Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, Phoenix
The Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort is situated in the northern part of Phoenx, app. 30 minutes from the airport and 20 minutes from the city centre of Phoenix. The hotel could be reached best via Inter state I-51 to Glendale. The hotel is close to the exit of the interstate.
The resort consists of many separate building on a large scale. There are two areas with many separate buildings called North and South Pointe. Each of the buildings on these two areas is connected with outside corridors. The buildings are four storeys high and built around a courtyard with a small pool. The corridors are open and facing the courtyard, while the room facing the outside of the building. This could either mean another building, the parking lot or a garden area. Anyway due to this location of the
rooms, the rooms or parts of it have better and brighter natural light. The courtyards are somehow dark since they are not that big. The resort registration is located in the ground floor of the South Pointe building. The buildings are built in a Mexican style, but they show their age. Therefore the hotel is undergoing renovation.
Between these areas is the convention centre of the hotel. In front of this area is the parking lot. Another parking lot is behind this area and the one of the “North Pointe”. A third area of bigger seize than the hotel building areas hosts the cabanas rooms of the hotel. The cabanas area separate villas with one or two bedrooms. The cabanas area has it own entrance. If you are looking for more privacy, this may considerable as not everybody could enter this area. The cabanas have two small pool on the area.
Close to the cabana area is the ‘River Ranch’ with many pools, a so called lazy river, a putting green and the tennis courts with floodlight.
A separate building in the southern part of the resort near the cabanas area and the ‘South Pointe’ hosts the ‘Tocasierra Spa, Salon and Fitness Center’.
Also in a separate building in front of the convention centre is the ‘Lantana Grille’ restaurant.
All buildings are built in a Spanish or Mexican Style.
The major feature of this resort is the “River Ranch”. The “four-acre water wonderland” as it is described in the prospectus of the hotel had a winding waterslide, a lazy river, a huge free form pool, a children’s pool, a Jacuzzi and a sports pool. Sun chairs are available and towels are provided at the entrance to the River Ranch. A putting green and tennis courts are also located in this area.
The Coyote Camps offers a guided entertainment program for children for a daily fee of 60 USD. A really nice area and if you have children a great place to entertain the children, but also if you are an older splasher you may like this area like I did. The area is showing its age and in the need of a renovation in the next time. I heard this is planed for the next time.
The fitness centre in the ‘Tocasierra’ building is big and has several different exercise equipments for body training and work out. The equipment is not brand new, but modern and in good condition. There are also courses (yoga, aerobics, etc.) available for a fee. A sports pool is also available, but during my visit the water was not very clean so I used the – smaller – lap pool in the River Ranch. The use of the fitness centre is free for all guests having at least HHonors silver status, all other guest have
to pay 10 USD. The fitness centre is open daily from 05.00 to 21.00 Monday to Friday and 07.00 to 20.00 Sunday to Saturday. The staff is friendly and very relaxed. The gym was shown to me and everything was explained. In peak times the use of single exercise equipment is limited to 30 minutes, in off-peak time this is not enforced. A reservation of a machine could be made by signing a list at the information board. Towels are provided by staff and showers and locker rooms are available since the gym is also open
the public and not only to hotel guests.
The convention centre consists of 46 meeting rooms and a fully equipped business centre as well as the usual meetings equipment.
The hotel has different restaurants.
The ‘Lantana Grille’ with southwestern-american dishes is open from 06.00 to 22.00 Sunday to Thursday and from 06.00 to 23.00 on Friday and Saturday. This restaurant serves breakfast also as an American buffet in peak time and on weekends on off-peak time depending on the number of guests staying in the hotel.
At the ‘River Ranch’ is the restaurant ‘Hole in the Wall’ located, open from 07.00 to 01.00 and serving dinner until 22.00 Sunday to Thursday and until 23.00 on Friday and Saturdays. This restaurant serves western dishes.
