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Valley of the Sun Offers New Vistas for Visitors

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 8, 2006
Arizona's flowers failed to bloom this year. But that's not necessarily bad news for visitors who flock to the Valley of the Sun hoping the area lives up to its name.

The sun has dominated the desert sky since mid-October, though the spell was broken in late March. Warm days and mild, dry nights produce a climate conducive to keeping tourist turnstiles spinning.

We're not talking about ballpark turnstiles - though nine major-league teams just completed training in the area for the 2006 baseball season [the Arizona Diamondbacks, who play in a domed ballpark in Phoenix, simply moved up the road from Tucson].

People flock to Phoenix for something different: hills full of saguaro cacti that resemble silent sentinels silhouetted against the orange hues of twilight; coyotes that howl at dawn and dusk; and javelinas that resemble wild boars but shy away from humans.

Wrigley Mansion is definitely different and also slightly off the beaten track.

The fifth and smallest home of Chicago chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., the mansion was built in 1929 on a 100-foot knoll overlooking the city. A blend of Spanish and Mediterranean architecture, the property has evolved from a family residence into an upscale venue for weddings, business meetings, and individual dinners. Each of the 13 rooms has its own design - though the original layout was decidedly different.

When the Wrigley Mansion first opened as a "winter cottage," the house had 24 rooms, 17 Art Deco tiled bathrooms, and eight fireplaces. A National Historic Landmark since 1989, its current owner is Geordie Hormel, an artist-musician who is also heir to the meat-packing fortune.

A highlight of the house tour is a player-piano that contains a rolled-up scroll of Rhapsody in Blue recorded by George Gershwin himself.

Guests arriving for dinner at the Wrigley Mansion will pass the adjacent Arizona Biltmore, one of three U.S. resorts about to add "the Waldorf Astoria Collection" to their name. Hilton Hotels, which has owned the famous Manhattan hotel since 1949, is adding the name to a select number of business hotels and resorts worldwide.

History also lives in nearby Tempe, home of Arizona State University. It's worth a trip there to see Arizona State University's Gammage theater, home this month to the entertaining Stomp and the serious Golda's Balcony, starring Valerie Harper. The theater is not far from Mill Avenue, the area's most concentrated area of restaurants, cafes, shops, and nightlife.

On the last weekend of March, Tempe hosted its Spring Festival of the Arts and the Tempe Music Festival, two of the year's biggest events. An April highlight - at least for those who like to laugh - may be the Red Bull Flugtag, when creative inventors try to launch homemade flying machines over the man-made Tempe Town Lake.

On April 9, the lake will also be the scene of Ironman Arizona, when 1,900 athletes compete in a sporting event that includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and complete marathon - all run in succession. The Cardboat Boat Regatta, scheduled for April 22, will give failed flyers another chance to sink or swim.

A more serious note has been sounded by jazz musicians who join the Jazz in the Garden Concert Series, which started its three-month run at the Desert Botanical Garden on March 24.

The Phoenix Art Museum also hosts occasional concerts, blending music with world-class art. The museum also awaits the April 9 opening of Constructing New Berlin, the first display of contemporary art from the post-wall capital of Germany.

Even the world-renowned Heard Museum, home of native American and Arizona artifacts, offers such special programming as the 16th annual world championship hoop dance, which featured 40 Native American dancers in February.

Both art and culture are on the menu in tony Scottsdale, home of more than 40 upscale resorts. The schedule includes a 10-day motorcycle rally that starts at the end of the month and the USTA National Men's 35 Hardcourt Tennis Championships through April 8.

Strolling Old Town Scottsdale, dotted with 125 galleries and museums, and Scottsdale Fashion Square, an upscale mall that makes a perfect escape from the omnipresent sun, are also popular diversions for visitors. Galleries stay open late on Thursdays for the weekly Scottsdale ArtWalk.

The Valley of the Sun is also home to Peoria, where the Challenger Space Center is a Smithsonian affiliate; Mesa, where the brand-new Mesa Arts center is the largest performing arts center in Arizona; and Surprise, where the West Valley Art Museum showcases cultures, arts, and traditions from around the world.

