Summer Brings Scottsdale Luxury At Value Prices March 26, 2008 - Looking for a summer vacation that offers luxurious accommodations, unique activities and savvy deals? Look no further than Scottsdale. A perfect summer getaway spot, Scottsdale offers resort and activity bargains that are hard to beat anywhere else – in the summer, resort rates are often up to 60 percent off high-season rates. From indulgent resort packages at low, low prices to activities that keep you cool, there is sure to be something that is affordable and relaxing for everyone.
SAVINGS GALOREPlan a vacation for with FireSky Resort & Spa’s Married with Children package. Accommodations include fireside s’mores and a special welcome amenity that features four frosty coronas with chips and salsa for the big kids as well as milk and cookies with pool toy and Kimpton Kids Pack for the little ones. Kick back, relax and enjoy a board game while lounging around in leopard print robes and enjoy the resort’s two pools with cascading waterfalls and a sand beach. This package is available May 28-Sept. 8 starting at $155 per night.
Get great deals and escape for the summer at the Scottsdale Resort & Athletic Club where the Summer Escape Package features a complimentary cocktail, 10 percent off of all Eurasia Spa treatments, and $25 OC SEVEN Restaurant & Bar credit along with free fitness classes, unlimited tennis court time and childcare. This package is available June 1-Sept. 14. Rates start as low as $79 per night for a standard guest room and $99 for a suite.
To celebrate the summer completion of its $45 million renewal, Camelback Inn, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa is offering a Grand Reopening Package June 1-Sept. 30. The package starts at $379 a night and includes accommodations, dinner for two at the new signature Southwestern restaurant Rita’s Kitchen, two one-hour spa treatments per day at top-notch The Spa at Camelback Inn, and a welcome amenity. In June, the historic property will introduce a new entrance and lobby, upgraded guest rooms, organic herb gardens that will provide ingredients to Camelback’s new restaurants, a new 20,000-square-foot ballroom, and an Arizona Discovery Room focusing on the region’s history. Chef Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Steak restaurant will open in July.
Cool off at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess where guests can enjoy the three S’s – slide, swim and soak in the amazing four resort pools or slip n’ slide in the 6,000-square-foot Sonoran Splash pool complex, which contains two of Arizona’s longest resort slides. At the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch, the pool features a waterslide inside a clock tower along with a sand bottomed-pool and beach for dive-in movies. For more cinema poolside, check out The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa and Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino, which both offer family films as a part of their dive-in movie program.
SCOTTSDALE ARTS MAKE EDUCATION FUNFrank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West offers the 90-minute Creative Architecture for Juniors tour June through August. Visitors participating in this experience learn the importance of architecture, the role of an architect, and how shapes, colors, and patterns of nature were used by Wright in his designs. The tour is $10 for children 4-12; $12 for students 13 and older, and $18 for adults.
Families can beat the heat and explore fascinating works of art inside the air-conditioned galleries at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art during SMoCA Summer Family Day. Enjoy a museum exhibition then head outside to the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall park to listen to live music, make hands-on art activities, blow giant soap bubbles, splash in the fountain and enjoy cool treats. This event takes place Thursday, July 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Cost is $20 for a family of four ($16 for members) and $4 for each additional child.
Watch the majestic sunset over the Sonoran Desert then head out to learn about the artsy side of Scottsdale by taking part in Scottsdale Artwalk. This free event takes place every Thursday in downtown Scottsdale when local art galleries open up their doors from 7-9 p.m. to offer special artist demonstrations, exhibit openings, live music and refreshments. For the musically inclined, every Sunday night from May to June, McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park offers Summer Concerts in the Park, a free series where bands play and everyone is invited to lounge in the grass and soak up the tunes.
SONORAN DESERT SPLENDOREarly risers looking for a great hike with an amazing view should look no further than the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, which contains 36,000 acres of Sonoran Desert as public open space. The preserve is open from dawn to dusk and visitors are welcome to hike, bike, rock climb or ride horses throughout the vast area. A great way to experience the majestic Sonoran desert at no cost! Climb higher into the sky and take a hot air balloon ride. Hot Air Expeditions will take you up above the desert with picturesque opportunities that provide a 360-degree view or take a hummer tour with Roadrunner Desert Hummer Adventures where your tour guide will take you to an Indian fort, show how to navigate a tunnel, and even prospect for stones at a turquoise mine.
Avid golfers can double their playing pleasure with both courses at TPC Scottsdale. The 36 Hole Summer Special includes a morning round at the Champions Course (which recently underwent a renovation that lengthened the course to approximately 7,115 and a par of 71), lunch at the Champions Grill, and an afternoon round on the Stadium course. This special is available June 9-30 and Aug. 1-31 for $99 per person. Summer golfers also can check out The Westin Kierland Resort, which features air-conditioned golf carts that cool the air in and around the cart by more than 40 degrees along with an air-conditioned driving range, which means no matter how hot it gets, a golf game can go on! And if you’re looking to relax after a hard day of golf, try Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North’s golfers massage where warm golf balls are used to alleviate tension and stiffness and help keep golfers at the peak of their game.
When the night falls and stars shine, visitors can grab their flashlights and experience Desert Botanical Garden’s Night Flashlight Tours, which showcase the magical twilight in the Garden. Nighthawks, night-blooming flowers, toads, owls, snakes, spiders and scorpions are some of the exciting sights you can see. Tours are $10 and offered Thursday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. from May 1 – Aug. 30. Or try Stellar Adventure’s Hummer Stargazing Tour and you’ll get to spend an hour with a professional astronomer in the desert who will teach you how to stargaze using state-of-the-art telescopes. Finally, jazz up the evening by hitting up The Scottsdale Plaza Resort for “Cool Summer Nights” jazz performances by some of the Valley’s finest musicians.
For more information on summer packages and activities in Scottsdale, visit the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau Web site at
www.SummerInScottsdale.com or call 800-805-0471.
See AlsoScottsdale Princess Resort Tour and Hotel Information Four Seasons ResortLabels: Hotels
