OverviewLocated about a 10-minute drive from Scottsdale's city centre and about a 7-minute drive from
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the Talking Stick Resort is geared towards travellers who prefer a full-service resort hotel with a casino, a golf course, a spa and on-site dining.
This hotel has 496 air-conditioned guest rooms and suites, each offering free Wi-Fi, cable TV, a mini-fridge, a coffeemaker, an in-room safe, a robe and slippers for each guest, a desk, a hair dryer and an iron and ironing board. Various rooms and suites offer additional amenities such as a wet bar, a dining area, a microwave, a living area with a sofabed, a separate bedroom and an extra bathroom.
Hotel amenities include two outdoor pools, a hot tub, a 24-hour fitness centre, five restaurants, five entertainment lounges, a casino, a golf course, a spa, a gift shop, a business centre, a florist, a barber shop, laundry facilities, free valet or self-parking and on-site car rental service. Pets are not permitted and wheelchair-accessible rooms are available upon request. Room service is available 24 hours a day. Cabanas are available for rental.
Seville Shopping Center is roughly a 9-minute drive west, while Arizona State University - Tempe Campus can be found about 16 minutes southward by car. Camelback Mountain is a 20-minute drive southwest and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is a 25-minute drive southwest. (All distances and travel time estimates: Google Maps)
Verified with a front desk agent: Free Wi-Fi, free parking, pets not permitted, wheelchair accessible. (Call Date: August 5, 2013)
The GoodThe majority of the reviews sourced for this analysis were positive, with much praise going to the hotel's rooms, food, staff and location.
Many reviewers praised the hotel's accommodations. They described their rooms as clean, spacious, gorgeous, well equipped and modern, with great views of the sunrise and mountains and comfortable beds. A few guests did experience some cleaning issues, however.
The hotel's restaurants were the source of numerous compliments by lodgers. They described the food as yummy, amazing, fresh, excellent and reasonably priced, with great service.
Several guests were pleased with the level of customer service they received during their stay. They found the staff to be professional, friendly, attentive and efficient.
The hotel's location was also enjoyed by several patrons, who described it as being close to Salt River Fields, shopping, restaurants, spring training for pro-baseball, downtown Scottsdale and highway access.
The Bad
While the majority of reviews consulted for this analysis were positive, there were a few common complaints about cigarette smoke and noise transfer.
Several reviewers were bothered by the cigarette smoke in the casino, due to lodgers having to walk through the casino to get to the hotel lobby. One guest remarked, "The entrance was through the casino. I despise cigarette smoke so this was a problem for me as I exited the hotel in my suit and tie".
Noise disturbances were mentioned by a few guests. They reported noise from guests in adjacent rooms and the hallways late at night, as well as a noisy in-room air-conditioning unit.
Expedia.ca guest reviews rated the hotel 4.5 out of 5 with a 92% recommendation rate from 641 reviews.
TripAdvisor.com guest reviews ranked the hotel #46 out of 78 Scottsdale hotels with an average rating of 4 out of 5 from 412 reviews.
Booking.com guest reviews rated the hotel 8.6 out of 10 from 105 reviews.
The author called the hotel on August 5, 2013 to verify some information.
