The entire Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe area is so much fun. All of the areas of the city are so close to each other, and it’s so easy to get around and explore. That being said, The Phoenician is so amazing that you could honestly come here and spend 4+ days without ever leaving the resort. While on the property, you feel like you’re in a desert oasis, but you can also leave and drive 5 minutes to be at more incredible restaurants and shopping. On our way home from our epic month long Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip, we stayed here for a few days while we explored the area, and then came back recently to celebrate our anniversary, and spent the whole weekend entirely on property.
Plus, The Phoenician is a Marriott, which we know I love, and while they don’t give the best upgrades, I have always managed to get a room facing the mountain as opposed to the pool, and all of the rooms have great balconies to be able to enjoy the outdoors.
The property has everything. We started every morning off by stopping by The Marketplace to get a coffee. They also have pastries, and later in the day, sandwiches, gelato, etc. There is also a little gift shop across the hall so you can get anything you’d ever need.
For a full sit down breakfast, you can head over to Mowry and Cotton. We did one morning here, sitting outside in the early hours before it was too hot.
Mowry and Cotton also has a great dinner, and it’s a fabulous casual option on property. They have some fantastic flatbreads, and really everything we’ve tried on the menu has been great.
The majority of our time at The Phoenician is always spent by the pool. I highly recommend booking a cabana ahead of time.
The cabanas are perfection – some of the best I’ve seen at any hotel. They line one side of the pool, and that entire side is blocked off only for cabana users. There are different pools on property, some that are more kid-centered, and others that aren’t. They book up pretty quickly, and we almost missed out on one day because we waited until the week of for our last trip. Call ahead!
The cabanas themselves have fans and shade to keep you cool during the summer heat, as well as a comfy couch and a tv in case you need to watch some sports or entertain a child. The cabanas also come with sunscreen, waters, gatorades, and a bottle of champagne.
In front of each cabana, there are lounge chairs, an individual umbrella, and then they set out towels by the pool, which are clutch since everything gets so hot and you need to be in the pool during the summer. The team came by a few times and made sure we had plenty of shade in the pool in addition to on the chairs, which was clutch when the temps were getting to 100+
The spa is incredible, and also has its own additional pool on the roof of the spa building. If you have a treatment, you get a full day pass to the rooftop pool, with it’s own bar and food menu. This pool is way less crowded, so it can be a nice alternative for a day to get away from all the noise and crowds of the main pools.
The J&G Steakhouse is phenomenal. We had the absolute best dinner to celebrate our anniversary. The restaurant faces the sunset, and we had a table right by the window at the absolute perfect time to watch the sun fall behind the mountains as we ate.
Post dinner, I highly recommend grabbing a drink at the Thirsty Camel bar in the lobby of the hotel. They make a great manhattan as a nightcap before getting an early rest so that we could head back out to the pool every morning!
We can’t wait to come back again and enjoy some relaxation in the sun. What items off property should we add to our next Phoenix adventure? Let us know in the comments!
