JW Marriott Camelback Inn opened on December 15, 1936 with 75 adobe casitas. This year, it turns 90 with a reimagined 32,000-square-foot spa, 453 casitas and 36 holes of championship golf in the Sonoran Desert.
On December 15, JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa turns 90. It’s a long run for any hotel, and in this case, that heritage is still part of the resort’s ongoing appeal. The words “Where Time Stands Still” are still mounted on the lobby exterior, and the adobe brick in the oldest casitas is the brick that was laid in 1936.
One-of-a-kind accommodations
Jack Stewart opened the inn with 75 casitas, every one of them built from handmade adobe, as a deliberate alternative to the dude ranches then drawing wealthy easterners west for the winter. Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Bette Davis were early guests, as was J.W. Marriott Sr., whose family began holidaying here in the 1940s and bought the property in the late 1960s. His son, Bill Marriott, has called it his favourite resort and still returns each year for his birthday.
The architecture is what gives the property its unique personality. There’s no tower and no central block. Instead, 453 casitas and suites are grouped in small clusters across 125 acres of gardens and desert planting, with Mummy Mountain rising to the north and Camelback Mountain to the south. Guests can park within a few steps of their own door. Rooms run from 410 square feet to a three-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot Manor House with its own pool, and the interiors carry log-beamed ceilings, French doors and private patios or balconies. A $12.5 million room renovation ahead of the 85th anniversary brought in softer desert tones and weathered wood without stripping out the Southwestern character.
The spa, rebuilt
The 90th year opened with the resort’s largest single investment in its recent history: a $25 million rebuild of the Spa at Camelback Inn, which reopened in late January after closing for a full year. The 32,000-square-foot complex now holds 20 treatment rooms, a custom-designed Vichy table, hydrotherapy pools and dedicated meditation space, and the menu is organized around four pathways: detox, soothe, harmonize and restore. Guests can follow one or mix them, which is the point.
Treatments lean hard on the surrounding desert, with adobe clay, prickly pear and agave nectar running through the menu. My Sonoran Rose Facial was equal parts pampering by touch and blissfully relaxing via scents and textures.
The wellness circuit is a solid reason to arrive early. It moves through an aromatherapy steam cavern, cold therapies and a Himalayan salt sauna, finishing on limestone infrared loungers. Outdoors, Wellness Waters pairs a trio of hydrotherapy experiences with the desert setting, and the resort describes it as the first installation of its kind in Arizona. For something quieter, the Stillness Lounge offers Mind-Sync Harmonic Wellness Loungers in sessions from five to 60 minutes, with focus paths like reducing stress, improving confidence or even boosting your golf game.
DesignOne-Studio and EDG Design handled the reimagining in limestone and travertine, with a muted desert palette and cactus sculpture throughout. Wellness now extends past the spa doors as well, into a studio running sound baths, yoga and mindfulness sessions, a 24-hour fitness centre with Peloton and Technogym equipment, and Ora Cafe, a new dining concept developed with a licensed nutritionist (perfect for a light lunch or smoothie stop).
Dining splits neatly between casual and occasion. Rita’s Cantina handles breakfast, lunch, happy hour and a Sunday brunch buffet, with live music on a patio where the resort’s falconer appears daily between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Lincoln Steakhouse is the reservation to dress up for, and it’s a must. Here, steaks are cooked to perfection on a Josper oven, and most tables come with a postcard-perfect view of Camelback Mountain. Be sure to order the lobster “escargot”, ahi tuna tartare and a good steak. You truly can’t go wrong.
Not surprisingly, golf is a big deal here. Camelback Golf Club runs 36 holes across two championship courses. Ambiente, designed by Jason Straka, plays 7,225 yards to a par of 72 across rolling, links-influenced terrain with significant elevation change. Padre, an Arthur Hills design, is the shorter and more traditional of the two at 6,903 yards, with towering trees, multiple lakes and strategic bunkering. Both are par 72, and both sit a short drive from the casitas.
There are tennis and pickleball courts, electric bikes for exploring Paradise Valley, and painting kits and easels that can be set up on the lawns or on a casita patio. The concierge can also arrange desert horseback riding and off-road Jeep tours through operators across the Phoenix area.
It’s in the Details
The 1936 chapel still stands on the property, and bath amenities throughout the casitas are by Aromatherapy Associates London.
On the Menu
Start with huevos rancheros or salmon lox on the patio at Rita’s Cantina, then book Lincoln Steakhouse for a ribeye from the Josper oven and the JW cheesecake. Nearby, El Chorro Lodge is a historic former girls’ school turned restaurant with a great patio. Try the shrimp pepper pot and short ribs, but save room for the warm sticky buns (they arrive with dinner, but are essentially dessert).
Room to Book
A mountain-view one-bedroom suite pairs an adobe-style gas fireplace and wet bar with two separate patios, one off the living room and one off the bedroom.
What to Do Nearby
Wake up early to hike Camelback Mountain, or head to Scottsdale’s Old Town (just a short drive from the resort) to browse the endless art galleries. Stop into American Fine Art to peruse pieces by big names like Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol.