If you’re looking for a luxury resort in the Phoenix, Arizona, area but want to pay less for your stay than you would in trendy Scottsdale, check out The Wigwam Resort. At The Wigwam, off the beaten path in Litchfield Park, Arizona, you’ll enjoy the amenities you’d find in Scottsdale but generally pay $50-$100 less for a room. The Wigwam is home to beautifully manicured grounds with swimming, golf, and tennis, plus a quirky, old-school charm that includes an authentic wigwam on the property.
At The Wigwam, retro charm is around every corner, beginning with the original adobe building established in 1918, a lodge the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company built to host suppliers visiting Goodyear’s cotton ranch. Over the next 80 years the resort expanded and evolved to what it is today, with more than 440 lushly landscaped acres, including three 18-hole golf courses.
Rooms starting at $299 or less on discount travel websites and are in older adobe one-story bungalows or newer two-story buildings. My 15-year-old said our old corner room reminded him of his science camp dorm, which wasn’t a compliment. He clearly failed to see the decades-old charm of the bungalow, appointed with lots of windows, updated Southwestern decor, historic sepia photos, and a back door that opened onto a small patio surrounded by manicured lawn.
There are plenty of reasonably priced restaurant options in the neighborhood surrounding The Wigwam. But with two restaurants on site plus food service at the pool, you may never think about leaving the resort. Once you sit down on the patio at Red’s Bar and Grill overlooking the golf courses or at the renovated Litchfield’s, The Wigwam’s signature restaurant with a peaceful patio near the pool, you’ll sink into the warmth of the resort. During our stay we discovered another food option on a Sunday morning, when a farmer’s market took over the hotel’s front lawn.
You’re in luck if you golf or play tennis. Nine beautiful tennis courts, both clay and concrete, are yours for playing on your own or taking lessons. Golfers can recharge their game at the driving range. (Just look for the huge, canvas wigwam and you’ve found the range.) Then, take a cart along one of three courses, one for every level of player. Play in the afternoon at twilight rates that are lower than morning prices and cheaper than what you’d pay in Scottsdale. If you’re into old-school recreation, there is also bocce ball and corn toss. The fitness center offers yoga and Pilates classes for $10. And if you just like to stroll or bike the outdoors, there are plenty of flowers and green open spaces to admire. Everything is so fertile that it’s easy to forget you’re in the desert.
The Wigwam’s two pool areas are recently renovated, with cabanas available at the main pool for an extra fee ($45 for a half-day) as well as comfy lounge chairs all around and a 25-foot water slide for the kids. The slide was closed for the evening by the time we got to the pool, but my kids were still entertained, jumping through pool water jets that made arcs into the sky.
We never made it to the resort’s Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, but the weather was so beautiful, we were relaxed by the warmth of the sun and never considered a massage. Maybe that just gives us another reason to return – that and the chance to take a peek into the wigwam.
