You have to admit: advertising algorithms are smart these days. If you find yourself Googling – or let’s be honest, even just talking about – anything, you’ll probably end up seeing a ton of ads across your social media.
That’s exactly how we stumbled across ResortPass.
Imagine spending the day at a gorgeous resort pool – no hotel room, no check-in – just sunshine, relaxation, and the kids living their best lives. That’s exactly what we did with ResortPass, and today I’m taking you along for the full experience: how it works, what we paid, what was included, and whether it’s actually worth it – especially for families.
OVERVIEW
Let’s set the scene: we were in Phoenix, Arizona, for a week visiting Derrick’s family. We’ve flown out there three years in a row, and it’s become a fun little annual tradition.
We usually plan at least one activity each day – hiking, a special restaurant – but during our most recent trip, we had one completely empty day.
So, there we were, after breakfast, sipping coffee on the patio and searching: “Things to do around Phoenix.”
We got bombarded with ads – lots of really fun-looking stuff! The Museum of Illusions, the Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, the Lego Discovery Center, the Sea Life Aquarium – all amazing activities. But here’s the problem: tickets for 4 adults and 2 kids were pushing $200+, and some activities only lasted 90 minutes. That’s a lot of money for such a short experience.
And honestly? There was just one thing our kids really wanted to do: SWIM.
So when Derrick and I both saw ads for “ResortPass,” we were intrigued.
It sounded almost too good to be true. Honestly, I kept scrolling – because things that sound too good to be true usually are.
But good news: ResortPass is legit. Derrick even called the resort we wanted to visit and double-checked – and yep, it’s real.
WHAT IS IT?
ResortPass allows you to purchase a pass (and there are several different types, I’ll get into that in a moment) to access a resort and it’s amenities for just the day – no overnight stay required.
This means that depending on the pass that you purchase, you can spend the day lounging at the pool, enjoying the spa, using the fitness center or business center, among the other different amenities that each resort offers.
Each resort is unique in what it offers – some include options to rent a poolside cabana, some have special prices for spa services (including messages and facials), some have options to rent a hotel room for just the day (which would be super convenient to drop your stuff and have a “home base”), and depending on the season – some resorts have special holiday events and activities you can purchase tickets for (I saw special Santa meet-and-greets, even access to a resort’s ice skating rink!)
In other words: depending on what you’re looking to do and the location you are searching, the options are almost endless!
LOCATIONS
I do mention “the location you are searching” because depending on your location, ResortPass will have more or less options for you.
There are ResortPass locations in more than 400 cities across 30 different countries – in other words, if you are in a location that has a lot of resorts, you’ll have more options than somewhere that isn’t as popular as a tourist destination.
For example:
In Phoenix, Arizona, where we were – the list of resorts we could purchase a pass for were seemingly endless, because there are A LOT of resorts in Phoenix.
The same goes for when I searched Orlando, Florida – there are so many resort options (including official Walt Disney World Resorts, which really surprised and excited me!)
But when I searched our home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – only a handful of resorts popped up and only one had an indoor pool (meaning, if you were searching for a place to swim around the holidays or in January, your options were extremely limited).
In other words: ResortPass works really great if you’re in a heavily touristy area, but not so great in rural areas (or even some bigger cities that just don’t have as many resorts).
WHO IS THIS FOR?
When Derrick and I were getting presented ads for ResortPass, we saw it mainly (okay, only) advertised as: “You need to check out of your current resort by 10am, but your flight home doesn’t leave until 8pm – what do you do all day?”
And while the ResortPass is a great way to fill time in that instance – that wasn’t exactly what we were looking to use ResortPass for.
We wanted something we could do (as a family of four) with Derrick’s parents for the day. Something fun that the six of us would enjoy together, and this is key: not break the bank.
PRICES
Depending on what you’re looking to do, where you are located, and what day you’re looking to spend at a resort, the prices of the passes ResortPass offers varies.
Most passes to access a resort’s pool area seemed to start around $15-25 for the day for adults (paired with either discounted kids passes – or the kids passes being completely free). Also, depending on the resort, some offer a special “family pass” at a discount.
This is actually what we ended up doing – we bought a family pass to visit the River Ranch Water Park (which is part of the Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak). The family pass covered 4 of us, and then we purchased 2 additional passes and it ended up costing $80 for the 6 of us to spend the entire day at this massive, beautiful water park AND it included all of the other amenities within the water park – which in our case was a full mini golf course.
Remember how I said that initially I felt like this was “too good to be true”? It still kind of feels that way!
