When I was in downtown Phoenix for the opera a couple of weeks ago, I snapped a few night shots. The blue glow at the top of the Hyatt Regency caught my eye.
Also catching my eye was the sheer size of the Sheraton hotel.
Both hotels were sort of looming over where I was standing. They were in opposite directions so I had tall buildings on either side of me.
These two sculptures that I've featured today sit on either side of the main entrance to The Phoenician Resort so they greet all the resort guests as they enter.
This one is called "Rising at the Spring" and it's another wonderful Allan Houser sculpture.
This one is also an Allan Houser sculpture and it is called "Kiowa Song".
There is a long driveway that leads up to the entrance to the resort and there are more sculptures scattered along the grounds on the way to the entrance. The Phoenician features a lot of Houser's sculptures.
When I stopped at the Phoenician Resort to look at Christmas decorations three weeks ago, I also photographed some of the resort views. This view looks up at Camelback Mountain from the main entrance.
If I stand on the other side of that big fountain, I see that there is a statue standing on top of the terraced garden.
Its a wonderful Allan Houser sculpture. The Phoenician Resort has many Allan Houser sculptures scattered all over the property.
I was doing a bit of shopping a few days ago near 44th and Camelback Road and I decided to snap a photo of The Global Ambassador Hotel. I posted about this building in June of last year when I walked around it with some friends. I mentioned that it wasn't very impressive looking from the street side as you can see. The real entrance to the hotel is on the other side of the building. This is the side you see from busy 44th Street.
During that time between Christmas and the new year, a friend and I drove out to the far northern reaches of Scottsdale and had lunch at the Four Seasons Resort. That's where I saw this mural of Frida Kahlo made of tiles and mounted on a wall near the entrance to the restaurant. I'm not quite sure if the tiles were painted before they were assembled on the wall or after. Whichever it is still a nice mural.
I also snapped a photo of the hotel's Christmas tree in the middle of the lobby. I'm sure all these holiday decorations have been put away by now.
A friend and I went to the Arizona Biltmore Hotel to see how their holiday decorations were looking this year. The first thing we saw was this metal tree surrounded by metal gift boxes set up in front of the hotel. I thought to myself that it was a bit strange for such a stately old historic hotel.
The first Christmas tree we saw after entering was this one. My friend thought it looked like a giant, shaggy dog and I can certainly see how she would think that.
The Royal Palms is a resort not too far from where I live. I made a short stop there recently and snapped a few photos from around the grounds. This is the central drive or entrance into the resort. This view looks out toward the street so you can see how the palm trees line the entrance.
The decor is very southwestern and the grounds are well shaded. This walkway leads toward the restaurant.
Here's a sunny spot with a lovely fountain for guests to enjoy. The outdoor seating is for the restaurant.
Here is another fountain that is tucked away on the grounds of the resort. There is something attractive to see around every corner here.
I love the symmetry of long passageways so I tend to snap photos whenever I see one I like. So I thought I'd share a few of them. This one was taken at a resort in Scottsdale.
I need to experience that again sometime soon.
Since we were at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel on Saturday evening for dinner, we couldn't leave without taking a peek into one of our favorite rooms. Even though Frank Lloyd Wright was not the architect for the hotel, he was a major influence in the design and that can be seen very well in this room.
Since the room wasn't being used on this night, I could stand in the center of the room and take a photo straight up to that dramatic ceiling. It's always fun to explore this historic hotel and it's so close to where I live, I need to visit more often.
I flew to Santa Fe New Mexico yesterday morning and am staying at the Inn at Loretto pictured above. I always wanted to try this hotel because it's so beautiful. It's been great so far.
I like this interesting sculpture I found on the hotel grounds.
There are also several wisteria vines tumbling over many of the walls around the place. Earlier in the day, I saw a lot of lilac bushes full of blooms and filling the air with their wonderful scent. Lilacs and wisteria, two plants I would rarely see in the Phoenix area.
In addition to a lot of walking, I made a stop at the Georgia O'Keefe museum. The White Feather painting is one of my favorites.
Since I was at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel & Resort Wednesday evening, I couldn't resist a photo of the front of the building all lit up with lights. Since this is considered "off-season" here in the desert, the place was pretty quiet. In fact, there were only a handful of people enjoying the inside bar while we were there.
I snapped this photo looking across the hotel lobby. When I visit here in the winter months, there is no way to get this photo without lots of people it it. As you can see, it was pretty quiet while we were there.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. I'm continuing my look at The Wallace Collection in London.
This was taken from the top floor of a downtown parking garage looking at some of the tall buildings in the heart of downtown. The building with the "hat" on top is the Hyatt Hotel and that round part on top is the revolving restaurant. We sometimes go up there for drinks after a symphony performance but I haven't been for about 3 years now.
Last Friday before the symphony, my friends and I had dinner at this great place called Oven and Vine. I had recently seen a review of this restaurant and it tempted me to try it. Then I discovered that it was located in a building I had photographed before many years ago. But, I had forgotten the story behind it until I found my previous post. At that time there was some debate as to whether it would become a restaurant or not. I'm not sure if the current restaurant was the one being considered back then but at least I know that a restaurant made it here. And, it's doing very well in spite of the pandemic. That's probably because most of the dining is outside and the food is very good.
....make lemonade.
Sorry, for the schmaltzy cliche. I saw that lovely dish of lemons recently in a hotel lobby and thought it looked pretty enough for a photo. The lemonade shot I found in my photo files.
It's funny how some things strike you as photogenic and others don't. That dish of lemons just looked so perfectly arranged, I couldn't resist.
I haven't been to the Blue Hound Kitchen in ages but I did recently stop to admire the sign. This place is located inside the Kimpton Palomar Hotel in downtown Phoenix.
Before the pandemic, I used to meet a friend here before Phoenix Suns games from time to time. My friend has been going to the games again but I'm not quite ready for screaming crowds yet.
I stuck my head inside the door to see if the painting of the blue dog was still there but it had been replaced by this painting of the hunting hounds. I'm not a fan of fox hunting so I'm kind of wishing the blue dog painting had still been there.
My friend Glenda and I went back to the Arizona Biltmore Friday night for dinner again. It was just the two of us so we didn't have a huge spread of food like the last time. Once again the food was delicious.
After dinner, I walked outside to get a better picture of that new bar they built in the huge center courtyard. You can see the water that surrounds the bar. It's like a moat all the way around the bar.
We decided to have an after-dinner drink but it was just too hot to sit outside at the new bar. We opted for the indoor bar which has only seen a few minor changes. One change was the stemware. They are now serving champagne in tulip glasses instead of the flutes.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. I'm visiting desert museum in southern Arizona.
What used to be the only pool at The Arizona Biltmore has now been designated the "family pool" area. That huge water slide is the biggest change in this area. This pool used to be divided into two sections with a lovely waterfall between the two.
With all these changes, it appears to me that the hotel is starting to market to a younger crowd. There were certainly a lot more kids around than I've ever seen before.
To one side of the pool area was this fountain designed for splashing. The water spouts all had colored lights on them and three fake saguaro cactus stand in the center. There are no thorns on those fake cactus so it's perfectly safe for the little kids to play.
The biggest change that was made to the Arizona Biltmore Hotel was the addition of this new outside bar. You can't tell from this photo that it is surrounded by a water filled moat making the bar look like it's on an island.
Directly behind where I was standing to take the first photo is this new pool area. This new pool has been designated the "adult" pool while the old pool is now the family pool. All of this has been added to the large open space that used to separate the main hotel from the other buildings where rooms are located. I posted some photos from this area a couple of years ago when I had the opportunity to spend a weekend here.
