Amara Resort and Spa

TLDR: Decent sized rooms, bad service, overpriced. Bad value. Their security systems also seem to have been compromised! This is a "4-star" hotel in terms of amenities but more like 2 or 3-star for service and almost 5 star pricing. Security: Before we even got to the hotel, we received emails that contained the dates of our stay that seemed like a phishing attempt. That should have been a sign that this place is poorly run and we should have canceled then. Service: The service was so bad. Staff do not acknowledge guests. They weren't unfriendly, but they weren't helpful or proactive. Right when we arrived at checkin time, nobody greeted us or let us know to wait, or that we could check in with them. They were all heads down and seemed to avoid eye contact or act busy. No acknowledgement. Then, we were told our room wouldn't be ready for another hour. Ok... That's fine, but there was no offer to make up for that. And at the these prices (600 a night!)... no comped drink or anything? An hour is a long time (time that we pay for). They said they'd text when room is ready. We were extremely understanding and warm to the front desk staff, but for some reason both of them just said "Sorry I'm new here so I don't really know how to do these things". And there was no followup or proactiveness to address this. After waiting some time, I decided to ask nicely at the front desk if there was any way we could get a drink at SaltRock kitchen while we wait. The kitchen was not open, lol. And then all of a sudden she said "oh but wait your room is probably ready I think". Why didn't I receive that text saying that my room is ready then? Was I just waiting for no reason? For happy hour, we walked up to the SaltRock kitchen/bar, waited to be seated, but nobody was to be found staffing the front where you're supposed to wait. Nobody came by the front for 5-7 minutes while we waited. Meanwhile, we found staff walking back and forth in the empty restaurant within view of us. Again, no one acknowledged us. Eventually we had to walk up to the bartender and ask if they were still open. Why is no one staffed here? Management REALLY needs to do something about staff training because employees (the younger ones, mostly) seemed to avoid acknowledging us. Just unacceptable for this price point, imo. Cleanliness: For daily room service it looked like our towels were "refreshed" but I noticed they kept putting the same floor mat/towel up on the shower towel bar. It had the same stains on it. Then they'd put a towel on top of that. Which would be pretty unsanitary if it was a new towel on top of a used floor mat towel. Why not just leave the floor mat towel on the ground? After that I felt I couldn't trust that anything was actually cleaned. It just seemed like performative cleaning. Lots of dusty surfaces. Overall it was 6/10, the details were lacking. The restaurant/bar was decent, good location and great view of the red rocks, great access to creek. Small pool but service was good there. Overall I would not come back or recommend.

Beautiful location, great rooms, fantastic spa, nice restaurant, and convenient to all of uptown Sedona. Very friendly staff who really care about your experience!

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner two evenings ago at SaltRock with our delightful server, Merri. We can’t say enough nice things about our dining experience with her! She walked us through the menu and helped us to pick the perfect amount of appetizers, salads and entrees for our family of foodies. The drinks were delicious, the food was fabulous, and the service was spectacular, so much so that we returned last night to experience it all over again! SaltRock is now two for two and Merri is pure magic! We’ll be back!

The resort was really nice with an ideal location. The staff was exceptional all across the board. The included valet service was super convenient and fast. SaltRock, the on-site restaurant, was awesome for both breakfast and dinner. We were also able to walk to several really nice nearby restaurants for dinner. The concierge recommended lots of fun activities including hikes, a Jeep tour, stargazing and winery tour. It was a nice, relaxing adult-oriented atmosphere with a great aesthetic. We'll be back!

We enjoyed dinner at the SaltRock. The Birria short rib and corn ribs were delightful. Valentina and Alejandro provided excellent service and were courteous and attentive throughout to make for a great evening. The atmosphere outdoors at night made for a great evening.