Spotlight :: Hip Scottsdale

[trip style = sun + spa + weekend getaway]

{Editor’s Note :: Today is the last act in this month's Destination Phoenix feature covering girls’ getaways, a stay at the Arizona Biltmore and The Saguaro, and outings like a Spring Training baseball game or a hike up Camelback Mountain.}

Blame the 330 days of sun. Blame the arid, yet surprisingly lush desert climate. Blame the mid-20s heat. Blame the cool breeze.

Knowing a place like this exists in winter and early spring, while Vancouver temperatures flirt with freezing and rain pours with reckless abandon, is equally disconcerting and comforting. Instead of holding an ice scraper/umbrella in one hand and an extra-hot caramel macchiato in the other, Scottsdale locals double-fist a book and a prickly pear margarita. Do you see what's wrong---or SO right---with this picture?

Year after year, north of 600,000 Canadian sunseekers pack their shades and fly South. Having just returned from my third visit in three years, I get it and I suppose I'm climbing the ranks of the northern army descending on the desert with an arsenal of mojitos and sunscreen.

In the past I had a blast, which is the reason I'm addicted, but I always had a sense there was more to discover, more to taste, more to conquer. Figuratively speaking, I longed to find a Scottsdale home. A place to hang my hat. A place to stay with a savvy scene. A place to walk everywhere and wander. A place to eat out with locals. Simply, a place that inspired. Third time's the charm. Here are my top eat, do and stay tips to point you homeward in Scottsdale.

Eat FnB Ask any in-the-know Scottsdale foodie and they'll urge you to eat at FnB, a refreshing gastropub that walks the talk delivering seasonal, local and organic cuisine with an Arizona-only wine list. Put FnB at the top of your restaurant hit list. Open Wed-Sun, 5-10pm.

The Mission One of Scottsdale's most hotly reviewed restaurants. Think modern Mexican cantina with black walls, crystal chandeliers and a fireside patio. Go on Sunday at lunch when they roast a pig and serve pork tacos until they run out. Pair with an Aguacate avocado-flavoured margarita for maximum southwestern flair.

"Wine Me, Dine Me" at SWB Seated at the bar in front of a kaleidoscope of bubbling-over Le Creuset pots, a herb garden's worth of cilantro and buzzing chefs, you're taken through a chef-led, four-course southwestern meal with tequila and wine pairings. Catering to all your senses, Chef Juan Solorio's enchanting tableside manner was as instinctual as his cooking, both of which left a smile on my face. For the level of service and curated menu prepared in front of your eyes, $70/person is the best money you'll spend on dinner.

La Hacienda Simply put, La Hacienda is my happy place. For the 364 days a year I'm not eating the table-prepared, mortar-and pestle-mixed guacamole, I dream about it, and am quite certain it would be the item {avec tortilla chips} I'd bring if I was banished to a deserted island. Add a 200-bottle collection of sipping tequila and appetizers like the famed lobster tacos, and this in-vogue Mexican meal just got serious. Trip Styler Tip: savor happy hour al fresco at a table with a fire pit in the centre.

Distrito Gloriously irreverent and splashed in competing shades of pink, gold, blue and neon green, one of Scottsdale's newest restaurants is helmed by the Food Network's The Next Iron Chef 2010 winner, Jose Garces. This casual and hip hangout puts the fun back into eating out with refined street-style Mexican food like tacos de pollo or arroz con crema {served in a shot glass}. Oh, and it's all served on sparkly tables under chandeliers adorned with colored clothespins.

Do Spa Avania Spa Avania is the first spa I've encountered to synchronize every moment of the experience with the body's natural rhythm. Morning, noon and night each have a unique repertoire of music, scents, lighting and beverages to rejuvenate your body based on its needs at that time of day. Rock walls and water features lead you into a full day's worth of relaxation including a fireside patio, steam, sauna and hot-cold plunges. Finish at the palm tree-lined pool with minerals flown in from France---best enjoyed in the shade with cucumber slices on your eyes.

