June What’s New in Greater Phoenix

What’s New in Greater Phoenix?
June 2012

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS MONTH’S EDITION:

• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s new automated PHX Sky Train takes first journey.
• Summer is here, so take advantage of the many deals at various resorts.
• Celebrate Father’s Day with restaurant specials and resort packages offered at several Valley properties.

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In honor of its more than three months of the “Hollywood & Wine” festival, the Arizona Biltmore will offer its lowest room rates of the year through Labor Day weekend. A special summer offer, Buy 2 nights, get 1 night free, is available from May 24, 2012 – September 4, 2012. The “Hollywood & Wine” festival is themed entirely around Hollywood in celebration of the Biltmore’s enduring connection to Tinsel Town, and will feature: celebrity bands in concert, movie screenings, special wine tasting weekends hosted by celebrity winemakers, classes on winemaking, wine barrel painting, live theater productions, a complete kids program that includes Splash Cinema dive-in movies at the pool, kids cooking classes, an Imagination Emporium studio for arts & crafts and much more.

Enjoy a summer lovin’ getaway for the young and young at heart with the “Family Fling & Swing” package atJW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa—perfect for Father’s Day! Starting at just $149, this summer package is back due to popular demand and includes: a $50 daily resort credit, free golf on Faldo and Palmer championship golf courses, free meals for kids 12 and under at Blue Sage, free daily appetizer at Meritage Steakhouse, free in-room Wi-Fi, 10% off retail purchases in the resort’s Marriott outlets, complimentary parking, and no resort fee. The “Family Fling & Swing” package is available June 3 through September 5, 2012.

The Royal Palms Resort and Spa is offering savvy summer savings with its “99 Hot Dates of Steaming Rates.” From May 16 – September 10, 2012, valid Sunday through Thursday, Arizona residents can enjoy the graciousness and sophistication of a Mediterranean villa for just $129, when combined with one of the following steamy summer specials: $99 Alvadora Spa treatment, $99 T. Cook’s dinner for two, or $99 Cabana rental. For just $99, enjoy your choice of any 50-minute treatment, ranging from a stone massage to a signature facial, select a favorite appetizer, entrée and dessert from Executive Chef Lee Hillson’s special dinner menu, or relax poolside in the luxury of a privately curtained cabana, complete with a cooling ceiling fan, extra-luxurious chaise lounges and a choice of several refreshing snacks. Though all of the dining and spa summer specials can be enjoyed singularly, combined with the ultra hot room rate, the savings absolutely sizzles with 50% off upgrades.

Buttes, a Marriott Resort, has changed its company name to Phoenix Marriott Tempe at The Buttes. Sitting atop a 25-acre Valley landmark, Phoenix Marriott Tempe at The Buttes welcomes guests to experience the desert in luxury with stunning mountainside views and the use of its swimming pools, water slide, Narande spa, fitness center, and tennis and volleyball courts.

A memento of love will bloom anew each year for couples who say “I do” at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain. Located appropriately on the Paradise Lawn, the Love Garden—a new signature element of the Sanctuary wedding experience—will eventually fill with colorful blossoms, each commemorating a wedding held at the award-winning Scottsdale resort. And for every bulb planted in the garden, the resort will send a matching bulb to the bride and groom to plant at home, complete with instructions for its care. Sanctuary horticulturist Jeff Sweeney has selected three flowers for the Love Garden, each of which grows from a bulb. They include calla lilies, whose white, feminine blooms have long been associated with weddings and the qualities of purity, faith and devotion; brightly colored dahlias, symbolic of commitment; and delphinium, whose deep blue flowers represent an open heart and devotion. With exclusive weddings held at Sanctuary each year (and no two at the same time), Sweeney anticipates adding a new bulb to the garden almost every week.

Hotel Valley Ho – the perfect place to relax poolside with live music on the weekends – is offering low rates all summer long. Through Labor Day, enjoy up to a 60% savings from high season rates with rates starting at just $119 Sundays and Mondays, $139 Tuesdays through Thursdays, $149 Fridays, and $159 Saturdays. Room rates include use of the 24-hour, state-of-the-art fitness center; movement studio; steam rooms; and the OH Pool. Or, take advantage of the “Suite Deal,” which offers Executive Suites starting at just $299, and Tower Suites starting at $299 per night every Sunday through Friday and $399 on Saturdays. The exclusive, two-story Loft Suite starts at only $449. Suite rates are available through Labor Day (September 3, 2012).