Although the pace of life is certainly slower in Arizona, resorts are rushing to meet the evolving demands of the discriminating traveler.

The Phoenician has added hour-long classes in ballroom dancing to the lineup at its well-named Centre for Well-Being. Eco-tourism is on tap at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, a 450-acre property that gives 45-minute guided tours of the plant and wildlife in the surrounding Sonoran Desert. Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale now offers a 50-minute "Head Over Heels" spa treatment, while the Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa will open the nation's newest Red Door Spa on March 28.

The area's best place to cool down is Spa Avania, a $9 million urban oasis that won't mark its first anniversary until July. Already noted for its lighting, music stylings, and mineral water therapy, the latest addition to the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch has 2.7 acres of gardens, pools, and treatment rooms designed to provide a holistic experience. It's no surprise that the Greek word "avania" means tranquil.

The Hyatt Regency also has something else offered bv no other resort: a lake populated by Venetian gondoliers who sing for their supper.

At the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs, 28 of the 585 rooms are mountainside presidential suites - palatial accommodations perfect for larger families.

Families of all ages flock to The Falls Water Village, a three-and-a-half acre complex of pools, spas, and terraces complete with a 138-foot enclosed waterslide, a 40-foot waterfall, 23 private cabanas, and a spacious but shallow pool designated for adults. The design of the $8 million pool complex was inspired by the Grand Canyon's Havasupai Falls.

Like the pool area, Tapatio Cliffs restaurants have catchy names: Pointe in Tyme is a contemporary tavern, while Different Pointe of View offers French-Italian fare with a Mediterranean flare.

A sister property, Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, is smaller (563 suites, including 78 casitas) and flatter (roads and rooms at Tapatio Cliffs are built into the hills) but just as water-oriented. The Hole-in-the-Wall River Ranch is a four-acre mix of pools, Jacuzzis, and waterslides topped by a meandering river filled with inner tubes that ride the gentle current.

The 27-acre property, bordered by 3,000 acres of Sonoran desert, feeds guests at places called Hole-in-the-Wall, Lantana Grill, and Slim Picken's - as well as a poolside ice cream parlor appropriately named Cactus Rock Creamery.

With 48,000 square feet of meeting space, Squaw Peak draws considerable convention business.

Although Greater Phoenix is already experiencing a boom in hotel occupancy, the recent $600 million expansion of the Phoenix Convention Center should help even more.

The six-week period of baseball spring training also helps the local economy. A record 1.27 million fans attended Cactus League games in Greater Phoenix last spring and the addition of World Baseball Classic games this year made another mark likely. Answering the tourist run to the sun, airlines are adding Arizona service. JetBlue launched new direct service to Phoenix from Boston in February, adding to its highly-successful schedule linking its JFK hub to Sky Harbor Airport. The carrier draws passengers with discounted fares and high service levels, including DirectTV and comfortable seating with longer-than-usual legroom. It operates 276 daily flights to 37 destinations in 12 states and is growing rapidly.

Southwest, another low-fare line, has added 15 new Phoenix flights, including a daily nonstop to New Orleans that will commence June 10. The Dallas-based carrier, which has a major presence at Sky Harbor, has already launched direct service from the Valley of the Sun to Denver.

Visitors to the Valley of the Sun have to hop a shuttle bus to a nearby car rental facility that houses all the major renters under one roof. The service is quick and painless and the complex is clean, spiffy, and efficient. Other cities - especially those where confusion reigns at the airport -- could use it as a model.

For further information about Greater Phoenix, contact Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, 11111 N. 7th St., Phoenix, AZ 85020 (Tel. 602-866-7500, Fax 602-993-0276, www.pointehilton.com; Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, 7677 N. 16th St., Phoenix, AZ 85020 (Tel. 602-997-2626 x4567); or the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau, Suite 600, One Arizona Center, 400 E. Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85004 (Tel. 877-CALL-PHX, Fax 602-254-6500, www.visitphoenix.com.

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