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#49179 - 12/05/12 09:53 AM Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review
KrisComm Offline




Registered: 08/16/11
Posts: 328
Have you stayed at Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve? Here's your chance to tell other owners what it's really like. How big is the pool? How hot is the hot tub? What do you wish you had known before you left home?

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#57916 - 09/06/17 06:53 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
USMC Offline


Registered: 08/29/16
Posts: 5
My wife and I stayed at the Scottsdale resort last week to visit with family in the area. When leaving Phoenix, we decided to swing by the Preserve Resort to check it out as a future possibility. Upon arrival we asked the front desk receptionist if we could see one of the rooms - she proceeded to show us a 2 bedroom unit which was very nice.

We then asked to see the pool area and was escorted inside the gated area - then out of no where, a lady (thin blond about 50ish) asked us to sit in a presentation. We politely declined and informed her we were heading back home to Southern California. She continued to push the presentation several more times and my wife told her we needed to get back in order to be on time to pick up our grandchildren from school. This did not satisfy her and she followed us as we were leaving - still asking us to go to the presentation.

I would say she asked us 8-10 times in less than 5 minutes. The kicker, I do not remember her introducing herself, and she never asked our names - not a personal touch involved and violation of sales 101. When we got in the car we just looked at each other and said "wow." This was a feeling of harassment and left us with questions of returning for a future stay - can't imagine how that would go.

Just passing on our short 5 minute experience which felt like being in a power-wash, and it is not to say this resort may be a very relaxing, so I would take this review in stride.

Semper Fi...

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#57179 - 08/29/16 07:49 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
Griffey Offline


Registered: 08/31/06
Posts: 19
what are there so many old posts here ?
They are not helpful particularly if you are trying to check new amenities

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#56668 - 02/15/16 07:59 AM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
lindaj Offline


Registered: 01/20/14
Posts: 16
We stayed here Dec. 26 - January 2. Loved it. The staff was great and the pool was awesome. Unfortunately, we were encouraged to listen to a presentation (again!), but we do always learn something when we do this.
The pool was empy every time I used it, so that was great!
It is in a fine location, we enjoyed the area. We went to Casa Grande and Saguarro National Park. We also drove up to Sedona, to check that out.



Have visited Victoria, Canmore, Running Y, Eagle Crest, Birch Bay, Steamboat Springs, Depot Bay, Seaside, Oceanside, Ocean Shores, Kihea, Kauai, Kona, Leavenworth - that's a lot! We love our Worldmark. Going to Granby in September and --- for the third time ---- going to Canmore in July. Will see the Calgary Stampede again!

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#56432 - 11/14/15 10:31 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
junior Offline


Registered: 07/05/10
Posts: 12
Loc: Oregon
Spent a week there in September 2015 and loved it. Quiet and easy access to the hiking trails of the South Mountain Park right outside of our unit. Walked less than 100 yards in the evenings to sit and overlook the Phoenix area and some amazing sunsets. Easy access to freeways and plenty of restaurants that deliver. Grounds are well kept and a great pool. What a great staff and actually one of the better stays regarding hospitality. Would definitely go again.
_________________________
Eagle Crest(3x), Oceanside(2), Windsor(3), Running Y(2), Seaside(15x), Gleneden(3), Angels Camp, McCall,Birch Bay, Depoe Bay, Arrow Point, Leavenworth, San Diego-MV, St George, L. Beach, Discovery Bay

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#56006 - 06/15/15 08:40 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
dogwood98270 Offline


Registered: 03/26/05
Posts: 27
Loc: Washington State
We just returned from a week at this resort. I read many posts from other users that have been there, but decided to head down there with an open mind. The resort staff were very friendly and helpful, and the resort was very nice. We were in a ground floor unit, and some of the other complaints were seen while we were down there. As for the carpets, yes, they might have been a little dirty, but that didn't bother us. The a/c units were a little noisy, but that also didn't deter us from having fun and enjoying the area. Better that they were a little noisy than not working at all. We visited the pool almost every night, and I think that after the sun goes down, there is not a problem with the bees. We went out to the pool Friday afternoon, and seen a lot of bees all over the place, but if you don't bother them, they really didn't bother us. We had no problem with other guests making noise until the last night there, and that was just some kids out on their balcony thinking they were rap artists. Not much of a problem really. Lost a little sleep, but didn't deter us from enjoying our time there. We read another post about Rustler's Roost and have to admit, that was a great place to eat. And if you can get past the thought of eating rattlesnake, it is well worth it. I got the snake, and ate it, and it was delicious. I even managed to get the wife to try some, and she enjoyed it also. We went and did all the usual sights, (Grand Canyon, Tombstone, Diamondbacks game, etc., etc..) and enjoyed all our time down there. This is definitely one resort that we will be going back to.


