Tucson has its history, and Sedona has the Grand Canyon -- but only Phoenix-Scottsdale has James, the 200-room, luxury boutique hotel hatched by Equinox founder Danny Errico and Manhattan restaurateur Stephen Hanson. While it ain't the painted desert, it's a good enough place to paint the town if you're in this part of the world. James is one of the most heralded lodging places of 2004; Travel + Leisure went so far as to call it "America's sexiest resort." And budget travelers in New York might be able to afford a weekend there, at $299 a night, since Jet Blue (tel. 800/538-2583; www.jetblue.com) started flying into Phoenix last fall, for $95 each way from JKF.
Phoenix has gotten a bum rap for slowly, steadily devouring its desert surrounds (it has indelicately been called "the blob that's eating Arizona"). Chances are, though, that the sun is shining hard there as you read this as it does about 330 days a year. The Phoenix metroplex, especially the exurb of Scottsdale, abounds with ever more inventive restaurants, luxe shopping options, golfing, desert hiking, and spas. With Taliesin West, the Heard Museum of Native American History and the Desert Botanical Garden in town, the Sun Bowl could make for a great short getaway, even for young urban hipsters with no interest in retirement golf. It's almost worth the trip for the surreal sight of impossibly green fairways descended like space ships amid the Sonoran saguaros.
Expedia (tel. 800/551-2534; www.expedia.com) is promoting round-trip air and three nights in a suite at the Legacy Golf Resort from $365. This area isn't known for its historical roots, but the Spanish Mission-style Legacy is part of the 280-acre Heard Ranch, founded as a cattle and land company in 1897 by Dwight and Mae Heard (important early residents of Phoenix, whose collection of Native American artifacts constitutes the Heard Museum). The four-star resort and time-share property claims a par-17 championship golf course, a pool, fitness facility, tennis courts, and suites with kitchens.
You can also book airfare and three nights at the Wyndham Buttes Resort for $388 from Los Angeles. As its name suggests, the complex abuts a butte, in the Phoenix exurb of Tempe. Panoramic views of the Valley of the Sun can be had from the Wyndham's dramatic, vaulted Top of the Rock restaurant.
If you're traveling from New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles, you'll probably be most at home with our first suggestion: Splurge for a weekend at James (tel. 888/500-8080; www.jameshotels.com). Their "Relax with James" special includes two nights in a room overlooking the pool, two continental breakfasts, two cocktails, and 30% off massages booked before arrival, for $229 a night, minus tax.
It's worth the indulgence. James has simple, beautifully appointed rooms with plasma screen TVs and wireless Internet connection. Amenities include midnight spa treatments in private cabanas and an award-winning restaurant, Fiamma Osteria, an outpost of the New York original. Best of all: room service will deliver Fiamma's handmade pastas and oven-fired pizza. If you're in town, at the very least, stop to have a drink at James's lobby bar, a magnet for the nouveau riche and famous.
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