Business meeting location suggestions; Arizona in Jan/Feb

August 21, 2009 5:34 PM

Please help me find a business meeting venue in the Arizona winter sun

I've been tasked by my company to organise a business meeting sometime in Jan/Feb for the sales region I manage (14 people). There'll be indoor and outdoor (fun, team-building) activities, so I'm thinking of holding it in Arizona for the (I assume) pleasant weather that time of year.

Does anyone have any suggestions for venues, hotels, resorts and for cities in Arizona where the weather will be as warm and dry as possible? Weblinks are always useful, as I'll have to do my research online to ensure this fits my (TBD) budget.

Thanks All

posted by xenoworx to Work & Money (5 answers total)

I attended an industry event at the Camelback Resort in Scottsdale last winter. I live here in Arizona so I didn't stay at the resort ... just went for the daytime seminars. It's a gorgeous place, but not as pricey, I don't think, as someplace like The Phoenecian.

All the conference attendees oooohed and ahhhhed about the accommodations and the staff seemed very friendly.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 7:02 PM on August 21, 2009

I planned and ran a conference at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas in 2004. It was a great venue from a planning perspective, with awesome conference staff and affordable prices. They had a number of event spaces (ranging from smaller board meeting rooms for about 20 people to our 180 people+ conference ballroom), and the food was pretty good.

The interior courtyard pool surrounded by very airy and comfortable rooms made it very "resort-y". I'm not sure if there would be any ideal spaces for outdoor team-building exercises, but I can say that our attendees loved the interior courtyard bar/jacuzzi/pool area. This was one in a series of annual conferences, and people are still talking about the impromptu poolside sing-along session late one night (not something we planned, just something that happened).

I really liked the venue, and would recommend it.
posted by gemmy at 8:03 PM on August 21, 2009

The Arizona Inn, baby! It's in Tucson, so not as convenient for travelers as Phoenix, but it is an amazingly beautiful place, both inside and outside. The food is spectacular, the service phenomenal. The grounds.
posted by Irontom at 5:38 AM on August 22, 2009

I'd wouldn't consider Tucson in February, due to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, which ties up many of our hotels, makes traffic crazy, and generally is to be avoided unless you're interested in gems and minerals.
posted by Squeak Attack at 9:21 AM on August 22, 2009

I've stayed at several Phoenix area resorts (and there are a lot of them). Some observations from my stays (2-3 years ago):

The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa
* Staff - Exceptional, friendly, helpful, cheerful
* Rooms - Very nice, roomy, casita style rooms. Most (if not all) with patios or balconies
* Food - Several restaurants on property, all of which were good to very good (although breakfast options are limited)
* Environment - Desert with some grassy areas
* Recreation/Activities - Golf (multiple courses?), the swimming pool isn't much to look at, but food and beverage service from the pool attendants was excellent (timely and frequent), great spa.
* Other - Nightly turndown service (On the first night they usually left a mini flashlight for nocturnal wanderings, the other nights they left samples of spa products)

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale
* Staff - Excellent, friendly, helpful, and cheerful (Especially the spa)
* Rooms - so-so, some outside noise depending on room location
* Food - Several good restaurants on property, with many excellent restaurants within a 15-20 minute drive
* Environment - Urban with lots of grassy spaces
* Recreation/Activities - No golf, gorgeous pool, terrific spa
* Other - I had inadvertantly left my swimsuit at the spa, when I went looking for it the next day, the spa attendant was almost distraught that he couldn't locate it. Spa and hotel staff bent over backwards to locate it and get it to me

Wigwam Resort and Spa
* Staff - Wonderful, friendly staff committed to a memorable guest experience (see below in "Other")
* Rooms - Nice (not fabulous) casita style rooms
* Food - 3 restaurants on property (IMO the steak house is a bit pricey), other dining options in the area are sharply limited
* Environment - Suburban with lots of open grassy space
* Recreation/Activities - 3 golf courses, nice pool, lots of meeting rooms (large and small).
* Other - My wife and I drive 25 minutes (each way) to the resort every Saturday for breakfast at the Arizona Kitchen restaurant. Sure they have great Eggs Benedict, and the Cowboy Hash is terrific, but the reason we keep going back is the restaurant staff.
posted by Cats' Concert at 10:30 PM on August 22, 2009