Arizona Biltmore Resort
Since 1929, this has been ‘the place' for celebrities, dignitaries and presidents. Though it is classic Frank Lloyd Wright style architecture, his student Albert Chase McArthur designed it. The buildings' grey blocks with palm tree designs are a Lloyd Wright contribution. Spread over 16 hectares (40 acres), structures are interspersed with gardens, nine pools (the Catalina was Marilyn Monroe's favourite and the place where Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas), sculpture, tennis courts, lawn chess, croquet and two championship golf courses. Guests will find earthy-toned, spacious accommodations, large marble bathrooms and excellent service. The huge lobby houses antiques, two restaurants, afternoon tea and a bar. Light meals are available at a café in the hotel's plaza amid numerous shops. Kid's Korral will occupy the children, while the hotel's spa and fitness centre will keep the adults happy.

2400 East Missouri, Phoenix
Tel: (602) 954 2550.
Website: www.arizonabiltmore.com
From $$-$$$$

Arizona Golf Resort and Conference Center
Located in Mesa, about 30 minutes from Sky Harbor Airport, this property offers a lot for a little. Rooms are spacious with a bar, microwave, safe and Wi-Fi. Amenities include a championship golf course, pool, four whirlpools, two restaurants, a lounge and fitness centre. A nice little extra is the courtesy van that shuttles guest to and from destinations within 8km (5 miles) of the resort.

425 South Power Road, Mesa
Tel: (480) 832 3202 or 1 800 528 8282.
Website: www.azgolfresort.com
Price: $

The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
This luxurious desert retreat's backdrop is the dramatic McDowell Mountains, while pools, fountains, falls and lagoons complement its own grounds. A plaza and courtyards simulate a Mexican village. Rooms are spacious, with a Southwest theme and patio or balcony. Casitas (suites) include butlers. Amenities include a free kids club, golf concierge for its famous TPC course, five restaurants, five pools, water slides and an indoor/outdoor lounge with live entertainment. Treatments at the to-die-for spa aspire to have guests depart feeling much better than when they arrived.

7575 East Princess Drive, Scottsdale
Tel: (480) 585 4848.
Website: www.fairmont.com/scottsdale
Price: $$-$$$$

Four Seasons at Troon North
Everything you expect from a luxurious Four Seasons resort is here. The lobby is a living gallery of desert art. Accented with a desert motif, spacious rooms include fireplace and balcony. Marble bathrooms have deep soaking tubs. Accommodations are in casitas rather than attached to the main building. Excellent cuisine is accompanied by sweeping desert views at Acacia, a contemporary steakhouse, and the Southwest-flavoured Crescent Moon. Amenities include a spa and fitness centre, nearby golf and two lounges. Attention to detail is a given. For example, a complimentary sunglass butler spends his time at the pool cleaning guests' sunglasses.

10600 East Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale
Tel: (480) 515 5700.
Website: www.fourseasons.com
Price: $$-$$$$

Mondrian
White, stark and sleek, complete with a tree, lamps with comic nudes, cloud-like fixtures and an apple, the lobby is the Garden of Eden. The Red Bar is the place where hip 20- and 30-somethings hang out. Compact rooms are black and white (symbolising good and evil) with a glowing red apple. Music is piped underwater in the two pools.

7353 East Indian School Road, Scottsdale
Tel: (480) 308 1200.
Website: www.morganshotelgroup.com
Price: $$

Phoenician
With US$25 million worth of art (there is a self-guided tour), this hotel is opulence personified. The grounds have a large cactus garden, nine pools (some shaped like grand pianos) and a golf course. The hotel's restaurants range from epicurean, with a wine list of 4,500, to an ice cream parlour and tea court. Airy rooms feature Berber carpeting, Irish linens, as well as rich and oversized Italian marble bathrooms. Not to be missed is its plush spa with a complete treatment menu, which even offers Tarot card readings.

6000 East Camelback Road, Scottsdale
Tel: (480) 941 8200.
Website: www.thephoenician.com
Price: $$$-$$$$