Scottsdale is a desert city in Arizona east of the state capital Phoenix, known for spa resorts and golf courses, including TPC Scottsdale. Farther north, trails wind through McDowell Sonoran Preserve, a desertscape of hills, rock formations, and cacti. Nearby is Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s former home and studio. Downtown's Old Town Scottsdale has 1920s buildings and 19th-century olive trees. Here is our guide to Scottsdale, Arizona.

STAY

FOUR SEASONS RESORT AT TROON NORTH Located 5 minutes away from Toon North Golf Club, featuring two outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, three restaurants, and adobe-style rooms offering views of desert landscape or pool,

THE PHOENICIAN Set on 250-acres at the base of Camelback Mountain, the resort boasts 9 swimming pools, a golf course, a wellness spa, and 8 restaurants. Canyon Suites at The Phoenician is the only AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star hotel in the greater Phoenix area. The 60-room property is comprised of 40 suites and 20 guestrooms, with access to all offerings of the main Phoenician resort. Dining options include J&G Steakhouse, Mowry & Cotton, The Phoenician Tavern, and The Canyon Grill. The property also features an 18-hole [;p[p’;n Golf Course; The Phoenician Athletic Club, and The Phoenician Spa, the only Forbes Five Star spa in Scottsdale.

SANCTUARY CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN Overlooking Paradise Valley and Camelback Mountain, this hotel is located near the Old Town Square and offers an Asian-inspired spa, restaurant, and Jade bar.

MONTELUCIA RESORT A Moorish style resort set at the base of Camelback Mountain with a Moroccan-style Joya spa, which includes a Hammam Experience.

ANDAZ SCOTTSDALE A serene property with 185 private bungalows and suites that dot the walking paths, each outfitted with a private patio, mid-century modern furniture, and quirky sculptures, paintings, and ceramics by local Scottsdale artists from the nearby Cattle Track Arts Compound.

THE SAGUARO A colorful boutique hotel with another desert location in Palm Springs, California. Set in Old Town with a bright, tropical garden featuring 2 outdoor pools with cabanas, spa, and restaurant serving contemporary cuisine inspired by the street food of Mexico City, as well as a margarita bar that offers 100 varieties of tequila.

BESPOKE INN A four-room boutique hotel come bed and breakfast in the Arts District of Downtown Scottsdale.

HOTEL VALLEY HO Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's student Edward L. Varney in 1956, Hotel Valley Ho is one of the best-preserved midcentury-modern hotels in the country. It was popular with the Hollywood crowd, and even served as the venue of Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood's first wedding.

MOUNTAIN SHADOWS The original 1959 resort was rebuilt in midcentury style and reopened in 2017 with 183 rooms featuring glass-enclosed showers separating bedroom and bath and a pair of 75-foot swimming pools. A new monthly stargazing program includes a cocktail based on that month’s astrological sign.

FAIRMONT PRINCESS This Southwestern-inspired resort offers rooms with balconies or terraces, restaurants offering modern Mexican, Latin and American fare, a high-end steakhouse, and a cocktail lounge, along with outdoor pools, a spa, and a fitness center.

DINE | DRINK

THE MISSION The guacamole is made tableside at this Mexican restaurant. May we suggest the pozole, tacos (mahi-mahi, roasted butternut squash, or mole duck) on fresh, hand-pressed corn tortillas, roasted pork shoulder, and finish with the espresso churros.

FNB A cozy, boisterous bistro, tucked in the historic Craftsman Court downtown. Charleen Badman, the James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner serves up a seasonal menu. Highlights include farçous (Swiss chard pancake) with thick labneh; crunchy radishes with date butter, hazelnuts, and grilled locally made bread; a Macau-style chicken with greens, rice, peppers, and peanuts. There is also a selection of wines from across the globe, including a few labels from small, stellar vineyards right in Arizona.

FAT OX A chef-driven restaurant where Chef Matt Carter serves a modern riff on regional Italian food. The must-order is the twenty-five-layer lasagna with Bolognese, thin house-made lasagna noodles, San Marzano tomatoes, whipped ricotta, and charred rapini that make up the many layers, and they are all made fresh every morning. While you’re waiting, start with the Caesar salad for two prepared tableside, and the mozzarella with cara cara oranges. We also suggest the brick-grilled organic chicken that comes with creamy polenta and dripping with jus.

