Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

My room was nicely renovated but bathroom much to small. The shower when in use would soak the bathroom floor. The property is getting tired looking, time for a face lift. I returned after 10 years and was disappointed to find gym still to small, spa uninspiring, exercise studio and bike/tennis area a throw back to 1980. I would return to the front portico each morning from a long run and was never greeted by bell staff or offered bottled water as i stood there recovering from the run and sweating from the desert heat. I have become so accustomed to being greeted by staff with bottled water and towel upon returning from jogging at all great hotels that i really resented having to ask for it. The main lobby is beautiful and I enjoyed evening cocktails on the patio adjacent to the lobby. The bar staff was lovely. Lunch and breakfast in Frank and Albert's was painful to endure. Breakfast was so delayed with mistakes to the order and lunch was mediocre. The cafe also disappointed. One meal at each was one too many. Best meals were all off property. My daughter and I walked thru the shops and found once again we were back in the 80's. We love to shop so it was hard to believe there was almost next to nothing to buy. Housekeeping was a bit lacking of management, it seemed. Dirty dessert dishes lingered in my room for two days. The Scottsdale - Phoenix area has so many fabulous resorts, it's to bad The Biltmore doesn't seem to be one of them anymore.

It's the little details that make a five star prop

Mountain biking and guide (Chip) were excellent. Wright's was outstanding dining all around. Food, service, presentation, ambiance, price. If the entire resort were run like Wrights, this would be a five star resort. Spa services, attendants were great. Megan O. at the front desk was very friendly and helpful. The lobby is beautiful. A Maintanence engineering employee whose name I did not get. The bicycle room service provided a bit of whimsy and were a delight to watch them ride through the resort. The swim up bar is a nice touch, but perhaps should not be immediately next to the kids water slide.

Was billed as a five star resort when I booked it. Don't get me wrong, this is a nice place with a lot of history. However, a five star resort implies attention to little details that separate you from other resorts. Those little details were missing. While I understand the main entrance is under renovation, the concrete blocks holding down the umbrellas for the valets looked cheap and haphazard. Not a good first impression. Upon arrival, no one offered to help with my bags, merely pointing me to the direction of the temporary main entrance. At that entrance, there is a small lip in the doorway, making it difficult to maneuver a roller bag. While the front desk did ask if I needed assistance with my bags, no bellhops were around if I did, and given the room location, they should have been more readily available, as my room in the garden wing is on the second floor accessible only by stairs. Upon check-in, I searched for ice (which with a bellhop could have been a non-issue at least for the first day). I could not locate the ice machine, or anything in the in-room literature to direct me. I found a housekeeper and asked her. She did not seem to know either. A maintenance engineering department employee coming out of a guest room overhead the conversation and immediately led me to the nearest ice machine himself. Unfortunately it was broken. Not only that, there was a bus cart full of dirty dishes stowed in front of it. Again, this is the kind of little detail a five-star resort takes care of. The ice machine in the adjacent paradise wing seemed more designed for "back of the house" rather than for a guest to be accessing it. Service at Frank and Albert's was very nonchalant. It did not seem as is they cared if we stayed to eat or not, or enjoyed our meal. Everything seemed to be under construction at once, causing noise throughout the day, from early in the morning until afternoon. When I asked about this, several, employees' response was "well, it's the slow season...." as if I should have lower expectations because it's August. Again, a little detail a five-star resort should nail. Guests should not notice a difference in staff attention regardless of "season." A few other "little details": In the lobby bar, the cords for the TVs and speakers were haphazardly hanging, not neatly along the wall. There was visible water damage on one of the corner speakers. A large cobweb was hanging in the corner and blowing with the AC. There were several areas where grout or paint had dripped onto the pressed concrete blocks from recent renovations but were left there, not removed. The pool desk was open and appeared to be staffed, but was unmanned for five minutes, leading me to walk behind the desk to help myself to clean towels as no one was around. Ultimately, we cut our stay a day short and moved to a different area five star resort, where we did not experience any negative issues.