One of the first multi-million dollar luxury resorts to be built in the American Southwest, the Phoenician opened in 1988 and almost immediately became universally recognized for its breathtaking setting and plush surroundings.
Visionary Charles Keating sought to make the Phoenician a work of art, not unlike Hearst’s San Simeon – and it took more 900 workers nearly three years to complete the 250-acre resort. Carrara marble was imported from Italy and the lobby ceiling was etched in 24-karat gold, and more than 22,000 trees were planted, including a two-acre cactus garden.
Almost as mythical as the bird for which the city of Phoenix is named, the Phoenician has, for better than twenty years, figured prominently in the nation’s collective imagination about the lives of the rich and the famous. Recently, President Obama was in residence – his presence kept top secret throughout his sojourn, which is in keeping with the Phoenician’s high regard for privacy and discretion.
(Source: The Phoenician Scottsdale)
As celebrated as the Phoenician is for its $25 million art collection and its nine pools, including the Mother-of-Pearl serenity pool, with genuine Mother-of-Pearl tiles, and its 27-hole golf club, and nine restaurants, including Jean-George Vongerichten’s J&G Steakhouse, the Phoenician also boasts one of the more seductive spas in an area well-known for well-being.
Located near the base of the resort, alongside the private casitas, the Centre for Well-Being is a two-level facility with 24 private treatment rooms, as well as a Meditation Atrium and the new Salon Mila offering medi-spa services. Book an early morning appointment for the Desert Serenity Scrub, Wrap, and Massage, a blissful signature treatment that commences with a salt scrub, followed by a mineral-rich clay wrap, an infusion of essential oils, before ending with a full-body massage. The nearly two-hour long treatment removes layers of dead skin cells, while reinvigorating your body – and soul – and leaves you as radiant as a desert flower.
LINKS: The Phoenician