Enjoy your time away....Depoe Bay, OR, Kihei, HI, Arrow Point, ID X3, Clear Lake, CA, The Camlin, WA, Spencer St, NV, Lake Chelan, WA, Las Vegas BLVD, NV X2,

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#54384 - 03/23/14 12:14 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
CalifTravel Offline


Registered: 02/26/05
Posts: 10
We just returned from Tucson and Phoenix World Mark for Spring Training and really loved the resort and location. When I learned it had been converted apartment complex, I was not expecting much. Only thing we missed was not having a barbecue on the deck, but we asked to be placed close to the pool where the only gas barbecue is located. We found our one bedroom unit to be very comfortable and large. The kitchen was great and the walk in closet huge! for our two suitcases and a few hanging items on each side! We really enjoyed staying there as well as the World Mark in Tucson. From northern California and we both grew up in Phoenix and loved the new Phoenix location.

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#51062 - 11/24/13 05:45 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
gigharbor007 Offline


Registered: 11/26/05
Posts: 50
Loc: West o' The Narrows
In interest of full disclosure, we have stayed at this resort 3 other times over the last 5 years using exchanges etc. We have always thought it was great. We were thrilled when we learned WM had purchased the units here. We aren't sure how many units will end up being used, there have always appeared to be permanent residents in some units. We were very happy with our unit - 2 BR upstairs with Garage, deck overlooking Preserve to the north. Only one complaint - very loud AC unit (this is a common complaint here). We use the resort as a base for our annual NASCAR weekend and we also spend a day at Turf Paradise. We always end up seeing some local riders from Emerald Downs which is cool. We do not spend a lot of time in the Resort except a few mornings when we hike in the Preserve. The first year we were here, we had a really funkily decorated ground floor unit with really nice Master suite, this and every other year ours was a more standard unit. The best thing about this being a WM property is that we can always count on the unit being stocked the way we have come to expect. We will come back!!
_________________________
It's all about the journey! LV-Blvd 9, LV-Spencer 3, Kapaa, Birch Bay 2, Windsor 2, Camlin 12, Indio 3, Phx 5, S. Diego all 3, Estes Pk, SF 2, Reunion, WVR-AP Wanaka, hotels in Italy and Charleston SC

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#50786 - 09/08/13 05:41 AM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
BWundrow Offline


Registered: 12/16/06
Posts: 2
I am a bit skeptical about staying at this property. A friend and I have been going to the Indio property for several years the end of October and the first week in November. We are golfers and love the Palm Dessert area and also really enjoy the Indio resort. When we saw the new resort open in the Scottsdale area we decided to go there this year instead of Indio. By the sounds of other guests, it is not sounding that great. I am sure we will enjoy the golf. Can anyone give me feedback on their experience and if you have stayed at both of these resorts. In fact I heard about the bee's by the pool area and that is a turn off as we like to lounge by the pool and swim. Also we enjoy grilling out on our deck and do not like the fact we will have to go up and down stairs to go grill. We have a 2 bedroom rented for 12 days because we could not get a one bedroom unit.

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#50607 - 08/12/13 08:26 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
Poohbear Offline


Registered: 08/09/13
Posts: 1
Just got back from a four night stay at South Mountain Preserve. It was lovely! It may look like you are in a business park, but surprise! You are at the edge of the preserve and can't really see much of the business park at all. It was amazing. The view out the deck was pure mountain desert.

The unit was clean and well decorated. The garage was nice since the car could get out of the sun. We arrived VERY late (midnight) and were greeted and sent on our way to rest. Much appreciated. All of the staff we encountered were pleasant, waving or speaking to us every time we saw them.

It looks like they are still working on refurbishing several units but they never disturbed us at any time. Started after we were up and finished before we went to bed.

The décor in the living area was done in tasteful southwest colors. The furniture was modern looking and pretty comfortable. We were in a one bedroom (which all are on the first floor) and the couch was a pull out bed. I prefer Murphy beds but it seems that those are slowly going away as a corporate decision. The bed in the bedroom was comfortable. There were ceiling fans in the living area and in the bedroom. The AC was a tad on the noisy side so the fans were nice when we shut the AC down from time to time.

