An Arizona-based food, beverage and travel writer since 2008, I launched this website in 2015 to document my culinary adventures, beverage escapades, gardening endeavors, and travel in the Phoenix area and beyond. Also find a comprehensive calendar of Phoenix-area food and drink-related events on my Events page.
The Royal Palms Resort and Spa is one of the most beautiful properties in Arizona, originally built in 1929 as a Spanish Revivalist villa with views of Camelback Mountain. It's also home to the excellent T. Cook's and some of the best cocktails in the valley with Charlie Zeiler (see my interview here) and Chuck Sep at The Mix-Up Bar. Stepping into the resort, the beautiful courtyard is always a focal point.
We admired the grounds with palm trees and plumerias as we strolled to our beautiful Spa Terrace Suite.
I loved our room with its relaxing patio with views of Camelback Mountain and overlooking the Montavista Courtyard and fountains, where we started with a glass of champagne before heading to the Mix-Up Bar for a round (or two) of pre-dinner cocktails (Last Word, Pear of Aces and a barrel-aged Rosita).
There is no need to leave the property to dine because T. Cook's is one of the best restaurants in the Valley. With Chef Paul McCabe in the kitchen during our staycation last year, our dinner was amazing:
King crab with avocado tempura, orange segments, radishes, and citrus vinaigrette.
Roasted beet salad with caramelized yogurt, pistachio brittle, and valdeon blue cheese.
Venison tartare with smoked onion sabayon and juniper.
Pea risotto with morels and crispy shallots.
Foie gras on a sizzling rock with thyme, cherries, coffee, and black pepper financier. Paired with a ruby port by our wonderful waiter Robert.
Spanish Octopus with BBQ black-eyed peas, pork belly, and cornbread.
Corn agnolotti with butter poached lobster and chanterelles.
Roasted loup de mer with charred lemon vinaigrette. One of my favorites of the night.
I've been a longtime fan of the beautiful Phoenician property (see my 2009 review of J&G Steakhouse in AZ Wine Lifestylehere), but had yet to stay as an overnight guest. Recently, we enjoyed a summer staycation, and I quickly learned that I've been missing out. As a Boston visitor and now resident of Phoenix, I thought I was familiar with the many beautiful resorts we have here in Arizona, but I need to spend more time at The Phoenician. Some of the things I learned that make this gorgeous resort stand out:
The expansive resort grounds are situated on 250 acres at the base of Camelback Mountain.
On-site Jokake Inn, a historic adobe house built in 1926, which became a tea room and then later a hotel, can be seen in the popular 1987 film Raising Arizona.
There is a two-acre cactus garden featuring 250 labeled varieties of cacti and succulents. You can stroll at your leisure, or join a tour led by the resident horticulturist.
The boutique hotel The Canyon Suites within the resort is one of only 115 Forbes Five-Star hotels in the world.
At sunset on Friday and Saturday afternoons, guests and locals are invited to attend the fascinating Flight of the Phoenix bird show. The Phoenician houses 16 birds of prey including owls, falcons, vultures, and hawks.
The luxurious finishes and furnishings include a striking lobby of Carrera white marble, a Serenity Pool lined with shimmering Mother-of-Pearl tiles imported from Italy at a cost of over a million dollars, and 11 Steinway pianos scattered about the property.
The Phoenician has a multi-million dollar art collection - from French tapestries to Navajo rugs, from watercolor paintings to bronze sculptures - with guests welcome to a self-guided audio tour. Those who take the tour also receive complimentary tickets to the Phoenix Art Museum, a Phoenician partner.
"Kiowa Song" in red marble by Allan Houser at the Main Lobby entrance fountain and “Country Meal,” a late 17th century tapestry in the Lobby Tea Court:
We were kindly invited by public relations director Denise Seomin to join her for tea in the elegant Lobby Tea Court. What a relaxing and fun start to a staycation. In fact, my husband was just telling friends about how much he enjoyed it. Thanks to Denise for converting my husband to an afternoon tea fan!
That night, we had reservations at Il Terrazzo, The Phoenician's Italian restaurant (open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
We had dined here once before, and I remember remarking that we needed to get here more often (I recall standout dishes such as tuna crudo with tonnato aioli and veal ravioli with Barbera wine sauce). Our dinner on this evening was no less impressive, as we feasted on chilled tomato and crab soup, Caesar salad with olive and walnut croutons, tender lamb, spring pea cavatelli, delicious snapper, juicy Cedar River beef tenderloin, and ricotta cheesecake with hibiscus caviar. What a perfect ending to our first night.
