We just spent a night at the Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows. We had a 16-hour overnight in Phoenix, so rather than staying at one of the (rather depressing) airport hotels, I figured it would be more fun to redeem World of Hyatt points and stay at a property that offers a bit more of an experience.
I’ll have a full review soon, but in this post I’d like to sort of address a topic more broadly. I think this hotel stay sums up why I really don’t particularly enjoy staying at most hotels in the United States. Essentially, I’d argue that we’ve basically seen the complete decoupling of price and quality when it comes to hotels, and that’s just hard for me to come to terms with…
To be clear, it’s not that the Andaz Scottsdale is a bad property… it’s not. Instead, it’s that more often than not when I stay at a hotel in the United States, I’m in disbelief at how much hotels are trying to charge, while offering so little. For what it’s worth, the hotel was charging around $1,100 per night including taxes & fees, and that seems to be the rate for most of the month (I redeemed 29,000 points).
In this post:
The Andaz Scottsdale has beautiful grounds, but needs a little love
Prior to booking the Andaz Scottsdale, I read some of the online reviews, and most of the takes from Hyatt loyalists seemed to be similar — the grounds of the property are beautiful, but the hotel is starting to show its age, and could use some improved upkeep.
I think that’s exactly accurate. I love the landscape in this part of Arizona, and the Andaz is located on a beautiful 23-acre plot of land.
The thing is, the hotel opened in 2016, and it feels like it probably hasn’t gone through any meaningful updates. The property’s 200+ accommodations are spread across a couple of dozen buildings, and everything is on the ground floor, which I generally like.
I understand the concept of mid-century modern design, and the general minimalism in architecture in this part of the country. But the room was just looking a bit rough, and if anything, I think the pictures make it look nicer than it actually is.
For example, why is part of the wall hanging off of the back of the light switch?
The room also had an unpleasant odor, though it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t stay in it. Still, it’s not exactly a great first impression. I also didn’t feel like housekeeping was terribly thorough, or had great attention to detail.
Like, I went to grab a single tissue from the tissue box… great. And then I went to grab a second tissue, and found there were no more. Like, shouldn’t housekeeping check to make sure there’s more than one tissue?
You’d think that the the housekeeper could’ve at least had all of the toiletry bottles with the labels facing outward, no?
In the closet space, one of the two cabinets was just sitting open, as if no one had even been there to clean the room. I hate ragging on housekeepers, because they are the hotel employees who work the hardest and get paid the least, but I also have to be honest.
I guess the Andaz Scottsdale has completely eliminated free minibars (which used to be a key point of differentiation for the Andaz brand), yet I couldn’t actually find a price list for the minibar? That says nothing of the Keurig coffee machine just being dusty AF, so I just decided to skip making a coffee in the morning.
Let me emphasize, these are all very minor things individually, but they just add a high level of friction to stays, which shouldn’t be the case if you’re trying to charge these kinds of rates. It’s one thing if this hotel were charging $200 per night, but when the property is charging four figures, it should be a different story, in my opinion.
Are there no basic service expectations at a hotel charing this much?
We landed in Phoenix late at night, and only arrived at the hotel around 11:30PM. Of course I understand hotel staffing is much more limited at that hour, but does that mean you should expect no service, especially at a hotel of this size? I mean, I imagine many people have flights arriving late at night, right?
As we pulled up to the hotel, there were no employees in sight. We went into the lobby, and there were two people on top of one another sort of cuddling and making out. We saw someone walk away to a different room (I guess this was the night auditor, but you never really know at Andaz, since they don’t have traditional front desks or uniforms).
We weren’t sure what was going on, so we just sort of waited there, in hopes that someone would show up. Fortunately he returned after around five minutes.
He was super kind and checked us in, but there was no offer to help with bags, to show us to our room, etc. So we tried to find our room, which was oddly hard to do late at night with luggage, when the property is 23 acres, and there’s a lack of lighting for the limited number of signs. It took us a good 10 minutes to find our room.
The only other interaction we had with staff was in the morning, when we went for breakfast. We just sort of stood there, as there was no host. Eventually we were seated, and then later someone came by and asked if we wanted menus. Umm, yes please. Then a few minutes later our server showed up. She didn’t say “hello” or “good morning,” but instead just said “what can I get for you?”
I want to be clear — I acknowledge all of these things are super minor, and I’m not suggest this is some horrible property, or we suffered some terrible injustice. I don’t feel that way at all. Instead, my point is that I’m in disbelief how hotels in the United States so frequently charge outrageous rates, while delivering so little.
I just feel like if you have the guts to charge guests $1,100 per night to stay there, you’ve gotta make it an experience, rooms have to be nicely maintained, and service has to be good. It’s one of the reasons I appreciate Four Seasons as a brand — sure, their properties are expensive, but they actually have a minimum service standard globally, so they don’t charge ultra luxury prices while delivering a limited service experience.