’Slim Pickens’ and ‘La Cabana’ are both located in or near the ‘River Ranch’ and opens at 08.00 (‘Slim Pickens’) resp. 10.00 (‘La Cabana’) and is open as long as the River Ranch is opening. The restaurant serves mostly burgers and drinks for the guest at the pools.
visited on USA + AUS
stays 21 Aug 2006
Arrival Date: 21 August 2006
Departure Date: 22 August 2006
Room type booked: One Room King
Rate Plan: Net direct rates
Room Number: 1437
Room Rate: 89.10 USD (excl. taxes)
Status of Guest Program: Gold
I arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon at 15.44. I parked my car at the huge parking lot and walked up the driveway – only to get strange views by staff standing there and asking why I did not drove up the driveway and parked there.
Check in was fast, but I got no further explanation beside the location of my room. I decided not to ask as I was sure to return to the lobby soon to pick up the two bottles of water in exchange to the voucher I got during check in. Another voucher was for the breakfast in one of the restaurants.
A member of staff guided me to the ‘North Pointe’ with a golf cart – I followed with my car. He showed me my room and explained location of a/c control, bathroom and asked if everything was okay. This on the other hand was not necessary but a nice and personal touch.
I was not told during check-in which room I got being HHonors Gold. Therefore I was more than pleased to see that I got an Executive Boardroom Suite. This room consists of two rooms, the living room and separated by a door the bedroom with adjacent bath. There was another bathroom (only sunk and toilet) in the short hallway from living room to bedroom.
Entering the room one was right standing in the living room, which was separated in two parts. Left hand side were the TV with a lounge chair, sofa and table. On the right side was a huge table with six chairs (therefore the suite called boardroom) with a small area with board, small sunk and minibar. This part was a bit dark, since it was facing the courtyard with the corridors in front. One had to close the curtains to avoid that people look in your room. In the first time I expected some noise as the elevator
was in front of my room, but there was not much noise.
The bedroom had a walkable closet. The king bed was placed on the left side with two bedside table, each with a lamp. The bed was very comfortable. Opposite the bed was the sunk with the bathroom featuring bath and toilet on the left. The bathroom had a window, which was nice to have making this room very bright. A small balcony with two chairs provided a view to the parking lot, the pool area as well as the Desert Mountains (Squaw Peak, but I am not sure). The room had also windows in the ceiling. The living
room was much brighter than the living room, due to the windows in the ceiling and facing not the courtyard but the parking lot, etc..
The interior design and the furniture were a bit dated and out of style. Some stains and scratches were clearly visible. The furniture in the living room, i.e. bed and bedside table as well as carpet looked newer and seems to be replaced in the past. Shower head and curtain were okay.
Towels were provided more than necessary, four big towels, three medium sized in the bathroom and two in the guest bathroom, bathroom amenities were by Crabtree & Evelyn. Bathrobes and slippers were awaiting me in the walkable closet.
There was no W-LAN in the room, only a wired connection for a fee.
I had breakfast in the ‘Lantana Grill restaurant’. On a working day only a la carte dishes were available. The voucher was worth 7.00 USD excl. taxes. Coffee and tea were brought be staff, the food was okay. Service could be a bit more attentive, but in general I would describe them as friendly.
Service of the front desk was difficult to describe. During check in I was not given any information about location of gym, entrance to pool, location and opening hours of restaurants. As I returned an hour later and asked I got a whole explanation of all feature of the hotel. Both times I was the only guest at the front desk; therefore I asked myself, why the agent working there did not explain it during check-in, especially since I was in the hotel for the first time. From check-in, I would describe service
as well below average, after my second visit I would say it’s above average. During check out, the agent – another one than on the previous day – was polite, helpful and friendly.
The hotel is nice, a nice place to relax. But I assume it might become crowded during peak time and therefore it might not be that nice than with a lower number of guests. I would try to avoid the rooms on the ground floor. The usually have a terrace instead of the balcony, but everybody passing by could see in the rooms and this might not be that nice. Also the rooms around the small pool in the courtyards of South and North Pointe might be a bit noisier than the rooms facing the parking lot. In general the
hotel needs some fresh paint and the rooms could be refurbished. But as far as I know the hotel is undergoing renovation in the next time and therefore this information might not be accurate anymore. Gym and pool are very nice for relaxing after an exhausting day discovering Arizona. I would definitively return, as the upgrade was nice and the staff in general friendly – a really good value for money concerning the rate I have paid.
