Other ways to use resort pools
ResortPass when she called the Hyatt concierge in March to ask if they had day passes. She and her family have stayed overnight at the Hyatt and other local resorts to use the extravagant pools but she doesn’t always want to cram everyone into a hotel room for a night when their house is so close.
Patterson has booked day passes at the Hyatt three times since March, most recently in June. She likes to rent a family cabana because it accommodates up to seven people and has fans, misters, TVs, shade, snacks and water. The cabana rate was $350 for the day she booked and she got a discount on a couple of the stays for posting photos on Instagram.
“It was actually awesome,” Patterson said. “My kids went down the (water) slide 100 times.”
Jeff Johnson, director of rooms for the resort, said March was the busiest month for resort passes, with 70 percent of them purchased by visitors to Arizona who were staying with family and seeking a resort atmosphere for a day. In addition to buying the day pass, many bought food and drinks, he said. Some stayed for dinner at resort restaurants.
“They don’t act like the normal pool crasher, and I mean that in the kindest way possible,” he said.
The resort was worried the day passes would reduce the number of people booking summer staycations but occupancy remained solid, Johnson said. Locals and visitors probably did the math: When summer room rates plunge, it’s often cheaper to book a room than buy day passes for a group.
Westin Kierland started selling a limited number of day passes in June, offering them on days it wasn’t full or had a house full of badge-wearing conventioneers. Before school started, the day passes were scooped up by groups of moms and kids, among others, said Brian Montalbano, resort manager.
Day passes at the Westin are currently $35 for adults and $20 for children for a standard lounge chair. Parking is $6.
“We’re curious what’s going to happen now that’s school’s back,” he said. “It’s slowed down but we’re still seeing some demand.”
Arizona Grand, a major family draw with its Oasis Water Park, is the latest Phoenix-area resort to join ResortPass. Guests have raved about it on reviews posted on the Resort Pass website. Prices start at $35 for adults and $16 for children. Parking is extra.
A Phoenix-area woman who booked a day there in mid-August gushed about it on resortpass.com.
“We had no idea that this site even existed,” she wrote. “WOW!! We had guests that came into town and we called the resort we wanted and it was booked out. We found this site and booked a cabana that morning for all of us to use at the same resort and got an amazing cabana that same day. The cost through this site was amazing as well... BEST DAY EVER! We will use this site from here on out.”
Some resorts independently open their pools to non-guests for a fee or for free.
In metro Phoenix, Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale is open to outsiders every day but Saturdays and holidays as long as you buy food and drinks (no minimum). Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix offers free pool access and rents cabanas to outsiders, encouraging them to buy food from its restaurant. Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix lets you into the pool if you book a cabana. Other hotels let you use the pool if you book a spa day.
Some Las Vegas resorts offer outsiders access, too.
Details: resortpass.com.