Category: spa

CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa offers guests and locals culinary delights

In the northern part of the “Valley of the Sun” sits the village of Carefree, home to CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa. The AAA Four Diamond award resort offers guests and locals the opportunity to relax and rejuvenate from everyday life. Whether you prefer to pamper yourself at the spa, relieve stress through art or spirituality or tempt your palate with sips and bites from the resorts culinary team the resort has your best interest in mind this holiday season.

Whether you prefer to dine morning, noon or night, the resort’ signature restaurant Terras and Executive Chef Justin Macy offer several unique dining opportunities and events. Holiday dining, learning to cooking something new or visiting with out of town friends on the patio overlooking the Sonoran desert this line-up will keep you and your appetite satisfied.

Holiday Dining

Celebrate the holidays with healthy, yet indulgent culinary creations at Terras. Holiday dinners will celebrate the season’s best flavors with an exclusive prix-fixe menu complete with all the trimmings. Seating’s start at 5:00 p.m. with pricing ranging from $65 per adult and $32 per child.

  • Thanksgiving Dinner – November 28, 2019
  • Christmas Dinner – December 25, 2019
  • New Year’s Eve Celebration Dinner – December 31, 2019
CIVANA Wellness Resort and Spa
All photos courtesy of CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa

Half-Off Happy Hour

The happiest of hours is available daily 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Terras, featuring half off all beer, house wine & well cocktails along with all bar menu bites

Sunday Brunch

Make Terras the new Sunday morning tradition and indulge in a variety of healthy and comfort classics from yogurt parfaits, breakfast goods, savory creations to decadent charcuterie boards and top it off with a glass of champagne.

  • 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • $25 per person

Private Chef’s Table Experience

An intimate four-course dining experience at Terras for three to six people featuring a four-course dinner highlighting the season’s best ingredients and perfectly paired wine. Each night features a different Chef’s choice menu.

  • Available Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
  • $150 per person

Tequila Sunset

Enjoy the epic Carefree sunset nightly on the Terras Terrace with a rainbow Tequila flight and choice of 3 tacos (steak, fish or chicken)

  • Available daily from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.
  • $20 per person

Bottle & Board

Choose from a variety of Chef Justin Macy’s featured charcuterie boards, along with a bottle of vino for a perfect shareable evening at the Terras Lounge.

  • Available daily from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.
  • $25 per person

CIVANA Culinary School

The CIVANA Culinary team spotlights tips and tricks to create health-conscious, delicious recipes. Choose from a variety of classes available to resort guests and the public.

  • Sustainable Juicing Class
  • Shake and Stir Cocktail Class
  • Soulful Soups
  • Bake Shop 101
  • Vines to Wines
  • Culinary Clinic

To make reservations for holiday dining & classes, spa & wellness packages and for staying at CIVANA visit their website.

CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa is at 37220 Mule Train Rd. Carefree 85377. 480-653-9000

Castle Hot Springs re-opens with Harvest, serving crop driven cuisine

Arizona’s first luxury resort, Castle Hot Springs has re-opened for its first full season. Originally opened in 1896, the 210 acre property will be opened from October til late June offering guests the opportunity to detach from the digital world while rejuvenating and healing in the resorts 120 degrees thermal hot springs. Hiking, horseback riding, foraging and star gazing are a few of the many activities guests can enjoy at the iconic resort and its surrounding desert and mountains.

Harvest, Castle Hot Springs signature restaurant

Castle Hot Springs is home to Harvest, the signature restaurant and farm offering crop driven cuisine. Executive chef Christopher Brugman’s menu rotates daily based on what’s available at the resorts one acre farm. The farm and greenhouse are overseen by resident agronomist Ian Berger. He oversees over 150 fruits and vegetables native to the desert along with the properties groves that are home to 36 types of citrus trees. Included in the farm are over 35 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

Working together Brugman and Berger choose ripe fruit and vegetables for each days menu. What they don’t grow they  get from local vendors to fill in the gaps. Harvest also adheres to zero waste and sustainable guidelines. Guests can participate in daily foraging and learn about “flavor farming” that covers the sweet and savory tastes through a foods color. Dishes such as Coconut Carrot Bisque and Tandoori Octopus Grilled over Juniper Wood have been on the menu. The culinary team also has an in-house pickling program and creates concoctions such as Brugman’s Onion Ash.

Food & Beverage Manager and Sommelier Thomas Burris has created a beverage program to complement Brugman’s cuisine. Signature cocktails such as the Trade Secret and Lady & The Tramp also use ingredients sourced from the property. Trade Secret is made with rosemary infused vodka, Elderflower and pink grapefruit. The savory Lady & The Tramp combine Pecorino Romano infused vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup and fresh basil leaves. Castle Springs Lithium Lager is made exclusively for Harvest and uses natural elements of the resorts hot springs.

The resort is at 5050 E. Castle Hot Springs Rd. Castle Hot Springs AZ. 85342. For more information and to make a reservation head to their website.

Arizona Tiki Oasis brings tiki culture to Hotel Valley Ho

For one weekend in April tiki culture takes over Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho when Arizona Tiki Oasis comes to town. The three-day Polynesian lifestyle event offers seminars, live music, art, cocktails and food April 12-14th. Tiki Oasis started in Palm Springs as a fund-raiser in 2000 before moving to San Diego.