Arizona Food Tours I'm not usually a fan of tours, but I tip my hat to the gang at Arizona Food Tours and suggest one of the well-executed walking tours as a means of getting to know Scottsdale's history and culinary scene one taste at a time.

Hike Networks of steep climbs and flat trails await as close as 20 minutes from the city.

Contemporary Art Appropriately housed in a renovated movie theater with strong minimalist undertones, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art thinks big in a digestible space that allows you take in its forward-thinking art, architecture and design without a multi-hour investment. One of the current exhibitions, economy of means---creating sculpture and statement using basic materials from lean US economic times---is one of the most thought-provoking and cheeky/creative shows I've seen in a long time.

Stay The Saguaro Hip cats congregate at the Saguaro. This recently opened hotel resembles a contemporary artist's canvas, blending gallery whites with pops of color. From $289 in peak winter season and $109 in the summer. No resort fee. Internet is free in the lobby; avoid the $9.95 in-room wifi charge if you join the hotel’s Joy of Life loyalty program. Parking $14/day. Bark meow--pets are free.

Other Scottsdale hotels we LOVE: the 1956-built and meticulously restored Hotel Valley Ho and the cowboy-chic Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.

Getting There Direct, daily, three-hour flights from Vancouver to Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport start at $400 return via US Airways or WestJet. Scottsdale is a 25-minute drive from the airport.

[all photos taken by @tripstyler (except fnb) while a guest of Scottsdale]

Spotlight :: PHX

[trip style = urban + sun + active & adventure]

{Editor’s Note :: This month we’ve been prescribing a healthy dose of Greater Phoenix’s desert sun covering girls’ getaways, a stay at the Arizona Biltmore and The Saguaro, and outings like a Spring Training baseball game or a hike up Camelback Mountain. Next week: A Scottsdale Spotlight.}

Resorts, sports and sprawl. That was my assumption. Going out on a limb, that might be yours too. After touching down at the airport, I would put on my blinders {read: oversized sunglasses} to the nearby city, pick up my rental car and hightail it on the freeway toward to a resorty palm oasis filled with welcome drinks, sun and loungers.

Passing by Phoenix at 100 mph, I n-e-v-e-r guessed the urban playground had enough eateries, arts venues and artisan markets to make you sit down and stay awhile---linger even.

Many US cities are going through a renaissance. Urban hubs once high on towers, power suits and caffeine are undergoing a rebirth, favoring a blend of business and pleasure. Phoenix, the sixth-largest city in the US, is one of the movement's savants. The Valley of the Sun's economic hub is quickly becoming a live/work/play space where a new breed of urban dweller is shaping the cityscape on foot and on rail.

This is all part of the plan, with completed projects like the $1.4-billion METRO Light Rail system, moving 15,000 people per hour along a 20-mile stretch linking a series of key stops in Phoenix to Tempe and Mesa. Forgotten city quadrants are filling up with music halls, vintage shops and coffee/cocktail bars, pulling people in at all hours of the day instead of depending on the in-and-out rat race regulars.

Don't bypass Phoenix like I did on my first few visits. Even if it's just for a day of your vacay, take off your sunglasses and dig into Arizona's sun-tropolis, where culture is the new currency.

Eat Breakfast // Lux Central When you order a coffee, your bevvy gets a name tag. Of course it does. Lux started off with java, stayed true to its roots, then grew into a coffee-come-cocktail bar offering a small-batch breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Open from 6am - late, it's like Cheers, but replace Ted Danson with Ted Hipster, bar stools with schoolhouse Marais chairs and the bar with a community table adorned with bowls of limes and crystal mixology sets. Visit Lux enough and everyone will know your name - but the name tag on your coffee cup helps.

