Royal Palms Resort and Spa
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This SpaRator score weighs 40+ data points across six equally weighted categories, drawn from hotel data, booking platforms and 4,658 guest reviews from TripAdvisor, Google and Booking.com, and calibrated against 10 Phoenix spa hotels. How SpaRator works
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Spa Hotels · Spa Pricing and Resort Fees · Wellness Travel · Hot Springs and Bathing Traditions
5200 E Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85018View on a mapPublished · Updated
Cheapest May–Aug from $340 a night all-in
Choose dates for live rates.
SpaRator Expert Rating
SpaRator 7.0: SolidSpa core 6.8
An average of the Spa Treatments and Spa Facilities scores.
7.0 Solid overall · Spa: Full-Service · guests rate it 4.5 on TripAdvisor
6th of 10 in Phoenix, October 2026
Book this nine-acre estate for its staff, from Barbara on down.
Barbara, the hotel historian, is named by 22 reviewers since March 2024, and TripAdvisor rates the service 4.7. The nine-acre estate on Camelback Road was finished in 1929 and opened as a hotel in 1948. Spa access comes only with a booked treatment, from $220 before a 20% charge, and there is no cold plunge. T. Cook's restaurant was reported closed in August, unannounced. A February night runs $1,095.40 all-in. Right for romantics who book the estate; wrong for anyone choosing on the spa.
Pricing and Availability
- Peak
- Oct–Nov, Feb–Mar
- $740–$1,050
- Cheapest
- May–Aug
- $340–$460
a night all-in
Live rates for your dates load here. Compare Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak and Agoda below.
Hotel's own website602.283.1234
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Rate notes, fees and tax
Our 27 Feb 2027 check: from $919 a night. Our 21 Aug 2027 check: from $329 a night.
- 27 Feb 2027 check
- 27 Feb 2027 from $919 room, $1,095.40 all-in. That is the public Standard Rate (flexible, free cancellation until 11:59 p.m. hotel time seven days before arrival, otherwise one night is charged) for a 1 King, Camelback View and Terrace of 500 square feet, the cheapest non-accessible room on sale that night. The non-refundable Advance Purchase for the same room runs $873 room, $1,043.40 all-in, and the Member Rate $901 room, $1,075.04 all-in.
- 21 Aug 2027 check
- 21 Aug 2027 from $329 room, $428.29 all-in. That is the public Standard Rate (flexible, same seven-day cancellation) for a 1 King of 480 sq ft with partial views, a smaller room than the February room. The same night in a like-for-like Camelback King runs $379 room, $484.83 all-in, and the 1 King Advance Purchase is $281 room, $374.02 all-in.
- Rate notes
Fee stack: $50 a night resort fee, taxed at 12.58% ($6.29); 13.07% occupancy tax on the room only; valet-only parking $40 per night per car plus tax, no self-parking; 20% service charge on spa services, on the original price; pet fee $150 for stays up to six nights.
Rates correct as of October 2026 on hyatt.com for two adults, one room and one night, with the 27 February and 21 August quotes on different room types, and every displayed price already includes the $50 resort fee, so the all-in figure adds the fee's 12.58% tax and the 13.07% occupancy tax on the room, before valet and tips.
Xenia's July 2026 release named a renovation of the 68-room Monte Vista Building and of T.
Cook's "during the third quarter," and the hotel has posted no closure or reopening notice, so a pricing-review trigger stays active.
Spa Treatments
Alvadora Spa's treatments win most guests over, though some report short sessions and light pressure. On Google the spa itself rates 4.4 across 146 reviews, level with the typical spa among the 54 other spa hotels we have rated. Praise for treatments outweighs complaint better than two to one, but about one in six faults a treatment, mostly sessions cut short and light pressure. A Google reviewer in May 2025 paid for a 50-minute massage and had 37 minutes.