LDV WINERY TASTING ROOM A wine tasting room owned by couple Peggy Fiandaca and Curt Dunham, which serves wine mostly made of Rhône grapes—Syrah, grenache, Viognier—grown on their winery in southeast Arizona. They focus on natural methods, following sustainable farming practices and using minimal processing to produce wines that are clean and crisp.

CAFE MONARCH A popular Scottsdale restaurant with a four-course prix fixe menu.

NEW WAVE MARKET A bakery and cafe in Old Town with fresh bagels and a market that sells local jams, chocolate, and gifts.

BUTTERS Famous for their pancakes and omelettes, you can’t go wrong at this popular breakfast spot.

CARTEL COFFEE LAB  A local coffee shop in Old Town.

ARTS | CULTURE | ACTIVITIES

TALIESIN WEST In the 1930s, legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright found winter respite in the Scottsdale desert. A warmer, drier climate was prescribed by his doctor, but the architect quickly fell for Arizona. He laid claim to a piece of land on the foothills of the McDowell Mountains—which he described as “a look over the rim of the world”—and painstakingly built a house, Taliesin West (the original Taliesin is in Wright’s home state, Wisconsin). Much of it was made of elements sourced from the land, so the house looks a bit as if it sprouted from the ground after a good rain. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the best way to see both interior and exterior is a guided tour.

SCOTTSDALE MUSEUM OF ART A museum dedicated to contemporary art, architecture, and design in Old Town Scottsdale. Internationally acclaimed artist James Turrell also has one of his famous skyspaces, titled Knight Rise, in the Nancy and Art Schwalm Sculpture Garden, one of only 14 skyspaces open to the public in the United States.

COSANTI Architect Paolo Soleri, known for his experimental community Arcosanti, lived and worked at this gallery and studio until his death in 2013. You can walk through the site free of charge and purchase his famous Soleri Windbells here. Artists also give demonstrations in the foundry. 

CATTLE TRACK ARTS COMPOUND A nonprofit set on a rustic 28-acre spread of barn-based studios that dates to the 1930s when the surroundings were cattle range rather than residences, and where today about a dozen artists work in wood, clay, paint, print and photography. There’s a public gallery at the entry, but visitors are invited to view the work spaces and meet the artists. Don’t miss the pottery of Mary Van Dusen and the colored-pencil drawings by Mark McDowell.

MCDOWELL SONORAN PRESERVE Set on over 30,000 acres, offering a variety of hikes on over 200 miles of trail, including the half-mile Bajada Nature Trail. The more challenging 5.1-mile round-trip Tom’s Thumb Trail rises 1,000 feet in elevation, taking hikers past massive granite and metamorphic rock formations, prickly teddy bear cholla cactus and vibrant wildflowers to the namesake outcrop and a panoramic sunset perch.

DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN Just over the border in Phoenix, the 140-acre garden filled with desert plants from around the world, is a wonder by day and night, especially during the special installation Electric Desert.

MUSEUM OF THE WEST The wildness, grandeur, and folklore of the American West come alive at this museum in Old Town in dramatic temporary exhibits as well as through the permanent collection. Especially worth checking out: the massive display of Hopi ceramics; saddles, spurs, and boots from old mining towns (including artifacts from a saloon once co-owned by Wyatt Earp); and striking bronze sculptures of historical figures by the award-winning sculptor John Coleman.

ECHO CANYON TRAIL This hike is intense, ascending drastically from approximately 1,424 feet to 2,700 in the mere one-and-a-half miles to its summit. It’s rocky, uneven, and often crowded on the weekends, but worth it for the workout and the scenery.

SPA

THE SPA AT FOUR SEASONS Invigorating Hungarian facial massage (think pinching and piano-playing over skin to get the blood flowing to conjure a nice flush), copper peptide treatments, layers of antioxidant collagen masks, and firming microcurrent therapies are just some of the skin-revivifying treatments on the menu. We especially love the Revital-Eyes, in which botanical-infused pads are applied to the under-eyes to support collagen and ease puffiness before the area is targeted with a NuFace device to tighten and lift via gentle electric current.

PHOENICIAN SPA Among the newest and largest with an aromatherapy blending bar for custom massage oil, generous hot pools, a fire-lit relaxation lounge and 24 treatment rooms, and views of Camelback Mountain.

Text: Veronica H. Speck