Carefree Resort & Conference Center

I just had the most incredible facial by Lisa. It was complete heaven and my 11 lines have vanished, which I didn’t know was even possible! I highly recommend for a day away. We are headed to the pool for drinks and lunch. :)

You have to really appreciate the grounds here. They are so absolutely beautiful! Rooms are good and everyone is friendly. I would suggest spending a little extra to have a room that overlooks the pool.

Liked the facility however their customer service sucks. I left a bathing suit in the room, called them immediately after I realized I left it. I had to call back 5 hours later as no one ever called me back. I was advised it was located however I was unable to go back to retrieve it since we had a plane to catch. They wanted my credit card number to mail it to me but advised I would have my daughter pick it up as she lives in AZ. I specifically asked if there was a time frame in which she needed to do so since she does work FT and has a family. The gentleman said no, we will hold it for you. Well she finally found the time to pick it up this past weekend but to my dismay, they donated it. My daughter was told they only hold lost and found items for 30 days. Hmmmm, I dont recall ever being told that. I called the resort 2 days ago to inquire why they would get rid of something that they were told would be claimed, regardless of the time frame. I have yet to receive a call back. Suppose I had plans to go there this weekend and expect to have my bathing suit? Guess they don’t care about their guests as much as they claim. I just wanted to voice my opinion on how horrible their customer service is. If I didn’t call a customer back, I don’t think I would have a job very long.

Here for a business meeting, and the convention rooms are very nice. The grounds, from what I saw on my way to my room and back seem nice. Would be less stars, but the food and staff are great. The bell hop was a doll.
Now, the problem. UGH, the room! Dated décor. Damaged old dressers. No room safe. Gave us a handicap bathroom with a loose toilet seat; we aren’t diabled. Bed was bouncy, old and uncomfortable and the pillows were unacceptable, small and provided no support. I have a back ache from the combo hard bed and bad pillows.
I’ve lived in AZ since 1964 and vintage places like this should be kept up by ownerd so we would be proud to have our winter visiting friends stay here. Please update your rooms! This is a gem of a place you have here and your guests should be treated to newer accomodations in their rooms.
Sorry, but with all the other beautiful hotels in North Scottsdale to offer, I wouldn’t recommend my friends staying at this one.

My new favorite place to stay in Arizona. Restaurant was incredible and rooms exceeded my expectations.

second think your wedding here! My wedding was March 2016. Here’s a list of pros and cons to help you decide… Cc
Cons: 1. front desk woman, Gretchen couldn’t seem to get anything right!
Embarrassed us in the lobby in front guests say our card was declined at check in. She put the wrong expectation date
2. Forgot to book us the honeymoon suite
3. Reception room was to be ready for us to decorate at 10:00 am. Not ready until 11:00. Caused us to be late to our hair appointment
4. Gretchen again messed up when I went to get the room key to the brides room. Didn’t know what room or where it was located on the grounds causing me to get up set when she was trying to put a few doors down from the groom. Um he can’t see me before the wedding
5. Only one bellman so had to wait nearly 45 mins to get my decorations from the closest. But I guess since the room wasn’t ready it worked
6. Food for the reception wasn’t ready so cocktail hour was an hour and half
7. Our honeymoon suite was a casita that was outdated. But wort was that a staff woman came to our door at 9:30am to ask when we were checking out!!! Check out is noon and it is the morning after our wedding
Pros: 1. Jennifer the coordinator worked very hard to put out my fires
2. Food was delicious
3. Gorgeous view during the ceremony
4. My guests had a blast, but I don’t much credit the resort for that

As a frequent spa goer, I was looking forward to trying a new place when I booked a massage at the Carefree Resort Spa, but it has turned into the worst experience I have ever had. It was unlike any other massage I have had because it included quite a bit of jerking and pulling on my limbs and neck. Shortly after the massage, I was very very dizzy and had a severe headache. The headache and dizziness continue two days later and I am seeking medical attention to figure out what sort of injuries I sustained during this massage. I am horrified that my relaxing treat to myself has turned into a debilitating injury and I strongly urge people to avoid this dangerous spa.