Spa Facilities
Alvadora's wet side is a steam room for treatment guests and a pool hot tub, with no cold plunge or confirmed sauna. Counting the resort pool, that is three of six possible wet facilities, level with the typical spa hotel among 98 we have rated. Hotel pages name only the hot tub, and guests describe the steam room in use in June 2025 and January 2026. No recent guest describes a sauna. A September 2025 TripAdvisor guest wrote, "You have to book (an expensive) treatment to use the spa."
Wellness Programs
Wellness is simple and included, from weekend yoga that meets at Alvadora Spa to a 24-hour gym. Two complimentary yoga classes, Saturday and Sunday at nine, meet in the Alvadora Spa lobby. That is more than at 24 of the 46 other spa hotels that publish a class count. A $50 resort fee covers the 24-hour gym, bicycles, lawn games and hiking gear, and lists fitness classes with no schedule, so only the two yoga classes can be counted on. A September 2025 TripAdvisor guest wrote, "The gym is tiny."
Staff & Service
Staff at Royal Palms earn praise five times as often as complaint, and Barbara, the hotel historian, is named often. About one review in fourteen puts a service complaint first, a lower share than at 18 of 21 other spa hotels we measure. Barbara is named by 22 guests, March 2024 to September 2026, and one June 2026 TripAdvisor guest wrote she left a lasting impression. Front-desk and check-in slips are the complaint to watch: 17 stays, 11 in the past year, often a booked room type not honoured.
Experience
Guests rate the Royal Palms stay warmly, but casita rooms read dated and T. Cook's restaurant was reported closed in August. Guests average 4.47 across 449 recent TripAdvisor and Google reviews, level with the typical 4.48 across 21 other spa hotels. Room condition is the commonest complaint, about one stay in seven. A September 2026 TripAdvisor guest wrote that the casitas need renovation. Two TripAdvisor guests found T. Cook's closed in August 2026, and the hotel still lists its hours with no closure notice. Do not count on T. Cook's.
Value for Money
A peak night costs about the typical spa-hotel rate, but valet is extra and Alvadora Spa access needs a treatment. Our 27 Feb 2027 check priced a Camelback King at $1,095.40 all-in, including the resort fee and taxes, with $40 valet extra. Across 49 other spa hotels, the typical peak night is $1,070.16 all-in, and 25 cost less. A June 2026 TripAdvisor guest wrote fees added ninety dollars a day. Treatments that include spa access start at $220 before a 20% charge. Price the spa separately.
Spa Facilities
15 spa facilities: 8 available, 3 not available, 4 not confirmed
Available
8Beauty Services Five 50-minute skin therapies sit on the January 2026 menu (HydroGlow Vitamin C, Advanced Rejuvenation, Moisture Infusion, Calming Recovery and Superfruit Antioxidant) plus skin enhancements, with no nail, hair or couples-suite service.
Fitness Center Two stories, 900 square feet, open 24 hours.
Fitness Classes Included Two complimentary yoga classes a week, Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 in the Alegria Garden.
Full-Service Spa Alvadora Spa publishes a priced menu (24 priced items in the January 2026 edition), though the hotel's current pages state no footprint or room count.
Hot Tub and/or Jacuzzi The hotel's pages name a heated Jacuzzi hot tub. Groupon adds an outdoor hot tub, and guests reported a jacuzzi out of service in December 2024 and February 2025.
Pool Facilities The resort pool runs 24 hours for hotel guests and is used by spa clients, but it is not a spa-only pool.
Steam Room A steam room appears on third-party listings rather than a hotel page. Guests describe it in use in June 2025 and January 2026, after an earlier run of five out-of-order reports between May 2021 and June 2024.
Wellness Programs Two complimentary yoga classes a week (Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 in the Alegria Garden) plus a 24-hour gym and resort bicycles; the fee's fitness classes have no published schedule.
Not available: Cold Therapy, Hammam, Himalayan Salt Room.
Not confirmed: Adults-Only Pool or Area, Couples Treatments, In-Room Spa Treatments, Sauna.