Lunch // Pane Bianco Starting off as a take-away sandwich shop offering a covered picnic-style eating area in the parking lot, Pane Bianco has experienced similar growth to Lux - and they happen to be nextdoor neighbors. In Pane Bianco version 2.0, you can take out on one side of the restaurant or eat in on the other. Named best chef in the Southwest region by the James Beard Foundation in 2003, owner Chris Bianco's simple menu packs a culinary punch with wood-fired market sandwiches like goat cheese with roasted tomatoes and arugula, or mortadella with date/tomato jam and pecorino sardo.

Dinner // Tuck Shop Not enough restaurants whip up homemade tonic in the AM, are anchored by mod 70s living room lounges or feature an original bank vault {left over from when the space was a credit union}. Thank God for architects-turned-restauranteurs. When said living room lounge includes vintage aqua arcade games akin to waterfall ring toss, the space can't help but take you back to a time when you snuck away from the dinner table to watch Chips on TV and your mom called you back to finish your peas. In Tuck Shop's case, you want seconds, comfort food like crispy chicken with savory waffles, or beer-battered cheese curds demands it. Order a G&T - you won't be disappointed.

Drinks // Durants Drinking at Durants is like watching an intense red-on-magenta sunset that hangs on and on. With only a slight facelift since its opening in 1950, the bar at this speakeasy is ringed by red-tufted vinyl half-moon booths {insert Ron Burgundy here}, set against blue-red damask wallpaper and orangey-red carpets. Servers and bartenders wearing the traditional black on white avec vest and bow tie trio, only add to the what's-old-is-new-again scene. Don't even think about ordering beer or wine; Durants is a place for whiskey and old fashioneds. Shut the front door! Tradition demands entering through the kitchen.

Après // Crescent Ballroom While I was walking around downtown Phoenix, I couldn't help but notice this place. Beside a mechanic shop, it channels the same feel with a color scheme reminiscent of a black, 1970's Volvo wagon. From the outside, Crescent Ballroom looks like an urban watering hole, but it's what's on the inside that counts, no? Two kitchen-like doors open up into one of Phoenix's hottest indie music venues the size of a boutique used-car lot. A different act takes the stage every night.

Do Phoenix Public Market & Food Trucks As roosters are crowing at dawn in the country, vendors are setting up for Phoenix's open-air public market in the city. On Saturday morning, grab a coffee, browse local farm produce and buy locally made jewelry. Also on Wednesdays from 4-8pm. If you're lucky, you might spot the torched goodness crème brûleé food truck, voted one of the 20 best food trucks in the US by Smithsonian magazine. I tried it and the truck's crusted custards deserve all the credit they receive.

Art Walking, driving and taking the Light Rail through downtown Phoenix you spot clean-lined architecture with unique passive heating/cooling techniques. Take an hour to wander by these structures. Also visit the Phoenix Art Museum. With exhibits like Frank Lloyd Wright's "Organic Architecture in the 21st Century", a massive contemporary art collection and a boutique fashion collection {currently: bathing suits through the ages}, this 160,000-sf gallery doesn't overwhelm, it delights. Also check out the Heard {right down the street}, a world-famous museum featuring the art and culture of the Native Americans of the Southwest. {Trip Styler Tip :: The Phoenix Art Museum's FLW exhibit is on until April 29th. If you go, try to join a tour. Don't miss the interior garden---a great place to rest tired, sightseeing legs.}

Hike Networks of steep climbs and flat trails await as close as 20 mins outside the city.

Spring Training Baseball Every year Arizona gets fever pitch for the month of March playing host to 15 Major League teams. Catch a midday game for as little as $8.

Stay [trip style = luxury] Arizona Biltmore - vintage desert glam and Trip Styler approved! See full review here.

[trip style = budget conscious] Priceline - book or bid on a two- to five-star stay for less.

Getting There Direct, daily flights {with favorable flight times} from Vancouver to Phoenix start at $400 return via US Airways or WestJet.

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[all photos by @tripstyler {except light rail shot, durants & crescent ballroom} taken while as a guest of Phoenix's CVB.]

