I stayed at the saguaro this past weekend with a few girlfriends and we had such a blast! The colors of the hotel were so fun and the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The bartenders at the pool were such nice guys and really caterered to our every need. We even called down to the front desk a few times for toothpaste and other things and seconds later someone was there with what we asked. The hotel is beautifully decorated, the colors and designs were like nothing I've seen before. My friends and I had a great time and will definitely be going there again for another girls weekend!

we spent feb 3 & 4th there, I was expecting a new, very pleasant stay, I got the opposite! at check in we were told there were no rooms of the type we already had booked! after an hour delay we were finally allowed to check in. the room smelled of paint, the a/c heater did not work, there were lamps on tables but no outlets nearby, the deadbolt on the door did not work. the front desk was of no help. It seems the hotel spent alot of money on bright paint, but the rest of their property was a big letdown.

This hotel has much room for improvement. One can only hope that some of the problems we encountered were due to the hotel being new and will get ironed out soon. The saga started upon check-in: our reserved room rate suddenly was double what we were told when we made the reservation. After a long back and forth, the manager agreed to a rate just above what we initially booked. Argh! Not a good start. The room reeked of paint fumes, the toilet wobbled, the hot and cold faucets were switched, the sheets were itchy. Most disappointing of all, however, was the freezing cold pool and cold hot tub. The hotel charges a "resort fee" (which was waived opening weekend) but I have no idea how this place can call itself a resort. At this point, it is more of a cheesy motel with drunken tweens waking us both nights in the middle of the night yelling and partying in the hallway. Housekeeping did not come to our room until 4:30 pm at which point we sent them away. Breakfast dishes stood outside a room close to ours for the entire weekend without ever being cleared away. I hate seeing a new business fail and can only hope the Saguaro gets its act together.

I was excited to stay at a JDV Hospitality managed property. I typically stay at Marriott or Westin Hotels. This property fell short of that standard in construction and furnishings. My comments should be tempered by the fact that it was the typical chaos for any opening day. Consequently, I will note what I think is now different from the Holiday Inn days of this property that JDV has contributed.

The rooms are the same size with new tile and basin fixtures in the bathrooms. The HVAC appears new, but the controls are incredibly complex to operate. All the furnishings are new in the rooms. My complaint is that I thought the mattresses were to be a softer pillow-top, but they are very firm (not hard, just very, very firm). I had trouble sleeping. The pillows are luxurious feather. The nightstands do not have drawers, and there was only one lamp on one side of the bed, if one person was up late, this could be an issue. A tiny chest of drawers below a 32" flat panel with bad reception would have to hold my clothes (not enough drawers, lamps, or lighting). The closet contained a nice sized
refrigerator and safe with an individual coffee maker. The desk area was adequate, but as a writer, I'm accustomed to a much better desk chair in which to work.

Here's what still feels like a Holiday Inn. The walls are still thin. There were limited electrical outlets in the rooms. Lighting is limited. The buildings are not connected and you probably will not be able to access the hotel lobby from your room via hallways, you must go outside to the parking lot or pool area.

I believe JDV Hospital has spent a lot of their funds on the pool area, lobby, bar, and restaurant. The pool bar is nice. Plenty of young bikini clad gals lined the chaise lounges. The pool and hot tubs close at 10pm, I was ready for a dip after returning from the casino and bars around 12:30am my first night, and again at 10:45pm I wanted the hot tub on the second night.

Restaurants had not yet opened, so there was no food service on the property. This is scheduled to open Feb 13, until then, you must eat offsite, and drink after 5pm offsite.

For incentives to the opening chaos, guests were offered a continental breakfast (bagels, fruit filled pastries, whole fruit, coffee, tea, juice) . The daily parking and Internet fees were waived. The Internet service is decent, and you can upgrade for an additional fee, but I hated having to sign on again everyday. Yoga classes were offered and discounts at the spa (which I never saw). A fitness room will be open after Feb 21st.

This appears to be a competitor to the Ace Hotel nearby. No doubt it will become another Spring Break headquarters. The rainbow colors of the building indicate it as gay friendly, but it does NOT appear to be a gay oriented/focused/targeted hotel. Everyone is welcome to enjoy the sunshine amongst the bright colors!

I'm hoping I get a return voucher to "try us again" once everything is complete and the property has been tweaked from guest feedback.