Paradise Valley
Arizona


The Experience

The only resort on the north slope of Arizona’s dramatic red Camelback Mountain, Sanctuary’s casitas stagger up the mountain, painted in desert hues (you’d almost think they were part of the natural landscape), with incredible views of Paradise Valley below. Set on the grounds of the 1950s-era Paradise Valley Racquet Club, the 53-acre resort reopened as the Sanctuary in 2001, followed by a 12,000-square-feet-spa one year later. But the work doesn’t stop; in 2005, the resort poured $5 million into refreshing its 74 mountain casitas. The best thing about the Sanctuary: Since the grounds are home to prehistoric ceremonial cave sites and were once home to a Native American reservation, the land is now protected as part of the Echo Canyon Recreation Area, so the sprawl of nearby Scottsdale and Phoenix will stay far away.

The Rooms

The once-Southwestern-style mountain casitas now have a contemporary new look with wood-block flooring and travertine marble showers. They start at a respectable 500 square feet, with little details that make them seem like highly engineered relaxation pods. Contrary to so many destination spas’ credos that you must unplug to be stress-free, Sanctuary surrounds you with the stuff you want, like flat-screen TVs and DVD rental, high-speed Internet and CD players. For those who want to be closer to the spa, the spa casitas have bathrooms that open to courtyards with soaking tubs, separate living rooms with lava stone fireplaces, modern low-slung furniture in saturated colors plus all the high-tech amenities of the more secluded mountain casitas.

The Service

Service is friendly and down-to-earth, as you might expect at any Southwestern destination spa. But Sanctuary goes one better by regularly sending therapists to Thailand to bring back new treatments. But the service isn’t relegated to exotic spa treatments; even little touches like a daily newspaper delivery to your casita and a candle turndown with lavender linen sprays make guests feel cared for.

The Highlights

Most people come here for the spa, which offers basics like stress management and nutrition plus the exotic: tarot reading, astrology and numerology. One of the newest treatments at the spa is the QXCI, a bioenergetic biofeedback system that the staff swears by to diagnose and treat the body’s various imbalances. And while many come to reduce, the restaurant, Elements, seeks to make everyone happy, offering Asian-inflected American food from the farm and a range of options like foie gras. Windows surround the restaurant, which, like the rest of the resort, is all about the view of the mountains. Relax, too, in Sanctuary’s infinity pool, the largest in Arizona. And end the evening by the fire bowl outside the resort’s lounge/bar, Jade, with a pomegranate martini.

-- Andrea Bennett

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