Cafe Cesura

[trip style = urban]

{Editor's Note: On Monday we announced we'd be adding a new feature to TS's editorial calendar on Fridays, IMG_FRI. Here's the skinny: in addition to our once-monthly Fashion Friday column, we’re going to focus on uber-cool travel images from around the world—snapshots that will enhance the stories we’re already telling or pave the way for future features! Think more pics, less prose.}

Pictured Here: an urbanesque coffee shop in Bellevue, WA {a close sibling of Seattle}. We've done a summer Spotlight on Bellevue, but over our holiday visit we found too many gems to hold back, and this coffee shop, Cafe Cesura, is one of them. Expect more on Bellevue in the coming weeks.

[photos by @tripstyler]

Spotlight :: A Palm Springs Holidette

[trip style = sun + weekend getaway + active & adventure]

{Editor’s Note: This month we've featured two of Palm Springs' swanky resorts for Roam+Board, as well as explored the history and mystery of the Palm Springs Pull in our four-part Spotlight series. Today is the icing on the cake: our must-eat, -sleep and -do suggestions for the savvy traveler seeking trip style = sun + (extended) weekend getaway or holidette (aka three- to four-day getaway, usually occurring over a weekend).}

Both starlets and snowbirds have been drawn to the desert for the better part of 60 years. But after its heyday, just when it looked like Palm Springs was losing its pull, something happened: retro became rad, crooners became cool and mid-century design became divine. Hot hotels popped up in tired old motor lodges, stylish restaurants took over bygone corner bistros and entire city districts devoted themselves to design or artisan rebirth.

With this shift came a younger visitor enamoured with the iconic desert lifestyle. Tacking an extra couple days onto the weekend was justified by bike riding in the morning, eating a snow cone by the pool in the afternoon, browsing boutiques at dusk and dining out at stylish restaurants in the evening.

I think Audrey Hepburn would approve, though she may swap the spiked snow cone for wine. So let's get into it. A Palm Springs holidette:

Do

• Tour the city's mid-century modern masterpieces on your own {nab a $5 Map Of Modern Palm Springs at the Visitors Centre} or in style with Robert Imber for $75/person {e-mail psmoderntours@aol.com or call 1 (760) 318-6118 to book}.
• View Warhol, Wyeth and other celebrated artists at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
• Hike the Indian Canyons {$9 adults, $7 children & students] and ask if Raven is available to be your guide {$3 extra for tours at 10am & 1pm daily}.
• Bike towards the Palm Springs Visitors Center {built in an old gas station} and then up the long and winding road to the Palm Springs Tramway...and back.
• Browse the Uptown Design District on North Palm Canyon Drive for mid-century finds and cool boutiques.

Eat

• Breakfast: Norma's in the Parker. Brunch in a high-end diner on Bertoia-inspired chairs and Saarinen-esque tables under orange, white and yellow shades and pearly globes. With a strong French-pressed coffee, a shot glass of a heavenly smoothie and a breakfast quesadilla big enough for two, you'll be satisfied until five!
• Lunch: Jake's. The perfect petite lunch spot serving brightly coloured salads and inventive sandwiches in an open-air, Paris-meets-Palm Springs courtyard. For the record, if I was a snowbird, I'd be a regular.
• Dinner: Citron in the Viceroy. Refined without stuffiness; where food, beverages and design experts have worked in tandem to create a warm desert dining experience.

Sleep

• The Viceroy: A strikingly pulled-together retreat that's fancy without being frou frou and whimsical without being overdone.
• The Parker: A Hollywood hideaway where towering palm trees guide the way through curvy trails to pools and posh pads.

Getting There Getting there is a cinch. Here's a full list of direct flights to the Palm Springs Airport {PSP} from both Canadian and US destinations. From Vancouver, there's direct and daily WestJet service. Or fly from Bellingham with Allegiant or Seattle with Alaska.

