rockie

We stayed at the Four Seasons Scottsdale for three nights from June 7-10. This was our second time at the resort and I love this place! The resort is beautiful, a true desert getaway. The service is exemplary and the facility offers tons of amenities. We took advantage of a summer special of stay two nights, get a third free on top of their lower summer rates. A great deal!

I love the setting of the resort, right in the desert with Pinnacle Peak nearby and stunning views of boulders, cactus and lots of wildlife. Even the “limited view” rooms have nice patios and great views. The rooms are spacious with a fireplace, large bathroom, L’Occitane products and fabulous patio for star gazing or relaxing. It isn’t a huge resort, but is nicely spread out and has everything you would need. There are ice machines and laundry facilities for guests in the buildings. There are many activities to take part in, such as fitness classes ($10 each), salsa/margarita demonstrations, hikes and astronomy gatherings to name but a few. There are two pools, one for adults only and one for everyone. The pool service was even better than last year on this trip with Evian water spritzes, chilled washcloths, smoothie samples and frozen ices passed around often throughout the day. They now serve food at the pool, which was a nice addition that they didn’t have before. They could have used a few more people working the pool area the first couple of days, but they had more staff during the weekend. Things were pretty full Saturday and Sunday.

I used the complimentary ball machine on the tennis court and the fitness center, both of which were great. I reserved a court for an hour about a week in advance and they had a cooler with a towel and cold water for me to take to the courts. The resort offers complimentary bottles of water in the lobby and fitness center whenever you need some. The golf concierge set up a tee time for us at Troon North and was very responsive when I asked questions. On our first day, they delivered a fruit plate and a nice note, thanking us for returning. Then, they delivered a mini birthday cake on a plate with Happy Birthday written in chocolate on the plate for my birthday. The service is just incredible! There is complimentary self parking for those who don’t want to do the valet. We saw all sorts of wildlife like birds, lizards, rabbits, quail and even a roadrunner. This resort is wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there this year.

I arrived Thursday morning, June 7, around 10 and they had my room ready in 15 minutes. It was nice to get in my room and get settled so early. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get an upgrade but the view was still great and the birthday cake and note later that day more made up for it. We were in building 26. We did get upgraded last year but I didn’t see a lot of difference in the rooms – the view was still fantastic. After unpacking, I went down to the tennis courts and played for about an hour, then spent some time in the fitness center. After changing, I went down to the pool and enjoyed lunch at the poolside restaurant. The service was great and after they recommended the fish tacos and I said I didn’t eat seafood, they offered to substitute chicken. The tacos were really good and I had some chips and salsa as well. After eating lunch, I went to the adult pool and enjoyed some quiet time. That evening, we had dinner with my husband's sister at Blue Adobe Grill in Mesa. The restaurant is New Mexico-style Mexican but it was very good. I had a combination plate with a taco and a burro and my husband had a steak with lobster meat and pasta. We enjoyed it very much. After dinner we went back to the resort and enjoyed the patio before going to bed.

Friday morning, June 8, we woke early to go golfing at Troon North. We ordered room service for breakfast and enjoyed it on the patio. After breakfast we drove to the course, just a mile or two down the road. What a wonderful experience! The service was amazing and the course gorgeous. A bit challenging, it was beautiful and a great desert golfing experience. The course was in amazing shape with perfectly green grass everywhere and stunning views. Range balls and a cart are included in the greens fees. It wasn’t an easy day of golf, but we were really glad we went. After golf, we ventured back toward the resort and stopped at a little deli in a shopping center on Alma School Road for lunch. We split a club sandwich and I had the best strawberry lemonade. The food was very good. After lunch, we went back to the resort and enjoyed some pool time for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner, we didn’t feel like going too far so we went down to the resort’s restaurant, Crescent Moon, and ate on the patio. The setting was beautiful. I had the campfire chicken and my husband had the pork chop. The food was delicious and we enjoyed being outside. After dinner we went to bed fairly early, exhausted.

