After having my parents join us from the UK for a month on our 50 state road trip, it was time for them to head back to England. They were flying in and out of Phoenix airport, so we stayed at the nearby Tempe Mission Palms for their final night.
Shae was also flying back to Virginia the following day to see family, while I had work commitments those following two days. As a result, we booked one room for one night for my parents and a separate room for me and Shae for four nights seeing as I needed to stay there a little longer.
The Tempe Mission Palms hotel is now part of Hyatt as one of their Destination properties. That meant I was able to use a suite upgrade award from my Globalist status to upgrade our room to a one bedroom suite with terrace. That was perfect as it gave lots of space for my four nights there and made it a much more comfortable stay.
The property itself is fantastic – it has a beautiful courtyard, a large outdoor swimming pool area with plenty of seating, it’s in a great location within walking distance of dozens of bars and restaurants and the food was good.
Here’s a full review of our stay at the Tempe Mission Palms.
Check-In
We arrived that afternoon at 1:30pm hoping to check in early as the official check-in time is 3pm. Our one bedroom suite wasn’t available just yet as housekeeping was still working on it, but they did have my parents’ room ready.
We therefore got checked in and took all our stuff to their room for the time being. Before heading up, the front desk agent gave us some Tempe Mission Palm-labeled bottles of water.
Within about an hour we got a text from the front desk to let us know that our suite was ready. Shae, my mum and dad therefore moved all our stuff down to our room as I was out grabbing us lunch.
One Bedroom Suite With Terrace
Dining Area & Living Room
As I mentioned earlier, we used a suite upgrade award to upgrade our standard room to a One Bedroom Suite With Terrace. This is a 725 sq ft suite, although I’m not sure if that square footage includes the outdoor terrace space (I suspect it does.)
When entering the suite there was a large dining/conference table with the living room beyond that.
Along the left hand side was a wet bar with a coffee maker.
Beneath the wet bar was a mini fridge. Hotel mini fridges can be hit or miss when it comes to keeping items cold, so it was nice to see this one with a temperature display to reassure us that our food and drinks were being kept at 34°F.
Behind the dining table were patio doors that led out to a balcony area with a couple of tables and lots of seating. Our room was on the second floor which is the same level as the outdoor swimming pool; I think there was a gate in the fencing to allow us to get to the pool more easily.
The living room had a sleeper sofa along with a couple of other chairs.
Facing the chairs was a TV on top of a dresser.
Bedroom
Off the end of the living room was our separate bedroom. This contained a king bed that was very comfortable and the blackout curtains worked well to keep the room nice and dark at night.
Opposite the bed was another dresser with a TV on top and a safe in the cupboard section.
The bedroom also had a large closet which contained an iron, ironing board, luggage rack, bathrobes and a spare blanket and pillow (presumably for the sofa bed in the living room.)
Bathroom
To the left of the closet was the bathroom which had a fairly spacious walk-in shower. Although the shower only had a glass barrier across half its side, the ledge at the bottom helped ensure water didn’t end up all over the bathroom floor.
Overall, we were extremely happy with our suite at the Tempe Mission Palms as the One Bedroom Suite With Terrace was very spacious and comfortable. Unlike some hotel rooms where it’s hard keeping the room at an ideal temperature, the air conditioning worked perfectly in the suite which was much-needed seeing as it was 100°F outside, but the suite never got too icy.
Breakfast
Breakfast at the Tempe Mission Palms is served at The Mission Grille from 7am-10:30am each day. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating. On our first morning we all ate inside; with my parents back in the UK and Shae in Virginia for my other three days there, I decided to sit at their outdoor seating area for the other three mornings.
The Mission Grille offers both a buffet and entrée options. One of the benefits of my Hyatt Globalist status is that we got complimentary breakfast each morning. That could be utilized by either having their breakfast buffet or by ordering an entrée from the set menu.
I ended up just taking advantage of the buffet breakfast each morning as that was quicker than having to wait for the entrée to be custom-made. Here are all the buffet options – the hot options changed day-to-day, but there were always eggs, potatoes and breakfast meat(s) of some variety.
Other Dining
The swimming pool area has a Cabana Bar that’s open from 11am-5pm.
The Tempe Mission Palms also has a restaurant and bar called Harry’s Place.
I didn’t end up eating there as there were tons of restaurants nearby, but here’s the menu for the hotel’s restaurant.
Amenities
The Tempe Mission Palms has an outdoor swimming pool and whirlpool on the second floor with several cabanas available.
To the left of the pool and cabanas is an additional outdoor seating area.
The hotel has lots more outdoor space too. In the center of the hotel is a pretty courtyard with seating in different parts and palm trees providing some much-needed shade.
A corner of the courtyard has a seating area around a fireplace, although I’m not sure how much extra heat is needed in Tempe!
The hotel has a decent-sized fitness room with plenty of exercise equipment and weights.
