The Boulders - Carefree, Arizona

Joseph K.

I had high expectations of The Boulders because it is advertised as a Hilton affiliate product. I am brand loyal to Hilton and hoped the resort would be maintained at the Hilton standard. The course and resort layout is fantastic but the accommodations are extremely underwhelming and outdated. Ownership clearly has not put much money back into the property. I tried to go into the main clubhouse when I finished my round of golf and there were no working bathrooms in the clubhouse and no posted signs indicating repairs are taking place. I walked into a bathroom and the toilets were overflowing onto the floor. I have been playing here all week and the men’s room has been out of order all week. Ownership desperately needs to address deferred maintenance on and off the golf courses. Brick steps on the golf course were crumbling and feel unsafe to walk on and there is trash all over the golf course. The bunkers are not maintained at all and don’t appear to be raked, nor do they have much sand in them. I wanted to get a beer on the course and the cost of a single beer is in excess of $13 which leads me to believe ownership has no desire to increase the quality of the resort guest’s experience and only wants to make a profit. In addition to the cost of the food and drinks in the beverage cart, the, “cart” is really an old pick up truck that is both unsightly and impractical for use on a golf course. The accommodations are extremely outdated and need substantial updates to be competitive with other resorts in the area. I was very disappointed with my experience and would have expected more from a Hilton property.

Kent S.

Excellent resort property. The staff is mostly great and accommodating. Golf course is awesome! Dining at the club house for dinner with view is choice!

Saw two bobcats and lots of Javalina

SANDY S.

I've only been for the Spa which I absolutely love. The customer service is excellent and I'm even interested in some of the skincare products offered (think I may get some during my next visit). However I'm giving 3 stars because I would never be crazy enough to book a room here after reading the reviews. Customer reviews are extremely important and based on the reviews its clear they need to do a some remodeling and updating to the property. Majority of the good reviews are about the property landscape and other things unrelated to the rooms. It's a shame that people are still expected to pay full price when finding mouses, roaches and ants in their rooms and shabby worn towels. If you're not going to update the property then you definitely need to decrease the price of the rooms. I would be terrified to stay at the hotel because I love cleanliness and updated renovations. With the money this establishment makes there is absolutely no way there should be complaints of worn down rooms and pest problems!

Doug B.

We really liked the log burning fireplace in the room which made it very cozy during the chill of the winter night. Also appreciated the heated pools. The spa was nice but the sauna was not working and the massage did not live up to our expectations.

Ray B.

Things are getting very dated. Service was slow at restaurants. Breakfast was the best meal we had. Dinner was always a disappointment especially for the price point. Golf cart driver attitudes were definitely worse than previous visits.

William K.

Terribly maintained, badly dated and wildly overpriced. It might have been lovely once, but years of neglect show. The desert remains lovely, but the desert doesn't require upkeep. Anything that requires maintenance at The Boulders is either broken or repaired with rubber bands and paper clips.

Alex A.

The resort itself is in a very beautiful location with lots of wildlife around. The rooms themselves had a very nice theme, and the staff is extremely friendly and provide great service! The main lodge pool was fantastic and there was a lookout point off the pool that had an amazing view of the property.

We did run in to a few issues during our stay:

First when checking in, we were shocked that the incidental hold was $100 per night ($500 total for our 5 night stay). No where on their site does it mention the hold being this high.

As other reviews have said, they have a serious pest problem. Our room had a mouse, a large amount of ants behind the coffee bar in the room, as well as us finding a cockroach. Staff did offer to move us and have someone come out to locate the mouse. It just was not feasible for us to move rooms with 2 kids in the middle of the night.

They also charge a $35 per day resort fee to cover concierge services. These fees were not covered when booking and had to be paid at check out. We booked through Capital One Travel so could be a 3rd Party booking issue.

The resort is pretty spaced out and it requires a good walk to basically get anywhere. You can also text the guest services line to have concierge golf cart you, and the resort fee covers tips for concierge staff. We did use this service and staff was always there promptly.

"Spa Access" is included with the resort fee, but it's not clear what this includes as spa services are listed as extra cost.

To play golf, you have to pay $100 to reserve a tee time and an additional $100 for green fees. The additional $100 Green Fees were not listed anywhere on their website. The course itself was in good shape and had some great scenery from different tee boxes.

The resort fee includes things that most hotels already include with their guest such as "Self Parking", Internet Access, and Shuttles.

It just felt as though to make use of any of the other amenities, you have to pay extra.

We tried the Spotted Donkey Cantina which is a restaurant located on the resort property and the food is mediocre at best for the high prices they charge.

All in all the stay was average. I wouldn't really call this a "Resort" as the only thing you can do without spending extra money is swim at the pool.

t B.

We stayed here for a week in December! Loved everything about it. The rooms are so nice, we loved the wood burning fireplace and the huge bathroom. The spa building grounds and pool area are amazing. Loved all the wildlife around the resort. My husband especially enjoyed playing golf multiple times. The food was excellent and the staff was so friendly and accommodating! Especially the golf cart drivers getting us around the resort! Highly recommend staying here! Thanks for an amazing vacation!