Hilton Vacation Club Scottsdale Villa Mirage

Hilton Vacation Club Scottsdale Villa Mirage is another great Scottsdale resort that Hilton purchased from Diamond Resorts and rebranded as their own. They do not do this often, so that tells you how much they loved this resort, and you will too.

Video by Tripoyer

Day One Travel & Arrival at Hilton Vacation Club Scottsdale Villa Mirage

While I would normally be arriving by plane from home, I am staying here after staying at the amazing Scottsdale Links Resort, a Hilton Vacation Club, which is another rebranded resort. Often you see rebranding going down with a property’s age (IE: A hotel chain like Days Inn selling older hotels and changing to a smaller brand like a regional hotel). This resort has been maintained so well that Hilton chose to upgrade it to their own branded resort.

The look of this resort is refreshing and impressive when you drive up. On this trip, it is safe to say I have fallen in love with Southwest architecture. At this resort, they have 1 and 2-bedroom suites available. I have booked a 1 bedroom at this location. The 1 bedrooms are sized well at just under 700 sq ft, while the 2-bedroom suites are over 1,000.

My room had everything I could ask for or want to rest and relax.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

 Recent Reviews

A pleasant place to stay in northern Scottsdale! Peaceful, quiet area. Everyone was friendly, and the pool was awesome! I wish I had more time to play pickleball and star gazing off the balcony. They really had it all! I rented a studio and was happy with the mini kitchen and everything else in it!

I visited friends who are guests for the week. Gated security, well-lit with nice landscaping. We used the outdoor grilling area and enjoyed the large gas fireplace. Plenty of recreational activities like a putting green, lit basketball court, bocce ball, shuffleboard, and a nice fitness center. The one-bedroom condo was comfortable and well-stocked. We can see why our friends enjoy escaping cold winters here!

Excellent resort with a perfect location in northeast Scottsdale. Very convenient to the best hiking trails in the McDowell Mountains. My suite had a nice full kitchen, a large master bath, a comfortable living room with a sofa and recliner, and a separate bedroom with a comfortable bed. It is also secluded and quiet, with no street noise.

Everything about our two weeks spent at Scottsdale Villa Mirage was great. The staff was super attentive; the property was well-maintained and clean; the rooms were spacious and had everything we needed. The property location is a little annoying in terms of roadways/access, but after a day or two, we got a rhythm ironed out. The entrance/exit is unusually sharp-angled and you can only access the necessary roadway easily from the west side (you’ll see what I’m talking about). It’s just a small annoyance though… Not even enough to reduce a 5 star rating. Still worth booking your stay IMO. Tip: Secret Garden Adjacent to the putting green behind the Preview Gallery (sales headquarters) is a secret garden with a little Zen pathway and some isolated seating areas. This was a nice place to chill that no one else seemed to utilize. Tranquil space hiding in plain sight behind 6-foot tall vegetative growth. Check it out!

My family had a reunion, and we had a great time. The rooms were nice and clean. The pool was nice, and we spent most of our time swimming or relaxing there.

Lovely people! Friendly customer service! Beautiful, spacious, well-cleaned studio rooms with everything needed in a kitchen! Cozy beds! The pool amenities were gorgeous! Loved the waterfall, hot tub, and splash pad area! Had other games built in a resort like giant checkers we didn’t get to use this time but looked fun! My kids loved our vacation here! Good price! Would stay again!

Day Two Scottsdale Fun

Scottsdale has so much to see and do that you could easily spend a week in the area. One part of the area to check out is the old town area.

Old Town Scottsdale

I had a rental car, so we drove to Scottsdale from the resort and headed for the old town area. We drove on Camelback Road, heading east to the Galleria Corporate Center.

Parking is free but limited in the parking garage. From the parking garage of the Galleria Corporate Center, we went into the building and took the exit to the left where the bus stop is for the Old Town Scottsdale trolley. The Scottsdale trolley is free and a good way to get around Scottsdale and you don’t have to worry about parking, it also connects with Valley Metro buses.

There are several routes, and you can transfer between routes at certain points. Taking the old town route which goes through the ten districts of Old Town Scottsdale the ten districts include: the historic Old Town, Civic Center, Fashion Square, Arizona canal, arts, Fifth Avenue, entertainment, Brown and Stetson, Medical and garden districts is a mouthful but a clever ride. The Old Town route starts and stops at the gallery of the Corporate Center.

The trolley is frequent. It arrives every 15 to 20 minutes and runs from 10 a.m. to about 9:30 p.m. You can also get around this area with scooters and bikes which you can rent using an app or take various tours by Segway or party bike.

I disembarked at the Fifth Avenue shopping district, which is also sometimes referred to as the old town of Scottsdale. The Fifth Avenue shopping district is a local and tourist favorite. It has unique shops, award-winning restaurants, and the famous Bob Park horse fountain.

You’ll find an information kiosk near the fountain after we completed our visit to the 5th Avenue shopping district. We hopped onto another trolley to the Arts District. If you like art and wine, this is for you. In the Arts District, you’ll find fine art galleries, wine-tasting rooms, Scottsdale Museum of the West, the Scottsdale artists’ school, and on Thursday nights there’s the Art Walk.

From 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. every Thursday galleries welcome visitors to look at the work of their artists and provide refreshments. The ambiance is so inviting to get artwork of all kinds, live music, and refreshments. This is a clever way for the town’s art scene to promote itself and since this is a college town, it has a youthful energy to it all.

I was not here on Thursday but I do love the idea.

Day Three OdySea Aquarium

This is an impressive aquarium. I have been fortunate to see a lot of aquariums over the years and this is certainly in my top 10 if not top 5. With over 30,000 animals here, there are plenty of them to visit, see and enjoy.

Tickets here are affordable as aquariums go at only $49.95 for adults with child pricing as well. You can also get tickets with other experiences in the area like Ripley’s Believe it or not, which I just loved as a boy. Other combo ticket offers included the Pangaea Land of Dinosaurs, or the Butterfly Wonderland. So that makes it more affordable for parents that are all in and want to make a day of it.

After the aquarium, I was ready for lunch, just not seafood. I headed for the Roaring Fork choosing it for the cool name and also the great reviews.

For dinner, I chose the Queso to start and an ice-cold beer. Then I moved to the entrée, which was a filet from their wood-fired grill. That was an excellent choice if I do say so myself. I can not rank it in my mind perfectly, but it was one of the top 20 of my life steaks for sure. That is competing against every type of steak in my memory too, so that is saying something.

If you want a great vacation, you likely want to choose Scottsdale and this is one great resort to choose from. Just book with Tzort to save big.