“We are thrilled to introduce Tiki Oasis’ rich and varied history to Scottsdale travelers and locals. Hotel Valley Ho is the ideal location for the largest and longest-running Tiki festival in the world, as the property perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the 1950s that we celebrate through classic Tiki culture.” – Tiki Oasis / AZTO organizers Otto and Baby Doe Stroheim.

Arizona Tiki Oasis events

The Tiki-Tiki-Ho-Ho Luau will kick off the weekend around the OH pool with a traditional pig roast and poke bar. Over 60 international tiki artists will take part in a pop-up art show at the marketplace including Japan’s Mookie Sato and LA’s Josh Angle a.k.a Shag. A pool side fashion show from  Fashion by Robert Black is also scheduled.

Over 20 seminars are planned with topics such as History of Tiki Culture in the Southwest and Tropical Drink Mixology.  Authors Sven Kirsten, Beachbum Berry and Shannon Mustipher will also make appearances.

At night tiki torches will light up roof top parties and cocktail lounge styled dinners. In between seminars Tikiphiles can lounge around the pool sipping on fruity colorful drinks. Spa treatments will be available at the VH Spa and guests can explore the city with the hotel’s new Insider Mid-Century Tour of Scottsdale.

Tickets are sold a la carte with seminars starting at $10 to an evening hotel pass for $80. Limited tickets for the opening nights luau are $99 until April 12th.

Part of the proceeds from the weekend will go to the Arizona Preservation Foundation. For more information and to purchase tickets head to the website.

 

Chill out this summer at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa

Looking to get away this summer and cool off, look no further than Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa. The luxury resort in Paradise Valley offer guests several ways to chill out whether it be through exercise, food or a refreshing cocktail.

Whether you’re flying in for a few days or live here in town and want to get out of the house these escapes will make your day.

Feel good

Paddle board yoga. All photos courtesy of Jake Goodsell of EMA
  • Paddle Board Yoga                                                                                       Elevate your yoga experience with Paddle Board Yoga. Classes are held in the Infinity pool at 7 a.m. every Thursday – Sunday for just $55 per person.
  • Spa Steals                                                                                                            Guests can escape the heat at the Sanctuary Spa. The 60-minute Swedish Massage and Sanctuary Jewel Facial drop to $119 midweek and $139 weekend (regularly $175/$185). Post treatment, guests can relax in the new Women’s Quiet Room – a windowless, cocoon-like escape designed for tranquility that opened this year.  Guests that enjoy a Monday-Thursday spa treatment receive access to the spa and amenities. Included are the infinity pool, lap pool, steam room, whirlpools, relaxation lounges and fitness center—for the entire day.

The foodie in you

  • Summer in Paradise                                                                                                      Simmer down to a three-course meal by Food Network favorite Executive Chef Beau MacMillan at Elements restaurant. Available for $49 per person (plus 50 percent off select wine bottles), not including tax and gratuity from Sunday to Wednesday, June 3 through Aug. 30.
  • Lunch and Learn                                                                                                              Impress friends with new skills after a culinary lesson from Chef Carl Ruiz, Master Mixologist Tony AbouGanim and Chef Danny Grant. Lunch and dinner events will be Saturdays, Aug. 4, 11, 25 and Sept. 1.
  • Brunch at elements                                                                                              End the weekend on a high note with Sunday brunch at Elements from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Must-tries on the a la carte menu: black truffle benedict on English muffin with breakfast potatoes, nueske’s bacon, grilled asparagus and foie gras hollandaise

Resort cocktail events

Singapore Sling
  • Summer Pour                                                                                                                    Cool off at Jade Bar during The Pour (a very happy two hours) with refreshing drink specials every Monday through Friday between 4 and 6 p.m.
  • Live music and Jaded Nights                                                                                   The sounds of jazz, pop and R&B vocalists take hold at jade bar on Friday evenings from 8 to 11 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. When the sun sets, Jaded Nights begins (9 p.m. to midnight, Friday, Saturday and Sunday July 13-Aug. 26). Choose from food and drink specials like $9 craft cocktails, $8 Korean Wings, $10 Jade Burger or the $2.50 oyster special.
  • Saturday Mixology 101                                                                                              Perfect for a sleepy Saturday afternoon, Mixology 101 features resort mixologists sharing techniques and tastings of four innovative cocktail creations. Courses are held at noon each Saturday except Aug. 4, 11, 25 and Sept. 1. Reservations required and first timers will receive 15% off food during their class.
  • Sunday Bar Brawl                                                                                                  The heat is on for the region’s best bartenders. Sanctuary’s Bar Brawl is back for its fourth season with new additions and surprises on Sundays, July 15-Aug. 26. Details coming soon. I can tell you there will be a new chef pop-up experience, with a special happy hour menu crafted by a local celebrity chef at each Bar Brawl event. Also, each week’s Lunch & Learn celebrity will serve as a guest judge. On Friday’s, guest bartenders will create Red Bull specialty cocktails from 9 – 10:30 p.m., the guest favorite featured at Sunday’s Bar Brawl.

Sanctuary on Camelback is at 5700 E. McDonald Dr. Paradise Valley 85253. For reservations call 855-245-2051 or on-line.