Q: positive

A: Friendly service and yummy/huge pancakes. I had the whole wheat pancakes (added blueberries). Chose to sit at the bar since it was crowded, but that wasn't a problem since the staff at the bar was a fun group. Definitely want to come back to try more.

Q: positive

A: It is not every day you can walk down a hallway and get a slice pizza. This pizza place is in the 3rd floor of the cosmopolitan hotel. There are not really any signs for this place. But you can see all of the album records on the walls. While it is a little pricey, but it is the well worth the price. A slice of pizza is $6.00 or you can get a pie for $30.00. Also they are open until 5am every day. Wish this place was in Phoenix. It is my favorite pizza place in the US. If you are in Vegas and are looking for a slice of pizza you should head over to the cosmopolitan hotel and get a slice for the Secret Pizza place.

Q: negative

A: My partner and I wanted to escape the cold and vacation at a resort in the Scottsdale area to celebrate his 40th birthday. I was initially attracted to the Montelucia since it was a five-star rated resort and had received several great reviews on the websites. I suspect that some of these reviews are self-generated- although I have no evidence to prove this. When I think of a five-star resort, I imagine impeccable customer service. That means a staff that anticipates your needs. The only thing the staff at the Montelucia anticipated was a tip. The Intercontinental chain is owned and operated by the same conglomerate that operates Holiday Inn. It certainly showed. The problems started when I asked for a one-night romance package followed by two more days of just the room. I was informed that I would have to check-out and then check back in after the first night. Why? Because that's how their system is set up. Does this sound like they put their customers first? We stayed in a "deluxe" room with a view of Camelback mountain with a "private" patio. The room faced Camelback mountain obscured by a stucco fence and greenery so you only see the tip of the mountain peeking over the top. As far as a private patio goes, the patio is simply made of a few bricks with two five-foot stucco walls jutting out on either side. You can easily see and be seen by your neighbors and the grounds crew who seemed to be working non-stop outside trimming the greenery and running a leaf blower at the crack of dawn, thanks a lot. Upon arrival we were greeted by the valets and bellhops who unloaded our luggage and said they would deliver them to our room. I tipped the eager bellhop immediately. After checking in I happened to pass the circle drive out front and there were our two bags left unattended leaning against a garbage can. I asked another bellhop and he immediately drove us and our luggage to the room where I tipped again. The room was okay. Nothing spectacular. The faucet in the shower was difficult to turn and the cleanliness was questionable. Later that afternoon we were given a birthday surprise. A chocolate bag of caramel corn and chocolate-covered strawberries arrived with a note for my partner. (His name was misspelled). That was a nice gesture and the delivery person, of course, lingered for a tip. Later that evening another was delivered. I guess the paperwork got mixed up. Anyways the person delivering could easily see the other chocolate bag sitting on the table and yet still left another one. Common sense? The next morning housekeeping knocked at our door despite the privacy please sign on the door. She did not replace the coffee capsules and so the next morning there was no coffee to be had. On our last day, she showed up again even though we were scheduled to check out that day. The pools are nice. Don't sit in the comfy white "cabana chairs" they have to be reserved even though I never saw a single person laying out on one of these the entire time we were there. There is no one serving the adult pool. Instead they have a number to call and they'll send someone in thirty minutes or so. Don't bother. I ordered two Turkey & Sevens. - $28.00 + tip = $32.00 When I asked for an itemized list of charges a few hours before checkout I noticed a charge for a kit-kat bar- ($10.00) We never touched our refreshment center in the room. While packing up to gladly leave, the front desk sent over a worker to inspect. He opened the door to the refreshment center, reached in and moved the kit-kat bar six inches to the right. This is why we incurred a $10 charge? The resort is beautiful, but it's beautiful because it's in Scottsdale. The resort is very corporate with little-to-no appeal. We are kicking ourselves that we didn't stay at the Royal Palms again. That was a resort that got it right. (one last thing) The Montelucia charges a $24 charge per day for use of the wireless, pools and health center. One would think if you were a "guest" of the resort then these amenities would be considered standard. Not at the good 'ol Montelucia. Many areas/bars/seating areas were closed for private functions and most of the guests were there for business functions. These guests were treated far more diligently then the simple vacationing couple. We will come back to Scottsdale many more times. None of those return visits will be at the Montelucia. I know a lot of this seems like I'm complaining about cost. I believe in value. If the experience is impeccable and the staff is attentive, then I have no issue paying a bit more. Value doesn't mean cheap. It means that there is merit to the service. That's just not the Montelucia.

Q: negative

A:
I'm giving one star for their policy of requiring cats to have up to date rabies shots to board. This is not a state law and statistically rabies is not a huge threat to suburban dwellers. Also, the rabies vaccine has a known half life of 10 years and huge risks in over vaccinating. When I called to make an appointment, I was told my cat needed to be current on vaccines, but no mention of rabies. So when I show up to drop off my cat and have no rabies vaccine (and have a plane to catch in three hours) I'm told to go to Petsmart to get one. I ended up leaving. I had a neighbor watch my cat, which wasn't ideal but this place deserves no ones business. Oh yeah ... their staff was disconnected and rude. I'll use an in-house bonded and insured pet sitter in the future. The cost is really not that much more. Yelp has some good ones in the Avondale area.