Element Sedona — Hotel in Sedona

We stayed here for a week during April 2024. The hotel itself is modern with exceptional views. The rooms were fairly clean and had modern furnishings and also included a very basic kitchenette – which was super handy. The location in south Sedona was convenient to do activities in and around Sedona. Nearly all of the staff were very friendly and helpful. The complimentary breakfast in the mornings was great bonus – they have one rotating hot option every morning (scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc) with other typical options like coffee, cereal, toast, etc. They have complimentary tea and hot chocolate in the front lobby all day, which we enjoyed all week. There is a pool – which was too chilly to use unfortunately. However, the hot tub was very nice to get into after hiking during the day. Parking is limited and costs $20 per day, but we got our reservation through Costco and did not have to pay that. The mattresses were way too soft and not comfortable. Unfortunately, we had a couple bad experiences here which was very frustrating. The showers are modern but very, very slick. And when you get soaped up, it is actually very dangerous. The shower in our room was a larger one with no shelves or handles with the exception of the door handle. One night, my 11 yo son was taking a shower and he slipped and hit is head on the shower door and then on the edging of the shower. He was howling in pain. I ran down to ask the front desk for help with getting an ice pack or bandages. The woman at the front desk was not helpful – they did not even have an emergency first aid kit or ice pack. The woman at the front desk just handed me a garbage bag and told me to fill it with ice. I didn’t even know where the ice machine was and was panicked. Other than that, she did not offer to help in any other way. I told her the showers were very slippery and dangerous and she just shrugged her shoulders. I had to go back up to the 3rd floor and find the ice machine and then took care of my son with the ice and Tylenol that we had bought. He had severe headache that night. The next day he had a big knot on the back of his head and a headache that lasted about three days. We just took the rest of our vacation pretty lightly and did not do any strenuous activities after that. The lack of caring or willingness to help really upset me. At the very least, if you have a person who is significantly injured on your property, she should ask if there was anything she could do to help. The hotel should really take a look at this safety situation. Then another disappointing incident: the last night we were there, my son went to get the usual evening hot chocolate for himself and warm tea for me at the front lobby area. We have been enjoying this daily for the last six nights, and it was something that we looked forward to. The hot water dispenser was empty and unfortunately the same woman Abby was working again that night. She told my son that the drinks were closed after 2pm every day, but that she would make more when she had some “down time.” We mentioned that we have had an evening drink for the past six nights and she said that the other staff must have had more time to refill it. Really? It’s just hot water. We could not figure out why they left an entire display of about 12 teas and hot chocolates out in the lobby if they didn’t want their customers to enjoy it. We came back again twice over the next two hours and asked again. She repeated the same thing, but from what we could see she was not helping anyone else at the three times we asked. When we were in the lobby, we saw two other adults ask for hot water who were also turned down – despite no one else being served at the front desk. I was totally disappointed in her response and poor hospitality. She acted really annoyed by us even asking for this basic amenity that was previously offered and made a really disgusted annoyed face at us when we left the lobby disappointed. Unfortunately, the combination of these interactions was very unprofessional and left a really bad experience...

TL;DR Stayed here April 9 - 12, 2025 in room 127. My overall impression is that the hotel is either a newer hotel, or more recently renovated, so not worn & dingy. Overall the hotel property itself was fairly clean. On the flip side, I'm guessing to attract more bookings, it's not disclosed up front that you're paying for parking, at least not as clearly as when you're staying at a Westin like you do in a bigger city like Atlanta. So you're paying an additional $20 per night on top of whatever price you originally booked at. Definitely going back to Sedona, but not staying at this Element again.

Didn't need or expect full housekeeping service every day, but the entire time we were there all we got was a drop off of some additional towels once. So someone came in the room, but didn't bother taking out the garbage, or provide any extra toilet paper, etc.

Had some gluten free options at breakfast. Specifically a wrapped plain bagel or wrapped blueberry muffin. They are only available upon request, which is sometimes annoying because there are only one or two employees on the floor, & they always seem pretty busy, so they have to stop what they're doing to go into the kitchen to get you the item.

I only ever saw one person at the front desk, including at the time of my check in. There were 5 people in the line when I was checking in, there was a second terminal, with several employees walking past in & out of the office to the left of the check in, but no one willing/able to pitch in to help get guests get checked in quicker. When we went to checkout, the person working was apparently in the middle of something & I asked for a printed copy of the receipt. I was told I needed to wait until they were done with whatever they were working on before they could do that. Okay, no problem, but again there is a second terminal remember? Once we waited a few minutes, we were told the printer was down, & that we would get an email with the details.

