Location.
Towering cacti, 12-million-year-old boulders and free-roaming wildlife share the Sonoran Desert landscape at The Boulders Resort - Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts located in Scottsdale, Ariz. This renowned resort is adjacent to El Pedregal's apparel boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and a branch of the Heard Museum.
Hotel Features.
Acclaimed architect Bob Bacon pitched a tent and actually lived on the desert grounds during the resort's planning stages. His concepts yielded a lobby with wood-beam ceilings, gracefully curved sandstone-hued walls and a collection of Native American artwork. Six on-site restaurants include Palo Verde, with its signature Southwestern cuisine, and the Waldorf Astoria Spa Cafe, whose health-enhancing dishes utilize plants nurtured at the resort's herb garden. The 33,000-square-foot Waldorf Astoria Spa offers signature therapeutic treatments and private meditations. The spa houses steam rooms, saunas, an O'furo Japanese bath, a meditation labyrinth and an outdoor pool. Resort activities include heart-pumping boulder climbs. Private lessons and weekly clinics are conducted at the resort's eight tennis courts. Conde Nast Traveler has ranked this resort as one of America's "75 Top Golf Resorts" for 14 consecutive years. Two Jay Moorish-designed golf courses provide 36 holes of championship-level play. Three outdoor pools include a lodge-style pool with a waterfall.
Guestrooms.
The 223 adobe-style casitas feature hand-crafted beamed ceilings, painted and carved wooden furniture, walk-in closets and weathered and overstuffed leather chairs. Beds are dressed with Egyptian-cotton linens and reveal southwestern-style design. Amenities include high-speed wired or wireless Internet access, CD players and DVD players on request, and MP3 docking stations. Accommodations extend to furnished patios or balconies. Bathrooms are stocked with Clear by LXR toiletries.
