Just 15 minutes from the airport in Phoenix rests the secluded and intimate Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, nestled into the north slope of the mountain, gracefully echoing the stark beauty of the desert landscape. The atmosphere is exclusive but relaxed, combining the highest-end offerings with the most down-to-earth staff for an experience that leaves guests looking forward to their next visit. In fact, says Director of Sales Debra Reasy, many of her corporate groups are repeat customers.
The Sanctuary is celebrating its 10th year as a resort, but its history extends back decades as a tennis retreat, first as the Paradise Valley Racquet Club and then John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch. Westroc Hospitality took over management in 1999, and reopened the property as Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in 2002 after a complete renovation.
Popular for board meetings, executive retreats, and smaller corporate meetings and incentives, the resort has 105 mountain and spa casitas between 500 and 1,500 square feet in area. Seven private homes also are available and often used by groups for hospitality. One of the resort’s three boardrooms is in a private home—the Casa Montana.
Unique Spaces
As it hugs the mountain, the resort presents a continuity between indoors and out, from the infinity-edge pool, to the Edge bar, to Elements restaurant. Even the 3,500-square-foot Views Ballroom has floor-to-ceiling windows and a wraparound terrace to offer your meeting that rare added benefit: fresh air!
And have you ever heard of an “infinity edge lawn”? It’s a fitting description for the setting outside the resort owner’s private home high up on Camelback Mountain. Corporate groups can get permission to hold dinners or receptions here, with al fresco seating on a lawn that seems to disappear as the valley view spreads out before you.
For another memorable final night option, choose Praying Monk, an indoor/outdoor private dining area with beautiful views of the rock formation from which the room gets its name as well as the Paradise Valley below. Sliding glass walls and retractable skylights allow warm night breezes and starlight to become part of the experience. As they enter the dining area, guests pass through a wine corridor that displays nearly one thousand bottles. The room accommodates 60 diners or 100 guests for a reception.
And for a truly elite experience, as many as 12 guests can enjoy the new private dining room known as XII. As guests gather, pull the curtains back to reveal a glass wall offering a view into Sanctuary’s state-of-the-art kitchen.
The spa offers 12 indoor and outdoor treatment rooms, a meditation garden, lap pool, and a state-of-the-art fitness center that is generously sized with floor-to-ceiling windows.
For more, visit The Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Web site.