Cactus coolers, incredible art

Scottsdale boasts lodging options at every price point, but if you want to go luxe, check in at the 23-acre Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows, near the base of Camelback Mountain and just 2 miles from Old Town. The resort’s 185 bungalow-style rooms are clustered along citrus tree-lined pathways, with individual patios and midcentury modern interiors inspired by that era’s desert art scene. It’s a showcase, too, for unique, locally made art, furniture and installations, much of it from the Cattle Track Art Compound nearby.

So finish up that “welcome” cactus cooler cocktail, then head out for a tour of Cattle Track, a 5-minute drive or 20-minute walk away — it’s not summer anymore, walking is doable. Entering into the arts colony feels like walking onto a movie set, a fantastical place filled with artists studios and living quarters. The 13-acre compound, purchased for $100 in the 1930s by Rachael and George Ellis, has more than a dozen artists-in-residence, and much of what is made here goes to museums. Peek into the studios and meet the artists, including, if you’re lucky, Mark Mcdowell, who has lived at the compound for 30 years and has astounding stories to tell about the artists here and Scottsdale’s art scene.

“We are part of the history of this community,” he says. Back at the hotel, you’ll likely notice some of the pieces Mcdowell described, from the custom dinner plates used at the resort’s Weft & Warp restaurant to the spice blends, grown at Cattle Track and sold by Mcdowells’ granddaughters. The photographs and furniture in your room are the work of Cattle Track artists, too, whose creations have been commissioned now for other Hyatt properties around the globe.

Andaz’s Create and Cultivate programs offer a fun way to kick off the weekend, perhaps with a Raise Your Glass cocktail class. Mixology nerds will appreciate the technical tips and savvy thrown down, while more casual cocktail fans will enjoy sipping mini versions off the seasonal drink list. There’s a Pasta Like a Pro class, as well, and a Sweet Escape chocolate truffle class led by the hotel’s pastry chef Morgan Malzahn, with ample tasting opportunities in the restaurant’s glass-walled exhibition kitchen.

After your experiential tutorial, have a seat for a leisurely dinner at Weft & Warp, with a shareable menu of Mediterranean-inspired small (and giant) plates. Start with a mezze or two, like the Moroccan eggplant zaalouk ($15) and the sumac-spiced beet dip with labneh ($15), accompanied by textured laffa flatbread you’ll have a hard time not nibbling all throughout. Don’t miss the pasta — the pappardelle ($34) with pork sugo, perhaps, or tagliatelle ($28) with arugula pesto, heirloom tomatoes, preserved lemon and stracciatella.

DETAILS >> Rooms are spendy ($700 and up, plus a $45 resort fee per night) but the stay is luxurious at Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows, 6114 N. Scottsdale Road; andazscottsdale.com. The Cattle Track Arts Compound is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-saturdays, free admission, at 6105 N. Cattletrack Road; cattletrack.org.