With its healing desert plants, Native American traditions, sunny climate and long history as a wellness destination, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Arizona boasts a stellar concentration of resort spas offering much more than massages and facials. From Sedona to Tucson, resort spas are enriching meeting programs with everything from lifestyle lessons to energizing meeting breaks and stress-relieving meditation sessions.
While spa usage at meetings was viewed as indulgent during the recession, more organizations are now embracing wellness opportunities for attendees, according to Pam Gilbert, director of sales and marketing for the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.
“Companies see spa programs as an investment in the health of their executives,” she says. “Fitness, stress relief and nutrition guidance are things that companies are striving to provide because they know their costs will be lower if they do. We can help them achieve this.”
Greater Phoenix
Arizona Biltmore
“Phoenix has long been a place for people to retreat and get healthy,” says Megan Swanton, spa director for the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, the iconic Frank Lloyd-designed resort that opened in 1929. “That’s also the history of our resort—our founders came to Phoenix from Chicago to establish a place where people could get out of the cold and find relief from breathing and joint problems.”
Today, the Arizona Biltmore Spa, which has 17 indoor treatment rooms as well as outside cabanas, has an emphasis on natural products and locally inspired treatments that include a Dream Catcher Aromatherapy Massage, Healing Desert Clay Wrap and a vegan Desert Botanical Salt Scrub with aromatic oils. Along with fitness classes that include yoga, Qi Gong and water aerobics, services also include treatments from the Oxygen Infusion Facial menu. Buyouts of the entire spa can be arranged.
As extensive as the spa is, its services are not confined to its physical boundaries, Swanton says.
“What we do is work with the planner to get a feel for the group’s schedule and each person’s preferences,” Swanton says. “If time is short, we can arrange for mini services in the guest’s room. The shorter 25-minute services are very popular, and these can also be worked into the spa or salon.”
Beyond traditional spa services, the resort can arrange for lifestyle or health professionals to speak to groups or for a relaxing guided sunset hike along the Camelback Mountain or Squaw Peak trails, she adds.PageBreak
Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa
Owned by the Gila River Indian Community, the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Chandler reflects the traditions of the Pima and Maricopa people in every aspect, including its Aji Spa. Aji, which means “sanctuary” in the Pima language, features treatments, products and activities created and overseen by its staff of Native American therapists and cultural experts.
“What really sets Aji apart is that you get a true sense of the people and place that you can take away with you,” says Stephanie Sanstead, spokeswoman for the resort. “Even our spa products, which must be approved by tribal elders, reflect this. They are made from local and wild-harvested botanicals, including creosote, which is considered a sacred plant.”
Spa activities include meditation sessions in the resort’s Olaski, a traditional Pima dwelling. A new option is a storytelling session led by cultural caretaker Belen Stoneman at the spa’s Blue Pond, where small groups can relax with a prickly pear margarita and enjoy the mountain setting.
While Aji Spa offers 17 treatment rooms and a range of exercise studios, the resort’s inspiring outdoor setting is used as often as possible, according to Sanstead. Many activities are held outside to take advantage of the resort’s inspiring setting.
“Groups can take part in morning yoga on the lawn area facing the mountains. It’s a great way to greet the day,” she says. “Enjoying the sun and outdoors is part of the healing experience.”
Scottsdale
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Earlier this year, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princes launched Well & Being at Willowstream, a new spa drawing on both the Southwest’s indigenous roots and Asian influences. While a wide range of traditional spa treatments are offered, the spa also has a menu of wellness options that range from stress-relief exercises to healthy cooking classes and full-scale health assessments.
Led by a medical doctor, the spa’s wellness team includes experts in exercise physiology, nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine and mind-body therapies. All of the wellness programs can be specifically tailored to the needs of groups, says Pam Gilbert, director of sales and marketing.
“We work with the planner to help attendees set aside the pressures they brought with them to the meeting so they can be fully present in the moment,” she says. “It can be through anything from breathing exercise to aerial yoga. They can be two-hour sessions or as 15-minute breaks between meetings.” PageBreak
The Phoenician
At the forefront of a new generation of wellness-oriented resort spas when it opened in 1988, The Center for Well-Being at The Phoenician continues to emphasize stress-relieving treatments, instruction and activities for business guests, says spa director Sheryl McCormick.
“We try to find things where you can turn off your brain, relax and find relief,” she says. “How to find time for yourself is a message we like to give. So many people in the corporate world really need this.”
One way to find respite is at the spa’s soaring Meditation Atrium, a place where groups can relax in zero-gravity chairs during customized meditation sessions. Another is to take part in a spa-led hike on Camelback Mountain, just steps away from the resort.
“Groups of 20 or 30 can book a hike, which is a great way to learn about the desert flora, get a workout and bond with the people you’re with,” McCormick says.
Although the 22,000-square-foot spa with 24 treatment rooms is one of the area’s largest, McCormick encourages large groups to book far enough in advance to reserve the entire facility.
“The spa is a big reason that groups come here, so it’s good to make sure everyone can get the treatment they want,” she says.
Sedona
Enchantment Resort
Enchantment’s Mii amo Spa reflects both Sedona’s Native American heritage and its New Age sensibilities. Because it is not only a resort spa but a destination spa with its own accommodations, Mii amo is able to offer groups a wider range of activities and treatments than most hotel spas, says Lindsay Curry, Enchantment’s director of sales.
“Our treatments run the gamut from Swedish and hot stone massage to aromatherapy and New Age services like hypnotherapy, where you can explore early memories,” she says.
An extensive array of spa classes and activities include yoga, dance classes, Bosu, Pilates and excursions into Sedona’s red rock country. Options specifically geared for meetings include Compassionate Communication Workshops, which offer techniques to help attendees work through issues the organization is facing.
“They are led by a therapist who divides the group into teams,” Curry says. “People are encouraged to bounce ideas off each other. You solve problems right there. It creates a great bond and really provides ROI for the organization.”
Tucson
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
“The spa is integral to the meeting experience at our resort,” says Michael Kass, director of sales and marketing for The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain. “The spa offers a special menu of group activities as well as the ability to develop customized seminars, workshops and classes.”
In addition to its indoor facilities, which include 14 treatment rooms, The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Dove Mountain has its own pool area with a tanning island, cascading waterfall, cabanas and day beds. Groups can reserve multiple cabanas, where they can relax with chilled juices and choose from a menu that includes 50-minute chair massages, hand treatments and skin consultation.
Maria Lenhart, a San Francisco-based freelancer, has visited Arizona many times, never tiring of taking a Jeep ride through the desert and watching the sun set on the red rock formations.