Other Spa Facilities
Massage and skin enhancements run beyond the base menu: foot, scalp, Dermaflash, Moisture Infusion and Knesko eye, lip and face add-ons, running $25 to $50. The Wellsystem Wave and VEMI touchless sessions (25 minutes each) do not include use of the spa amenities, and the Touchless Tranquility Spa Retreat pairs one of them with a one-time $300 resort credit and daily breakfast for two, bookable through 31 December 2026. The spa boutique discounts 10% through the resort fee. Groupon's listing adds a co-ed relaxation area and indoor and outdoor lounge areas.
Spa Menu, Prices and Policies
- Massage$220–$260 · 50 min$440–$520 · 100 min
- Facial$220 · 50 min
- Body ritual$220 · 50 min$420 · 100 min
- Touchless session$50 · 25 min
- Special, October 2026$450 · 100 min
- Treatment enhancement$25–$50 · add-on
- Signature treatmentCitrus Ritual100 min · $420
- Spa hours8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
- GratuityA 20% service charge is added to all services, based on the original price.
- AccessSpa facilities and resort pool come with a booked treatment, per a third-party listing. The 25-minute touchless services don't include spa amenities, per the menu.
- Ages18 and older, per Groupon's fine print, a third-party listing. We found no age policy on the hotel's own website or spa menu.
Hotel Facilities
13 hotel facilities: 9 available, 2 not available, 2 not confirmed
Available
9Restaurants T. Cook's runs brunch 6:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. daily and dinner 5:30–9:00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with Mix Up, Cabana Cafe and private dining up to 60.
Bar Mix Up runs Sunday to Thursday 1:30–10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday to midnight, with happy hour 4–6 p.m. daily; Cabana Cafe's poolside bar runs 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Bike Rentals Resort bicycles are included in the resort fee.
Business Center Business services and a notary sit in the resort fee.
EV Charging Stations Two Tesla and four Blink chargers, included in the resort fee.
Garden Areas A nine-acre estate; the Alegria Garden hosts the weekend yoga.
Pets Allowed Dogs are welcome: $150 for stays up to six nights, plus $100 for deep cleaning on stays of seven to 30 nights, 50 lbs for one dog or 75 lbs combined for two; dogs stay out of restaurants and the pool.
Valet Parking $40 per night per car plus tax, the only parking, billed outside the resort fee.
WiFi Free per the rooms pages and the fact sheet; it is not on the resort-fee list.
Not available: Free Parking, Airport Shuttle.
Not confirmed: Dry Cleaning, Tennis.
Other Hotel Facilities
Royal Palms holds 119 rooms: Standard Room 480 square feet, Terrace View 500, Casita 470, Junior Suite 560, Spa Suite 600, Corner Suite 800, Valencia 700, Montavista 800, Arcadia 900, Presidential 1,700, plus six villas of 700–900 square feet. Hyatt manages the property in its Unbound Collection, and owner Xenia Hotels & Resorts' Q2 2026 release names a renovation of the 68-room Monte Vista Building and of T. Cook's "during the third quarter," with no completion dates posted. Executive chef Lee Hillson leads T. Cook's, and parking is valet-only.
About This Hotel
Royal Palms is a nine-acre estate that opened as the Royal Palms Inn on 1 February 1948, and it still reads that way: staffed by people guests name. It is a hotel you book for the grounds, the history and the staff, not for Alvadora Spa. The spa is fine. You need a booked treatment to use it, and the $50 resort fee plus $40 valet add about $90 a night before tax.
The Spa, Specifically: Alvadora Spa
Alvadora Spa’s 11,000 square feet and eight treatment rooms come from a 2019 press report, and the hotel’s current pages state neither figure. The January 2026 menu is the reliable part: 50-minute massages from $220, 100-minute body rituals at $420, five $220 facials, and a 20% service charge on the original price. That means a plain facial lands at $264. A newer October 2026 Spotlight on the hotel’s page, the Amber Woods Ritual, runs $450 for 100 minutes. A hot tub and a steam room with no cold plunge make this a heat suite rather than a thermal circuit. The sauna question stays unresolved. Access comes only with a booked treatment. November and December 2025 brought a renovation with limited service and an unpublished scope, and one May 2026 guest still found the locker rooms shabby and cramped. Of 69 recent reviews that discuss the spa, 12 complain about a treatment, about one in six, mostly sessions cut short and light pressure; praise still outweighs complaint better than two to one.
Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong
Royal Palms fits couples who want a historic estate with a treatment folded in, not spa infrastructure. The catch? What you’re paying for is the grounds, the history and a staff guests name in reviews — not the spa. Book elsewhere if the spa is the point: access needs a booked treatment, the spa has no cold element, fees add about $90 a night before tax, and room condition, the casitas especially, is guests’ most common recent complaint.
Where It Sits in the Phoenix Market
In Phoenix, the spa hotels publish their scale: Arizona Biltmore’s Tierra Luna runs 28,000 square feet with a cold plunge; The Global Ambassador states 16,000; Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass lists 17 treatment rooms per the owner’s site and a $29 resort fee. Alvadora publishes no footprint or room count, carries no cold element, and its $50 resort fee sits above the Phoenix median of $42, with a mandatory $40 valet on top and a peak all-in above the typical spa hotel’s. What holds up: a $220 starting massage within $10 of the $210 Phoenix median, and a 19.2% peak premium level with the typical spa hotel’s.
| Hotel | SpaRator | Thermal circuit | Spa access for guests | Peak all-in per night | Off-season all-in per night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Hot Springs | SpaRator 8.5: Outstanding | Hot + cold | Included | $2,648 | $1,478 |
| The Global Ambassador | SpaRator 7.8: Strong | Hot + cold | With a treatment or membership | $1,764 | $961 |
| Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts | SpaRator 7.6: Strong | Hot + cold | With a treatment or membership | $1,343 | $710 |
| Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass | SpaRator 7.3: Solid | Heat only | With a treatment or membership | $729 | $606 |
| Arizona Grand Resort & Spa | SpaRator 7.1: Solid | Heat only | With a treatment or membership | $807 | $248 |
| JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa | SpaRator 7.0: Solid | Heat only | With a treatment or membership | $892 | $983 |
| Royal Palms Resort and Spa | SpaRator 7.0: Solid | Heat only | With a treatment or membership | $1,095 | $428 |
| Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak | SpaRator 6.5: Modest | Hot + cold | Not published | $581 | $446 |
| Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort | SpaRator 6.5: Modest | None | treatment-based only | $529 | $235 |
| Marriott Phoenix Resort Tempe at The Buttes | SpaRator 6.3: Modest | Heat only | Not published | $541 | $233 |
| Market median | 7.1 | $850 | $526 |
Scored on Guidelines v9.9
All-in = room, resort fee and taxes per night, from each hotel's dated rate capture. On a phone: thermal circuit · spa access · peak all-in. Off-season all-in shows on a wider screen.
Is the Royal Palms Spa Worth the Price?
No for spa-first travelers: you can't use the spa without paying for a treatment. Worth it for couples who want the nine-acre estate, staff guests praise in reviews and T. Cook's when it's open, and treat a massage as an afterthought. A typical all-in night runs $450 to $870.
When to Book the Royal Palms
October, November, February and March are the dearest months at Royal Palms, and February is the dearest stretch of the year. May through August is the cheapest stretch, July cheapest of all, and peak nights run more than double the low months. December, January and April sit between at about 1.8 times the low months. Weekends add about 10 percent. Alvadora Spa is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Alongside the flexible Standard rate you can also book the non-refundable Advance Purchase rate.
- January: shoulder
- February: peak
- March: peak
- April: shoulder
- May: low
- June: low
- July: low
- August: low
- September: not yet priced
- October: peak
- November: peak
- December: shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Low
- Not yet priced
Typical all-in per night: Peak $740–$1,050 · Shoulder $540–$770 · Low $340–$460
Typical room rate across the main booking sites and the hotel's own site, 13 Oct 2026 to 26 Aug 2027, converted to all-in with the hotel's fee and tax. Months not yet priced are shown hatched.