We enjoyed a leisurely morning the next day, skipped breakfast, and started our afternoon with lunch at Relish Burger Bistro overlooking the golf course fairways. Between Denise's and bartender Ruth's recommendations, we weren't steered wrong - the spiked Orange Creamsicle shake with Ketel One Oranje vodka and Grand Marnier, achiote BBQ chicken nachos, crispy fried pickles, the Wagyu beef Cowboy burger with battered onion rings, bacon, cheddar, pickled jalapenos plus an optional fried egg, and a decadent short rib burger stacked with tomato-mustard jam, boursin cheese, tomato, and arugula on a sourdough bun.
After lunch, we admired the scenery as we strolled over to the Mother-of-Pearl pool to spend the afternoon.
The beautiful setting was made even more special as we were greeted by Cabana Captain Rich Whalen with "Let me show you to your cabana and can I make you a Negroni?". It doesn't get much better than that, until he tells us that we're in time for Cookie Hour (or in this case brownies).
After soaking up some sun, I had made plans to meet a girlfriend for Happy Hour at the Thirsty Camel and the Flight of the Phoenix bird show. A bonus at the Thirsty Camel is that you may find one of the best cocktails masters in Phoenix - Robert Porter- behind the bar mixing up your drink. We found seats on the picturesque terrace as we listened to the tale of the mythical Phoenix and were introduced to some of the amazing birds that live on property - Archemedes, an eagle-owl, Zopilote Rey, a South American king vulture, and Chula, a red-tailed hawk.
A wonderful surprise was running into the two talented photographers who collaborate on the features found on this site - Debby Wolvos of DW Photography and Jenelle Bonifield of Food & Lifestyles. Negronis for everyone!
Our final dinner was at J&G Steakhouse with its panoramic views, where we dined on a few of my favorites. I love the black truffle cheese fritters, Dover sole à la Grenobloise with brown butter and capers, and sides of creamed spinach and Comté cheese potato gratin (the best gratin in town in my opinion). Delicious food, fantastic service, and a stunning setting - a wonderful last night of our staycation.
After packing up the next morning, we headed to Café & Ice Cream Parlor. For breakfast, we each ordered a flaky chocolate croissant and then a breakfast burrito for my husband and an ice cream for me. I was happily surprised to see The Phoenician carries one of my favorites - Sweet Republic, an award-winning local artisan ice cream. I had to get the Phoenician Crunch, of course.
As we prepared t check out, I read that there was a complimentary sangria class. Needless to say, we decided to have our bags held and stay a little longer for an informative lesson on sangria-making with recipes and accompanying tapas of gambas al ajillo, gazpacho, and chorizo-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates. Afterwards in the lobby, we ran into Robert, who told us in half an hour he was teaching a cocktail class at Grape and Grain. Alas, I couldn't talk my husband into staying even longer. Perhaps he was worried I would never leave.
Last weekend we enjoyed another Four Seasons Scottsdale staycation with friends. As I've mentioned before, this is one of our favorite destination spots in all of Arizona. It's so nice to have a world-class resort like this right in our backyard, and summer is the perfect time to take advantage of special rates.
Which we enjoyed as we soaked up the stunning Sonoran desert view from our patio.
As we waited for our friends to arrive, we decided an afternoon cocktail at Proof was in order. In relaxation mode, we likewise enjoyed the beautiful views here, sipping on a Mai Tai and snacking on lobster deviled eggs.
Then it was time to meet our friends to start our evening plans. Live music by the talented Jared Blackstone on guitar, sunset cocktails, and fried oysters (thank you Chef Mecinas!) at Onyx before dinner at Talavera.
I don't think there is a more perfect spot than the terrace at Onyx to appreciate a spectacular Arizona sunset.
On to the Taste of Talavera tasting menu with wine pairings. Although I've dined at Talavera a number of times, we had never done the chef's tasting. Chef Mel met with us to see if we had any allergies. He then asked us to look over the regular menu to choose if there was anything we wanted to include in the tasting (we chose the lobster bisque and octopus dish). Add to those, tartare with caviar, wagyu with foie gras, black cod with coconut risotto, and more, including Pastry Chef Lance Whipple's decadent peanut butter torte. From start to finish, it was amazing. Chef Mel's skills shone in this one-of-a-kind culinary splurge tailored for our party of four. At the close of our evening, Chef Mel proudly introduced his team so we would know who helped in the creation of this wonderful dinner. Bravo!
Lobster bisque with lobster and a braised short rib croquette
Lobster and jicama taco with melon salsa
Tartare with quail egg, caviar, and caper berry
Octopus with hummus and shishito peppers
Black cod with coconut risotto
Wagyu with foie gras
Peanut butter torte
Chef Mecinas and his crew!
The next morning, we ended our relaxing staycation by meeting our friends back at Proof for brunch before our drive home. Another perfect weekend at the Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North.