Our second visit in a year which will also be our last. Tired, old, patched up and overpriced describes this place to a tee. They only put «Resort» in the name so they can charge you a $ 25 resort fee (never mentioned) at checkout. Air conditioner didn’t work. Asked to have it fixed while we were gone for the day and came back to an even hotter room. Never fixed and no communication from staff. Bathroom so small the door hits the toilet and can’t really open the whole way, shower faucet sprayed in all directions and sink faucet was almost larger than the sink. No safe, no mini bar fridge, chipped paint, tile, overly patched ceiling. Pay for Internet and even a newspaper. You get the idea. Do not come here unless you need reminder of what it was like in the 50’s. Sorry, the bathroom door does not hit the toilet, it only seems that way.

My family and I enjoyed our stay here. Next time we visit Arizona we will be staying here ! We loved the dining and the service. Carefree is beautiful. The town of cave creek is a very nice place to stroll and shop. All sorts of fun to be had. Back to Ireland for us. We will be taking with us great memories! Thank you!

My pillowcase had dry, crusted drops of BLOOD on it!!! Need I say more!!! Despite the beautiful exterior of the property, DO NOT stay at this «resort»! Never in my life have I been so repulsed by a resorts’ lack of cleanliness. My husband and I were absolutely shocked to find crusted blood on our pillowcase as we turned down our sheets for the night. 30 minutes after calling the front desk and alerting them to this issue, we got a knock at our door. There stood a man with a «security» ball cap on, holding a replacement pillowcase!!! Unbelievable! So their solution was for me to simply change the pillowcase??? I called the front desk again, and asked to have the manager come to our room. Another half hour later, the manager shows up– by herself, with an armful of sheets and a biohazard bag! She was very nice and apologetic, but I just don’t think a change of sheets was an appropriate solution. Nevermind the fact that the bloody pillowcase never made it into the biohazard bag, but was just rolled up with the other linens. We were offered a free breakfast and 20% off of our bill. By this time I was so disgusted with our experience, I didn’t even bother to suggest that we not be charged for our room. Also, the shower curtain liner was covered in mold. Clearly, this facility does not consider cleanliness a top priority. If you look closely at the picture, you can also spot a black hair next to the blood… bonus!

I came here for a the spa and booked a facial. The actual facial was good. Everything else about the experience was poor and I would never come back. First of all, I don’t think it should be called a spa. It was a dingy, outdated, small area where you go to get treatments; not to relax. That was obvious when the middle-​aged lady at the front was confused why I would arrive an hour early for my appointment. I was hoping to put on a robe and relax in a lounge area or use a hot tub. None of those things exist. There is seating for about 3 in an open lobby that shared space with the pedicure area. There was a jar for water which was empty so I couldn’t even get water. There was a basket of teas, but no hot water. For the money, you could get a high class spa experience pretty much anywhere else in AZ. I do not recommend.

Definitely old school… Old school in that… The rooms are so old and outdated. They don’t clean often enough but it is quite tranquil and private.
The pool is nice and refreshing with a poolside bar with the best run-​runners ever!
The grounds are quite large, the in house restaurant is where I had one of the best huevos rancheros breakfasts ever. This was years ago so I can’t speak to the quality recently but the beans were fresh as opposed to out of a can, the eggs were perfect and the salsa complemented it all perfectly, tobacco and lime really made this dish pop… complimentary OJ was fresh squeezed — I was very pleasantly surprised.
The spa facilities where I got my vet first massage as it came with one when booking the room, is still to this day one of my faves, one because they had showers, private rooms, great smelling oils, and they sent me home with a pair of sandals, exfoliating gloves, and a super relaxed demeanor!
A fire pit going in the courtyard area at night was awesome even though it was September and 109°.
The bar seemed busy I didn’t check it out but everything was cute, rustic, and western! Convenient area with a small town with big draw. Carefree is a great place, just mind the foxes.

