THE ARIZONA BILTMORE
Teeming with elegance, the Arizona Biltmore’s sophisticated reputation has served as the ultimate invitation for a bevy of high-profile guests since it opened in 1929. Aside from the resort’s well-noted Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture, the Arizona Biltmore presents to visitors what other Southwest destinations can’t: recreation, but not in the form you’d think. Arizona visitors would be hard pressed to find another locale where one could recreate Marilyn Monroe’s position as she lounged at the property’s Catalina Pool. Or recreate what it must have been like for every president since Herbert Hoover to walk through the halls and lobby of the historic hideout. What the Arizona Biltmore has presented since its inception is a truly experiential treat from the moment guests arrive.
Originally, the Arizona Biltmore was a seasonal retreat open only from Nov. 1 to April 1 each year, and most guests would stay the entire time. Right before the resort’s second season, the stock market crashed, which delayed the season’s opening until Nov. 10. That year, post crash, William Wrigley became the sole owner of the Arizona Biltmore.
Nowadays, the resort caters to thousands of visitors year round (the year-round schedule began in 1973) and provides a menu of amenities rivaled by few. Two championship golf courses on site provide the ability to roll out of bed and onto the Biltmore’s historic fairways. From basketball and croquet to chess and bocce ball, guests can recreate in the same forms as their historic counterparts or opt for the resort’s state-of-the-art fitness and spa operations.
Throughout its history and for generations to come, the Arizona Biltmore proves to be a timeless gem in the desert.
RESORT STATS
Accommodations
Then: 243 rooms
Now: 740 rooms
Guests per Year
Then: 65,974
Now: 253,227
Room Rates
Then: Averaged around $25 per night (1929)
Now: $399 per night
Amenities
Then: Full-service resort with beauty parlor, barber shop, soda fountain, sundries, stables and horses, Catalina Pool, skeet-shooting range, tennis courts, life-size chess and shops (women’s wear, western wear, milnor and a flower shop)
Now: Full-service resort with spa, salon, recreational activities, eight swimming pools, six unique dining venues and shops (including Lilly Pulitzer, Brighton and Tommy Bahama)
