Historic Castle Hot Springs to reopen as luxury retreat
Historic Arizona resort to reopen as luxury retreat
A century ago, on a jarring, rock-strewn road that looks much the same today, those living lives of luxury undertook an unlikely journey to an even more unlikely destination.
Their vehicles struggled along a path more conducive to horses than to horsepower. After hours of being jostled in ways to which they were not accustomed, they would arrive at a resort cradled by the cactus-studded foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains, which provide stunning scenery as well as the privacy many craved.
They could have escaped winter anywhere, these Carnegies and Vanderbilts and Rockefellers.
Florida beaches. A tropical island. The French Riviera.
But they came here, to Castle Hot Springs, 50 miles north of Phoenix, a world away in those days. Its three-story Palm House stood out incongruously, as did the bright yellow administration building. Hundreds of palm trees were planted as if to prove this was an oasis.
And they did so for years, settling into private
cottages before playing tennis or riding horses or soaking in the naturally heated water flowing from the rocks. Hours were spent poolside, with evenings spent sipping cocktails on the porch while watching the sun disappear from a pastel sky.
As time passed, the inevitable happened. Castle Hot Springs tumbled into ordinariness. By the 1960s and ‘70s, it depended on locals to make the still-arduous drive.
And it all but disappeared after a fire in 1976 destroyed the Palm House. For more than 40 years, it didn’t host a single paying guest.
This is where such stories usually end.
But Castle Hot Springs has a story as unlikely as its location.
It’s time to talk about its revival.
A new Castle Hot Springs rises
Steven Sampson admits he was surprised to be offered the only job that would lure him out of retirement.
He didn’t take it just for the irony of working for a resort that also was coming out of retirement.
The longtime hotel marketing director couldn’t resist being one of the people bringing Castle Hot Springs back to life.
“It’s a gem,” he says. “I was fine being retired until this came up.”
After an hour’s drive over the rough road taken by thousands before him, Sampson pulls through the front gate and into a buzz of construction activity.
For more than a year, crews have been putting Castle Hot Springs together again.
Reopening in October
Their work is expected to be done by Oct. 1, when Castle Hot Springs 2.0 opens with 32 cottages and cabins, a three-bedroom bungalow and nightly rates one would associate with a luxury resort such as Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton ($800-$1,500 per night).
That vision is difficult to see through the dust and dirt and construction equipment.
But it’s as clear to Sampson as the hot springs themselves.
He points to Stone House, where most of the stones lay in piles around crumbled walls.
Once reassembled, Sampson says, it will house a chapel and meeting rooms. It’s just a matter of putting every stone in its place.
Other renovations are much farther along. The bright yellow Wrigley House, once the private quarters of the chewing-gum Wrigleys, houses caretakers Maureen and Terry Bauer. It’s complete with satellite TV, internet and roundthe-clock views that make the 30-mile, hour-long drive to Wickenburg for groceries well worth it.
Just down the hill, the Kennedy House is in the final phases of its restoration. It’s named for John F. Kennedy, who was among the World War II vets who arrived in the late 1940s to recuperate from injuries.
Great care was taken to keep its original architectural style, which is more Cape Cod than middle-of-nowhere desert.
“History has played a very important part in the work,” Sampson says. “A lot of people in Arizona know all about Castle Hot Springs. We need to live up to expectations and then some.”
Castle Hot Springs history
The resort goes back to 1896 when Frank Murphy, who made a fortune in mining, spent $75,000 to carve a road through the wilderness, stretching from the Morristown train depot to the secluded valley where hot springs flowed.
When it opened, Murphy initially targeted tubercular patients seeking dry desert air, but soon set his sights on a much more lucrative audience.
Thanks to the scenery, he was sitting on a different kind of gold mine.
As the wealthy arrived, so did Castle Hot Springs’ days in the sun. In time, desert terrain disappeared under a nine-hole golf course, and tennis courts as well. Palm trees grew tall and lush as if they’d been there from the start.
Even as he added amenities — the resort boasted one of the first buildings in Arizona to have electric lights and a phone — Murphy knew people came for the sharp-edged hills that rose in every direction, creating a sawtooth horizon keeping the outside world at bay.
Envisioning the future
It’s the same today, as Sampson knows, becoming the latest to sell Castle Hot Springs’ charms. He’s even climbed nearby peaks to photograph the scenery.
The marketing director believes the resort sells itself. He does his best to get the word out, making sure not to get in the way of it.
Sampson is confident the upscale resort
Castle Hot Springs
Where: 6010 N. Castle Hot Springs Road, Morristown.
When: Expected to be open Oct. 1, 2018, through June 2, 2019. Closed Sunday nights. Rates: Estimated at $800-$1,500 per night, breakfast and dinner included. Reservations: Expected to be taken by mid-May. Check websites for updates. Details: 480-367-6240, www.castlehotsprings.com, www.face book.com/WestrocHospitality. with upscale prices will have no shortage of guests.
The Kennedy House has been the resort’s focal point for 40 years, ever since flames erased the larger Palm House next door. A palm-lined driveway delivers guests from the front gate to the former administration building, which now houses the lobby as well as a restaurant with an indoor/outdoor bar.