All of this is just such a contrast to traveling to Asia, where we just landed. We’re staying at an amazing luxury hotel that costs a fraction of what the Andaz is charging, and we also arrived very late at night. We were greeted by no fewer than four people, we haven’t been able to touch our bags, and everything is spotless.
Of course at the Andaz, we redeemed points. And I suspect in reality this is just a “points farm,” and I hope a vast majority of people aren’t paying the retail rate. But I can’t help but reflect on how hospitality in the United States has evolved. It’s one thing if you get this level of service at a $100 per night limited service hotel, but at a hotel charging over $1,000? It’s highway robbery.
But I guess this is just the reality, and it’s something we have to come to terms with? And that brings me back to what I said at the beginning of this post… this is why my appetite for staying at hotels within the United States is limited.
Bottom line
We just spent a night at the Andaz Scottsdale, which has beautiful grounds and a nice pool, though is otherwise feeling like it could use a little love when it comes to maintenance.
The biggest thing that stood out to me about the stay is how the hotel was charging $1,100 per night, while offering poor housekeeping, and a complete lack of service, from check-in to breakfast. It just seems like when you’re charging four figures per night for a stay, you should expect a little more than you’d get at a limited service property.
All too often that isn’t the case in the United States, though. I recognize I’m probably in the minority by voting with my wallet, but this is why I rarely bother vacationing in the United States, at least in terms of the hotel experience.
Is anyone else put off by so many hotels in the United States for this reason?
It's interesting to see a property I used to work at in the 90's. When I first started working here, it was the Stouffer Cottonwoods Resort, then a Renaissance. the majority of the rooms had private inground hot tubs on the private patios. It was a Renaissance until it was sold and converted to Andaz. In the mid 90's this was a hot resort, but lack of investment into the hotel, along with a tragic...
It's interesting to see a property I used to work at in the 90's. When I first started working here, it was the Stouffer Cottonwoods Resort, then a Renaissance. the majority of the rooms had private inground hot tubs on the private patios. It was a Renaissance until it was sold and converted to Andaz. In the mid 90's this was a hot resort, but lack of investment into the hotel, along with a tragic drowning in the early 2000's devastated the property.
I know the new owners spent a significant amount of money on the conversion and renovation. They relocated the Front Desk and restaurant in new buildings.
It's incredibly spread out and a good portion of the time, you need someone to drive you to your room. It does sound as if the current ownership group and management is letting things slip again.
Well, I hate to say it, because it's going to be an unpopular opinion, but poor service is what you get in a country that's rich, in an area of that country that's rich, and people aren't motivated to work in the same way as perhaps they once were and there's issues finding labor from cheaper sources.
Hotel operators are going to charge whatever the rich customers will bear, until they no longer spend...
Well, I hate to say it, because it's going to be an unpopular opinion, but poor service is what you get in a country that's rich, in an area of that country that's rich, and people aren't motivated to work in the same way as perhaps they once were and there's issues finding labor from cheaper sources.
Hotel operators are going to charge whatever the rich customers will bear, until they no longer spend their money, and get away with staffing it to the minimum acceptable, again until customers no longer spend their money and vote with their feet. Goes to your topic about the point farms too.
If you want a rising standard of living, it's going to become progressively harder to find people to fill service jobs at a high standard, for prices that you find acceptable. We have high prices because we're rich, and we continue to pay.
Part of the reason for the high rate is that this week is the Waste Management Golf Tournament in Scottsdale, so all of the hotels in the area is super expensive. Otherwise, during high season, there are days that it runs for $500-$600. Still no excuse for the small oversights, but $1000+ a night is not typical for this hotel.
Andaz is by far the most inconsistent brand in the Hyatt universe, though their entire "Lifestyle" portfolio seems like a no-man's land of properties that more or less seem to say "we aren't traditional prestige luxury but we have a hotel and a bar so we will therefore charge a premium." Problem is, that leaves a lot of room for interpretation ranging from Tokyo (preferred to PH), to Mayacoba (RIP to a solid resort), to...
Andaz is by far the most inconsistent brand in the Hyatt universe, though their entire "Lifestyle" portfolio seems like a no-man's land of properties that more or less seem to say "we aren't traditional prestige luxury but we have a hotel and a bar so we will therefore charge a premium." Problem is, that leaves a lot of room for interpretation ranging from Tokyo (preferred to PH), to Mayacoba (RIP to a solid resort), to Delhi (best airport hotel I've stayed out globally) to San Diego (woof). The Andaz Scottsdale has always been on my radar but has consistently looked to be a bit of a bait-and-switch, especially after having similar experiences at the Andaz San Diego.
I feel like this is pretty consistently with the other Andaz properties that I've stayed at. The Asia ones are slightly better, but nothing to write home about either.
