated by the request. Other services may have also been limited. It seems like the pool hours used to be longer. The restaurant also seemed to be limited on operating hours, and there was hardly any staff present . I understand that many businesses are struggling to hire enough staff right now, and operating with fewer than they need, or need to limit services in order to operate. However, if that is the case, as it appears to be here, then it is completely ridiculous to charge a resort fee, and to call it a resort fee, until you have services and a facility operating like a resort. If daily maid service isn't possible, then maybe every other day.

Check Out time is at noon, and beginning at 8:30am yesterday morning, the day of checkout, we had a cleaning person pounding on the door yelling "housekeeping" and proceeding to open the door while still in bed. Then they returned about an hour later, and again once more, before we left right around 11am, well before the noon checkout time. The front desk said they were going to credit 2 of the resort fees back to me, but so far they have charged the full amount to my card and did not follow through with the credit.

The location is great for being near plenty of shopping and dining within walking distance or a short drive, and it's convenient to Tempe, also to the 101, and relatively short drive to Central Phoenix area. The pool areas are both nice and not crowded. But it's hardly the value that it seems when you add in the resort fee that is a complete ripoff, the quality and comfort of the rooms that is subpar and only a slight upgrade from a basic motel, and skeleton of a staff that seems more inconvenienced by the customers than anything else. There are other options that are operating fully, or...