Just outside is the swimming pool, one of the many destinations of the hot springs that flow at the rate of 200,000 gallons per day.
“By the time it gets this far,” Sampson says, nodding at the empty pool awaiting final touches, “the water will probably be around 80 degrees or so. Perfect temperature.”
About the hot springs
The springs play a more important role at the resort now than they did when guests started soaking in them more than 100 years ago.
In addition to the water’s recreational purposes — it will fill three springs and be piped to the hot tubs of about half the cottages — thousands of gallons will be stored in a man-made lake in case of fire.
Workers used garden hoses and fire extinguishers to battle the 1976 blaze that started the low, slow decline of Castle Hot Springs. None of the 19 fire agencies called that night could respond due to the resort’s remote location.
And while the water’s not needed for fire protection? Nothing goes to waste.
“We’re going to put out a floating screen and show free movies on the weekend,” Sampson says. “People will sit on the bank and enjoy movies under the stars.”
What guests can expect
At this point, the lake is just a shallow depression. More cottages than not still exist only on blueprints but as Sampson walks the grounds, mindful of the trenches and stakes marking cabins-tobe, he sees the future.
He steps inside one of the partially completed cottages. Each will have a king-size bed and roomy bathroom. A hot tub on a private patio. An indoor/ outdoor fireplace.
But no TV. This is a place to disconnect.
He steps back outside and sets the scene.
After a day of hiking, or perhaps trail riding on horseback or ATV, guests will settle on their porches, drinks in hand. They’ll watch the sun drop below the horizon, leaving behind a pastel sky that slowly fades to black, revealing a dome of shimmering stars.
After staring at the sky for a few seconds, Sampson snaps out of it. “Come on, let’s go see the springs.” After a short walk along a dirt trail up a gentle slope, the first of three pools comes into a view. Each looks much as it did when founder Frank Murphy corralled the 120-degree water. (It flows at about 110 degrees today.)
Farther up, the sound of hammering and sawing bounce off narrowing canyon walls. Workers are roughly halfway done with a building where massages and yoga classes will be available.
Amid the staccato noise of creation there another sound, one of splashing water.
Sampson follows a path skirting a small pool at the base of a cliff. Water bubbles from the stone, trickling from cracks, streaming from crevices.
This is the spot from which everything flows, from dreams that led to a storied past to the visions inspiring the rebirth of an iconic desert oasis.
An echo of the former resort
While owners have worked diligently to maintain much of the historic look, from landscaping to interior design, the new Castle Hot Springs won’t be a duplicate of the old one.
More like an echo.
Modern visitors will stroll a large garden-studded lawn where guests once played golf. The bowling alley will remain only in photos and memories, while today’s guests will enjoy an amenity those a century ago might have taken for granted — an organic garden.
But the largest gap between then and now is the space formerly occupied by the Palm House.
The three-story building appeared as a fortress in the wilderness. Built at the base of a modest hill, its look was softened by a series of arches built along the veranda and balconies of the first and second floors.
At one time or another, it housed a kitchen, dining room, bowling alley and bar. It served as the resort’s hub, with its lobby and dozens of rooms.
Owners agreed early on that rebuilding the Palm House would be folly, a monolith that would block the view, resort’s greatest asset.
The decline of Castle Hot Springs
It was the destruction of the Palm House that led to the long, slow decline of Castle Hot Springs, though the property had lost its luster long before flames made their mark.
In 1974, a resort that had once attracted presidents and the 1 percent now catered largely to locals. Rooms were $82 a night, and that included meals, golf, tennis and trap shooting.
After the fire, the property was deeded to the ASU Foundation and hosted workshops and seminars. In 1987, it was sold to the first of a string of well-intentioned owners who found the restoration too daunting.
As years went by, Castle Hot Springs languished. Junk piled up. Buildings collapsed. Mother Nature encroached on all sides.
A difficult restoration now bordered on the impossible.
Until a man whose pockets were as deep as his passion stepped forward.
A new beginning
In March 2014, Mike Watts led an investor group that bought the 210-acre property for $1.95 million at auction.
Castle Hot Springs had been on his radar since the late 1970s or early ‘80s, when he stumbled across it while fourwheeling in the back country.
Watts, co-founder of a successful equipment-rental business, noted each time the property was sold, wondering if this might be the owner who would make Castle Hot Springs more than just words on a map.
When the resort hit the market again in 2014, Watts knew it was his turn. He was prepared to spend whatever was necessary to make the resort a destination rather than an oddity along the side of a primitive road.
He had options. He could have turned the property into a private home. He’d heard from some who thought it should be a rehabilitation and therapy center, hearkening to days when tubercular patients visited.
But Watts knew that the future of Castle Hot Springs was cemented by its past.
It would return as the kind of luxury resort attractive to those looking for a unique experience. Watts partnered with Scott Lyon, CEO of Westroc Hospitality, which owned the exclusive Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa as well as Mountain Shadows and Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale.
Since work began in early 2016, Watts and Lyon have carefully guided the restoration, making adjustments to fit their vision. Watts won’t say how much money’s he sunk into the work, only that it’s north of $25 million.
When the resort reopens, only time will tell if people are willing to navigate the same rough road that delivered guests a century ago.
Or they can opt for a modern-day upgrade.
Landing on the helicopter pad.