Arizona Spa Resort – Experience Montelucia
February 18, 2009 – 2:50 pm
In the dictionary, paradise is defined as “a state of bliss, felicity or perfect delight, an Eden.” So it takes a lot of chutzpah to call a place Paradise Valley. Yet, here in central Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, that’s just what they did.
The credit for the name is given to the promoter of a 19th-century canal project that was intended to turn the arid landscape into a Garden of Eden. Using a phrase that would do justice to a Madison Avenue advertising firm, when he saw the area in early spring, blanketed in wildflowers and Palo Verde trees in full blossom, he was said to declare, “This is Paradise Valley.”
Located between Phoenix and Scottsdale, with the Camelback and Mummy Mountains towering above it, Paradise Valley is a top-notch resort destination, with a dozen ultra-chic properties from which to choose. Among them are Camelback Inn and the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, two properties that regularly crop up in travel magazines’ best-of lists. But as of November 2008, these venerable resorts have some stiff competition from the new kid on the block.
Montelucia (“mountain of light”) is the InterContinental Hotel Group’s first resort-style property in the United States, and after five years in the making and a $300 million investment, it is ready to meet the old-timers head-on. Nestled on 34 acres at the foot of picturesque Camelback Mountain, Montelucia’s landscape and architecture are inspired by the Andalusian region of southern Spain. You see it at the reception area on the main Cortijo Plaza, and in the courtyards, fountains, colorful mosaics and tiles throughout the grounds. You can see it in the dancing waters of the Alhambra Walkway, modeled after the Alhambra Gardens in Grenada, Spain.
But just as Andalusia was influenced by the Romans, Greeks and Moors who occupied it, so the resort has used these cultural influences to temper the Spanish flavor. Just steps from the Alhambra Walkway is Prado, the signature restaurant, and although the paintings on its walls are copies of El Grecos and Goyas that can be found in its namesake Madrid museum, the restaurant itself is inspired by Michelangelo’s Villa San Michele in Italy’s Tuscany region. Another touch of Italy can be found in the resort’s private wedding chapel, Castillo Lucena, with its antique wooden doors and a ballroom representative of the one at Venice’s Hotel Cipriani.
To go from Italy to Morocco, you simply cross the resort’s main courtyard. Playing on the Spanish word for jewel, the Joya Spa has all the requisite spa and salon treatments — mineral and clay wraps, and customized body work featuring real gold and diamond dust — but its real standout is the modern interpretation of the Middle Eastern hammam, or Turkish bath.
There also is a hint of the Middle East at the Kasbah Poolside Bar, although its main attraction — apart from expertly mixed cocktails — is more international than Middle Eastern. Guests can order a sampler platter of more than a dozen kinds of french fries from around the world. You can savor white truffle fries with reggiano from Italy, Japanese fries with teriyaki wasabi dip, Swiss fries with cheese fondue, and New Zealand “chippies” with tartar sauce, among others. Believe me, you’ll never look at those spindly fast-food fries the same way again.
It is tempting to spend all your time taking advantage of everything that Montelucia offers — five swimming pools, the complimentary driving range at the Mountain Shadows Golf Club, the day camp-style Planet Trekkers Kid’s Club for children ages 5 to 12 (not just cut-and-paste crafts here; kids have their own Wii stations and a life-size checker/chessboard, as well as star-gazing, treasure hunts, gelato tastings and pajama jams with dinner and a movie). But taking at least a day to explore the Sonoran Desert is a must.
The McDowell Sonoran Preserve has been created from vast acreage of state trust land. To date, 16,460 acres — roughly half of the preserve — has been given protected status. The area is home to ancient Indian artifacts (in the 19th century, the area was the stronghold of several tribes of the Apache nation); the stately saguaro cactus, which grows only in southeastern California, southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico; and a rich abundance of wildlife, including mountain lions, deer, javelinas, Gila monsters, tarantulas and desert tortoises. Visitors can explore the preserve several ways — on horseback, on a mountain bike, on a guided hike, and one of the most popular, on a Desert Storm Hummer Tour.
Other recreational activities include backpacking, rock climbing and rappelling, hot-air ballooning, and cowboy trail rides and cookouts. Those who look to experience the cowboy way beyond trail rides and campfires can enroll in the Arizona Cowboy College, where the dorms are bunkhouses and the desert floor under starry skies, and the curriculum is cutting, branding and driving cattle.
City slickers needn’t worry. Scottsdale and Phoenix offer a variety of activities, including a leisurely browse through Scottsdale’s Desert Botanical Gardens, with its Cactus House, Succulent House and Sonoran Desert Ecology Trail, and a day at some of the Phoenix’s fascinating museums. They include the nationally acclaimed Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art and the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park, built on the site of 1,000-year-old Hohokam Indian ruins (the Hohokam were a prehistoric people who came to Arizona from northern Mexico about 300 B.C.)
But whatever you choose to do, you’ll find a welcoming oasis back at Montelucia. From the resort’s natural beauty to its warm, ever-helpful staff, it backs up the claim of its personable general manager, Valeriano Antonioli, who says, “I believe we have succeeded in creating the most magnificent resort in the Valley.”
If You Go
The resort has 252 guest rooms, 39 suites and two magnificent presidential suites. All are decorated in the vibrant colors of the Southwest, and many have panoramic views of Camelback Mountain. Dining opportunities range from the fine-dining restaurant Prado and the adjoining Mbar, featuring a selection of tapas along with 100 percent agave tequilas, to the Crave Café, the place to go for a quick snack, a Lavazza coffee or a frothy gelato. The 31,000-square-foot Joya Spa has 19 treatment rooms offering a full menu of spa services, and the salon is under the direction of famed New York celebrity stylist Ray Issa, whose clients have included models and the Sex and the City women. One of the property’s unique features is the Castillo Lucena Wedding Chapel, the only private wedding chapel at a luxury resort in Arizona. Room rates begin at $145 in summer and $245 the rest of the year.
Where to eat: Montelucia has enough culinary opportunities that you never have to leave the property, but just in case you want a night out in Scottsdale, head for Upstairs at the Estate House for pre-dinner cocktails on the spectacular rooftop patio before heading over to Digestif for dinner. A few suggestions from the menu: butternut squash soup, artisan pasta made fresh daily, and pan-seared grouper with onion and bacon-braised cabbage and garlic fondue, accompanied by a crisp California chardonnay or a fruity Spanish Rioja.
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