This is sad to see. I stayed at the property in 2018 and remember loving it... but it was a points stay and the cash rates seemed high back then (making it feel like the points were really getting me a deal).
Now, I go to Scottsdale once a year with a group and we get 10+ bedroom airbnbs with huge pools, minigolf courses, etc for roughly $2k per night (for 10+ people). I've...
This is sad to see. I stayed at the property in 2018 and remember loving it... but it was a points stay and the cash rates seemed high back then (making it feel like the points were really getting me a deal).
Now, I go to Scottsdale once a year with a group and we get 10+ bedroom airbnbs with huge pools, minigolf courses, etc for roughly $2k per night (for 10+ people). I've thought of going a day early and staying at the Andaz on points but sounds like the property has drifted quite a bit.
The pool isn't even heated and was freezing when we went a few Octobers ago
Ben -- you have to give more examples. You generalize from one night at one hotel in one location to all hotels in the United States as being overpriced and undervalued. And then you carve out Four Seasons from the generalization. Which other hotels are this way?
As for the Andaz Scottsdale, we used to like staying there but the quality kept dropping and now we just don't stay there any more. I suspect...
Ben -- you have to give more examples. You generalize from one night at one hotel in one location to all hotels in the United States as being overpriced and undervalued. And then you carve out Four Seasons from the generalization. Which other hotels are this way?
As for the Andaz Scottsdale, we used to like staying there but the quality kept dropping and now we just don't stay there any more. I suspect that there is a lack of good leadership at this property or the owner refusing to pay for good leadership.
Looks like my recent stay at the Spark by Hilton at IAH Airport for $80 gave me more perks, better and friendlier service, and a much cleaner room with near brand new furniture for a much lower price tag.
If you wanna waaay overpay to get the figurative shit kicked outta ya... try the Fairmont in SJU.
I stayed here before in 2018. Way less points were required but yeah 29k or $1,000+ per a night is excessive and not worth it for this property. Dining facilities at this property were a joke.
But yeah, all in all, what you pay vs what you get is getting wider and wider.
Ben - this stay is yet another reason for you to stop paying attention to brands. "I guess the Andaz Scottsdale has completely eliminated free minibars (which used to be a key point of differentiation for the Andaz brand)."
Hotels in the US have basically become a scam. For the same price as this four star property with mediocre service/maintenance, you could stay at a truly exceptional 5 start hotel in Europe or Asia. Another reason to spend your hard earned vacation dollars abroad.
For $1,100/night, you can stay at a five-star hotel in NYC. (What'r these '5 start' hotels... JK)
Thompson Palm Springs is in the same league. We didn't know the hot tub is broken till we were in the tub and asked a hotel worker passing by. No signs nearby or acknowledgement at checkin.
I'd argue $200 dollar range hotels deliver the most ROI in US.
Your review is spot on. I have mentioned many times that the term "customer service" has been erased from US dictionaries a long time ago. You cannot find that anywhere in the country. I also mentioned why for my family vacations, we haven't spent a single day in a US hotel since 2015. The level of quality, price you pay and service you get in Europe or Asia is night and day when compared to...
Your review is spot on. I have mentioned many times that the term "customer service" has been erased from US dictionaries a long time ago. You cannot find that anywhere in the country. I also mentioned why for my family vacations, we haven't spent a single day in a US hotel since 2015. The level of quality, price you pay and service you get in Europe or Asia is night and day when compared to what you get here. Last but not least, I gave up on hotel loyalty a long time ago. I prefer to stay at small boutique chain hotels or independently owned properties where usually the owner is in charge and knows his business depends on them delivering a great service.
Here is an example why I think hotels in the US have lost touch with reality in terms of prices they charge and service they offer. A few months ago I travelled with my son to visit Colleges. I don't consider that a vacation but more family business. When I booked the hotel for just 1 night (actually we used the hotel for less than 12 hours) I did not realize I booked a king size bed. When checking in at 11:30PM I kindly asked the front desk if she had any rooms with double beds available and if she could switch us (my son is now a teenager and it would make us both sleep better in separate beds). She looked at her computer and said there were rooms with two bed available but it would cost me $200 more. What? It was 11:30PM so I am assuming nobody would check in to claim those rooms at that time, she knew we were checking out in the morning but still could not simply as a courtesy change the rooms for free. I thanked her and kept the king size bed. No need to say I will not stay at that place again next time.
I’m always in pain when I go to Asia or Europe and stay at amazing hotels for a fraction of the price of mediocre properties in the US.
Yeesh. Surprised Hyatt would let one of their premier properties get in that sad state of condition. I stayed at the Andaz in Singapore last year and it blows this one in Scottsdale out of the water.
Excellent use of 'Yeesh' sir. I'd add an 'oof' and a 'yikes' to top it off.