Related Content Spotlight :: The Palm Springs Pull Winter Heat Palm Springs Cool Roam+Board :: The Viceroy Roam+Board :: The Parker

[photos by @tripstyler taken while exploring PS with its CVB]

TS's Experience Whistler :: F&B

[trip style = ski + weekend getaway + sightseeing]

{Editor’s Note: Until noon PST today, enter to win two nights at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and two Scandinave Spa Whistler bath passes. Takes less than one minute to enter. Good luck!}

----------------------- After ziptrekking at 80km/h over Fitzsimmons Creek and dipping into therapeutic waters in the name of Nordic wellness, we've worked up an appetite. In the last of a three-part Experience Whistler series, exploring the resort's food and beverage marvels should fit the bill {pun intended}! -----------------------

Whether it's an intimate affair or big bash, there's a fete happening in every bar, lounge and restaurant in Whistler. It's a resort; festivities come with the territory. Beyond Whistler's world-class cocktails and cuisine, here are some unique experiences perfect for epic or everyday celebrations!

Bubbly Why pop the bubbly when you can saber it like Napoleon? You and your party are ushered down a narrow stairway to a 20,000 bottle wine cellar to strike the 'lip' off the bottle of Champagne with the blunt edge of a sword! Where: Bearfoot Bistro Cost: There is no fee for this, just buy a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine {which start at $50} and request to saber it!

Take Flight Don a $1,000 Canada Goose down parka and fur hat with ear flaps, and step into an arctic chill known as the Belvedere Ice Room. With 50 vodkas from around the world, the petite ice bar plays host to flights in a -18 degrees Celsius room! Bring gloves. Where: Bearfoot Bistro Cost: One shot is $20, a flight {4 shots} is $48.

Nitro As you can probably tell from the last two experiences at one of Whistler's finest and highly acclaimed restaurants, the Bearfoot Bistro is as much about the food and beverage as it is about the show. For those who like a sweet and frosty finish to their meal, complete the culinary adventure with a simple, yet flashy dessert. A wooden trolly arrives bearing the gift of cream, sugar and nitroglycerine. Churned right in front of you, this high-end take on build-your-own sunday dazzles the eyes and delights the sweet tooth. Where: Bearfoot Bistro Cost: $15 per person, minimum two people.

Lounge Hands down, one of Whistler's favourite spots for après-ski and après-dinner is the Mallard Lounge. Anchored by an oversized fireplace stretching into vaulted ceilings, this open-concept lounge is ski- meets hunting-lodge chic. Weekend entertainment {Thurs - Sun in high season} only adds to the atmosphere. All the artists are excellent. Ask if Colin Bullock is playing; his medleys of popular Coldplay and Tracy Chapman songs, as well as his own singer-songwriter tunes will turn you into a night owl. Where: Fairmont Chateau Whistler Cost: A single malt and glass of wine start at $10.

{Trip Styler Tip :: Don't miss out on Fairmont Fridays, $5 beers and cocktails await. And with the help of Fairmont's exec chef and sommelier, learn to cook the quintessential festive meal and select the best wine pairings for Holiday Cooking 101 (nov 18 - 20).}

Crêpe Crêpe Montagne is a small French crêperie tucked away near Whistler's Celebration Plaza. The crêpes are as authentic and delicate as the design with fresh flowers on every table and bright blue banquette seating. Visit during the holidays when the bistro sparkles. A giant branch towers over guests with gazillions of silver bobbles catching the dim winter light from every twig. Where: Crêpe Montagne Cost: Crêpes start at $5. Open breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don't miss the fondue and raclette!

{Trip Styler Tip ::  Avoid the midday cafeteria rush while skiing Whistler Blackcomb and overlook the ski-scape below with full service dining at Christine's.}

[photo credits in order of appearance: bearfoot bistro (1-3), tripstyler, fairmont chateau whistler, heatherlovesit]

{Disclaimer: Though I wish I had a lifetime Champagne bottle sabering pass to the Bearfoot Bistro, I have no affiliation with any of the businesses listed above. More about our editorial policy.}