Conde Nast lauds two Arizona spots
in the sky’s mind-boggling stretch of stars and stay in adobe cottages at the Enchantment Resort, a former private ranch turned luxury resort and spa.”
Arizona hotels and resorts often shine in Conde Nast’s Readers’ Choice Awards, which the magazine says this year are based on millions of rankings by more than 300,000 readers.
The big winner this year: tiny Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley. The 43-room Southwestern-style resort, whose roots go back to the 1930s and cowboy artist Lon Megargee, ranked ninth among the top 10 U.S. hotels and first in the Southwest/West hotel category. It sits alongside swank, nationally known hotels including the historic Hay-Adams in Washington, D.C., and Mandarin Oriental in Boston.
The magazine talked up Hermosa Inn’s tucked-away setting and Lon’s restaurant, a favorite special-occasion spot in metro Phoenix with a popular patio and bar.
“Today, the Paradise Valley resort and its 43 hacienda-style casitas attract both vacationers on the hunt for peace and quiet, and foodies, too. Lon’s, the on-site restaurant, incorporates Southwestern techniques like smoking and wood-grilling into its New American cuisine — try the ever-popular Himalayan salt-seared ahi tuna, served with cilantro, pickled onion and ceviche sauce, and pair it with one of the more than 500 wines in the cellar.”
No Arizona resorts cracked Conde Nast’s national or world rankings in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, but the state dominated the list of top resorts in Texas and the Southwest.
Arizona swept the first five spots on that list. The winners, in order: Mii Amo in Sedona; Fairmont Scottsdale Princess; newcomer Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa; Sanctuary Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley; and Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson.
The state’s hotels also were well represented on the list of top hotels in the the Southwest/West. Hotel Palomar in downtown Phoenix, L’Auberge de Sedona and Arizona Inn in Tucson cracked the top 10.
The winners will be featured in Conde Nast’s November issue and the list, which also includes reader rankings of cruise ships and airlines, is online now.