WOW!! From the moment we arrived to the day we left everyone was attentive, smiling, and at our beck and call. My husband played all three golf courses and loved them all. I had spa treatments three times and loved them all. We ordered room service and it arrived promptly and hot. The pools were amazing - loved the adult pool for the quiet and then loved the lazy river for fun. The room was superb and had turn down service every night which was great. Definitely will return and I highly recommend this resort. Make sure and get a moisture surge massage - it was fantastic.

Stayed at the Westin Kierland from 18-21 June with my wife for a wonderful getaway from the two (infant and toddler) children (whom we left with their grandparents). Check-in was simple and efficient. Save your money and park your car yourself - valet charged $18/day. Room was very nice (3rd floor) and faced the adult pool. We arrived early, but they had a room available for us at check-in (say 12:30 or so). Coming from the East Coast timezone we were famished and ate a nice lunch at one of their restaurants (Nellie Cashman) - excellent meal. Very reasonably priced, nice simple meu with not too many choices and fresh.

Best part of the resort were the pools. Adult pool had few guests in the evenings (no lifeguard). The family pool though was great. Lifeguards, pool-side food/drink service, and a pool-side restaurant. Plenty of towels and chaise chairs available. A few trees and some umbrellas made the glare of the sun bearable. Best was the 900 feet lazy river that was adjacent to the family pool and the small water slide. Plenty of yellow inner tubes were available and the river moved very slowly. Very very enjoyable. In fact, one day we stayed in the lazy river for 3-4 hours. Food pool-side was also simple, yet fresh and a simple menu. Servers were available and patrolling areas to serve guests. Lifeguards were available in the family pool and positioned at areas along the lazy river.

We had room service - which was prompt and reasonably priced. Food was fine. We also dined Brittlebrush Bar and Grill, their restaurant at the golf clubhouse. Excellent meal again. Very attentive staff - took our photo in front of one of the greens. Kierland has a coffeeshop (Starbucks) where we purchased a few pastries in the morning to go with the Starbucks coffee the hotel provides in the room.

We took the timeshare tour - $100 gift certificate at the Kierland Shopping Mall across the street. Not a hard sell, nice villas and nice presentation. Not interested at this time, but purchased a package for a 2nd chance evaluation later in the year. Plan to take our children along this time.

Though it was incredibly hot during this week - peaked at 105 degrees, we were very comfortable at the pool, in the hotel or at nearby restaurants. Kierland offers a very convenient shuttle bus to the shopping center directly across the street. Center had high end stores and nice restaurants so parking was a premium. Having the shuttle bus was a very nice feature. You could ask any store to call the hotel and a bus would arrive at your door in 10-15 minutes.

I had contacted the concierge before arrival to arrange dinner at two restaurants recommended by the concierge. Both choices were excellent (seafood and Italian). Concierge printed out directions.

We had only two problems. 1: Housekeeping staff were not consistent in replacing the towels or toiletries. We called twice for missing items. 2: I had ordered a bottle of champage/strawberries/cheese for our arrival (expensive), but it never arrived. We were billed for it upon check-out, but it was cleared up at the registration desk. Given our early check-in (reservation said we could not check in till 4pm), champagne at noon was probably not a good idea.

All in all, it was a great trip. Even with the heat, the lodging was elegant with all the amenities (pool, spa, golf, restaurants). Staff were helpful and attentive. Location seems rather isolated except for the Kierland Shopping Center across the street. Plan to go again with the children.

this is a great hotel! we were there july 4 weekend. we were really deciding between this hotel and the jw marriott. didn't go to the marriott, but have no intention of staying anywhere else anytime we are in the area. do not waste your time staying anywhere else. we can't imagine a better experience anywhere in the area. we also stayed at the sheraton wild horse and still found this hotel to be better. we have stayed at the phoenecian and thought it was nice, but the westin is far better. we stayed at the fairmont last time and were not that impressed. the westin will knock your socks off. the only thing we could see someone complaining about is room size. the rooms are average sized, as well as the bathrooms, but nicely furnished. lighting in the room is great. we asked for a room on the first floor by the pool and got it. open your balcony and go. very convenient. lazy river, large water slide, beach entry pool with sand. open until 8 during the week and 10 on weekends. but when the main pool closes, you can use the adult pool 24 hours with kids. had dive in movie fri, sat and sun. they throw the inner tubes from the lazy river in the pool so you can sit on them and watch the movie. we saw sandlot, racing stripes and are we there yet. the food from the poolside bar is very good. try the cold shrimp appetizer. the prices are high for the food but it is very, very worth it. the pool reminded us of a cruise on land. from 5-7 there was this reggae guy at the pool who plays music. there was a limbo contest. kids could make necklaces and bracelets for a fee. they gave away these big straw hat things. there are people walking around with ice cold towels to refresh you during the day. had to get to the pool before 10 to grab a spot in the shade (there are tons of spots, though). had cabana rentals, but we didn't do that. they just have a ceiling fan and television. liked being closer to the pool's edge. there's also a little water area for the kids to play in with shooting sprinklers. the pool lets you bring your own floats and balls. there's also this large lawn area adjacent to the pool. they had hula hoop contests and a large blow up water slide. there's a very small jacuzzi hidden over by the lazy river. what we really like about this pool is that it's not spread out. but don't forget your sandals. the ground gets very hot. however, you can wear your sandals to the water's edge of the pool. walk through the pool. go out of the pool into the lazy river. go out of the lazy river and walk up to the water slide. everything's very compact at the pool. not very hard to watch your kids. the staff at the pool was so friendly and the service was great with all the people there. we were very concerned about staying here, since we heard it was a total convention hotel. absolutely not the case. we saw some convention people on wed and thurs, but by fri, ALL families and one wedding. the food at the restaurant downstairs is incredible. very, very good. the restaurant is called nellie cashman's. they also have a very nice small breakfast buffet, well worth the price. in the evening, at the bottom by the restaurant, they have smores. they give you marshmallows to roast at the fire and then you put them between chocolate and graham crackers. a very nice touch. there's also a man playing bagpipes at sunset. after he leaves, there's these two music people playing very soothing music. you can order drinks and listen to the music outdoors. inside the hotel to the right of the villas sales area, there's a coffee and bagel place which actually serves up starbucks, hot and cold. they also have sandwiches and salads. the staff is extremely friendly and accomodating. right across from the hotel is the kierland commons. there's a barnes and noble open 9-11pm every day with a starbucks inside. there's also a standalone starbucks. there's a coldstone, cheesecake factory, morton's steakhouse and ocean club for seafood. nicer boutique shops also in this area. right up scottsdale road, less than 2 mins away are tons of suburban chain restaurants - outback steakhouse, maggianos italian, baja fresh, tgifridays, you name it. when you combine the shopping, eating and hotel location, as well as service and amenities, this is THE place to stay in scottsdale. thank you westin for a great experience.

At the end of my July 4th weekend stay at the Keirland, I am more convinced then ever that my first impression of the resort is still accurate; it's schitzophrenic. Let me explain.

The resort grounds are beautiful. In some cases, stately even. There are a number of spaces that resemble formal libraries, from small nooks to large dedicated function rooms that for the non-conference or wedding attendee, are basically useless. Contrasting that is the coffee shop selling starbucks (yahoo!) and the Segue lessons for $50.

There were a number of families with a ton of kids, yet there was a dedicated adult pool. The adult pool was my savior, of course, as facing the common area where the better pool, food, music, and lazy river was, was just not an option. The screaming kids and their often drunk and loud older counterparts was just not appealing, ya know?

Anywho... the resort feels like an all inclusive resort with a ton of free activities to choose from, yet the meals and drinks were astronomically priced. One tip, they try to charge you $16 per day for internet access but if you use their wireless access that they say is only for lobby use, you can bypass this rule. The staff were either very helpful (see the check-in manager Amanda for great service!) or they were very very young and totally disinterested in anything other than hanging out with eachother.

I didn't go for a spa treatment (i know, i know) but I did manage to drag myself to the "Reebok" gym for a work out. The gym was free yet lacked much space or equipment. The picture on the website shows treadmills looking out onto a mountain view. It's hardly that. It's basially the parking lot. This was disappointing to me, actually, as this was one of the things that caught my eye when I was shopping for this weekend getaway for 1, online. Speaking of shopping, another reason I chose the Keirland was the outdoor mall nearby. Well, I got directions from the hotel how to walk there, even though they offer a shuttle, and I thought continuing the momentum from that morning's workout would be good for me. Well, I get there and all of the shops were closed. Uh, thanks for that head's up guys.

The food, albeit expensive, is very good given what I had as options. As a vegetarian, this resort has to be one of the worst places to go. Even the snacks at the kid's pool listed veal. What kid eats veal? I was shunned into the kids menu from the main restaurant. Mac and cheese and onion rings galore. Then there were the smore's in the evening. Yum Yum - I had no issue getting in line with the kids to take part. in that one

Not a lot of diversity in staff or patrons, either. Maybe it's because I'm from Northern California and come to expect it everwhere else.

So, all in all... That's what I have to offer. Oh, get the Junior suite - the balcony and small living area is worth it. Just don't expect to catch any of your favorite Sunday night shows - the TV channels are very limited.