What Guests Are Saying
TripAdvisor4.5 / 52,962+ reviews
Google4.7 / 51,573+ reviews
Booking.com8.4 / 10123+ reviews, check rates on Booking.com
Kaitlyn was wonderful! I received the 100 min Royal Massage and it was absolutely perfect!
Google (spa listing)August 2025Stay rated 5 of 5 Don't miss the Royal Palm's history tour with the property's Ambassador Barbara.
TripAdvisorDecember 2025Stay rated 5 of 5took a nap in the relaxation room, steam room, and showered off before my full-body royal massage w Eric
Google (spa listing)January 2026Stay rated 4 of 5 You have to book (an expensive) treatment to use the spa.
TripAdvisorSeptember 2025Stay rated 3 of 5Unfortunately, the massage was also disappointing and not worth the price. It felt very light and mediocre overall.
TripAdvisorOctober 2025Stay rated 3 of 5
Location
5200 E Camelback Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Awards: Forbes Travel Guide Recommended 2023-2026 · MICHELIN Key Hotel, 1 Key, 2024-2026 · U.S. News Gold Badge 2026, · Travel + Leisure World's Best 2025, · AZ Foothills Best of the Valley 2026, Best Resort Spa (Alvadora Spa) · Smart Meetings Best Hotel Spa 2026 · AAA Best of Inspected Clean 2025 · T. Cook's USA TODAY 10Best 2025,
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Is Royal Palms Resort and Spa, and How Far Is the Airport?
Royal Palms sits at 5200 E Camelback Road in Phoenix, 6.5 miles and about 12 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor by the hotel's own Destination page. No airport shuttle runs, so plan on a rideshare or rental car. The resort-fee shuttle covers only Scottsdale Fashion Square and Old Town Scottsdale, based on availability.
Can I Use the Spa Without a Treatment, and Can Non-Guests Book?
Use of the spa facilities and the resort pool comes with a booked treatment, per the Groupon listing, and a spa-only day pass is not published. The 25-minute touchless sessions do not include spa amenities. A pool day pass sells through ResortPass from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. As of October 2026, Groupon lists a spa day with a 50-minute custom massage or facial from $170.01, valid Monday to Thursday, with the 20% charge on the pre-discount price.
What Do Treatments Cost, and What Is the Service Charge?
Every menu price sits before a 20% service charge, which the menu says is based on the original price. 50-minute massages run $220 (CBD Recovery $260), 100-minute massages $440 (CBD Recovery $520), and 100-minute body rituals run $420. Neroli Body Polish and Recovery Aloe Wrap, the two 50-minute body treatments, run $220. The October 2026 Spotlight Amber Woods Ritual runs $450 for 100 minutes, the 25-minute touchless sessions run $50 without spa amenities, and add-ons run $25 to $50. All five 50-minute facials are $220, so a plain facial lands at $264 with the charge. There is no 60-minute massage on the menu.
What Thermal Facilities Does the Spa Have, and What Is Missing?
A heated Jacuzzi hot tub and a steam room make up the wet side, the steam room found in third-party listings and described in use in June 2025 and January 2026, with the resort pool available to spa clients. There is no cold plunge, salt room or hammam anywhere in the record, and the sauna is unresolved, so this is a heat suite rather than a thermal circuit.
What Does the $50 Resort Fee Cover?
The $50 nightly resort fee covers a welcome beverage, the 24-hour gym and fitness classes, morning coffee service, a 10% spa boutique discount, one mixology class per person per reservation, EV charging including Tesla chargers, guided history tours, infused water and sunscreen, resort bicycles, lawn games, the Scottsdale shuttle, hiking kit, business services, local calls and a notary. WiFi is free but not on the fee list, and parking is separate.
How Do Parking and EV Charging Work?
Valet is the only parking at $40 per night per car plus tax, there is no self-parking, and day visitors are not charged the valet fee. Two Tesla and four Blink chargers run in the resort fee. Between the $50 resort fee and valet, budget about $90 a night before occupancy tax.
