Hotel Upgrade in Scottsdale
Sep. 21st, 2025 02:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerPhoenix Getaway travelog #4
Scottsdale · Sat, 20 Sep 2025. 2pm
We're spending a total of three nights in Phoenix on this trip. We chose to split our stay, though, and spend two nights— tomorrow night and Monday night— at one of the splashy-pools and lazy-river resorts we've enjoyed in the past, while spending tonight somewhere else. Why? Cost. We love the resorts with the splashy pools and lazy rivers, but they're spendy. So while we planned this trip around spending two nights at one of those resorts, when we decided to stretch it to an extra day I went looking for a place that would not cost us $300+/night.
Long story short, we landed for tonight at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. And while I had some second thoughts about the hotel after booking it several weeks ago I held onto the reservation because I could see, online, that they'd upgraded my room already. In fact it's not just a room but a two-storey casita. Here's a video walkthrough:
And now for the rest of the story.
Like I said above, I was looking for places that did not cost $300+/night. I also figured, Hey, why not try to use points? I have points with Hilton, Marriott, and IHG. As I scrolled past lists of uninteresting Hampton Inns, Courtyard hotels, and Holiday Inns— I scrolled past them because although I wanted inexpensive I didn't want dull— I spotted the Scottsdale Plaza Resort on IHG. Using IHG points would be a plus as those have been burning a hole in my digital pocket— i.e., it's gotten tough finding decent redemption values for them— so I clicked through to read more about it.
"Hmm, this seems familiar," I said as I started reading. And as I checked the pictures and the map I realized the hotel is familiar. I've stayed there before! The Scottsdale Plaza Resort was where my company held a two-day sales training summit in May. At the time I scoffed it's less a "resort" than a Holiday Inn painted in shades of desert brown. And there it was, on the list of IHG hotels, nestled in between Holiday Inns. 🤣 Sometime in the past few months the hotel joined the IHG brand family.
As part of the hotel hoisting the IHG flag it's going through some renovations. The main building, including the restaurant and bar, and the main pool area are closed. That's why I had second thoughts after making the reservation. But when I saw this upgrade come through I decided to stick with it. With the pool and hot tub right outside our backyard patio I don't think we're missing anything here. And this is really more space than we know what to do with. I'm looking forward to the next 22-ish hours here.
Scottsdale · Sat, 20 Sep 2025. 2pm
We're spending a total of three nights in Phoenix on this trip. We chose to split our stay, though, and spend two nights— tomorrow night and Monday night— at one of the splashy-pools and lazy-river resorts we've enjoyed in the past, while spending tonight somewhere else. Why? Cost. We love the resorts with the splashy pools and lazy rivers, but they're spendy. So while we planned this trip around spending two nights at one of those resorts, when we decided to stretch it to an extra day I went looking for a place that would not cost us $300+/night.
Long story short, we landed for tonight at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. And while I had some second thoughts about the hotel after booking it several weeks ago I held onto the reservation because I could see, online, that they'd upgraded my room already. In fact it's not just a room but a two-storey casita. Here's a video walkthrough:
And now for the rest of the story.
Like I said above, I was looking for places that did not cost $300+/night. I also figured, Hey, why not try to use points? I have points with Hilton, Marriott, and IHG. As I scrolled past lists of uninteresting Hampton Inns, Courtyard hotels, and Holiday Inns— I scrolled past them because although I wanted inexpensive I didn't want dull— I spotted the Scottsdale Plaza Resort on IHG. Using IHG points would be a plus as those have been burning a hole in my digital pocket— i.e., it's gotten tough finding decent redemption values for them— so I clicked through to read more about it.
"Hmm, this seems familiar," I said as I started reading. And as I checked the pictures and the map I realized the hotel is familiar. I've stayed there before! The Scottsdale Plaza Resort was where my company held a two-day sales training summit in May. At the time I scoffed it's less a "resort" than a Holiday Inn painted in shades of desert brown. And there it was, on the list of IHG hotels, nestled in between Holiday Inns. 🤣 Sometime in the past few months the hotel joined the IHG brand family.
As part of the hotel hoisting the IHG flag it's going through some renovations. The main building, including the restaurant and bar, and the main pool area are closed. That's why I had second thoughts after making the reservation. But when I saw this upgrade come through I decided to stick with it. With the pool and hot tub right outside our backyard patio I don't think we're missing anything here. And this is really more space than we know what to do with. I'm looking forward to the next 22-ish hours here.
