Doesn't Live Up to Its Reputation
Written: Dec 26 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful grounds, nice staff, incredible Spa facilities.
Cons: Shifty "gratuity" policies and chaotic management.
The Bottom Line: Great for golfers and spa lovers. Requires great patience regarding room maintenance and efficiency.
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| shushila's Full Review: Boulders |
I have stayed at the Boulders twice because my husband adores their golf courses. Since I don't golf, I won't contradict his high praise for the courses and clubhouse, but I can comment on the hotel and spa.
The hotel itself is a huge disappointment, especially considering the "five star" review. Positive features are very friendly valet staff, extremely fast room service and check-in help, and Golden Door Spa next door is beyond reproach. Despite the hotel's drawbacks, I would consider going back there again just to be so close to the Spa - although the Golden Door is a "day spa", and you can use it even if you are not a guest at the Boulders.
My poor opinion of the hotel in general is due to repeated run-ins with rude management, and seemingly constant problems with getting a clean, functioning room. The first time we visited, in hot weather, we were put into a "temporary room" with no air-conditioning, since management told us the occupant in our reserved room was having trouble getting a flight out of Phoenix. We were told we would be in this extremely hot (and uncleaned) room for an hour at most. We had already waited in the lobby for three hours past check in time. Finally were moved to our "reserved room" 15 hours after our initial check-in. The air-conditioning in the first night's room was never fixed, and after we had complained a few times about the heat manager suggested we be a little more patient since he was "having a bad night". Our final room was very nice, and mgmt took the first night off our bill when asked. Only other complaint about first visit was room service, which has a very short and unchanging menu with high prices and mediocre food.
On our second visit in the "cool weather", our room was freezing, and it took maintenance four hours to get around to fixing the heat. When we called in this problem, the management told us that they were "very busy" and suggested we "put on some sweaters" until they could get around to us. The second night it rained heavily and the room leaked in five different places - one of them right onto the bed. When we called about THIS, the clerk told us that maintenance would address the problem in the morning (it was then 2:30 am) and offered to bring us some buckets to put under the leaks in the meantime.
My biggest problem with the Boulders is their "Gratuity system". When you check in, they tell you that all tipping is taken care of "except for food, beverages and the spa". However, I noticed the room service bill included an automatic 19% "gratuity" as well as a "delivery charge", yet also has space to add a tip. When we asked the regular staff how much of this fixed gratuity they received, they became very uncomfortable and said they would be fired if they discussed it. We had several long talks with members of the "lower level" resort staff, and all said that upper management was disorganized, inefficient and highly punitive, and that most of the "fixed gratuities" went to the management rather than the staff. The general staff at the Boulders is very helpful and professional, and deserve better treatment. We ended up feeling like we were taking advantage of them if we did NOT tip them, and being ripped off by management if we DID. We tried to discuss this with a member of management, but they were always "in a meeting".
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
shushila
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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