My husband and I were married in May but with jobs and children a long honeymoon was out of the question. Looking on the internet I found this hotel and the pictures sold me on making reservations for three nights. We stayed in a mountain suite- which smelled very old upon opening the door. The furntiure and carpets were old and very dirty. The king sized bed was actually two singles somehow joined together. The bar was nice but overpriced as was the food in Elements. Service was slow, portions small and not very good.

Even though we had booked three nights we left the next day and spent the rest of our honeymoon at home.

After reading all of the TripAdvisor reviews, maybe my expectations for this hotel were too high. I think a 5 star rating is best reserved for truly memorable properties where location, service and amenities all come together.

We booked during the summer to take advantage of the deeply discounted rates. As such, we were able to book a Mountain Casita right before the 4th of July holiday for ~ $200 per night.

The room itself was quite nice, although you could tell it was an older, but nicely renovated space. Unfortunately, our room did not have a view of the mountain - only of the rooms across from us. The bathroom, with oversized tub was great and having the ability to get free dvd's from the front desk to watch on the flat screen tv was a nice touch.

The room was serviced several times a day. It was a nice surprise to come back to our room after dinner to find tea lights lit throughout....

The large infinity pool was nice, but a bit smaller than I had imagined after seeing the pictures. When we arrived on the first day, July 3, the pool was fairly quiet. Come Friday, July 4, the pool was very crowded. People kept eyeing other people's floating mattresses to grab one as soon as it became free.

The drink service at the pool was friendly and prompt. The drinks were good, but I don't recommend the Asian chicken salad. It was essentially sliced napa cabbage with a poached chicken breast (with the rubbery skin). Of all the things at the hotel, this was one of the biggest disappointments.

We had breakfast both mornings at Elements. The breakfast prices are fairly reasonable - especially comapred with other hotels in this price range. Portions were also quite large. Service was spotty - there were long periods where it seemed like all of the servers disappeared.

We had one dinner at Elements. Service may have been off because it was 4th of July and the restaurant was very busy. Our server was attentive at the beginning of the meal, but then we saw less and less of him as the night wore on. The portions of the appetizers varied greatly - the fried calamari dish was ample enough for 3-4 to share. But the tempura shrimp appetizer was one (1) shrimp - for $15! We didn't order it, but the people next to us were shocked when they received a plate with one shrimp.

The location of the resort was great - very close to downtown and Old Town Scottsdale.

Would we go back? Maybe. But I couldn't imagine paying high season rates of $400-$500 for the sam experience.

P.S. The "easier" of the two hikes on Camelback mountain is not "easy" by any means. We are fit, active people and it was somewhat challenging at times. I wouldn't recommend the hike for casual (flat) trail hikers.

The staff were the outstanding thing about this property- they were truly excellent from checking in to being taken to our room, to housekeeping and pool staff without exception they were fantastic!

We were given a room with a great view- an outside area would have been nice though.
The room was fine, some nice furnishings but a carpet which was out of place and some hudeous green free flip flops!
Pool lovely, and iced water topped up.regularly Got popsicles on last 2 days but not before, so not particularly consistent!

We were REALLY disappointed with the food at Elements- breakfast was just ok- I had granola which didn't mention that it had coconut in it, not that I'm adverse to coconbut but I would rather taste other tings as well!!
Dinner was just poor- we had a great table with a view, but drinks wise, limited choice unless you wanted wine (which under normal circumstances I would , but can't drinkl at the mo!), my non alcoholic cocktail choices were a mixture of juice or a daquiri, not especially inspiring particularly when we had stayed at their sister property the Valley Ho who had great mocktails!

Food dire, honestly- my husband's starter was good (clams), I had fiery calamari which was calamari with a hot chilli dipping sauce and a miso dipping sauce- ok but I was expecting more
Main courses were the worst- I had chicken and truffle mac- the chicken was the biggest chicken breast portion I've ever seen nicely cooked, but roast chiicken! and the mac was runny and not brilliant...
The fillet steak was poorly presented (plonked on top of garlic mash with no finesse ) and was just nothing special at all, so we didn't eat there again.

We did like the Sanctuary but wouldn't rate it as one of the best hotels we've stayed at

The hotel is in a nice location. The grounds are nice, the pools look inviting from a distance. The hotel is older and an attempt was made to give it a modern facelift. Modern furniture that is dusty, creaky floors, dingy drappery and the new-age "stuff" does not disguise the smell, the aging cooling system and the rude, poorly informed staff. Had the room been nicer, I would have been able to overlook the rest. How would I describe this establishment? Lipstick on a pig...you know the rest.