Lodge on the Desert — Hotel in Tucson

They completely RUINED a well planned trip!!! THEY "LOST" THE custom designed 3 tier cake! Not a cake on a plate! NOT AT ALL! A 3 tiered custom cake in a box with a clear window; with cake stilts to not smash the cake and decor!) Dinner was delicious and yes, pricey, but it was a VERY important EVENT ( a 'test drive" for a Huge WEDDING event!!) They failed miserably! I will post an update AFTER we see how well or IF they make amends. The room was delightful, large and exquisite. The fruit/cheese board was NOT in the room; a call to the desk confirmed it was paid for and we were told if would be sent right over. Over an hour later, it arrived, cold and we had to wait even longer for the cheese to be soft enough to enjoy. Glitches happen. But LOSE THE CAKE????? After dinner, the cake was delivered to the table, and it was a masterpiece of design (chocolate 3 tier, with crazy great ganache, and fresh strawberries atop; special ordered as we were told that Cielos had no GLUTEN-FREE dessert options! By the time the cake arrived I was way too full to eat cake, so I had a sliver and let me say: It was an "eyes roll back and a naughty sounding purr of sheer delight! The fridge in the room was way too small to store the cake, and a request was made to please store the cake in the walk-in, where we would retrieve it in the morning! Gladly, of course, no problem... It was clearly marked accordingly and we received voluminous assurances it would be there for us in the morning! BUT, mysteriously overnight the cake vanished! I was devastated! I sat down and covered my eyes; speechless and overwhelmed. The restaurant manager kneeled by my side and assured me "they would make it right! They would actually comp us dinner, drinks, and desserts! (in an effort to show just how sorry they were). The actual renumeration was a coupon for a "free dessert with the purchase of an entre'!" NOT what we were promised! They Did try to ease my devastation with a piece of 'gluten-free' shortbread. What about the part of "we have no gluten-free desserts?" another lie! My partner was told by the hotel manager, they would check the cameras and see what happened to the Brilliant Cake. Upon follow-up, he was told the cameras were not pointed at the back and as such had no idea what happened to the cake! Another lie! The amenities were lovely, the room divine, the food at Cielos great.... THEY LOST THE CAKE!!!!! Thank Every Higher power, it was NOT the WEDDING CAKE!!! Devastation will definitely figure into the 35+ people (all to check in to The Lodge on the Desert) for next spring's WEDDING event!!!! The sliver of yummilicious cake was an EXPENSIVE sliver! UPDATE TO FOLLOW!! update 1: My partner was contacted and told he'd get a free night.(no mention as to if it would be the high-end room he paid for, or an 'oos' (out of service room-which is a room they don't rent out due to a repair order), no mention of the complimentary meals,drinks,desserts previously promised to me by the woman in the restaurant! Stay tuned... Were they too busy? NO. It was mid-week, off-season, and the restaurant had 4 other customers. It was an enormously expensive lesson in where to NOT plan an important event! I was especially disappointed as I've been a customer for many decades at the sweet location! I've recommended it OFTEN... until now! I'll...

Probably the worst hotel I've ever stayed at. I have no idea how the reviews are so high on Google! I've been to budget motels in bad areas that are nicer than this place. We had problems the second we got to our room.

First, we had quite a time trying to get the door open since they obviously did a bad job repainting the rooms and the paint on the door kept getting stuck. Not only was this a pain because we literally had to kick the door anytime we had to open or close it, but could also be a safety hazard since it makes it really hard for guests to fully close their doors. We couldn't even fully close our bathroom door which is ridiculous! Also the doors don't have proper locks or deadbolts to ensure guests safety.

Aside from the door not working properly, the room smelled extremely moldy and disgusting. Makes me think they aren't taking care of this place at all. The room itself was just old and rundown. Very ugly decor and bedding, as well as very uncomfortable furniture. The hotel is also very dark and poorly lit during the nighttime, also adding the safety issues. It's also not an enclosed hotel which means anyone can walk around the complex, again adding to safety concerns. Also be careful when booking if you can't do stairs because the upstairs rooms have stairs (no elevator)--which was not mentioned to us prior to booking.

The front desk staff were kind of friendly, but they wanted you out of there ASAP. They have the cleaning crew check on you constantly 2-3 hours before your checkout time. It was really rude how they'll start knocking on your door at 10am to clean your room when you're checkout time is at 12pm! There's really no way to avoid this either since they don't provide you with any "Do not disturb" signs.

The price range is also very unreasonable for the quality of the hotel. If they sold their rooms for $60-70, maybe it would be more worth it, but for $140 with an additional $100 hold it is definitely overpriced. If they're going to charge that much then I expect them to have working doors, elevators, good lighting, and just an overall nicer hotel. Maybe someone who wants to overpay for a rundown and interesting architectural environment would like this place, but I don't think it's worth it.

Super glad we accidentally booked one night instead of two since we were able to book a way nicer room last minute at one of the hotels down the street! Also that much nicer hotel was a lot cheaper too! There are way better hotels in this area that cost less, are safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable. I absolutely would never recommend this...

We hired the Lodge on the Desert for our desert destination wedding 2 weeks ago and they absolutely nailed it.  It's THE perfect venue for an adobe-style, historic, desert courtyard wedding. Wedding of our dreams!

The Wedding Venue: The venue itself is worth staying at - it's a historic adobe lodge with so many nooks & crannies filled with beautiful cacti. Our guests loved hanging at the pool and ordering their DELICIOUS margaritas before the wedding.  It's seriously charming...

It's in the middle of Tucson - but a short drives away from the Saguaro National Parks and fun restaurants, especially the restaurant Locale which is a few blocks away. We encouraged guests to explore the rest of Tucson by creating a weekend of activities for them to join (ie hike, brewery, etc).

The lodge gives the bride & groom the most beautiful room at the lodge - it has a HUGE patio with a gorgeous view of the mountains. It was large enough for the entire wedding party to hangout and eat lunch before pictures. That way, everyone could hangout in air conditioning while we all take pictures in the cacti garden down below.  The cacti garden below is beautiful!

The Staff: Karen, the wedding event manager, was amazing to work with. I had many many questions to ask her while planning the event from a distance, and she always answered very quickly! We scheduled a tour/tasting 4 months before the wedding, which was incredibly helpful to decide on the final menu, etc. They were incredibly supportive - I had no worries leading up to our wedding day.  She even helped with the rehearsal the night before the wedding, which was very helpful.

The Wedding Space: It's a beautiful grass courtyard with sparkly lights hanging (we also opted for the lights on the courtyard tree to dance underneath - incredibly magical!).  The wedding was entirely outdoors.  We got married with the Catalina mountains in the distance.  The staff was incredibly accommodating to make sure the tables were set-up how we'd like + went above and beyond to pick out the perfect table linens. We hired a mariachi band during the cocktail hour, which added a lot to the "fiesta" theme.

The Food: We chose the Mexican taco buffet and all the guests raved about the food - the Tres Leches Cake and churros are to die for.  We served pitchers of margaritas and chips/guacamole during the cocktail hour.

Overall, I would rate the lodge 10/10 to anyone that is looking to plan a wedding. The venue is beautiful, the staff is amazing...and you will be able to enjoy every moment of your wedding because everything is...