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The luxurious Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain was not originally on our itinerary when we planned a visit to the national parks of Arizona. But when we noticed bad weather at Petrified Forest a few days before departing, we swapped our Fairfield Inn at the last minute for one of Marriott’s most prestigious resort brands. We weren’t disappointed.
Instead of the snow and wind pummeling the regions a few hours north, we were greeted by warmth and sunshine on a quiet mountain dotted with saguaro cactus. We were happy to spend two days relaxing by the serene pools and indulging in the delicious food at this beautiful desert retreat after a busy day exploring Saguaro National Park. It reminded us that a little bit of luxury pairs perfectly with adventure and sightseeing!
And when lying in a lounge chair gets a little old, there is still plenty more adventure to be had right there at the resort. The mountains are crossed with trails through the cactus forest, ranging from quick and easy to full-day-difficult. There’s also golf, tennis, and pickleball.
If you’ve got the budget and enough time to truly enjoy your accommodations, The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain is the place to stay near Tucson. We really hope to be back soon, and we probably won’t be content anywhere else in the area.
Quick Summary: Visiting The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
- Luxury resort on a secluded mountain about 40 minutes north of Tucson and an hour and forty minutes south of Phoenix
- Family-friendly with a great kids pool, but also very romantic and fit for couples
- Kids pool has a waterslide, and every adult should try it!
- Main pool is available to everyone and nice and calm, but the spa also has an adults-only pool
- Relaxing atmosphere paired with plenty of activities
- High room rates, but potentially great value in redeeming Bonvoy points
- Also, annoyingly high resort fee and valet-only parking fee
- Standard rooms plus casita suites, which are incredible
- Very tasty food options
- Golf, tennis, and pickleball on-site with free shuttle service
- Miles of hiking trails accessible directly from the resort
Booking, Deals, and When to Visit The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
We visited in mid-April, when the Arizona desert starts to warm up quite a bit, but not to its highest temperatures. The days were in the eighties, but the mornings and evenings were pleasantly cool. We loved this time of year, but we can see why rates drop dramatically for the months after, as temperatures can soar over a hundred here.
That said, prices in April and the other pleasant periods aren’t very budget-friendly. But does anyone really expect a cheap Ritz-Carlton? Standard rooms were approaching $900 per night when we visited, and don’t forget to add the annoying resort fee and expensive valet-only parking fee.
But the truth is that you get what you pay for, and The Ritz-Carlton does it right. Everything about this resort exudes quality and care. We noted that there wasn’t a single encounter with the staff that wasn’t impressive. It was quite the upgrade from the Fairfield Inn we had planned for originally!
The truth is that we paid for our stay with points. Noticing that the rate was 52,000 Bonvoy points, we utilized the 40k point free-night certificate that Titanium members can select when they reach 75 nights in a year, with which you can combine up to 15,000 additional points. Not to mention the Nightly Upgrade Award we requested and had approved… more on that later!
Location and Setting of The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
We flew into Phoenix but drove straight to Tucson, having started our trip at Saguaro National Park the day before. There, we stayed at a Sheraton, which was underwhelming – especially when the Ritz was on our mind. We made the 40-minute drive north to Dove Mountain right after breakfast to enjoy the full day at the resort.
Dove Mountain is a rather large resort community with beautiful houses, golf, and manicured landscapes. It’s up the mountain from the town of Marana, which is mostly residential with an outlet mall. The resort is about a 10-15 minute drive from the interstate.
There’s a security gate several hundred yards down the driveway, adding to the seclusion. The luxurious and highly personalized service starts there, as the attendant will radio your arrival to the rest of the staff. Being a valet-only situation, you’ll drop your keys and bags with another attendant who already knows you’re coming, as does the front desk.
You’ll catch a glimpse of the setting from the panoramic lobby, which opens straight up to the mountain valley that hosts the bulk of the resort. The pools, casitas, and hiking trails all sit back there, flanked by rocky and cactus-filled mountainsides. It was a breathtaking welcome.
