The Wilde Resort and Spa

Came here for Thanksgiving weekend which might have been their busiest time of year and given the circumstances, this was an overall great experience. Obviously nothing is perfect, especially during peak but nothing to complain about. Events were great and I will never forget star gazing at Saturn!

I stayed here for one night, and it was honestly one of the most disgusting hotel experiences I’ve ever had. I paid almost $700 for a “Suncatcher, King” room, and the bathroom was filthy the moment I walked in. There was grime, stains, mildew, and it was obvious it had not been cleaned. The rest of the room wasn’t any better. There were dead bugs, chipped paint, a musty smell, and surfaces that looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. There were also no towels in the room, and it took hours to finally get some. My room was next to the ice machine, and between that and noisy guests, I barely slept. I asked to switch rooms and was told I couldn’t because the hotel was sold out. Everywhere in Sedona was sold out that night, so I had no other options. I spoke to staff about waiving the resort fee and getting a partial refund, and the response was unbelievable. They actually laughed and told me, “You got your water bottles and towels, you owe us the resort fee.” The person at checkout was rude and clearly didn’t care at all. Since leaving, I’ve tried contacting the resort multiple times and no one has responded. No calls, no emails, nothing. They simply do not care. To make things even worse, the elevator inspection certificate showed the last inspection was in 2021. That means it is overdue by years, which is a safety hazard and not compliant with U.S. inspection requirements. This hotel is not just unclean, it feels unsafe. For the price they charge, this place should be clean and professional. Instead, it was dirty, loud, unresponsive, and potentially a health and safety risk. I’m now working with Capital One for a refund because the resort refuses to help. Save yourself the money and stay at a motel, because that’s the standard this place actually delivers. DO NOT STAY HERE. It is unclean, unsafe, and you will leave feeling gross.

Collectively this was a mixed bag. Typically if I would rate a hotel at 5 stars there is no negatives. A 4 star would be lots of positives but a few negatives that wouldn’t detract me from staying again. For 3 stars I would not stay again because the negatives outweigh the positives but there were at least some good aspects to our stay. Anything less than that and there were major issues. This hotel I would firmly put in the 3 star category. Let’s start with the good - 1. The views from our room (we paid for the upgrade with the fireplace) were quite good. If you sat up you’d realize you’re also looking at a parking lot, but if you’re laying in bed, all you can see are red rocks. It’s quite beautiful in the morning because it feels as though you’re quite close. 2. The bathroom shower have great water pressure, and the room we stayed in had double shower heads which was very nice. Overall the bathroom and the fireplace (which again costs extra) were the best parts of the room. 3. Seems like a decent location. It is right off the main road, and we had great pizza right across the street. The bad - 1. Frankly for the cost, the hotel is well below what you’d expect it to be. Our room averaged just under $600 per night for what amounted to be a motel that was upgraded. The pictures online make it seem like a spa retreat boutique hotel, let me tell you first hand that it is not. Yes they did have a pool, but I didn’t think it was well kept, and there was a rooftop but that more-so felt like a novelty than a real usable feature of the hotel. To be fair, we may have felt slightly differently if the pool side bar had not been closed for the season or the rooftop would’ve been useable if not for the amount of rain we got during our stay. That being said, I still don’t think that the pool was up to the level I’d expect at this cost point. 2. The bed was just downright awful, to the point where the second night my wife and I were both up at 3am laughing because we could not sleep and had been rolling around all night. For a single night you might be able to make it work, but anything more than that and you’d wonder if you’re sleeping on a concrete slab. This is honestly probably the single biggest issue we had with the hotel and likely why we would never come back here. Instead we’d probably opt for a nicer hotel (Enchantment) or just stay at a Residence Inn or similar. In 2025, to get the bed wrong, is frankly insane. 3. This is more from a cost to value proposition, but the staff, while kind and we didn’t have any issues with, simply didn’t provide service that met the cost. For $600 a night, I would’ve thought maybe there would be a bellman, or free water in the room, or something that elevated the experience beyond the typical mundane. When we booked our stay we really thought that it was going to be a “spa retreat” sort of place. These typically will have some theme or extra service, or something unique they bring to the table, of which The Wilde did none of. 4. Frankly if we wouldn’t have upgraded our room this would’ve been a 2 star, because the views of non upgraded rooms were that of a parking lot, the highway, or a courtyard which I would’ve been severely disappointed by.