Residence Inn Phoenix Glendale Sports & Entertainment District: NASCAR Championship & Room 207 Audit

The 2022 NASCAR season came to an exhilarating close in the desert, with four champions crowned at Phoenix Raceway. Maureen and I spent seven nights in the Phoenix area, with our first five staged at the Residence Inn by Marriott Phoenix Glendale Sports & Entertainment District.

This was a classic points redemption: 120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for five nights, capturing an exceptional redemption yield of roughly 1.6¢ per point during one of the most compressed hotel weekends of the year.

1. Proximity, Property Refresh & 2019 Comparison

“NASCAR season came to an end last week, with 4 Champions crowned at Phoenix Raceway. My wife and I spent 7 nights in the Phoenix area, with the first 5 at the Residence Inn by Marriott Phoenix Glendale Sports & Entertainment District. This was a points stay for 120,000 points with a redemption of about 1.6cents/point.

We stayed here in 2019 and had a good experience - even though we requested a room change after the 2nd night due to an excessively loud a/c unit. The hotel is in great proximity to Phoenix Raceway, the Westgate Entertainment District that houses shopping, restaurants, bars, an Aloft and Renaissance Hotel (Renaissance sold out for our stay) as well as State Farm Stadium and Desert Diamond Arena.

The hotel is a typical, older style Residence Inn. Aside from a loose molding tile in the kitchen, everything in our room was in good working and looking order. The bed was comfortable, water pressure good and a/c as cold as we wanted.

There has been a lot of growth with new hotels and apartments since 2019 in this immediate area. It was great to see that the hotel (Residence Inn & Springhill on same property) was going through upgrades. Old room decor coming out, the sounds of old tile being removed - pretty much a refresh of the rooms. Great to see an ownership group investing in the property before it starts to show its age.”

2. Ambassador Recognition & The Strategic Advantages of Room 207

“In 2019 I was Titanium heading towards Ambassador for the 1st time. We had an outside facing room, with views of the parking lot and no complaints about that. It too was a points stay and we were there for the race and events.

Being here as Ambassador, the hotel IMHO, did a great job of acknowledging that during check-in, verbally, welcoming me back, included a small bag of water and snacks, but even more so with our room assignment.

We had room 207, that overlooked the pool, courtyard and portico - I think the room with the best view. We were very close to the stairs, which was very convenient as there is only 1 set of elevators and it’s a walk for most everyone. The stairs led to the courtyard, pool, gym, putting green, bbq, firepit and outdoor seating areas - as well as the back parking lot where we were always able to find a spot.”

Being right by the stairs is a major road-warrior efficiency hack here. With only a single elevator core serving the building, morning elevator waits during race weekends can quickly stack up. Stepping straight out into the courtyard gave us instant access to the outdoor BBQ grills, firepit, gym, and our rental vehicle in the rear lot.

3. Full Hot Breakfast Buffet

“The hotel was still serving the ‘old style’ breakfast with oatmeal, fruits, eggs, different proteins daily, potatoes, breads, muffins and even waffles, and was staffed by an excellent team. We were able to have a decent breakfast each morning to get our day started.”

Unlike watered-down grab-and-go setups, having hot scrambled eggs, rotating sausage and bacon, fresh fruit, and hot waffles provided the exact fuel needed before heading out to the track for long days in the sun.

4. Westgate Dining & The Seahawks Takeover at Salt

“We ate most nights at restaurants in Westgate - including The Yard House and Salt. We happened upon Salt on Saturday night and couldn’t have hit it better. The Seahawks were in town playing the Cardinals the following day and Salt had been taken over by Seahawks fans. We ended up getting seated at a table across from the DJ and had a couple hours of fan driven entertainment that included watching Seahawks fans dancing and marching around the restaurant with a #12 flag, chanting Sea HAWKS and more.

Great day at Phoenix Raceway today - tonight we decided on tequila and tacos for dinner and ended up at Salt at the Westgate. Tomorrow is a big Cardinals vs Seahawks game here. The entire restaurant has been taken over by Seahawks Fans tonight and we have a center stage table for all the fun!”

5. Butterfly Wonderland & Four Days at Phoenix Raceway

“We got in early the day of our arrival, so to kill some time we visited Butterfly Wonderland Arizona - it was a cool experience and worth the admission to support the project.

We had 4 Fantastic days at the track, parking in a lot close to the gates, had VIP Passes that gave us access to pit road, the garages, the drivers and more. The facility is a great place to finish off the season. The fans came out in force and we had good, clean racing along with amazing sunsets.

While we live on the east coast, we’re planning to keep our season tickets to the track. It has proven to be a great place to visit.”

6. The Joey Logano Bookend: From the LA Coliseum to Phoenix

“Fun Fact: We started our 2022 travel in February, staying at the Residence Inn LA Live to go to the 1st race of the year - a non-points race on a temporary track built inside the LA Coliseum. At that race Joey Logano driver of the Penske #22, won the race. He capped his year off by winning the Championship at Phoenix.”

From checking in at LA Live in February to cheering Logano’s title run in Phoenix in November, Residence Inn served as our reliable home base on both ends of the championship bookends.