Westin Kierland Resort & Spa

Hotel Details
Hotel: Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
Dates: October 10-12, 2015
Rate Paid: 16,000 SPG points/night
Suite Upgrade: Suite Night Awards
Regular Room Rate: $328/night
Regular Suite Rate: $594/night
Redemption: 3.7 cents/SPG point

Normally, check in for the Westin Kierland is 4PM, but we didn't see why we'd have to waste the entire Saturday to enjoy the amazing amenities at the resort.

So we took an UberX (a nice Audi A4) from the Aloft Phoenix around 9:30AM and arrived at the Westin just before 10AM. The plan was to store our luggage and enjoy the pool until the room was ready.

The doormen staff was amazing as they immediately took our bags from the trunk and had them on the trolley before I even stepped my toddler feet out of the car. I felt like royalty the way the doormen swarmed around to help us. I'm not sure, but I think they even addressed my father by name. How'd they know?

We walked into the impressive lobby area and found the Front Desk area to our left.



At the Front Desk, we were thanked repeatedly for being a Starwood Platinum and informed us they had upgraded us to a Parlor Suite.

Unfortunately, since it was 10AM, they weren't able to give us the room, but said that we could change in the Agave Spa and enjoy the pool while the suite was being turned. Funny how that worked out. They would then text us when the room was available for check-in.

We were given lockers in the Spa and then made our way to the family pool, which just opened at 10AM (there was also an adult only pool). As you can see, people lined up early to get in just as they opened up.

But since it was so early, my mother was able to secure us good seats as there were about 200 seats to choose from. Meanwhile, my father and I jumped into the refreshing water immediately! It was still early, but over 80 degrees with a forecast to hit 90+ by midday.



However, my father had accidentally left the sunscreen we brought in one of the bags we checked with the front desk. So we had to be careful about getting too much sun on our first day in Arizona.

Eventually, as the sun got hotter throughout the morning, my father had to ask a nearby family if he could "borrow" some sunscreen for me. My Israeli mother sort of watched the scene unfold with surprise and amazement. Both that my father would even ask strangers like that and also that they seemed to be genuinely happy to help.

Around 2:30PM, we saw the text message from the Front Desk informing us that we could check into our suite. We were given Room 5030 in the main building (which is exactly where we wanted to be).



There are also full timeshare vacation ownership villas that we could have been upgraded to. These villas are larger (and have full kitchens), but are located further away in a separate section of the resort property (see the 5 story complex at the top of this property photo below).

Room 5030 was quite large, about 850 sq feet consisting of a living room and a bedroom separated by french doors. The living room was nicely appointed with a large couch facing the flat screen TV. They even had a wetbar (really a sink) in case we needed it.

The bedroom had a massive King bed along with its own flat screen TV. They also had a desk and a small loveseat in the bedroom as well. It didn't, however, have any windows. Not sure if that was intentional to keep the room dark in the morning, but we did find the room a bit too dim without the lamps during the day.

There was a full bathroom with a shower and a separate tub in the bedroom. The living room also had a smaller half bathroom in case more than 1 of us needed to use the restroom.

 

The living room had sliding doors that opened onto a small patio with two chairs. The outdoor space overlooked the front driveway of the resort. 

Overall, we were quite pleased with the suite and really took advantage of the extra space. With a separate room, I was able to sleep in complete darkness for my afternoon nap while my father was able to watch TV and read in the other room.

So far so good, Westin!

And here are more photos of the rest of the expansive hotel property. In no particular order...