The hotel has a couple of sets of elevators – one in the lobby and one in the building on the other side of the courtyard. On the second floor (and possibly other floors), there was an ice machine and drinks vending machine next to the non-lobby elevators.
In the lobby there was a concierge desk which is where you can also arrange a complimentary airport shuttle. The airport shuttle runs from 5:30am to 10pm and runs every half hour on the hour and half hour, with the journey taking 15 minutes or so.
To the right of the hotel’s front desk was a pantry area, as well as a basic business center where you could get online, print off boarding passes, etc.
Tempe Mission Palms Pet Policy
The Tempe Mission Palms is a pet-friendly hotel that allows dogs up to 50 lbs. There’s a $100 deposit of which $25 is non-refundable which is very reasonable.
The hotel discourages guests from letting their dogs use the grassy areas in the courtyard, but there are some grassy areas right outside the hotel where your pup can do their business.
Service
Service at the Tempe Mission Palms was good overall, although I didn’t have too many staff interactions. The front desk agent checked us in early for the room that was already available which we appreciated. The Mission Grille staff were friendly, with some being a bit more attentive than others.
I spent most of my time during our stay working, so I declined housekeeping as I didn’t need anything refreshed and so can’t comment on what their housekeeping service is like.
Wi-Fi
The hotel’s Wi-Fi is free for all guests and seemed to be solid. I didn’t have any connection issues around the property, so you could probably work in the courtyard or by the pool without any problem.
Check-In & Check-Out Times
The check-in time at the Tempe Mission Palms is 3pm, while checkout is at 12pm.
Another benefit of Hyatt Globalist status is a guaranteed 4pm checkout. I had a long drive ahead of me on the day I checked out though, so I didn’t need to take advantage of that benefit.
Location
The Tempe Mission Palms is in an excellent location as it’s next to Mill Ave with tons of restaurants and bars along it. It’s less than a mile to the Sun Devil Football Stadium, so it’s a perfect place to stay for a game. About a quarter mile up Mill Ave is Tempe Beach Park that has a Splash Playground.
Given how hot Tempe gets, for much of the year you probably wouldn’t want to walk long distances outside. There are endless electric scooters and bikes around though, so those can help you get further afield if you don’t want to drive or are visiting Tempe without a car.
Parking
Speaking of driving, the Tempe Mission Palms offers both self-parking and valet parking. What was pleasantly surprising is that both parking options are complimentary.
Cost
We booked our staying using points. The Tempe Mission Palms is a category 3 property in the World of Hyatt program. That means it costs 9,000 points per night when off-peak, 12,000 points per night at standard rates and 15,000 points per night at peak rates.
During our dates, the first three nights were standard and the final night was off-peak. That means our total cost was 45,000 points for the four nights. That was fantastic value because the standard room we’d booked with points would’ve cost $403.61 per night with tax. The one bedroom suite we used an upgrade for was going for $526.80 per night with tax during our dates. By redeeming points and using a suite upgrade award, we got 4.68cpp (cents per point) of value by using points which is excellent value for Hyatt.
Earnings
Although we booked our stay using points, both Shae and I earned a category 1-4 free night certificate as a result of our stay. The World of Hyatt program has a feature called Brand Explorer which rewards you with a free night certificate for every 5 different Hyatt brands you stay at.
The Tempe Mission Palms is part of their Destination brand that we’d never stayed at before. This happened to be the 10th brand on my account and the 5th on Shae’s (my parents’ room was booked using her account), so that’s why we each earned a free certificate.
Final Thoughts
We had a great stay at the Tempe Mission Palms. Well, I did anyway – Shae only got to enjoy it for one night before flying back to Virginia. Then again, she did enjoy hanging by the pool having cocktails the day she was there, so she made the most of it while she could.
Being able to use a suite upgrade award for a one bedroom suite with a terrace was awesome as it gave us plenty of space. Despite being just off Mill Ave which seemed to be a party street, the hotel was nice and chill – not at all rowdy. There’s a pretty courtyard, lots of other outdoor space and many more amenities that made it a lovely place to stay for a few days after a busy month touring New Mexico, Utah and Arizona with my parents.
At only 12,000 points per night at standard rates, it’s fantastic value in the World of Hyatt program. We’d always booked in at the Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North when staying in the Phoenix area in the past which is a great hotel too, but if we return Phoenix in the future then I think we’d likely be drawn back to the Tempe Mission Palms. It’s a nicer property overall and its location is better than the Holiday Inn.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles awards the Tempe Mission Palms four paws out of four – pawfect! The property was quiet which she appreciated, while we appreciated the fact that the pet fee was only $25 (which, incidentally, it doesn’t look like they charged us.)
Our Rating
Room = 4.8 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.6 / 5
Food = 4.4 / 5
Location = 4.8 / 5
Service = 4.2 / 5
Overall Value = 4.7 / 5 (based on the points price; the cash price was very high)
Total = 4.58 / 5
Address
Tempe Mission Palms, 60 E 5th St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Leave a Reply