We stayed here one night a couple months ago when we found a deal on Groupon. The lobby, pool and grounds are all very nice and clean. The room on the other hand… It is a little outdated. Also we found blood on the bed sheets along with some other yellow-​ish stains. I was completely grossed out. We called the front desk immediately to fix the situation. The next morning at check out the manager offered a free night stay for a future date. Unfortunately when you book off groupon the room has already been paid for so there is no refunding available. The staff was all very nice and helpful given our incident.
So we decided to give this place a second chance given that we did have a free night. We decided to come back for our anniversary weekend and booked two nights. Again, the lobby, staff and grounds is great. When we got to our room the sliding glass door to our patio didn’t work and we found cigarette butts behind one of the dresses while trying to find an outlet. Keep in mind we had a non smoking room… The night was relatively quiet except early in the morning the cleaning staff would be going in and out of rooms, slamming the doors to each room as they came out. So no sleeping in here.
After my two experiences with this place I cannot see myself staying here again. I’m giving this review two stars because the staff is friendly and the grounds are nice. Overall I just don’t think those two things are worth the money.

This is a great place for a conference or large family get together. There is a nice pool, meeting rooms and ambiance. However, this hotel is in need of some serious work. The beds are lumpy, sheets are worn, patio needs paint and panels and there are rooms on the property that are suffering from neglect and extreme weather damage. There was no one in the dining room for breakfast. Good reason, it was poorly prepared. This could be an oasis. I hope the owners step up and fix this place to the standard it deserves.

Just spent a long weekend here at a retreat. I love this area; Carefree and Cave Creek are amazing. This is pretty darn nice place. Upside — mid-​century modern, great pool, quiet, food reasonably priced, HUGE rooms, nice bed, decent flat screen, well priced bar. Downside — the gym is mediocre at best (plywood temp door, floor is uneven so treadmills are crooked), no poolside service for drinks, real weak gift shop, and dog poop is not monitored (no specific place for dogs to poo and guests didn’t pick it up), also, the doors to the hallways of the rooms are not secured — they are wide open and should require a card-​key. It’s close to golf, there is tennis and the staff is SUPER friendly. The surrounding area is just beautiful — if you love amazing rock formations, crazy cactus and unbelievable evening lightning, this could be fun! I did see quite a few kids at the pool, so you have to be in the mood for the noise. It seemed to quiet down in the afternoon. The conference facilities were nice and the meals brought in for our event were really nice. My real concern was safety as a woman traveling alone. The hall doors really should be secured.
Have fun!

It’s out a ways but got a deal on Groupon. Friendly staff rooms clean, didn’t do room service alittle pricey. But pool was very nice and relaxing no kids. Alot of restaurants on there main strip found awesome small diner.

Theft of luggage out of hotel room
I stayed at Carefree Resort for the weekend at the end of July 2014 for a family reunion. During the family dinner we had at their resort, 2 of my bags were stolen out of my room. A backpack with personal IPad, books, and other personal belongings and then a gift bags with a pair of shoes. I reported it to the staff that night around midnight and followed up the next morning. I, as well as my entire family, scoured our hotel rooms and the resort. Once I confirmed that my stuff had been stolen, I filed a police report and a statement with MCSO. The guest services manager and the staff looked around the resort as well and were helpful, but couldn’t find it. I was not placing blame on the hotel staff, but assume that some random person had come in through the door during a cleaning or when the door hadn’t locked entirely after closing someone slipped into the room and grabbed my stuff.
A couple weeks after I left the hotel, I was the one making all the follow up calls to the resort and wasn’t receiving much help from them regarding hoe they normally handle theft from their resort. They said they hadn’t filed an insurance claim, I had to ask them to file one. After another couple weeks, I finally received a call from Liberty Mutual Insurance regarding the incident, where they took my statement. They took about 3 weeks and sent me an email (did not call) stating that since they were not able to determine that the staff with Carefree Resort was responsible for my belongings being stolen from my room, they were not going to reimburse what was stolen. I then called Carefree Resort back and they stated that they would not be able to help me out any further.
My identity was stolen as a result of the theft. To anyone who has been through that experience, they will know exactly how horrible that is.
So my advise to anyone reading this: make sure your doors are securely shut and locked EVERY time you leave your room. Ensure you have adequate insurance because they won’t cover anything lost or stolen.

