The Ideal Resort

I can’t help but lead off my resort reviews with an overview of The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Phoenician exudes luxury from every pore of its Italian marble. It is the very essence of the grand resort.

From its opening in the fall of 1988, this 250 acre resort was, and is, the standard for lavish resorts. The Phoenician has it all; 654 rooms including suites, villas and presidential suites, extensive meeting facilities, several restaurants, pools and tennis courts.

A stroll through the Phoenician today makes one realize that no detail was spared in creating a resort that makes its guests feel like they have truly arrived. With $25 million of art displayed on its marble walls, a tiered cactus garden, nine pools including one tiled in Mother-of-Pearl and a $3 million wine collection in its flagship restaurant, The Phoenician has the credentials to rank among the worlds finest resorts.

The Phoenician is located in between the Biltmore district in uptown Phoenix and the downtown/oldtown area of Scottsdale. Its entrance is marked by cascading water over dual fountains and a long entry road leading up to a guard station. A visitor has the choice of pulling up to the main lobby entrance or turning beforehand into the underground parking structure.

Entering through the main lobby doors, you are immediately aware that you are in a large space. The main hallway passes by the entrance and you face a beautiful two-tiered fountain and sizable lounging areas just behind. Beyond the lounging areas is a large outdoor terrace with open fire pits. At one end of the lounging area is a lobby bar, offering piano entertainment most evenings.

(The property from the air)

If you turn left, upon entering, you will find the concierge desks and registration desk. There is also a hallway leading to banquet and meeting facilities and shops. Elevators can be found here also.

The Phoenician has been awarded with many prestigious honors and afforded much well-deserved recognition. It has been given the top rating by the Automobile Association of America (AAA), as well as Conde Nast.

Even with it’s cavernous entry and lobby, it still offers many intimate seating areas for informal business meetings or social conversation.

The resort offers guest accommodations in the main building or in several luxurious casitas and villas. The casitas offer varying sizes and features. The area separating the main building from the casitas includes a large pool with several water features and a more intimate pool area for adults. There is also a spa which provides message, even on the roof. The entire property is at the foot of Camelback mountain, providing a spectacular backdrop to this incredible property.

(The casita view of the main build)

Since The Ideal Resort is a blog, which means writing in the first person, I will give you my own impressions of the resort in the first person. I have made at least 25 visits there since 1993. Even after having much experience with fine resorts, I was wowed by the Phoenician from my first visit. It is the kind of resort that you would describe using the word ‘magnificent,’ much the way you would describe visiting a European cathedral.

If you love fine Italian marble with its beautiful patterns and varying shades, then you will be awed by the carrera marble that is used liberally throughout the resort. It’s pattern and shading closely matched. This was one of the first things that impressed me on that first visit and continues to be one of my favorite features of The Phoenician to this day.

If there is anything I could find to be critical about, it would be few minor details. Later this year, much of The Phoenician will be 20 years old. Even the finest resorts and hotels begin to show some signs of age over time, it is inevitable. Some staff at the resort, and I don’t mean many, forget who their guests are and come off smug.

And then there is the price of some casual foods. Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means a tight-wad. I have been to some of the best resorts in the world, but there are some things that resorts can fine-tune to make the experience perfect. Case in point; the cost of a club sandwich ordered from the Thirsty Camel lobby bar was $15 last time I ordered one. (The current menu lists a cobb salad for $19 and a quesadilla for $15….I’m complaining about casual/finger food, not entrees).  The irony is that the shops at The Phoenician have many reasonably priced items, many a downright bargain, so why not extend that to casual food? It’s a snack.

My only other observation that would be critical, and this is without benefit of first-hand experience, is two services offered at the resorts spectacular spa; The Centre For Well-Being. Among all the world-class services that this highly rated spa offers is advice from an astrologer and tarot card reader. I’m sorry, I may be too conservative, but this seems tacky fare for a resort that is otherwise so polished.

What would a review of a resort be without mentioning the guest rooms? The Phoenician does not disappoint. Even the standard room offers room to breathe. Guest rooms are 600 sq. feet and suites average 1200 sq. feet. Villas are the size of a two to four bedroom home. If you are so inclined, the presidential suites are 3000 sq. feet.

Your first impression of the rooms is the feeling of having room.  If you are used to fine American resorts, then having space is not necessarily a big deal, but even the best resorts in some parts of the world lack space.  The art in the rooms is tasteful and matched perfectly to the rest of the room.  The amenities are wonderful, as you might expect; 32″ flat screen TV’s, Egyptian cotton towels and terrycloth robes, Italian marble bathrooms, three telephones (please refer to my piece on relaxing), Irish linen, Berber carpeting (just like at home) and view balconies (the city lights view is nice).

I don’t have any personal experience with the casitas or villas, so I’ll update this review after my next visit to the Phoenician.  

There is so much more that could be covered that it would take a novel and not a blog posting.  The 27 holes of championship golf, the choice of four tennis court surfaces, the gourmet baby food, the 22,000 sq foot spa, a 165 foot water slide, a kids club, 64,000 feet of meeting space, well, you get the picture.  The eateries alone are worth their own article and they will be covered under that feature section on this blog in the near future.

Check out what others have said about The Phoenician…………remember that one person’s experience can be different from others just because they decide to be nit-picky about one grievance. Feel free to contact me with your own experiences with The Phoenician.

Richard

Epinions:  http://www.epinions.com/Lc_The_Phoenician_AZ_85251_United_States

TripAdvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?q=the+phoenician&sub-search=Go