Staycation at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort
Are you looking for family friendly hotels/resorts in the Phoenix area? Well you are in luck and can read about my family’s experience at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort below.
My husband and I decided to surprise our 11 year old daughter with a staycation days before going back to school. He travels frequently for his job and one of the perks of him living out of hotel rooms is more free nights in hotel rooms (which I am sure he loves). Since he frequently stays in Hiltons that is where a majority of his hotel points accrue. We have been able to save some serious money on vacations when we haven’t had to pay for lodging. So we logged onto his HiltonHonors account and chose a resort. The next step was surprising the kid, this took some effort. Actually, it didn’t, she is pretty gullible and she had a Nintendo Switch in her hands while we were driving, so she was totally oblivious.
Here’s my breakdown of the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort
The rooms…
We booked a standard suite with a king bed. Each suite comes with a pull out couch and “cribs” are free upon request. These “cribs” however are really just folding pack and plays. A mini-fridge and coffee maker can be found in each room. According to the website in-room microwaves can be made available upon request. Complementary toiletries are Crabtree and Evelyn which I thought was a nice touch. Every room is a suite with a private balcony/patio. The beds are very comfortable and have nice linens, I slept very well during our stay.
Dining…
Unfortunately we only visited one of the resort’s restaurants. We ate dinner at Rico’s American Grill on our first night. Originally we had wanted to dine at Hole-In-The-Wall, but they were closed during our entire visit. Rico’s was just okay, we really didn’t love anything that we had ordered. Our second day we decided to dine away from the resort since we had an idea of what the food would be like and didn’t want to pay resort mark-ups on mediocre food. I do, however, recommend grabbing a bite to eat at Luci’s at the Orchard. It is close by, has great food, a wonderful atmosphere and is a great place to buy fun gifts. There is a small splash pad there as well some come prepared if you have a water loving child. We also ordered takeout from Aunt Chilada’s which is also a great option if you are in the mood for Mexican food within walking distance to the resort.
Amenities…
At the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort you will find a four-acre waterpark named River Ranch. River Ranch has one waterslide, a lazy river, tad pool (perfect for toddlers), lap pool. and main pool that features a nice waterfall sitting area. While by the pool you can grab a drink at the bar, get a bite to eat at Slim Pickens, or do some shopping and cool down with an ice cream at the Rodeo Drive Shop. I ended up running over to the shop to grab some water toys for my toddler to play with in the Tad pool.
In the main hotel lobby you will find a small gift shop/convenience store that is also offers Starbucks coffee. The Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort also has an onsite salon and spa. I did not visit the spa during my staycation. This staycation was more for the kids and pampering myself wasn’t part of the plan.
Nearby you will find…
A Sprouts grocery store is a very short drive away, a few miles further you will find a Target. The nearby Target is a smaller version that seemed to be about 1/4 the size of a regular Target. Also near the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort is The Biltmore Fashion Park which is high end shopping destination with great dining options.
My overall thoughts on The Phoenix Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort…
Since we were just looking for a final summer adventure for our 11 year old this did do the trick. We mainly chose this resort for the onsite waterpark. The rooms could definitely use some updating, as most of the furniture was very worn down (even the pack and play). I would not recommend staying at this resort Sunday-Tuesday (which is what we did). Everything closes early and your dining options are limited. The resort fee was disappointing as the only “resort” feel we experienced were the toiletries and linens. The water-park was okay, but the lazy river was a little too lazy (no movement) and the waterslide was underwhelming. We watched many adults and large children have to push themselves down because they weren’t sliding.
In the end, I probably would not chose the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort again for a staycation. I think for families who are visiting Arizona and plan on doing some sightseeing this would work great though. The River Ranch area is great for kids of all ages and also fun for parents to enjoy a beer or cocktail poolside while watching their littles. It is in a great location for sightseeing and checking out the local attractions.
I hope that you have found this review useful. Do you have a favorite kid friendly resort? I would love to hear about it in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
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