Rooms and Suites at The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
The main building hosts the bulk of the standard rooms and suites. View options include Resort, Mountain, or Canyon. While we doubt there’s a bad room in the resort, a Canyon View would have you overlooking the side with the resort’s own mountains, as well as the pools. If a view is important to you, that’s probably the best standard option – you’ll be able to enjoy it from your balcony or patio.
Furthermore, some ground floor rooms offer their own fire pits, which is a lovely touch for those cool desert nights. 1+ bedroom suites are available as well. Regardless of your room type, you can expect all the luxuries of the Ritz-Carlton brand, including high-end amenities, robes, Nespresso machines, and more.
We booked a standard room with points, but that’s not where we ended up. Having reached more than 75 nights the year before, I had a number of Marriott’s Nightly Upgrade Awards. We decided to give it a shot and requested a casita. These special suites are separated from the rest of the resort, up a private path into the canyon.
Our request was approved, and we ended up in a Mountain View Casita… and it was unbelievable. Both the front desk agent and the bellman told us it was one of the best rooms in the resort, and that was not just hyping — it seemed to be accurate. Walking up the stairs, we never could have imagined the saguaro forest view from our massive, one-bedroom casita.
We had two balconies, one being oversized with lounge chairs and a table. Our living room had a couch, dining table, minibar area, and its own ensuite bathroom, while our huge bedroom was separated by double doors. The full bathroom was probably the size of a regular hotel room.
We got a beautiful cheese platter and bottle of wine to welcome us as Titanium members, and we enjoyed that while gazing out at the quiet canyon. We went back out after dark to see the thousands of stars blanketing the dark sky. The next morning, we did some more view-gazing with Nespresso’s and bathrobes. It was pure bliss.
This casita retailed for nearly $2,000 per night during our stay… and while that’s not what we paid, it seemed about fair. We still ended up spending several hundred dollars on other stuff, but we still felt quite accomplished with our deal.
Dining at The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
We arrived shortly after breakfast and went straight for the pool, where we had lunch on our chairs from Turquesa Latin Grill. They have plenty of (upgraded) pool and bar food such as tacos, sandwiches, and salads. We had quesabirria and yucca fries, which seemed appropriate, and they were both excellent.
They also serve locally-inspired cocktails, like the prickly pear cactus margarita. Lunch and drinks can be enjoyed on your chair or at a table on the restaurant’s patio. Other lunch options at the resort include Ignite Lounge & Bar, which is near the lobby and has a great view of the whole property, and Cayton’s, which is at the golf club.
We ate dinner at Cayton’s, where they have a barbecue special on Sunday evenings. You do have to take a shuttle ride to get there, but it’s quick and easy. The food was excellent, as was the live music and relaxed atmosphere. If you prefer to have dinner at the main part of the resort, you can choose from Ignite and Core Kitchen and Wine Bar, the latter being the main restaurant.
Core Kitchen and Wine Bar is also the main breakfast option, with the alternative being grab-and-go from the adjoining coffee shop. Core has a large buffet as well as à-la-carte dining. We chose the latter, and had exceptional pancakes and waffles.
Enjoying Your Stay at The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
To be honest, we booked this place at the last minute, expecting to just hang out and relax by a pool after a long, cold Colorado winter that hadn’t really ended yet. But, as it turns out, there’s a ton to do on Dove Mountain! We recommend planning some time for both relaxation and being active.
Pool
This was the first place we went upon our arrival at the resort, and we had high expectations for a Ritz-Carlton pool experience. This one didn’t disappoint. There’s a large infinity pool looking out towards the main resort building and some of the mountain, as well as a more kid-friendly pool down some steps below it.
The main pool is the best place to grab a set of chairs and relax for the day, with frequent check-ins from the servers bringing you whatever you’d like. They have a station with sunscreen, lotion, and aloe gel to grab, and they will make sure you always have a glass of ice water.
Every so often, someone comes around with complimentary little treats! It may be a small beverage to try, a little snack, or even a full-sized ice cream bar.
The more kid-friendly pool below has some splash pads and a waterslide. But this is no simple waterslide… we had a blast on it! Don’t skip it just because you aren’t traveling with kids.
