5350 E Marriott Dr., Phoenix, Arizona 85054, US
(480) 293-5000
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About JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa

The JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa is among the largest golf resorts in Arizona with 865 guest rooms and suites. It is an amenity of the next door Wildfire Golf Club, home to two full-length, 18-hole golf courses designed by Nick Faldo and Arnold Palmer. The resort features five pool areas, including a lazy river and water slide, as well as the more exclusive and quiet Griffin Bay pool area. There is also a fitness center, full-service Revive Spa and tennis courts. Managed by Marriott Golf, there is a kids program and kids play golf free at Wildfire Golf Club with a paid adult.

Facts

Price Range$$$, $$$$
Property Class★★★★
Acres300
Year Opened2002
Number of Units500+

Amenities

RestaurantsBar, Fine, Casual, Buffet
Room TypesRoom, Suite
PoolAdults Only
TennisYes
Fitness CenterYes
Practice FacilityYes
Golf School/AcademyYes
Banquet SpaceYes
SpaYes

Services

Kids ProgramYes
Room ServiceYes
ConciergeYes

Rules

Is the resort pet friendly?No
Is resort stay required for a tee time?No

Golf courses at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa

Golfer Photos

Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
2491 Reviews (2491)
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
Recommended
Played

Outstanding

From Bag Drop to course beverages everyone was amazing.

Personable, friendly and still professional. Tough to get all that anymore.

Definitely be back here again!

Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 29
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

This course was on my list to play. It did not disappoint. Many of the holes were picture perfect. I was surprised to find out it has 108 bunkers. Many courses no longer have sand in the bunkers. While this course had sand in many of the bunkers it was primarily small rock in the fairway bunkers. The greens were in good condition with challenging pin positions. The staff was friendly and all worked to make you feel welcome. This is a course to play but had to wait for cheaper play as it is on the pricier side. Enjoyed the round!

Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 4.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 2.0
Reviews 32
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Difficulty 4.0
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Played

Where’s the grass

I’ve played wildfire over 100 times. Was so disappointed at the condition of the course. Grass was very sparse. Had mud balls every shot They should be notifying people of these conditions before they spend a lot of money to play there

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
1.0
1.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 1.0
Value 1.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 3.0
Pace 5.0
Review 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Played
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
2.0
2.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 2.0
Value 2.0
Layout 2.0
Friendliness 3.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 1.0
Review 1
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 13
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
3.0
3.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 2.0
Value 2.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 3.0
Difficulty 2.0
Review 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Played

Tuff course, dry conditions

Course is difficult and conditions of fair ways was dry. Sand traps hard. Played at Biltmore Estates and love it compared to Palmer course.

Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
3.0
3.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 3.0
Layout 3.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Commented on 07/09/2026

Played both courses recently and hard to imagine anyone picking Biltmore Estates, essentially one huge field with tee boxes and green randomly placed throughout, constantly dodging balls from other holes, and awful greens to Wildfire Palmer. Bunkers only possible difference in Estates favor. From the time you have to take a shuttle to the putting greens and range, to putting on bumpiest non-areated greens, Estates is a place I would never return to. I would rate Wildifre Palmer a 7-8 and Biltmore Estates a 2-3. Orange Tree is better than Biltmore Estates.

Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
Recommended
Played

Favorite Course In AZ

I love this course. Extremely well maintained and with stunning views. Fun layout while still being friendly to beginner/intermediate players. Highly recommend.

First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

Sand sand everywhere

Well designed

First 8 holes good pace of play and then often 3 groups on a hole and very slow

Bunkers very hard

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 3.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Played

Golf carts are old & ours was in bad shape

No sand in the bunkers!

Fairways were soaked with no rain involved, every ball was a mud ball!

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
3.0
3.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 3.0
Value 2.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 3.0
Reviews 10
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

Well Run Golf Operation

About what you would come to expect from a well run golf operations team. Outside services staff were great and very friendly when you arrived. Shop was dialed in and the staff was friendly. Beverage cart passed through on a very consistent rate for an afternoon round.

Course was in good shape and the greens had a very fair pace. The company was great so all in all a 9/10 day.

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 4.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 18
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

Very interesting

Course has multiple different holes. Knowledge of the course is critical. Pars 3’s though are very similar. I hit same club on 3 of them. Staff very friendly. A bit overpriced especially on rental clubs at $100.

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 3.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Review 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
Played

Bunkers with no sand

The grass part of the course is in great shape. The bunkers are really bad. The bunkers are a hard pack with a very thin layer of sand. If you hit into a bunker, play it like a waste area not a bunker shot. Pretty disappointed for a course that has so many bunkers. They look pretty, but definitely a penalty when hitting into them.

Previously Played
2.0
2.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 3.0
Value 3.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Played

Sand bunkers were concrete

If you’ve played the Faldo course, you know there are tons of bunkers on every hole. 108 total bunkers. The sand was the hardest I’ve ever played on. EVER. It was like hardpan dirt. Extremely disappointing especially for a resort course charging $200 for an afternoon round. Absolutely horrible. Until they get this fixed do not spend your hard earned money on this course. They owe me a refund. The pro shop was closed when we finished so couldn’t talk to anyone. Such a shame for a great course layout.

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
2.0
2.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 1.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 3.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 23
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Review 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Played

Beautiful course but rude staff

Got kicked out of the pro shop due to alarms going off all day. Had to come back with my son the next day and staff was rude and not helpful! Treated like a second class citizen.

Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
3.0
3.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 3.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 1.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 3.0
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