On Saturday, we had a tee time at Dove Valley Ranch in Cave Creek. We grabbed something to eat on the way and drove the 20 minutes or so to the course. The course had lots of desert landscape but it was fairly flat and not as well maintained, although still pretty. We loved the GPS devices in the golf carts to help us with our distances! We both played much better than Friday and we enjoyed the challenge of the dog legs and desert obstacles. After golf we were starving and stumbled across a shopping center at Lone Mountain Road where we found a small café called Brisam's (I think). It had a big menu with pizzas, sandwiches and dinner entrees. We split a Hawaiian pizza and a salad and it was really delicious. We were glad to have found this place. After lunch we went back to the resort to cool off in the pool. For dinner, we asked the concierge for something close and went to Jalapenos off Pinnacle Peak Drive. It was casual Mexican and the food was decent, nothing exceptional but good. My husband had fajitas and I had the combination plate with a taco and a tostada. The outdoor dining was nice. After dinner we went back to the resort, listened to a little live music in the lounge and enjoyed a walk and some star gazing before getting some dessert to take back to the room. We crashed again fairly early.

On Sunday morning, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do, other than not have a wake up call. We woke around 8 a.m., feeling much more rested after our busy few days. We got up and did the Pinnacle Peak hike. It is a beautiful hike, about three quarters of a mile down a trail from the resort. We did it last year but just went up to the highest point, about a mile if not a little less from the trailhead. This year we went a little farther along the backside of the peak. The views are truly amazing in all directions. The first quarter mile is the most difficult but it is well worth it! This is a popular place and it gets hot so go early and bring water! We hiked for about an hour and 15 minutes or so. After the hike we had a nice breakfast at Crescent Moon then went back to pack and check out, before enjoying the pool for our last few precious hours.

This was purely meant to be a relaxing, lazy long weekend after a stressful time at work and we enjoyed it thoroughly. The golfing was fun and the first time we had played on vacation. This resort is a great place for this type of vacation. We usually do tons of sightseeing on vacation but have done a lot of the area attractions on previous trips so we didn’t feel the need to run around this time. I love the serenity and beauty of the Four Seasons and I hope to go back sometime!

ellen_griswold

Thanks for the detailed report, rockie. I've stayed at many of the scottsdale resorts for both business and pleasure but not this one. Can you tell me more about the pools?

rockie

Thanks for reading! There are two pools - a smaller one for adults only and a larger pool for everyone. Both pools have very nice lounge chairs and cushions. Both pools also have cabanas with misters on them that provide great shade. We enjoyed a cabana a couple of days. Lots of shade and some privacy as well.

The pool service is great. They put a cover on your cushion as well as a towel, and bring you a pitcher of ice water. The pools do not have slides or anything fancy, but they are good sized and I like the separate adult pool. The cabanas filled up on the weekend by early afternoon but I had no problem Thursday and Friday. They offer food and drink service and also come around regularly to refill your water and ice.

Any more questions, please ask!

DebitNM

Was there a resort fee and if so, what did it include and how much was it? Also, what was the charge [if any] for the cabanas? Thanks

rockie

No, there is no resort fee at the FS. And the cabanas are complimentary as well. That was something I really liked at this resort compared to some of the others. Plus, there are little touches at every turn, such as bowls of crisp apples, chilled washcloths, bottled water, prickly pear iced tea, etc....the service, overall experience and summer rates made for a great retreat!

xpi6tiva

Thank you for the review. My husband and I go back every year. It's nice to hear it's still as wonderful as we remember. We go back in August! Can't wait!

kealalani

Fantastc report. We started our honeymoon 15 years ago in Pheonix at the Camelback Inn which was at that time on top of its game.

4S sounds perfect for a return trip. Regarding the pools - how deep? I have a pet peeve regarding resorts where all the pools are 3.5 ft.

Thanks for the report!

xpi6tiva

I have only been in the adult pool. One end is shallow and the other probably 5 feet deep.

rockie

Yes, the adult pool goes from 3.5-5 feet, I believe. I don't think that the family pool is deeper than 4 feet. Enjoy!