JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa

⸻ My childhood friend and I spent a weekend at the JW Marriott Starr Pass, and it was nothing short of exceptional. Nestled into the side of the mountain at the top of a winding road, the resort is surrounded by breathtaking saguaro cacti and offers stunning views of the city—both day and night. We dined at several of the on-site restaurants and were impressed by the consistently high-quality food and the well-curated wine list. The staff throughout the resort were outstanding. We did encounter a personal security concern involving my friend’s ex-husband, but Ben, the Director of Security, and his team handled the situation with professionalism, discretion, and care. Thanks to them, we felt safe and supported during the entire stay. Honestly, without their intervention, we may not have been able to relax and enjoy our visit the way we did. We had such a wonderful time that we’ve decided to make this getaway an annual tradition.

This review is strictly about the pool/day rental of a cabana for locals. We used Resort Pass to book a 5 person Cabana at the pool here and had a blast. 3 adults, 2 kids and all about the water! We arrived around 10:15 and our Cabana was all set up with water, towels, etc. The fruit platter/chips and salsa were brought later - my guess is when the cafe opens as we did not get ours until after 11A. We quickly figured out that we were going to really enjoy our time here as the pool was NOT busy at all -- mid week, in the middle of summer after kids back in school is the key if you are looking to avoid crowds. Our Cabana was situation in a great area outside of regular foot traffic. We spent a lot of time in the big pool, but also in the lazy river/water slide area. Had an all around fun time and it was a great way to spend 4 hours with our out of town family that was visiting. Shelby was our attendant and was super sweet and attentive! Only negatives were the sunscreen in the cabana was not pumping out and it got very messy getting to the sun screen. Also if you are not a guest of the hotel, you are reliant on staff letting you into the pool area if you need to use the restroom (totally understandable).

I just checked in to the JW Starr Pass and I must say it is the worst room I’ve ever been placed in at a JW property. My family of 5 is in town for my mom’s memorial service and I was hoping to bring the kids somewhere nice in lieu of the circumstances. There are stains in the tub and the furniture wood is peeling. Carpets have stains, terrible coffee maker, no wine glasses, not enough drawers to put clothes in - I could go on and on. We booked 2 rooms for a 4 night stay and I can’t wait to leave. I am a platinum member so in lieu of points I asked for breakfast. I received 1 voucher for 1 morning. Typically I receive a voucher good for 2 for each morning of my stay when staying at properties that don’t include a lounge - reminder I asked for this in lieu of my extra points so this wasn’t just an added perk. The front desk staff was great but I was told I was not allowed to use a luggage cart on my own which is fine but honestly I didn’t want to have to wait for my bags to be delivered because we had been traveling over 7hrs and quickly needed to unpack and get going. I believe they have renovated some of the rooms but if you get placed in Building 2 take my tip and ask for another room! I did get a lovely view of the parking lot with my status….Thankfully they have a nice pool but with the heat I was hoping for a nice room to relax and get some cold air. Sorry JW I wanted to love you but you fell so short. Felt like I was staying at a 2 star hotel.