Make the most of summer with the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and the new “Playcation Family Package.”  This AAA Five Diamond getaway is the perfect playground for kids and adults alike, splashed with sensational saving. The “Playcation Family Package” includes: a guaranteed adjacent room at 50 percent off, two Kid’s Resort Dining Passes, two full-day passes to attend Bobcat Billy’s Clubhouse for kids (ages 5-12), one complimentary court time session at the Tennis Center for the entire family, complimentary access for two adults to Willow Stream Spa facilities, and complimentary self-parking. The “Playcation Family Package” is valid through September 5, 2012, with rates beginning at $179 per room, per night.

Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain is offering guests 20% off with the “Summer Escape” promotion when they book 30 days in advance, now through Labor Day weekend. In addition, for Arizona residents only, the resort is offering 15% off when booking a two-night stay or more from June 1 – September 17, 2012.

The Gila River Indian Community’s (the “Community”) Council awarded a contract to Tutor Perini Building Corporation to begin construction on the Gila River Gaming Enterprise’s new Vee Quiva Casino. The new Vee Quiva Casino is expected to cost approximately $135 million and will feature an expansive 70,000 square foot casino; over 900 slot machines; 50 table games, including a poker room; 750 seat bingo hall; three-story hotel with 90 tastefully appointed rooms that will boast a fitness center, pool and over 3,000 square feet of banquet space; two lounges including a premium Players Club Lounge; and 2,800 total parking spaces including a 1,000 space covered parking garage. These amenities will be combined with a wide variety of dining options, including: a food court, coffee kiosk, signature restaurant and a dining option that will remain open all day, Construction is scheduled to begin this June and will take place just south of the existing Vee Quiva Casino’s footprint. The current casino will remain open and operational during construction until the new Vee Quiva Casino & Hotel opens in the summer of 2013.

Send dad to Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North for a “Barbecue Basics” class, where he will learn the secrets of sauces, rubs, and grilling techniques just in time for Father’s Day.  The Barbecue Basics class will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2012.  Participants will enjoy cold beer from a local brewery, specialty cigars rolled onsite, and of course, demos of sauces, rubs and techniques by Executive Chef Mel Mecinas and Executive Sous Chef Jesse Hansen. Guests will enjoy barbecue fare after the demonstration, as well as homemade ice cream and whiskey floats.  Each guest receives a takeaway recipe book, sample sauces and rubs, and a cigar to enjoy while grilling at home with their family.  Participants can choose to extend the fun with an overnight stay Saturday, June 16, or Sunday, June 17, 2012. Weekend summer rates start at just $179 per night, and the cost for the class is $75 per person. Reservations are required.

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An old friend is being welcomed back to the Mill Ave neighborhood – after being closed for nearly 15 years, the historic Hayden Flour Mill has reopened to the public. Tempe City Hall and Mayor Hugh Hallman took up the cause and renovated the facility with private and public sector dollars. The public is encouraged to take a step back into history and tour the facility that was built in the late 1800s.

The third annual Southwest Ambulance Arizona Celebration of Freedom, the state’s “coolest independence festival,” is being held this year in downtown Mesa on Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30 on Main Street. The event will feature more than a dozen “cool zones,” “family fun zones,” live country and rock and roll music on multiple stages, numerous patriotic displays, Heritage Lane, a classic car show and the Chicago Cubs Salute to America fireworks extravaganza. In addition, this year the festival is introducing “Motorcycle Mania,” a new event for motorcycle enthusiasts.

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Take a day off this Father’s Day and bring Dad to Rawhide Western Town and Steakhouse for a “Free Steak Dinner and a Show.” Dads are invited to indulge in Executive Chef Jon Andersen’s Jack Daniel’s Prime Rib, or upgrade to a 12oz. Prime Rib for just $5. Dads can also “get the boot” with Rawhide’s 24oz. Souvenir Boot Mug of ice cold Rawhide beer priced at $6—the perfect gift to celebrate this special occasion.  After dinner, Dad can enjoy a free action stunt show in the Six Gun Theater, or play in the “Daddy Daycare,” where he can shoot some pool and continue the celebration at Belle’s Saloon while the family shops and plays in town. Free Steak Father’s Day will be available Sunday, June 17 from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. at Rawhide Steakhouse.  Reservations are recommended.

