5402 E Lincoln Dr, Scottsdale, Arizona 85253, US
(480) 948-1700
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About JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa

Historic JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn dates back to 1936 and is set on 125 acres at the base of Camelback Mountain. This 425-room and suite property in a pueblo-style features a spa, tennis courts, heated outdoor pools, garden terraces and desert hiking trails. Camelback Golf Club features two 18-hole courses, the Padre (designed by Arthur Hills) and Ambiente (by Dana Fry and Jason Straka). In addition to these championship courses, there is also a small pitch 'n putt golf course onsite. Dining is highlighted by Lincoln Steakhouse & Bar, while Rita's Cantina & Bar is more casual with a southwest flair. Spa and poolside dining is also available. The golf club has American cuisine at Acacia. Spacious guest rooms feature outdoor living spaces and kitchenettes. Onsite car rental is available as well as 127,500 square feet of meeting space is available for large groups.

Facts

Price Range$$$, $$$$
Property Class★★★★★
Acres125
Year Opened1936
Number of Units300-500

Amenities

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

Services

Kids ProgramYes
Room ServiceYes
ConciergeYes

Rules

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

Golf courses at JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa

Reviews

4.5
2328 Reviews (2328)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Enjoyable

Could not be happier about the course, even the traps were,playable.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 210
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Great Layout

I very much enjoyed the layout at this course. However, the greens had recently been punched so putting was almost impossible. The fairways and tees were in ok condition but not yet recovered completely from overseeding. They were MUCH better than Legend Trail and TPC Champions courses which I also played within the last week.

Pace of play was awful. There was one group that had 3 open holes but no ranger to speed them up.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Great Round

Perfect pace of play and the course is in great conditions. Greens had been punched several weeks ago but had recovered well. Lovely day to play!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 12
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

It was very very hot, but they had ice in the cooler so you could cool off with a towel! Slow play with backup but the Marshall got it going quickly! The only bad thing was there was lots of distance from the golf cart to the tee box & greens with elevation that made it very difficult with the heat but otherwise good course! Will play in cooler weather 108 was tough!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Advanced
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Course with Perfect Greens

The Ambiente course was fun to play, but the greens were phenomenal. They were fast and true. The best greens I have played in Arizona!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

all alone

Our one complaint was about the marshal. Our GPS told us we were 2 min behind pace. There was no one in sight either behind or in front of us. The marshal approached us and told us we needed to pick it up, WHAT. Loved the course, had it all to ourselves. some of the bunkers were not what I would call bunkers. Fairways were very generous, and tee boxes in great shape. The greens were very fair as far as speed goes. Practice facility was great. Course is beautiful, lots of trees, not your usual desert course. Very friendly staff.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Love Camelback

Played the Padre course. The course was in really good shape. the greens best ive putted on in awhile. Always love playing camelback. Dan the starter was polite and professional. And their burgers are amazing. Highly recommend

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Way Overpriced - Nothing special or memorable - Poor Service Ruined the Round

Played Ambiente on Friday, May 1st with an 11am tee time. Paid $250 per person, which turned out to be a terrible value for what we got.

Course Conditions:

The course itself was in decent shape. Nothing spectacular, but fairways and tee boxes were acceptable. The greens, however, were subpar—especially disappointing at this price point. The course lacks any real signature holes that make it memorable. It's a straightforward out-and-back routing without anything that really stands out.

Practice Facilities:

The driving range was crowded and the hitting area was in poor condition. Not what you expect when you're paying premium prices.

Service - The Real Problem:

This is where the experience completely fell apart. We played the entire front nine without seeing a beverage cart once. Not a single time. The halfway house was closed—no explanation, no notice. We actually had to call the clubhouse to ask what was going on. They told us they'd send the cart our way.

The beverage cart finally showed up at hole 13. Then we didn't see her again until hole 18, right as we were finishing. In May in Phoenix, this is completely unacceptable, especially at $250 per person.

Value Assessment:

You're paying for location, plain and simple. This is what happens when a course can charge whatever they want because they're in central Scottsdale near the resort. The golf experience doesn't justify anywhere near $250.

For comparison, I played McDowell Mountain the next day and it was a MUCH better experience across the board. More scenic, better maintained, and the beverage cart actually came around regularly.

Bottom Line:

Unless you absolutely need to play in this specific location, skip it. There are too many better values in the Phoenix area that will give you a superior golf experience for less money.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Wow! A nice course, just straight up golf.

The round was grabbed on Golf Now hot deals. I played with a local person, they also used Gf Now as well.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Amenities….

We had a great day out on the course and finished our round around 6:00 pm. We returned to the cart area and let the staff know we were going inside for a drink before departing. They let us know the entire clubhouse was closed. It was 6:00 pm on a Saturday evening, the course was jammed with players, and the clubhouse is closed. What a huge disappointment as one of the reasons we specifically played at Ambiente was for the amenities.

We have a choice around Scottsdale as to where we play for a total golf experience. It starts when we arrive to the course, and the greeting we receive. Next is the pro shop experience and then practice range. Everything from the time we arrived to the end of the round was great. The 19th hole is part of the experience. Perhaps one area could remain open until course play ends and folks have an opportunity to close their day.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 8
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good conditions at a high price

Had time with twosome but that wanted to

Play alone. Made around in 2.5 hours & not many playing after noon but at $175 don’t blame them.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

A Very Enjoyable Experience

After checking in at the pro shop, we were very impressed with the friendliness of the staff especially Dan the starter. He was very informative and interested in making our initial round at Padre as enjoyable as possible. The overall course conditions were excellent. Adding sand to the bunkers would be very helpful. Pace of play was fine We finished our round in less than 3.5 hours even letting a faster twosome through on #11. Will try to play again on our next trip to Phoenix.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Ambiente

This was my 2nd time playing this course since the renovation. My opinion is essentially the same. The course was in average condition, although the greens very in very good shape.

This course has potential to be much better, but they need to up the condition of the course.

Not a great value for the green fee...

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
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