The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain

The location is very beautiful, nestled into the mountain side among the wild life with a pretty desert backdrop. I would say this lives up to a Ritz but could use a few more amenities to cross the “amazing” status one might expect. If you have kids this can be fun but keep in mind they only have two pools ( one with a water slide) the other pool is more adult oriented. I would say for kids this Ritz is ok but not ideal. They have a Ranger station room which has live scorpions and spiders etc… there is even a giant female turtle walking outside the ranger station room that you can pet. Nice restaurants but of course everything is pricey. We just drove down about 20 minutes into Marana and they have everything you can want to eat, great way to save money on meals. They do have an arcade which I must say is very well done , as all the consoles have 100s of games. There is no M lounge…apparently it’s was closed during Covid and never reopened; that would be an awesome addition. Overall not a bad experience but just needs a few extras for platinum members which they don’t seem to offer… everything is an up charge.

We’ve stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain many times over the years, and it never disappoints—but this visit was especially memorable thanks to the exceptional hospitality of pastry chefs Marlon and Tan Rio. Their pastries were phenomenal, and the conversations we shared with them were warm, engaging, and truly enjoyable. Chef Tan Rio even went out of his way to surprise us with a custom re-creation of Korean hho dduk—a thoughtful and delicious gesture that made this trip stand out among all our past stays. We’re incredibly grateful to both chefs for their talent, kindness, and the personal touch they brought to our experience. They were a true highlight of our visit.

This is such an awesome place to stay! Each year I stay at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Inn when I go to visit my brother and his wife in Marana, Arizona. This was my third trip to the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Inn, and I have never been disappointed with the visit. The people at the desk, the concierge, the housekeepers, the valet parking crew, the chefs at the restaurants, the hostesses, waitresses and waiters are all fantastic. I always feel as though I am visiting with friends and family when I come. The rooms are well kept and clean, and the pools are clean and large enough to do laps. I have severe food allergies, and the chefs have been so accommodating. For breakfast, I ate at Core. Chef Shiva made me delicious pancakes with bananas, blueberries, and blackberries. It was topped with real Vermont maple syrup. So yummy! At Ignite, Chef Charlie took such good care of me. My favorite dish was the fish tacos made with scrod. Chef Charlie wanted to make a special dessert for my last night at the resort. He knew that I particularly loved vanilla, chocolate chip ice cream. Chef Charlie went out of his way to purchase the type of chocolate chips that would be safe for me to eat. I can definitely say that I. will remember his homemade vanilla, chocolate ice cream for a long time. The kindness shown to me at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Inn makes me want to return year after year. I always feel sad when it is time to leave, but knowing that I will return next year makes it a bit easier. I highly recommend the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Inn if you are planning a visit to Arizona.

This is my third visit to this glorious hotel. I can't even put into words how much I love this hotel. Even using the word "hotel" doesn't convey the experience of being here. Let's just say I have now brought 3 strangers to Arizona to this spot and all three have fallen in love not only the hotel, but with southern Arizona and the Sonoran Desert. The cactus, the flowers, the sky, the wildlife, all of it. Because that's what this hotel does. It brings you into the serene, almost spiritual beauty of the environment it's in. And you want to not only want to never leave, you want to protect that environment from humans in any way you can. So yes, the hotel is gorgeous with stunning details, wonderful service, perfect pools and cocktails, and fantastic views. But it's also seated in a space of perfect beauty that's quiet, reflective, soulful, and meaningful. There are birds you've never seen before, flowers you've never seen, and families of javelinas (yes, we saw them on three hikes!). I just...there is nothing like this and never will be. Thank you to everyone, including the resident nature guides who shared important environmental knowledge) for the most magical of times.

We had a spectacular vacation! We almost booked Scottsdale (again) but thought we’d try something different and so glad we did. TUS airport is small, renovated, friendly employees, easy to navigate. We were whisked away by car it only took 40 minutes to arrive at the Ritz Dove Mountain. You arrive thru a security guard/gate who calls your name to the valet who is waiting to help. Our Casita was ready at 10am when we arrived, we check in at the desk very quick w/champagne & chilled waters, and they golf carted us to the Casita immediately. By 10:30am we were unpacked and changing into our swimsuits for a pool day and lunch. The 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath Casita was rustic lovely, 2 covered patios, huge living room, a side hallway area to store golf clubs, nice bedroom with TONS of storage to as many clothes as you can bring. I loved the dressing area for makeup and styling your hair, plus a walk in closet w/shelves. My husband had a nice work desk area plus a dinner table and chairs. The marble shower is large with a bench, plenty of space for toiletries, deep soaking tub w/salts provided daily, twice a day housekeeping, post beam ceilings in the living & bedroom, plenty of good lighting & good water pressure. We tried all the restaurants and all are highly recommended. We especially liked Cayton’s because it reminds us of a country club vs hotel. All the employees are highly trained, friendly, professional, seeking to help you, and addresses us by name as soon as they see us. We took the shuttle 10 times atleast for golf & dinner, easy and quick. We had someone pick us up at our Casita in a golf cart and take us to the main hotel often. Each and every employee was excellent. (Actually the only employee that could use retrained was the manager at Turquesa/lunch, as he didn’t engaged at all with vacationers). Employees here seem to actually LIKE their jobs and are happy! Fitness center- nice sized for a hotel gym, we could get our workouts in fine, not a fan of Technogym equipment but it was in good condition. Bottled waters. Towels. No complaints. The prime times of 7-9am is very busy so if you can go at other times, you’ll enjoy your workout more, which is what we did. All the restaurants are excellent- I did individual detailed reviews for them. SPA is lovely and they have summer specials Husband is a current Titanium, Lifetime Platinum, former Ambassador status Marriott member and the front desk recognized his status immediately and thanked him. Pool- 2 main pools, 1 is definitely more kid friendly, 1 more adult friendly, but not noted as such. They have a slide which looks fun. Plenty of Cabanas for rent. Plenty of pool loungers and umbrellas for every 2 loungers plus plenty of trees for shade. Pool water temp was warm. During the week the pools are great meaning quiet, weekends get busy, but you don’t have to rush down early in the morning to grab chairs. If you go at 11am you can still get prime seating. Rangers- they have a full time ranger or two at the kids camp area. Turtles, owls, Javelinas, tons for kids to learn. They do S’Mores twice a week, for a nominal fee you get a s'mores kit, they light a fire pit, you have benches, and make your own s'mores, at dusk. The landscape is just beautiful and so different for those coming from the East Coast. The Saguaro cactus were flowering during our stay. The hotel is built into the mountain (kinda) but it feels that way. Your view is the top of mountains & boulders. 3 suggestions: 1) they sell a Day-Pass for $85 to locals. It’s too cheap. On weekends the pool and restaurants get too crowded. Either raise the price of these passes, limit the number especially on holiday weekends, or only allow during week days. 2) pool bar should be open for drinks at 9am. Daily we thought… I could go for a Blood Mary or Mudslide but had to wait until 11am. 3) pool loungers- the price of adding a pad to the chair of $25 is fine but raising that to $100 on holidays or weekends to too much. If you kept it at $25 daily more people would purchase this service. Frankly, it’s ridiculous that at a Ritz the loungers aren’t padded for free. We highly recommend this Ritz and will return. Overall excellent vacation!