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Extreme Desert Lounging
In Scottsdale, the summer's just getting started.
Desert be damned — Scottsdale’s getting a beach. It comes courtesy of the new W (exterior pictured), which has seen fit to call its poolside lounge “Sunset Beach.” Officially opening next month, but already welcoming guests tomorrow, the W invites sun worshippers to leave the sunscreen at home — attendants have you covered (along with cool cucumbers for your eyes) as you soak in rays on daybeds and “lounging pods,” or from the privacy of 13 tricked-out cabanas. Just check what lurks below the water before you dip — aside from underwater lighting and music, the second-story pool sits over glass portholes that play peek-a-boo with the reception area below. Deep-pocketed voyeurs should check into the Extreme Wow Suite, where a 1,300-square-foot balcony overlooks the pool, a “zen garden” and the Camelback Mountains beyond.
Just north of Scottsdale, and sharing the same mountain views, is the millionaires’ playground of Paradise Valley. Here, InterContinental opens its first US resort this fall: the sprawling Andalusia-inspired Montelucia (outdoor lounge pictured). With 253 guestrooms and 40 suites clustered in landscaped “villages,” this luxury retreat is determined to evoke the romance of southern Spain with custom Moroccan tiles, shaded terraces and Moorish accents.
But the jewel in its crown is Montelucia’s 30,000-square-foot Joya Spa with 19 treatment rooms. The ultimate haven is the Palace Suite with a queen-size daybed, fireplace and whirlpool. Plus, floor-to-ceiling doors lead to an outdoor pool deck. All Joya’s guests are encouraged to begin their spa visit in a domed room beneath a canopy of fiber-optic stars. But the pattern of this nighttime sky isn’t random: It represents the heavens over one of Andalusia’s most romantic cities, Granada.
