The influx of five-star megaresorts and the area’s dedication to health and wellness helped spark the trend. Moreover, the dry, desert beauty provides the perfect setting for physical and spiritual healing—and with so many newcomers joining existing establishments, there is a spa to suit a variety of tastes and treatment goals. By Pam George
INDIGENOUS APPEAL
Spa at Camelback Inn The setting is ideal for Camelback’s tributes to Native American culture. Set on 125 acres of landscaped desert, the Southwestern resort—originally opened in 1936—is located at the base of Mummy Mountain overlooking the famed Camelback Mountain. One Native American culture-inspired treatment is the Healing Drum Circle, a 45-minute outdoor ritual that combines the rhythmic beating of a drum with guided meditation and a “smudging ritual” with white sage, which purportedly induces self-awareness and inner peace. The facility also features a heated outdoor lap pool, coed and gender-specific hot tubs, Turkish steam rooms, and Finnish saunas. www.camelbackinn.com
TRIED & TRUE
Red Door Spa at The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa
Since the first Elizabeth Arden Salon opened on Fifth Avenue in 1910, the company’s signature red door has become a symbol for upscale skincare treatments. Elizabeth Arden-owned Red Door now operates more than 100 branded spas and salons, including five resort spas. The newest, located in the Wigwam, opened in 2006.
Not surprisingly, red doors usher guests into the 16,000-square-foot facility, and red is a common accent color. The remainder of the décor is sleek and contemporary-think stainless steel, palm wood, beach glass and natural stone. However, the atmosphere still connects with its Western surroundings.
The spa offers the classic facials that have made Elizabeth Arden a household name, as well as body treatments, manicures, pedicures and massages. In addition to the 15 treatment rooms, the spa features a relaxation room, spa café, juice and elixir bar, and retail boutique.
The resort, meanwhile, offers a village setting of 331 adobe-style casitas, ranging from 480 to 612 square feet. With three championship golf courses, tee times come at a premium here, and with good reason: Wigwam’s golf program was founded in the 1930s, and the courses leisurely sprawl over canals, streams and lakes.
www.wigwamresort.com
A MATTER OF TIME
Spa Avania at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch
The science of time is the driving force behind Spa Avania, which opened in 2005. Whether you want to get energized in the morning or unwind in the evening, the spa has designed services to complement your body’s cyclical daily needs. Synchronized music, streaming light from an oculus—a ceiling opening that invites natural light into a room—and special teas all help guests master their internal clock.
The spa has 18 treatment rooms, including three couples’ rooms, five garden rooms with private entrances, and a coed French- Celtic mineral pool and lotus pond. There are private trellised spots for relaxation, hot and cold plunges, yoga and fitness facilities, and a full-service salon. Special services range from massages for golfers or mothers-to-be to men’s anti-aging facials.
After treatments, spa-goers head to the hotel’s Vu restaurant, which Esquire named one of the “Best New Restaurants of 2005.” Guests can dine on new American cuisine in a beautiful setting overlooking the lagoon. www.scottsdale.hyatt.com
SADDLE & SPA
The Spa at Rancho de los Caballeros
Opened in fall 2006, this new spa is situated in a restored 59-year-old guest ranch on 20,000 acres in the Sonoran Desert. Don’t expect Asian aesthetics here—the spa salutes the Old West with homey antique furnishings, Western artwork by local artists, lace window treatments and woven rugs.
Signature treatments follow the same approach. Consider the Rubadubdub Two in the Tub couples soak, the Desert Energy Massage, the Home Sweet Home Milk Bath and the Desert Pearl Facial. The spa’s eight treatment rooms include two couples’ suites, and many rooms have private courtyards for al fresco treatments. The spa also boasts a yoga lawn and a circular labyrinth for meditation.
Outside the spa, guests can enjoy the ranch’s horseback riding, skeet-shooting and championship golf. Nature lovers can take hikes or go bird-watching.
www.sunc.com
BACK TO NATURE
Agave Spa at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
The local agave plant serves as the focus of this established spa. Along with inspiring the spa’s name, agave is a primary component of many treatments. Its moisture-rich qualities give extra oomph to a body masque made for parched skin, and the Blue Agave Paraffin Wrap soothes aching joints and muscles.
Agave’s therapists have developed Rollerssage, a treatment that uses semiprecious stones and combines elements of massage, heat and energy work. Agave also incorporates treatments from the Far East, such as Tui’ Na, a 5,000-year-old Chinese tradition that promotes the harmonious flow of energy.
Agave features 20 treatment rooms, a full-service salon, movement studio, weight training/cardiovascular studio, juice bar and locker rooms—each with whirlpool, sauna and steam room. Cabanas surrounding the pool garden give guests a quiet spot for relaxation, meditation and outside spa treatments.
The Westin, which touts its guestroom’s “Heavenly Bed” and “Heavenly Bath,” also offers 27 holes of championship golf, including a Scott Miller course.
www.kierlandresort.com
URBAN CHIC
VH Spa for Vitality & Health at Hotel Valley Ho
If “Sex and the City” gal pals Carrie Bradshaw and Samantha Jones were spa-hopping in Phoenix, they’d undoubtedly stop at this retrocool hotspot, tucked away in the Hotel Valley Ho.
Originally built in 1956, the hotel marries Frank Lloyd Wright design with Southwestern architecture. Although the hotel instantly became an area icon, it fell into disrepair until 2004, when Westroc Hotels & Resorts launched an $80 million rehabilitation and expansion. Reopened in December 2005, the 194-room resort and spa has stayed true to its architectural roots but added all the modern conveniences.
The 8,000-square-foot VH (Vitality + Health) Spa continues the trendsetting theme. Highpowered fashionistas seeking to get a grip on their harried lives can purchase the Inner Urban Renewal package, a two-day retreat focused on “decompression, detoxification and delight.”
Along with dinner at Trader Vic’s, guests receive an acupuncture treatment (those skittish about needles have other options). The package also includes a Quantum Biofeedback session, which involves the use of a stress-reduction device, and an 8am Yamuna Body Rolling class, which uses six- to 10-inch balls to work out the muscular kinks.
The program ends with a one-on-one session with a life coach, after which it’s back to the city with renewed energy and a new sense of purpose. www.hotelvalleyho.com
DESERT CHARM
A MOBIL FOUR-STAR SPA
the 12,000-square-foot facility at the renowned Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North takes its cues from its desert surroundings. The resort sits at the foothills of Pinnacle Peak, high in the Sonoran Desert, and the 210 guestrooms are arranged in two-and three-story casita buildings with Southwesternstyle adobe architecture.
To quench thirsty skin, try the Soothing Sage Wrap. For naturally glowing skin, book the Jojoba & Prickly Pear Polish—a body scrub followed by a Vichy shower. The Desert Nectar Facial features a blend of aromatherapy oils that promise to soothe nerve endings.
The spa is also appropriate for fitness buffs. The exercise room is filled with cardiovascular machines with individual audiovisual stations and weighttraining equipment.
The movement studio, which has a sprung-wooden floor, is ideal for high- and low-impact training, spinning classes, and personalized Pilates. The fitness center offers instructors and trainers who can design specific programs based on your needs.
www.fourseasons.com/scottsdale