FEATURE STORY

Scottsdale golf resorts will spoil you rotten with pampering

By S. Adam Cardais,
Staff Writer

With its hotels complementing their first-class accommodation, service and amenities with state-of-the-art spas, Scottsdale is becoming one of America's hottest resort destinations.

Scottsdale's pleasure palaces take resort entertainment to the extreme with great restaurants, exceptional golf and comprehensive spa treatments. Here are a few of the prime places for a few days of luxury pampering in this Arizona golf mecca.

Spa wars are your pampering gain Snottsdale? Elite treatment fine with Arizona golfers Scottsdale's best second plays The James: New York hip, Arizona problems Podcast: Scottsdale should embrace its high-falutin' rep

The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa: Conde Nast Traveler named this complex in the Sonoran desert one of the top golf resorts in America.

Guests can choose accommodation ranging from casitas to suites to villas and select from among six restaurants and cafes.

Test your golf game on The Boulders' two Jay Morrish tracks. After a long day on the course you can cool down in one of the resort's four pools.

If you're still not feeling relaxed, the Golden Door spa offers a range of treatments, from massages to therapeutic baths, plus instruction in Pilates, yoga and tai chi.

Rates start at $199 a night.

Camelback Inn: All 453 spacious casitas at this JW Marriott resort have a private patio or balcony. The Camelback has several restaurants, with Chaparral's offering great seafood and steaks and live music and dancing.

Arthur Hills designed both of the golf courses here. The 6,903-yard Resort Course is known for challenging water holes; the Club Course, which measures 7,014 yards, is a traditional American links-style course.

The spa offers massages, facials and other body treatments, including a head-to-toe Vitamin C scrub for the skin.

Rates start at around $300.

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch: The McDowell Mountains make a picturesque backdrop for this resort, where you can take the plunge at a 2½-acre water playground with 10 pools and a three-story slide. Rooms come with either one king or two double Grand Beds and a balcony or patio. All have marble baths, robes and wireless Internet connections.

The Vu restaurant offers contemporary new-American cuisine and an upper-level lounge. There are three superb nine-hole courses at the Gainey Ranch Golf Club.

At Spa Avanta, indulge in a deep-tissue or golfers' massage, the latter designed to alleviate sore muscles and ease tension.

Rates start at around $350.

Tee times: 866-444-0992 Click here for Scottsdale golf packages

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess: This AAA Five Diamond resort boasts the 44,000-square-foot Willow Stream Spa, a network of pools that stay open all night and a lagoon to unwind with a little fishing when you're not on the course.

"What separates this resort from other high-end resorts is how it makes its guests feel like they have run of the place," Chris Baldwin wrote in a GolfArizona.com review. "Stay a few days at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and you could delude yourself into thinking you're some Saudi Arabian oil baron and the whole grand, sprawling complex is yours."

The resort is only minutes from the TPC Desert and Stadium courses, the latter of which hosts the PGA Tour's annual FBR Open (formerly the Phoenix Open), the world's best-attended golfing event. The Boulders North and South courses are also close by.

Rates start at around $150.

November 8, 2006

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.