WorldMark Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve

The two-bedroom, two-bath unit we stayed in was convenient, and the rooms were quite spacious. The beds were incredibly comfortable, though I understand the site is due for an upgrade. I’d definitely recommend staying here. The big drawback is the $50 a day charge for internet.

Having a garage for each unit is a great feature, and it’s quiet here unless you end up with a rude neighbor. Our experiences at this World Mark location have been mixed. My wife had a great stay last time, and the staff went out of their way to help her. This time, housekeeping didn’t respond to my requests until the last day, though the front desk did everything they could.

We’ve stayed three times and love coming back. The rooms are spacious, clean, and comfortable, the location is perfect, and the staff are friendly. The pools stay warm in winter. It’s a great place.

The first room had a garage door that wouldn’t work, so I went back to the front desk. They said maintenance would meet us, but after waiting a while, we unloaded at the curb and I parked away from the unit. Once we’d hiked back and gone upstairs, we asked for a ground floor and were rudely told we got what we got. The room smelled awful, like musty old crotch. I called downstairs and was told they’d call back. They eventually offered us a ground floor room without a garage, and I took it because the smell mattered more to me. The AC in the new room didn’t work. We opened the windows and figured we could live with it. Things are outdated and a bit run down, and the place is full of mosquitoes. I think we’ve killed around 30, and they seem to be coming from the drains. At the pool, we turned on the spa jets and bees started buzzing around. Apparently they were building hives under the filter cover. The next day, bees were coming from under the kids’ splash zone. We were also pressured at check-in by the concierge to book a sales pitch. We agreed after being told our fees would be reimbursed if we listened. The next day, just before we were supposed to go, they called to cancel. We’d changed our plans, and they left us hanging without offering another time. On our last night, we came back to a smell like toxic spray paint or something. There’s a kitchen door we can’t open that seems to lead to a maintenance garage. Earlier, we could hear the workers’ whole conversation in there when we returned from the pool. Nearly at 9 p.m., I was still waiting for a fan to clear the smell. They offered air freshener to cover it, so I asked for a fan. When I called to say I was still waiting, they said there was a line and I’d have to wait my turn. Do yourself a favor and skip this place.