What to expect: Most recently upgraded through a $50-million renovation in 2008, this famed resort grew to 125 acres and 453 guestrooms since opening in 1936, while retaining an easy-going Navajo/Western ambience characterized by the original adobe-brick lobby, including a gas fireplace, leather seating, painted-beam ceiling, and wagon-wheel chandeliers. Highlights of the resort's expansive grounds include bronze Native American sculptures, fountains, boulders, cactus gardens, bougainvillea, desert plants, flowering bushes, and palm trees.

Amenity highlights: The resort is home to the renowned Camelback Golf Club, with two championship courses offering challenging play and spectacular views. The Spa at Camelback contains a healthful-food restaurant, a lap pool with sunning terraces and rental cabanas, outdoor and indoor spa tubs, a fitness/exercise center, and Southwestern-styled treatments. Surrounded by cacti and boulders and bordered by sunning terraces, a pool complex offers a 150-foot-long, freeform pool with a lap-pool section; two 20-person spa tubs; and a children's play area with interactive fountains and sprays.

Insider tip: When the town of Paradise Valley was formed, it excluded all commercial development. Because the town surrounds the resort, the resort had to be grandfathered in as part of Scottsdale. Guests joining the resort's guided morning power walk through Paradise Valley encounter no fast-food franchises or neon, just expensive low-rise residences and desert flora.

What to expect: A winding drive delivers guests to a bustling, Spanish colonial-style lobby decorated in desert colors. This Fairmont offers something for everyone: golfers watch the FBR Open and play two 18-hole championship courses; families enjoy the swimming pools and water park; business groups utilize 61,000 square feet of meeting space; and couples like the romantic desert setting and luxurious day spa.

Amenity highlights: The Willow Stream Spa, a tri-level oasis of serenity, offers a rooftop swimming pool, body treatments, a café, and a soothing lounge with a fireplace. While the grownups enjoy their spa treatments, kids play at Sonoran Splash, a water park with two giant slides. Poolside loungers rent cabanas and snack on frozen grapes and other refreshments. A complimentary kids club and a teen room are also available.

Insider tip: When it opened in 1987, the Princess was miles north of Scottsdale's attractions, but the town's furious growth has put it in the center of the city's booming north end. Kierland Commons Mall, designed as a small town with storefronts and sidewalks perfect for strolling, is just 2.5 miles away.