Finally, there’s another adults-only pool in the spa, but you have to have a spa treatment to use it. It looks wonderful, but we didn’t do that. We found the main pool to be great.
Hiking
There are miles and miles of backcountry trails on Dove Mountain, and they are accessible directly from the resort. This was indeed a hiking trip for us, but we were only really expecting to do that in Saguaro National Park. But these trails looked great, so we woke up early to get a hike in.
The bellman told us that the trails range anywhere from a quick 30-minute loop to a full 8-hour trek over the ridge. You start on the Wild Burro Trail, which leads to a map of the system after about five minutes. That station also has paper versions you can take along.
We selected a two or three mile loop that followed one side of the valley before returning back on what seemed like a wide dry riverbed. It was unbelievably quiet and peaceful. We kept an eye out for bobcats and javelinas in the rock piles dotting the mountainside, but we didn’t see any.
We did see a ton of hummingbirds and other small creatures. Besides, the saguaro cactus are the main attraction, and they are stunning.
Resort Activities
Again, we weren’t really expecting to participate in much besides poolside relaxing — but when they told us at check-in what was on the schedule, we knew we had to enjoy some of the resort activities. They are definitely unique and above what you usually find on resort schedules.
First, we went to find the “sun-gazing” station right outside of the pool area. They set up a highly advanced telescope that is made not to look at the stars, but at the sun! It’s completely safe and fascinating. There was a ton of solar activity that day and we saw flares blasting off the sun’s edges. It’s a stop of two or three minutes at the most, and it was worth it.
A few hours later, we went to the lobby to check out the wildlife exhibition, which is normally held once or twice a week. A local rescue center brings in a few owls and hawks native to the surrounding Sonoran Desert. We got photos of each of them, including the adorable elf owl, the tiniest of them all. It was very interesting to learn about these rarely-seen birds.
Besides these special activities, The Ritz-Carlton has its own golf course, tennis, and pickleball. The resort fee includes a few hours of free play, including equipment, for the latter two. We would have been happy to do that if we had more time. Finally, the spa is almost certainly a great idea, and it’s also on our list for next time.
When night falls, there seems to be a fire pit for anyone who wants one to sit around. We heard that you can get s’mores kits as well. But, just sitting there and enjoying the ambiance under the dark, starry sky was great enough.
Exploring Nearby
The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain is really a destination itself, and you definitely don’t have to find things off-property to fill your time. But, the attractions of Tucson are at your doorstep, so this can be a great base to enjoy them from.
Saguaro National Park is the area’s most famous natural feature, and we loved our visit. The west side of the park is closest to the resort. Start at the visitor center, which has maps and great information about the park and its wildlife. Do the Desert Discovery Nature Trail for something quick and easy but beautiful, or drive the Bajada Loop if you want to spend more time in more remote saguaro forests.
The eastern section of the park has a much more developed scenic drive, with a paved road and plenty of well-defined stopping points. We did both sides on the same day, but keep in mind that it’s over an hour between the two, so start early if you want to fit everything in. It is doable, though.
If anyone in your group is an aviation enthusiast, the Pima Air & Space Museum is a must-do. You can see everything from fighter jets to 747s up close, and it’s adjacent to one of America’s biggest airplane boneyards, which is a thrill to see even from the road. However, don’t expect to do both sides of Saguaro National Park and this museum in one day – it’s just too much.
Conclusion: Luxury in the Arizona Desert at The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
We are so glad that the weather forced us to cancel our trip to Petrified Forest National Park — we probably never would have discovered the oasis in the desert that The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain is. It’s definitely one that we plan to return to.
The casita was one of the greatest hotel rooms we’ve ever stayed in. The mix of poolside relaxation, authentic desert hiking, and unique activities was perfect. The food was exceptional, as was every single employee we interacted with. Our only real negative was the annoying stacking of extra costs (high resort fee and valet-only parking) on top of what is already an extremely expensive visit. But we left very happy anyway.
We will definitely plan another trip here, specifically in the very short window when the weather is warm but when room rates are not at their highest. We’ll report back on new things that we try, like the other restaurants and the spa. Don’t hesitate to make this your destination near Tucson!
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