This North Phoenix resort is about 40 minutes from the airport and away from the busy city. Situated next to the Boulders Resort and very easy to find. The resort offered free parking, convenient parking right near an access way to our room.
The lobby has a great lodge-​like feel to it with a fireplace burning in the background and lots of wood and stone. The reception area was right inside the front door and the staff was very cheerful. Upon check in we mentioned phoning the resort a few days prior about laundry services. We mentioned, on the phone, that we would be arriving Friday afternoon and needed a shirt cleaned for the weekend wedding we were there to attend. At check-​in, the agent told us that no such service would be available on the weekend and apologized for the communication error. What turn this situation around and made here apology even more sincere, was that she offered to wash and press the shirt at home for us and return it the next day before the event. Wow! You wouldn’t get that at any chain property. It doesn’t stop there…
The room was a standard king overlooking the pool area. An oversized room with appropriate furnishings, comfortable bed, and walk in shower. The bathroom was lacking lighting and was very difficult to see in the shower once the curtain was drawn. Only other issue was the horribly slow to non-​existent Wi-​Fi. Coupled with the bad cell service in the area, you won’t have much luck if you need to use your phone.
We had a hotel catered cookout in the outdoor function space adjacent to the lobby. It was the perfect setting for the evening and was set with linen topped picnic tables, string light overhead and a fire pit in the corner. We had a blast and again, the staff was so pleasant.
Breakfast the next morning was equally as good in the Lariat restaurant. The offered both ala carte and buffet options, but the price for the buffet was so good at $ 11.95 (including coffee) we couldn’t pass it up. Eggs, pancakes, fresh berries and fruit, perfectly (seriously, perfectly) cooked bacon, sausage, biscuits/​gravy, potatoes, cereals… so much for the price. Staff was again great and kept coffee and water glasses filled.
Hit the pool in the afternoon for a few hours to relax. Not overly crowded with plenty of space between chairs, so people aren’t on top of each other. There is always one idiot who NEEDS to talk on their phone and broadcast their life to everyone around, but he left shortly after. They offer poolside service for cocktails and food.
A quaint property, very relaxing and comfortable. If you want people to dote all over you and offer canned responses all day, go stay at the Ritz Carlton and pay the prices. If you want genuine staff, comfortable accommodations at a great price, you can’t beat the Carefree Resort.

Booked the hotel on a summer Saturday night on a $ 50 deal. Great price for a stay-​cation.
Apparently there is valet available, there are door greeters, hourly 24 hr Cave Creek shuttle and the lobby smells like elusive cookies, good first impression.
Everyone is super nice, definitely a resort feel. The desk attendant even had a bag of ice delivered to me from the restaurant on the spot, then he told me where the ice machines are. They have a cool (desert) botanical garden to walk through in the courtyard. We didn’t try the saloon or restaurant, but the restaurant was busy.
The room was clean and had a large (for a hotel room) mud room. Hmm. Everything was modern and comfy.
Nice place, I would stay again.

I have stayed at the Carefree Resort twice now, but the first time doesn’t really count since it was about 20 years ago. However, just this past Friday night, we stayed there and had a great time! This resort is a perfect place to rest your head if you need a little getaway from «city» aka Scottsdale life. We love to go up to Cave Creek for a night out at Harold’s and live bull riding at Buffalo Chip and with an early morning tee time, we decided to stay the night.
The rooms were reasonably priced because of the summer heat, but I don’t think they are ever too high. The rooms are huge and could easily fit a cot or three. Every room has a nice balcony and they also have casitas that you can reserve. The pool is clean and big, but the best part is that they offer a free shuttle to and from Downtown Cave Creek. How nice is that? The resort is also pet friendly, but they have a pricey one-​time charge (around $ 79) so it might be better to leave Fido at home. For the active guest, they offer bike rentals and tennis courts, hiking and golf.
I would definitely recommend this hotel to those looking for a reasonably priced hotel option either for a night out in Cave Creek or if you’re visiting from out of town. It’s not a fancy hotel, but it’s clean, friendly, spacious and decently priced.