Paying for parking. I have stayed at Westin's in larger cities like Atlanta where this is common. Whether it's because in the larger cities there is limited space, so it's at a premium, & most guests maybe don't have vehicles, so they don't need to pay that amount. Also, my experience is you normally get valet service for that payment, here it's self park.

Parking itself. You get a paper to put on your dash. Either a lot of people forget to put it on their dash, or there are people parking in the parking lot for nearby stores in the adjacent mall. Meaning, Element doesn't seem to enforce the parking, & even if everyone parking has a pass, there is no order to the parking. You can easily end up with the only spot being available on the wrong side of the hotel. If I'm paying $20/night, would be nice if maybe the parking spots were categorized somehow ( maybe color ) & your parking pass correlated with that.

Hotel is almost too modern, no one really thought about the breakfast plan. There are two 4 seat tables, & then a longer rectangle table behind them. If those are filled, you start filling into the overflow of the bar, & if that's filled, you're basically eating your breakfast on furniture, which kind of nudges you to take the food back to your room.

Our backsplash had grease on it from what I'm guessing/hoping was the previous guest cooking that they didn't wipe down. Our room had a fold out couch, which had some debris under the mattress. Bar soap holder in the bathroom was cracked, the bottle that holds the shampoo in the bathroom was pulling away from the wall, the vent for the air conditioner had dust along the edges, which if you're sleeping on the fold out couch is just inches away from you. Again, no single item is really an issue, kind of a death by a 1000 paper cuts item.

The breakfast served the first 2 of the 4 days we were there were omelettes, & then french toast the last day. Was fine for me, but if you're not into eggs, your other options were a yogurt bar, a selection of cereals, & then things like bagels,...

STAY AWAY!!

I recently stayed at Elements Sedona for one night on January 19, 2025, and unfortunately, my experience was far from ideal. I booked my stay through Expedia to use points and simplify the booking process. However, several issues during my stay and the handling of charges afterward left me frustrated and disappointed.

Check-in and Room Issues: Upon arrival, I received my room keys and was told there would be a $50 incidental fee hold, which was expected. However, when I reached my room (at the far back of the hotel), I found it had not been cleaned—pillows and sheets were on the floor. I had to walk all the way back to the front desk to request another room. The staff reassigned me to a nearby room, but this room had a queen bed instead of the king bed I had booked. At this point, I was too tired to go back and complain further, as check-in was already late at 4 PM, and we had been out all day.

Parking and Accessibility: Later that evening, I returned to the hotel around 9:40 PM, only to find no available parking. After circling the lot a few times, I finally found a spot in the back near my room. However, my key card did not work at the nearest entrance, forcing me to walk all the way around to access the building. This added unnecessary frustration to an already disappointing stay.

Billing and Customer Service Issues: After checking out, I noticed unexpected charges on my bank account: • The $50 incidental fee, which was fine. • A $90 charge that I was told they couldn’t see on there end and if it was a pending transaction it would not go through. • On January 24, I discovered a $140.50 charge in addition to the $163.54 I paid through Expedia.

I called the front desk multiple times to resolve these issues. Initially, I was told the charges were pending and would not process, but they ultimately went through. On my most recent call, I was informed that I had been double-charged for another room—a transaction I never authorized. Despite my efforts to speak with a manager, I was repeatedly told they were unavailable until after 2 PM. This lack of accountability and delayed response is unacceptable.

Overall, my stay was marred by a series of preventable issues: an uncleaned room, being assigned the wrong bed type, key card access problems, parking difficulties, and unauthorized charges. While I was patient and understanding at first, the unresolved billing issues and lack of communication from management have left me with a negative impression.

I plan to dispute these charges through Expedia and request a partial refund for being given a queen bed instead of the king I booked. I hope Elements Sedona improves its operations and customer service moving forward, as my experience was far below expectations.

I do not recommend this hotel based on my experience. And as you can see from past reviews this is not the first time this happens.

Update 1/27/2025

I contacted Expedia to see if they could help me with getting my money back. They contacted the elements and were told I would receive a refund and an email confirming this. I have yet to receive my money back or hear back from anyone.

Update 1/31

On 1/27/2025, Scott McKay, the Assistant General Manager, emailed me stating that I would receive my refund within 24 hours. When nothing appeared in my bank account, I followed up on 1/30. He responded, saying, “I apologize for the delay. The credit should appear on your account today.”

Instead of receiving my refund, I was charged an additional $90! Now, I’m short $230, and no one is helping me. This needs to be addressed...