We recently spent a night at the Canyon Suites at the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona. To say I was blown away is an understatement. They should be the benchmark for service that all luxury resorts should strive for.
The Canyon Suites is a hotel within a hotel. It is located in the grounds of the much larger Phoenician resort. The suites are a more exclusive, and separate hotel, from the main building. Here is the lobby/bar area.
The hotel is part of the Marriott Bonvoy group. I booked a guest room, but was upgraded to a one bedroom suite on the top floor overlooking the pool due to platinum status with Bonvoy. I also booked a package which included a $200 spa credit, and $65 breakfast credit. Check in was fairly standard, but friendly, and we were led to our room by the gentleman who checked us in.
I was very happy with the room.  It was massive. Here was the living room.
Here is a video tour of the room. It was perfect in almost every way. Could not of been happier. Minor flaws: bathroom scale low battery (fixed during turndown); coffee was Nespresso but not good (seemed watered down for some reason and could not make espresso); bathroom products could be better to fit the luxury of everything else. That’s it. Everything else was amazing.
This was the dining area where they set up breakfast in the morning. There was a minor hiccup at breakfast where they forgot one item, but it was brought shortly after. Also, the hotel did not originally give the $65 credit for the breakfast, but that was corrected in about a week after we brought it to their attention.
View of the pool from our huge balcony. The service at the pool, as with all parts of the hotel, was outstanding. Upon sitting down, someone brought towels, a pitcher of water, and glasses right away without asking. The attendant continued to check in on us to make sure we had everything we wanted. When we returned to the room, someone came by with snacks and water. Very nice to enjoy on the balcony.
At night, we went to the main hotel to start the evening at the bar. The front staff of the Canyon Suites is amazing. They will drive you in a golf cart to other locations on the property. This was the view on the bar terrace.
I thought that the service would suffer in the larger part of the main hotel, but the flawless service continued. Upon sitting, a server came by and asked to take our order. This was impressive as we did not see a host to seat us, and sat ourselves, meaning the staff pay attention to who is coming and going. The fantastic service continued throughout the time at the bar with people coming buy frequently to check in. What was even more impressive was there was a large convention at the hotel and many attendees were at the bar at the time we went. Lesser venues would of been overwhelmed and let their service slip, and blame it on “we’re swamped at the moment”; none of this happened at the Phoenician. Service was still good.
The next morning, we wanted to go for a hike up Camelback Mountain. Not only will the staff will drive you in a golf cart to near the start of the trail, but they will pack you a bag with water and a granola bar for your hike. I highly recommend this activity for the nice views over Phoenix.
When the hike was done, we called and someone picked us up promptly to take us back to the hotel. Also, you can request car service to drop you off in town if you want to go out for dinner, shopping etc. The resort is conveniently located close to everything you would want to do in Scottsdale.
Now for the spa. Probably the best spa experience I have ever had. From the service to the facilities. Just amazing.
First, the staff, like everywhere else at the resort, is genuinely friendly, helpful, and just overall the definition of good service. The facilities are outstanding. Here was the sauna. I have never seen a sauna with a glass door. Great if you are claustrophobic.
The spa also has an amazing rooftop pool only for spa guests. We had a light lunch there and I was very impressed with the food. I am generally weary of hotel food, but this was delicious. It was a perfectly dressed Caesar salad with a delicious salmon kebab. I did not want to stop eating it.
Here was the small pool in the men’s changing area with a view of Camelback mountain.
The best part of the spa (other than the massage) were the amenities. There are two flaws with most spas I have gone to: 1. something is always missing or 2. the products are subpar. Not here. First, the products are all good. For example, many spas use Gillette spray antiperspirant. This place had Himalayan salt spray. Second, I hesitate to shower at many spas because they lack proper face products. This place, had a 5 step face moisturizing product line for men! Including serum. I was impressed.
This hotel also responds very quickly to the messaging system in the Bonvoy app. Very rare for a hotel. I was able to request 4PM late check out which was granted almost right away.
We have stayed at some supposedly luxury resorts all over the world, and this place would be in my top 3. I am already thinking about when to go back. It is worth every penny they are charging. Everything from the service to the facilities has been well thought out with attention to detail. I highly recommend you experience for yourself. I had originally booked the W, and am so glad I switched to this. Outstanding place.