The Center Stage Bar at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa is doing its part to help “save our planet” by introducing its new “Wines on Tap,” offering a wine product that is at its peak, right from the barrel and into the keg. With wine on tap, there is no waste; there are approximately 26 bottles worth of wine in a keg, which saves more than two cases worth of glass, cork, cartons and labels. Empty kegs are returned for washing, sterilization and refilling, and there is a short travel time in temperature controlled containers. Offering quality, value and a sensitivity to our environment, the “Wines on Tap” is a welcomed complement to the bar’s 375-label Wine Spectator award-winning wine list. The current offerings include: Gotham Project – Columbia Valley, Washington and Monterey, California; Copain – Mendocino, California and Imprint Cellars – Alexander Valley, California.

Choose from a cheese dinner, Champagne and other sparklers, or a blind tasting where your palate is the guide as “Taste Talavera” returns this June at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North. With a series of specialty events sure to liven up the dog-days of summer, Talavera announces the following line-up for the summer 2012 series: Guest Chef Lee Hillson of T. Cook’s and Featured Four Seasons Signature “Iconoclast” Wine on June 29, 2012; Cheese Dinner on July 28, 2012; Champagne/Sparkling Wines on Aug. 25, 2012; and a Blind Tasting on Sept. 29, 2012. Each “Taste” evening features a four-course tasting menu highlighting the guest spirit maker, winemaker, or star ingredient.  The flow-style evening allows patrons who wish to dine on the à la carte Talavera menu to do so, even if their tablemates choose the “Taste” option. The cost for each “Taste” evening varies, from $65 to $95.  Reservations are required for seating at “Taste Talavera” dinner or the series.

Arizona’s only AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Five-Star restaurant, Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, ushers in summer with a new “Essence of Summer” menu. Designed to celebrate its local followers by offering an affordable dining experience at only $65 per person, the specialty three-course menu features a few of Kai’s signature items: start with chilled heirloom tomato gazpacho, move on to the grilled tenderloin of buffalo and conclude with rare chocolate pudding from the Bolivian rainforest. All three dishes, as well as the many intermezzo courses that come standard in Kai, are offered for a limited time at $65 per person. This special menu will be available June 1 – July 28, 2012 every night that Kai is open.  As an additional perk, guests are invited to order a corresponding wine-pairing for only $15 per menu. Reservations are required. This offer is not valid with any other promotion, does not have a per-table minimum requirement and menu items cannot be substituted.

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group is pleased to announce the opening of its third Del Frisco’s Grille coming June 9th to the Esplanade. Del Frisco’s Grille is a new concept for the Texas-based restaurant group, also known for its award-winning brands Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House and Sullivan’s Steakhouse. The new-kid-on-the-block Grille concept combines a comfortable and social atmosphere with exciting cuisine, an expansive wine list and hand-crafted cocktails. Welcoming guests with genuine hospitality, Del Frisco’s Grille takes the classic bar and grill to new heights, with Executive Chef Kevin Wemlinger’s menu featuring a selection of appetizers, innovative flatbreads, hearty salads, fresh selections from the sea, two-fisted sandwiches and “knife and fork” entrees, as well as Del Frisco’s award-winning Jumbo Lump Crab Cake and renowned signature hand-cut prime steaks. Del Frisco’s Director of Wine, David O’Day, has crafted a mammoth wine list with more than 400 selections. For those looking for something other than wine, Del Frisco’s Grille will feature a selection of hand-crafted cocktails, such as the Apt. 5D, skinny cocktails and signature shots on tap, like the Honey Badger. The bar will also feature a curated selection of draft and bottled beers including local favorites and sought-after craft beers. Del Frisco’s Grill will occupy 7,379 square-feet of space, plus an additional 3,000 square-feet of rooftop patio and bar space.  The restaurant opens to the public on June 9th with daily lunch and dinner service.

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Douglas MacKenzie
Director of Communications
(602) 452-6250
dmackenzie@visitphoenix.com

Trish Hendrickson
Communications Coordinator
(602) 452-6249
thendrickson@visitphoenix.com