Is Royal Palms Pet-Friendly?
Dogs are welcome. The pet fee is $150 for stays up to six nights, plus $100 for deep cleaning on stays of seven to 30 nights, with limits of 50 lbs for one dog or 75 lbs combined for two. Dogs stay out of the restaurants and the pool.
What Are the Restaurants, and Is T. Cook’s Open?
T. Cook's runs brunch 6:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. daily and dinner 5:30–9:00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, led by executive chef Lee Hillson. Mix Up and Cabana Cafe's poolside bar cover drinks. Two August 2026 TripAdvisor stays reported T. Cook's closed for the whole stay with noisy poolside construction. As of October 2026, the hotel's T. Cook's page still lists its normal hours and carries no closure or reopening notice, so ask before booking.
What Is the Renovation Status?
Royal Palms' owner Xenia Hotels & Resorts, in its Q2 2026 results release of 30 July 2026, named a renovation of the 68-room Monte Vista Building and of T. Cook's "during the third quarter." As of October 2026, the hotel has posted no closure or reopening notice and no completion date. The spa itself ran a November–December 2025 renovation with limited service and an unpublished scope.
What Is the Fitness Center Like, and What Classes Run?
The gym runs two stories and 900 square feet, open 24 hours. Two complimentary classes set the week: Yin & Yang Yoga Saturday at 9:00 and Yoga & Meditation Sunday at 9:00, both in the Alegria Garden. The resort fee lists fitness classes with no published schedule.
What Room Categories and Sizes Are There?
The 119 rooms span Standard Room 480 square feet, Terrace View 500, Casita 470, Junior Suite 560, Spa Suite 600, Corner Suite 800, Valencia 700, Montavista 800, Arcadia 900 and Presidential 1,700 square feet, plus six villas of 700–900 square feet. The Rate Notes below name the room type behind each price they quote.
What Are the Check-In and Check-Out Times?
Check-in is at 4 p.m. and check-out at 11 a.m.
How This Analysis Works
Every SpaRator score is built the same way: six equally weighted categories, scored from more than 40 documented data points per property through independent spa and hotel facility research and analysis of thousands of guest reviews, then averaged, never hand-tuned. The result is a consistent, comparable rating across every property we cover. How SpaRator works
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- Platform ratings
TripAdvisor 4.5 of 5 from 2,962 reviews; Google 4.7 of 5 from 1,573 reviews; Booking.com 8.4 of 10 from 123 reviews.
Experience: October 2024–September 2026, TripAdvisor and Google (Booking.com and Yelp were left out): 449 reviews, 34 left out because they were not hotel stays, 77% of in-window TripAdvisor stays hotel-collected (4.46 against 3.88 otherwise), counted at half weight. Staff & Service: 345 written stay reviews over 24 months plus 132 TripAdvisor stays from May 2020; Google read from August 2024.
- Sources
- Royalpalmshotel.com spa, resort-fee, rooms and history pages, January 2026 spa menu, hyatt.com, Forbes Travel Guide, Groupon.
- Data gaps
- 2019-only spa footprint and room count, 2025 renovation scope, sauna, steam-room confirmation, cancellation policy, minimum age, ResortPass price, no site visit.
- Guidelines
- Reviewed under Guidelines Version 9.9
- Version history
- October 2026 SpaRator moves from 7.4 to 7.0 on the Guidelines 9.9 recalibration, reading guest reviews on TripAdvisor and Google, a fresh priced-menu read and a booking-engine rate read. Corrected: Forbes Travel Guide is Recommended, not Four-Star; the herbalist, apothecary and Acqua Dolce Villa are no longer credited; every 50-minute facial is $220; WiFi is not a fee inclusion; the estate was completed in 1929 and opened as the Royal Palms Inn in 1948; the sauna remains unresolved; rates and platform figures replaced. Added: the priced menu, treatment-only spa access, guests' treatment complaints and the hotel-collected review share.
Commission from partner bookings never affects a SpaRator score.