Fairmont Scottsdale Princess

Overpriced and tons of "extra" charges for days that are not even near Xmas dates. I had to bite the bullet and pay the $20 (per order number) "date change fee"...and then extra $20/individual ticket for non-"value date" tickets (this is AFTER Xmas date) + self parking fee change. This will be the last time I ever buy anything from Fairmont. Definitely took the "magic" out of Christmas. Plus, don't believe all you see in these marketing pics. What a joke.

I wish I had a better review to share, because my family and I were really looking forward to this event. We had so much fun last year that we decided to book a stay to make it extra special, however it was disappointing all-the-way around. We attempted to arrive a little early for our 4 pm check-in and spent a good 2 hours just trying to park. We finally settled on valet parking (which we didn’t want), because another family member drove their own car and self-parked and called and told us not to because the shuttle was running behind and they were still waiting for it after 30 mins. Upon check-in, I waited another 10 mins before asking a bellhop if I was at the right counter for check-in, because there was no one there. He confirmed I was in the right spot and I continued to wait until I was finally checked in and given our room keys and event passes. We were told there would be an event map in the room. After we got to our room, we noticed the building had a funky odor. When our other family member arrived via shuttle he commented that the building smelled like they painted recently. Our bathroom was dirty when we arrived. I took pictures to show that the tile floor had big splotches of a sticky & dirty residue. The carpet was shedding in our room as well, which is also shown in the pics. Our in-room coffee maker wasn’t working correctly either, making about 1/4 of a cup on the largest cup setting. I could probably overlook that if we had a better time at the event but we wasted so much time trying to park and check in that we didn’t get started until almost 7pm. We weren’t provided a map as promised and couldn’t find one at first, so we had to navigate our way around by asking event staff how to find food, which took us several tries. We finally got food at The Lodge and waited 20 mins for my husband to get a cold Bison burger and my 6-year old to get cold Mac n Cheese. My bison chili was warm and delicious, but I felt bad for them. We were too hungry to wait to get warm food, so they just ate the cold food so we could get started on the fun. We never got our hands on a map. By now it’s 8-ish and the 6 year old has to go potty. We found a bathroom with a line a mile long, so we trek back to the room to go to the bathroom. We trek back to the event and find the rides(finally!). Thankfully the guest passes included a fast pass line because that’s the only reason we were able to get on any rides. So for about a thousand dollars, we got to eat cold food, stay in a dirty room and go on five rides before everything shut down. I understand that there’s a certain amount of waiting and inconvenience involved with an event that large, but we really felt like the parking situation was very unorganized and chaotic. A person on foot was even injured by a car waiting for the shuttle. The shortage of restrooms available near the activities made it difficult to enjoy the event as well. For as much as we paid to stay, I feel like everything should have been perfect. My grandparents would always stay at the Princess when they would come visit, and it was always amazing. I wanted to share that same experience with my family and it did not deliver the quality I have come to expect from the Princess. I really wish we could go back and do it over because I feel like they missed out this trip.

Very spacious suite, lovely pool and hot tub. Conference center had all the amenities expected of a 5 star hotel Stayed at the beginning of their‘Christmas at the Princess’ holiday extravaganza, complete with an amusement park, light show coreographed to music and a train ride!

This is our second time at the Fairmont Princess. Last year we stayed in the gold jr. suite. We liked the resort but didn’t like the location of that category of room. This year we booked a “deluxe” view room facing the lagoon. (Which ended up facing the children’s play ground, not the lagoon- which matters during Christmas) The day before arrival I called the hotel to ask about getting my husband access to the spa gym (there are 2 gyms). I was told that we could buy a pass upon check in tomorrow. Upon check in the following day (after flying in from another state) we were told that they do not sell spa passes on Saturday and Sunday (we are here Friday-Monday). I explained that I had called the day before and was told we could buy them, the front desk male went and asked his manager who told him that the only way we could get the spa access for my husband was to upgrade to a different room at $500 EXTRA a night ($1500 for the stay) on top of the nearly $2000 we already paid for the deluxe room. No thanks. So we are told are room isn’t ready and to come back. Not a care given at my concern for being told two different things. After an hour and a half I get a text that our room is ready, so we come back to the front desk to get the keys. We are met with a female and a trainee. We explain how that left a bad taste in our mouths as this was a “resort vacation” for us and had we known we wouldn’t be able to pay the $75 for the spa pass, we wouldn’t have come. They go back once again and speak to a manger, who says the same- upgrade at $500 a night or nothing. If we could leave, we would, but we can’t. We usually go to the hotel del Coronado for a Christmas hotel weekend, but we liked this hotel so much, we came back- never again. This was my early birthday celebration- thanks for ruining it. Fairmont Princess- let me ask you this- is it worth losing customers over a $75 pass?! Train your staff so everyone is on the same page. Like another reviewer said- so many options- it’s a lot of money- go somewhere you and your money are appreciated.

What a phenomenal resort! I recently visited here the week before Thanksgiving with my wife and son. Staff was awesome and we stayed in part of the resort that included breakfast and snacks throughout the day and night. Those were An amazing benefit. We paid a little more but the convenience factor along was worth it! They had a really nice family pool which my son LOVED the waterside. My son is autistic and he sometimes does not understand all the rules. With that being said when we told staff at the water slide they were EXTREMELY pleasant and understanding. I can’t even tell how many places where we have. Even that are the same caliber of this hotel that did not have this same attitude with my family. We did not know the resort decorated for Christmas but we got to see all the beautiful decorations and lights! We 200 percent will be back with our full Family!