I delayed by close to a year, my review of the Arizona Biltmore, because my observations are seriously based on the Easter week/weekend. I am going to tell you what the hotel did NOT tell me, that they should have: An enormous group books almost the entire property for a "Passover VIP" event (apparently many many years running). The issue for any innocent individual family is the following: 100% of the cabanas are booked by this group. So, during your entire stya, even if you wanted to spring the $200 plus (we did) for a cabana, it is not an option; the stunning main grounds on the interior of the property are set up for this group. So, if you want to have a drink, you won't be overlooking the gardens and walkways, you will be overlooking a group that is probably close to 800 people. The group I had no issue with: families enjoying their time as a group. But the "full and fair" use of the Biltmore I have a huge issue with. We didn't get to use many many of the amenities because of such a large group. A small (honestly maybe 10-15 families) group of us just sat shell-shocked by the pool because the resort was clearly scrambling to deal with their biggest paying customer of the weekend. Fair enough. But when we made the reservation, I can't imagine why they wouldn't have said "Full disclosure...we have an enormous group here Easter weekend every year. No cabanas will be available during your stay, and most of the chairs by the main pool will be reserved (in advance) by this group.
The tiny upside: this group ate all of their meals in the various banquet facilites, so all the restaurants (except for by the pool) were very serene.
We probably won't return (and certainly not at Easter).
Just a friendly heads-up that you won't get from the resort itself.
- Arizona Biltmore Hotel Phoenix
