Scottsdale Trip Report - Luxury Points Stay

In early March I took a quick 3 night trip to Scottsdale with a friend, staying at 2 incredible resorts on points.

Award Flights To Scottsdale

In late February a friend asked about planning a quick weekend girls trip for early March. For me, this is super late notice. And when I looked up flights from Denver to Phoenix, they were outrageous. Not only were we planning pretty last minute, we were planning during spring break.

This is a super short flight which I wouldn’t normally book a first class flight. But that was what was available and it was an amazing deal.

Here’s how I booked this:
Found American Airline flights VIA Alaska Airlines.
Transferred 18K American Express points to Hawaiian.
Then moved those points from Hawaiian to Alaska

Everything was seamless with instant transfers and took only a few minutes to book.

In total I paid 18K points + $38.
The cash price of that flight was $567!

First Class seat on AA flight to Phoenix

Arizona Biltmore

I have not been this WOWed by a hotel in a long time. Every inch of this resort is gorgeous.

At the time we were there, prices were sky high. Not only was it spring break, but it’s baseball training and there was an event taking place there for the Brewers.

I used 90K points per night (+0 taxes/fees) instead of paying $1870!
Definitely a steal!

If you can get a room with a Mountain View, I highly suggest that. It was stunning and having coffee on the balcony with this view and an Arizona sunset was perfection.

The hotel has a gorgeous adult pool plus a massive family pool with waterslides

Inside the lobby, tucked away in a corner was a stunning bar.
There was also a massive outdoor bar with fire pits and TVs plus a huge lawn behind that, perfect for family sports

I was given a $50 credit each day due to having Hilton gold status. We used this to grab breakfast in the ice cream shop. In the ice cream shop you’ll find lots of grab and go items, hot takeaway breakfast items and specialty coffees.

Grand Hyatt Scottsdale

After 2 nights at the Biltmore, we moved over to the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale for 1 night. There were a few reasons for this move:
1. This resort had recently been renovated & I wanted to see it
2. As a Hyatt Globalist (Hyatt top tier status), I can usually get 4pm check out – with late flights this aspect was important

Overall, this property is beautiful and will make a great family stay.
But our stay started out… rough.
It is so frustrating how having the wrong person check you in can really set the tone poorly.
Our check in guy was indifferent, didn’t acknowledge status, didn’t name any benefits. Didn’t know the lounge hours. As we are walking away from the check in desk, the agent next to us offers the couple checking in complimentary margaritas. Yes, seriously, they had a pitcher of margaritas behind the desk and were offering them at check in. Since we weren’t offered, I did inquire, did receive and were shocked by how good they were.

The other frustrating part came with the 4pm Globalist check out. After checking in, I sent a text via the app to request the 4pm check out. They responded that they weren’t sure they could honor that but would give us a “day room” to use until 4pm since our flight was so late. That sounded great to me.
Unfortunately, this became a huge issue. Front desk saying no, we can’t do that. Me saying, but it was offered via text. Them saying, show me the text. It was really awkward, uncomfortable and dragged out. Eventually we did get a “day room” until 4pm on day check out.

Every other interaction we had at this hotel was fantastic.
Pool service? Wonderful. Lobby bar? Great! Club lounge staff? Awesome.

My takeaway? This was a one off with a disaster of a front desk interaction. I would certainly still return.

It was peak pricing when we were there. I used 29K Chase points transferred to Hyatt. Instead of paying the $878 cash rate.

This property has a beautiful adult pool, massive family pool with slides and sand beach area, club lounge, huge lawn for play and even a rock climbing wall and tiny put-put area.

One massive benefit of this hotel for Hyatt Globalist (or those who pay to upgrade their room to club access) is the club lounge. The indoor area of the club is small but cozy and well decorated. The star is the patio with massive fire pit. The perfect place to enjoy the club breakfast or their happy hour.

Since we were only here 1 day, we only had one morning to enjoy the lounge breakfast. It was a very standard breakfast – egg bites, pastries, bagels, juices, coffees, etc. Definitely happy with the selection. We also grabbed a glass of wine during the 5pm – 7pm appetizers. I was really impressed with the food offered (crudités, taquitos, salads, etc) and actually wish we’d just eaten dinner here.

Want to easily snag 2 nights here?
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 75K points welcome offer after spending $5K in 3 months.

Things to Do In Scottsdale

The Grand Hyatt Scottsdale is very close to the Salt River Fields which is where we saw the Arizona Diamondbacks play the White Sox.

The Arizona Biltmore is very close to Piestewa Peak Park, which is where we did a hike with great views.

We also did a splurge meal at Progress, the restaurant (near the Biltmore). We did the “let the chef choose” and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Highly recommend!

My Take

This 3 day getaway to Scottsdale was a fantastic vacation. The hotels were both excellent choices. Scottsdale in March had wonderful weather. And I can’t wait to visit again with my family!

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Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.