If you’ve ever yearned to check in to a swanky hotel and forget about checking out for awhile, I suggest you channel your inner “Eloise” at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona. The hotel’s Tower Suites are fully loaded with every amenity you’ll need for an extended stay in this alluring desert metropolis. Expansive loft style accommodations lack for nothing and include a stunning eat-in kitchen outfitted with gleaming contemporary cabinetry (in a deep, delicious yellow), a large central island with a Dacor stove top and granite counter and a compact Sub-Zero refrigerator. Add some fantastic overhead lighting, fully stocked cupboards, and even a sampling of home entertaining books for inspiration and you have all the accoutrements for a successful dinner party or at least a really happening Tiki happy hour. Just ask Ace, the concierge, to send up the blender and she’ll get right on it.
The architect Frank Lloyd Wright had a love affair with America’s southwest and left more than a thumbprint on the Phoenix-Scottsdale area. This is playfully evident in his student, Edward Varney’s design of this true mid-century landmark, a flawless gem of midcentury modernism built in 1956. A series of ground hugging, two-story wings abuts a low rise central tower, all incorporating an unusual exterior decorative motif crafted in earthen cement and affixed to the edges of each structure. Let’s just say it’s the kind of decoration that puts a stamp on a building, something like the flourishes that Mr. Wright employed in many of his projects in the 50’s and 60’s. Here’s it’s anything but subtle and especially effective as it gives the hotel a truly original presence.
Prepare to be dazzled once inside. A treasure trove of period reproductions has been worked into a frenzy in the furnishing of the public spaces, with George Nelson’s Bubble pendant lamps central to the scene, a bold display of color, form and detail down to the open Alpine fireplace and giant ceramic vessels positioned in the lobby’s seating area. This gives way to a groovy lounge off the long semi-circular bar fronting Restaurant ZuZu, itself a carbon copy of the original restaurant. All opens to the lush grounds outdoors, and a kitschy circular pool, named one of the “World’s Coolest Pools” by Travel + Leisure. Add an endless playlist of 1960’s tunes and you are transported to a time when Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood tied the knot here and where the celebrity in crowd went when they tired of Palm Springs. With the imposing backdrop of the McDowell Mountains and weather perfect for golfing, biking and hiking, the setting is downright inspiring.
But it’s not just nature that’s in your face at Hotel Valley Ho; it quickly becomes no secret that the hotel is all about fun. On any given night you can sing along with Leslie Gore whose party was not going as swell as your own after you’ve had one of Sean’s martinis at the bar. Sit outside and savor the sensual night breeze by one of Restaurant Zuzu’s blazing fire pits and just try to stop thinking about how that melodic string section made it into Ben E. King’s Stand By Me. After forcing yourself to turn in you’ll dream of the next day’s adventures at OH Pool Bar where Hunter’s amazing drinks and service will keep you happy while you catch some rays. And when the sun is shining over Hotel Valley Ho (almost 300 days a year), everything is right in paradise.
But if all this is not enough and you’re in need of a re-boot, The VH Spa for Vitality + Health focuses on transformational services. The bright, 8,000-square-foot urban spa offers signature treatments, fresh-air workouts overlooking the pool, and fitness classes in the movement studio.
“Tally-ho”, Valley Ho!