What a frigging joke...
We "stayed" here on the evening of July 22. I will never go back.
This year for my birthday my girlfriend did the really sweet thing of getting us a room at the Villas because she knows that I love steaks AND lazy rivers. This place, by its proximity to the bigger Marriott next door, had both.
It was such a good plan, until the policies and management of the Canyon Villas made it all go wrong.
We live in Phoenix. We wanted to do a stay-cation. I love lazy rivers. Its like river tubing but with a bar always near by, so I can be even lazier and not have to be responsible for a cooler or its contents. Our plan was to check in early (as we requested an early check in) and then go float the lazy river until I was either sun burned or drunk or both.
This, due to some very shifty moves on the part of Canyon Villas, did not happen either on Sunday or Monday.
We get there at 2, which is not even "early check-in" by most standards, ready with our bags in hand and visions of chlorine treated pool water rotating in a predestined circle in our heads.
And they then explained "oh, we're not going to be able to do that. Come back after 4"
Mind you, the other two people standing there, got checked right in. Guess they must have been "owners" huh Marriott?
Four? Four PM? Are you kidding? Is this a poor taste birthday joke?
Nope.
We, highly discouraged, head over to the concierge's stand to make reservations at the Meritage. During this she tried to hustle us into a 90 minute presentation on the virtues of "vacation club ownership." So let me get this straight, I don't get to get into the pool before dinner, but yet you want ME to give YOU, the MARRIOTT, 90 minutes of my time?
So that didn't happen.
We finally get into our room closer to 5pm because the desk staff wasn't ready for the bums rush of people checking in. Dinner was at 8, we were exhausted, tired of the crap coming out of the mouths of the employes of this place, so we took a nap.
At 6 I called down, asking for a late check out as the normal check out is 10:00 IN THE MORNING...
Best they could do was 11. And our pool passes expired on check out.
Long story short, don't stay here if you're just coming in for a night. Its a rip-off, nothing more than a way to get you in as a captive audience for a sales pitch to join a pyramid scheme.
I never did get to go in the lazy river. But I did get to deal with lazy staff and managers who were rude and ineffective. When we mentioned on check-out that we were highly unhappy with our stay there, the desk staff didn't bat an eye or make any effort to make things right. This is the mark of a totally unprofessional operation.
Worst of all, my girlfriend was really sad because of how hard she tried to do something nice for me on my birthday. That sucks. I guess this is how they try to get you to buy into their vacation club?