CHECK IN EXPERIENCE
So, what happens after you actually purchase the ResortPass online?
I can’t speak for all of the resorts and I’m assuming the process will vary slightly based on where you buy your passes for, but in our case: once we purchased our passes, we were sent an email with instructions about what to do next. It gave us the address and parking information and told us to check in with the front desk upon arrival.
Once we arrived on property, we were given wristbands upon check-in and from there, we truly just felt like we were resort guests and we simply blended in with everyone else, because – the resort guests had wristbands too. We were able to use the towels provided by the resort, access the different poolside food options, use the lazy river and the waterslide, and play the mini golf course.
It goes without saying, but you’ll want to bring along your own sun lotion, pool toys, sunglasses, and any other items you enjoy using around a pool. If you had booked a stay at a really nice resort with a pool – what would you bring with you? Bring those items.
I will note that depending on the resort you are purchasing passes for – parking might incur an additional fee. It is typically noted at the bottom of the information if there is an extra parking fee – and a lot of times it was offered at a discounted rate or could be waived completely if you met certain criteria (like eating at the restaurant on site). So, that’s just something to consider and add into your budget for the day.
FOOD
Speaking of food, the resort we bought our passes for did have several dining locations on property and it was clearly marked on a sign at the door that no food or drink (other than a sealed water bottle) was permitted in the waterpark. We checked out the menus and everything was priced at a level you’d expect for a resort poolside restaurant (in other words: it was expensive). So, Derrick and his Dad actually ended up leaving and grabbing us all McDonalds from just a few minutes down the road and then we all enjoyed a picnic outside of the waterpark.
That’s just us though and how we decided we wanted to do things in order to save a little bit of money. We have definitely eaten our share of resort poolside food over the years simply because it is so convenient.
THE RESORT
As I mentioned, we bought passes for the River Ranch Water Park which is part of the Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak. This was a PERFECT choice, not only for our kids, but for the adults as well. This waterpark was HUGE – there were two different, large pools (one had a huge waterfall at the end), a LONG lazy river with tons of tubes, and a waterslide. There were endless amounts of lounge chairs and umbrellas and as we explored the property, we found even more private little seating areas that were tucked up into the landscaping). Additionally, the waterpark had a full mini golf course, which wasn’t as lush or fancy as other mini golf courses we’ve been to – but with two small kids who honestly just want to putt a ball around and not keep score – this was perfect.
All in all, there was PLENTY to do at the River Ranch Water Park to keep us all busy and entertained for the entire day. We logged many, many trips down the waterslide, relaxed as we floated around the lazy river, played a little water volleyball, and truly just enjoyed being together in such a fun, beautiful place.
It goes without saying, but depending on the time of year and the day that you’re visiting, will determine how busy the resort is. In chatting with the people working around the resort, they said that their property can pull in hundreds of guests during peak seasons and days. But, we were visiting on a random Thursday in November, so we truly felt like we had the entire place to ourselves for the first few hours (and even as the day got later, only a few other families came in).
As is my advice for anything (whether it’s a theme park, water park, or resort pool): arriving earlier is always better. Think about your own experiences at hotel pools: they’re almost always empty early in the day, but as people check in or come in from their days spent out and about, the pools will get busier as the night goes on.
CONCLUSION
Okay, so if you’re already thinking, “Okay, we should totally do this,” here is my ResortPass link – clicking on it helps support my channel at no extra cost, and it’ll take you right to the page to search resorts near you.
Using ResortPass couldn’t have been easier, and honestly, it ended up being one of our favorite days of the entire trip. From browsing the resorts nearby to booking our passes to checking in and spending the day feeling like full-fledged resort guests – it was all simple, seamless, and so much fun. ResortPass really does take the guesswork out of planning a low-stress, high-enjoyment day, especially when you’re looking for something that doesn’t require a huge time commitment or a huge budget.
For us, it was the perfect way to fill an empty day with something memorable, relaxing, and kid-approved, and it’s absolutely something we’ll be keeping in mind for future travels. Whether you’ve got time to kill before a flight, you’re visiting family, or you’re just craving a little mini-vacation without the overnight price tag, I’d definitely recommend checking what ResortPass has available near you!
We focused on the pool and waterpark side of things because of our kids, but if you’re traveling without little ones, there are so many other options: spas, day rooms, fitness centers, coworking spaces, even seasonal events. There’s truly something for everyone.
Honestly? I wish we knew about ResortPass sooner. Looking back at past trips, we would have re-structured our days entirely differently. ResortPass surprised us in the best way, and we’ll absolutely be using it again.