There are two pools and two hot tubs. At least one of each is handicap accessible. There is also a splash pad for kids (or adults) that looked like fun. It was surrounded by bees though so it was really not usable. This is an issue the resort is aware of when I asked about it. They are on the preserve and there is very little they can do to combat the bees. Just be careful. The bees didn't seem aggressive, but you never know! The pool area was really nice. Designed to fit in with the preserve, had lots of covered areas and lots of recliners!

The resort is pretty close to a couple of grocery stores and restaurants. None within walking distance, but I personally don't find that to be a problem. If you check in during the day you will get a packet of info about the area. Very useful.

We did get a call to have breakfast and receive the info, other information, and a gift. I picked the info up at another time. We simply had no time for a presentation so never attended. It wasn't called an owner update but that's probably what it was.

I would not hesitate to stay here again or send other owners here. It is a good addition to our inventory!

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#50107 - 05/05/13 03:46 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
DrIandE Offline


Registered: 01/09/13
Posts: 3
We stayed in a 3 bedroom for 7 nights. We were SO disappointed in this property. As another person said, there was lots of storage/closet space. That was where the positives ended.

The dining table only accommodated 6 even though the unit said it was for 8. I suppose the 2 stools at the kitchen counter were for the 2 additional people? This unit (if you have a 3 bedroom with a garage) is not at all small child friendly. There is a steep indoor staircase leading from the garage to the unit upstairs with no fence. In Phoenix if you're staying anywhere from late April to sometime in October, you really do want a garage, especially with a small child so you're not getting into a hot car, but you'll have to block the stairs somehow. We were ok because we have stairs in our home so our daughter knew not to go down the stairs without us but our friends don't have stairs so their youngest (20 months) was always running toward the stairs to look down. The master is beside the kitchen and the other two rooms are on the other side of the unit where the stairs are. Along with the old top loading washer and dryer, located in a hall closet between the two bedrooms. The A/C was SO loud that you couldn't hear the television when it was running. The filter for the A/C looked to be a few months overdue on a change. The only reason we noticed it was because we looked up when the unit went on (it startled us because we had just come up the stairs when it started).

Cleanliness was not in this property's vocabulary. My little one is 21 months old and she couldn't run around without shoes the entire time we were there. After going barefoot for only an hour the first night, her feet were black! Not just dirty, but filthy black as if she had been playing outside in the parking lot! Along with our socks, which we just ended up throwing away. Washing without bleach couldn't get these clean! The master was in desperate need of caulking around the tub, the second bathroom tub floor was black. I went to the store to get a Mr. Clean magic eraser which took care of most of it.

The kitchen was a nightmare in itself! Every dish and glass had something in it or on it. After running the dishwasher once we knew why. The food trap hadn't been cleaned and it looked like the finishing rinse dispenser had not been filled in ages. It was so dried up and crusty looking. The dishes came out worse than when they went in! We ended up just washing everything we needed by hand. Cooking the first time was a joke so we gave up on that for the remainder of the week. There was 1 small frying pan, what looked to be a 1 & 2 qt saucepan, a sauté pan and a small Dutch oven sized pot for stovetop cooking. The knives were disgustingly filthy and had rust spots on them. They were pretty much useless with worn down serrated edges (where on earth did they find these?!?). The small cutting board was gross. We ended up running to the store for a paring knife to at least peel apples for the kids. Sad. The refrigerator was dirty inside. Something sticky from someone before needed to be cleaned.

I wish we had noticed all these things before we unpacked and put the little ones to bed. We would have asked for another unit, but from what I read from someone else, I doubt we would have found a much different situation elsewhere.

There were two pools, two spas and a splash pad. Lots of places around to sit and lounge. Nice, right? Wrong. The splash pad was fun for the kids, but there were bees everywhere! I'm allergic to their stings so my poor husband had to watch our daughter while I went and sat a ways away. The little pool near the splash pad had bees around it as well. Not to mention when it cooled off a bit in the evening (btw... The little pool and splash pad and half the large pool were in full shade by late afternoon so a bit cold to be in the water, which of course don't bother the kids, even if their lips turn blue, lol) there were ants all over the deck around the pool and across walkways. So where do you put the kids flip flops while they are in the pool?

It's really unfortunate because this is in a great Phoenix location with easy access to shops and restaurants and great hiking. And it's the closest option within our membership to our favorite DimSum restaurant (Phoenix Palace, about 15 minutes away). Totally off the subject, if you go there, go early on the weekend. We like going anywhere between 11:30 and won't go any later than 1. If you go late there isn't much in the way of options left, not to mention it's not so fresh.

We traded our points for a stay in Scottsdale at the Sheraton Desert Oasis once a couple of years ago before this property was available to Worldmark owners and we thought that was bad with only a kitchenette, small fridge and freezer and small units but this place makes us wonder what we will do next time we want to play in the area. If we are going to eat out for most meals anyway, having only a kitchenette wasn't so bad, especially having had a whirlpool tub in the bathroom, just like home. But alas, we will probably return to Phoenix only because of the location. We'll just be better prepared to deal with the issues and since our little one will be older we'll be able to go to the water parks and such if there is still a bee and ant problem around the pool area.

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#49986 - 04/07/13 09:41 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
cotraveller Offline


Registered: 03/18/04
Posts: 504
Loc: Colorado
We spent 4 nights at the new Phoenix resort at the end of March. We were in an upstairs 2 bedroom unit which had a garage. The unit had nice sized bedrooms with large closets, and two full identical baths. As a previous poster noted, the bedrooms suffer from a lack of drapes or pull down shades. The blinds that are typical of WorldMark units do not do a good job of keeping the light out and the bedrooms are very bright early in the morning. There was a king bed in the master bedroom and 2 twins in the second bedroom. According to the resort description some of the units have a queen bed in the second bedroom. At this time there is no way to select the bed configuration at the time you book the unit. Hopefully this will change with the twin or queen option listed separately on the booking page as is the case for most WorldMark resorts which have that option.

There was a couch and 2 chairs in the living room. There was no Murphy bed but I assume the couch was a fold out since the unit is listed as max occupancy of 6. There was a full kitchen and an eating area that was small for a 2 bedroom unit, with a small table and only 4 chairs. The unit had a full size washer and dryer, and there was a table and 4 chairs on the deck. There was no barbeque grill on the deck but there are grills available in the common area. Housekeeping was not completely up to par, possibly because the resort is so new. One item they should have caught was several bags of empty bottles in the garage which the previous tenants had left behind. The bags were promptly removed when we notified the front desk about them.

Our overall impression was that the resort was very nice. It is away from any busy streets so you do not hear traffic noise. The fact that it backs up to the open space of the Phoenix South Mountain Preserve is a plus. We took several walks on the trails and paths in that area. You can see some pictures of the resort and our unit by clicking here.
_________________________
Fred in Colorado
WorldMark Resort Photo Gallery

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#49949 - 04/02/13 02:17 PM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
DrJimmy Offline


Registered: 02/15/13
Posts: 21
Just returned from a 4 night trip the last week of March. This is a smaller resort tucked into a small canyon right up next to the South Mountain Park/Reserve. A bit off the beaten bath and above a large office park, but within 10 - 20 minutes of nearby attractions in Scottsdale and downtown Tempe. Easy access to the 10 Fwy. Great for Angels fans as Tempe Diablo Stadium is less than 2 miles away.

I really enjoyed my stay here. The area is very quiet and waking to the sounds of doves, quail and cactus wrens calling from the Saguoros was very relaxing. Many excellent trails back right up to the resort. The staff was very courteous and accomodating. I had to switch to a smaller unit on the last day and they had my new room ready before noon on the day of my move!

I stayed in both a 2 bdrm and a 1 bdrm. Both units had huge walk in closets, large bathrooms and an adequately sized kitchen. The 2 bdrm was upstairs with a bit of a climb from the downstairs garage. Both units had balconies or patios off the living rooms. The 2 bdrm did not feel crowded with 4 adults. Interestingly, the 1st floor 1 bdrm unit had a larger LR than the 2 bdrm. The units are well insulated as the 1 bdrm was right outside the pool area yet noise was minimal. My only complaint is the lack of blackout shades in the bedrooms.

The pool area is small but didn't feel crowded and there is a chilled water spout area that is refreshing for kids and adults alike.

I will definitely return to this resort again. The Botanic Gardens is a must see when staying in Phoenix.

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#49902 - 03/25/13 08:45 AM Re: Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve Resort Review [Re: KrisComm]
2hearts Offline


Registered: 10/06/08
Posts: 2
Loc: Washington
At the resort today. There are two small pools and two hot tubs. Te resort is still under renovation. Many units are not being used yet. Nearly all, if not all the units have garages which is great.
We are in a three bedroom unit. The bedrooms are good size and there is a weird over abundance of closets. Walk-in closets in two bedrooms. For a three bedroom unit there really isn't enough seating in the main living area. One chair and a small couch. Classic WorldMark.
Lots of good hiking/walking directly out our door as the resort is right on the South Mountain Preserve.

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