Ember Coast
A farm-to-table spread of fresh Arizona produce

For the food-led

Farm dinners, Old Town tables, and a chef in your kitchen.

Scottsdale's chef-driven, ingredient-led scene is deeper than its reputation suggests. We build the trip around it.

Design This Trip

Quiessence at The Farm at South Mountain serves a seasonal, ingredient-led dinner among the pecan groves, sourcing from its own gardens, and James Beard Award-winning FnB in Old Town puts Arizona vegetables and an all-Arizona wine list at the center of the plate.

Anchor the trip around the markets

Time the week around the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market and a morning at The Farm at South Mountain, then source local: Arizona citrus and dates, Sonoran wheat, local olive oil, and Cave Creek honey. A private chef in the villa plus the modern Southwestern tables, Virtu and The Mission among them, round out the spine.

A private chef plus a guided market-and-farm morning is the ideal luxury-food spine, with the chef-driven icons reserved around it.

What’s inside

  • A seasonal dinner among the pecan groves
  • Private-chef villa nights built on Arizona produce
  • Guided farmers-market and farm mornings
  • James Beard and modern Southwestern tables, reserved
  • Local sourcing: citrus, dates, olive oil, honey

A sample rhythm

  1. 01

    Market morning

    A guided farmers-market and farm visit to source the week.

  2. 02

    Chef nights

    Private-chef dinners in the villa, built from the morning's haul.

  3. 03

    Farm dinner

    A seasonal evening among the pecan groves at The Farm.

  4. 04

    Icons

    The chef-driven Old Town tables, reserved.

The Scottsdalewe’d build in

The pieces that fit this trip.

The table

Chef-driven Sonoran cooking and Old Town tables.

Scottsdale's dining runs from a working-farm restaurant to a neighborhood institution and modern Southwestern tasting menus. We hold the hard reservations.

Resort dining

The Phoenician

Mowry & Cotton

The Phoenician's lively signature kitchen, an eclectic American menu of wood-fired plates served beneath the resort's Camelback views.

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Award-winning

Old Town Scottsdale

FnB

A James Beard Award-winning, vegetable-forward Old Town institution from chef Charleen Badman, with an all-Arizona wine list.

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Farm dinner

South Mountain

Quiessence at The Farm

A seasonal, ingredient-led dinner set among pecan groves at The Farm at South Mountain, sourcing from its own gardens and Arizona growers.

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Award-winning

Old Town Scottsdale

Virtu Honest Craft

Chef Gio Osso's Mediterranean tasting menu in an intimate courtyard setting, a perennial local favorite for a special evening.

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Iconic

Camelback Mountain

Elements at Sanctuary

Mountainside American cooking with sweeping Paradise Valley sunset views, the longtime dining centerpiece at Sanctuary on Camelback.

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Top rated

Old Town Scottsdale

The Mission

Modern Latin cooking and tableside guacamole in a dim, stylish room beside the historic Old Adobe Mission in the heart of Old Town.

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Where to stay

Desert resorts beneath the McDowells and Camelback.

From a grand 250-acre Sonoran flagship to an adults-only hideaway on Camelback Mountain, these are the stays a Scottsdale trip is built around.

Iconic

Camelback corridor

The Phoenician

A 250-acre Luxury Collection landmark at the base of Camelback Mountain, with a nine-pool oasis, a championship golf course, and the expansive Phoenician Spa.

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Iconic

North Scottsdale

Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

Adobe casitas tucked into the high Sonoran Desert beside Pinnacle Peak, set among giant saguaros with two of the area's celebrated Troon North courses next door.

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Adults-only

Paradise Valley

Sanctuary Camelback Mountain

A serene adults-only Gurney's resort on the slopes of Camelback Mountain, known for its mountainside spa, infinity pool, and the acclaimed restaurant elements.

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Design-forward

Paradise Valley

Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows

A mid-century, art-filled bungalow resort on 23 acres at the foot of Camelback, with a residential feel and a strong local design sensibility.

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Best for seclusion

Carefree

The Boulders Resort & Spa

Casitas folded among twelve-million-year-old granite boulders in Carefree, with two championship courses and the desert-inspired Spa at The Boulders.

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Top rated

Paradise Valley

Mountain Shadows Resort

A reimagined mid-century icon framing Camelback and Mummy Mountain, with the short-course Citizens golf experience and the rooftop bar Hidden in the Hills.

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Desert vistas

Saguaro gardens, sunset drives, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The slow-looking days: a world-class cactus garden, an architect's desert masterwork, and the overlooks where the Sonoran light does its work.

Iconic

Papago Park

Desert Botanical Garden

Fifty acres of desert flora across themed trails in Papago Park, magical at golden hour and during its seasonal evening light installations.

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Bucket-list

North Scottsdale

Taliesin West

Frank Lloyd Wright's UNESCO-listed desert home and studio in the McDowell foothills, the definitive Scottsdale architecture visit.

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Walkable

Old Town Scottsdale

Old Town Scottsdale

The walkable heart of the city: art galleries, the Thursday ArtWalk, Western storefronts, and the Scottsdale Waterfront within a few blocks.

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Scenic overlook

North Scottsdale

Pinnacle Peak Park

A well-graded out-and-back beneath a granite spire, with sweeping high-desert views over Troon and the McDowell range.

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Top rated

North Scottsdale

Tom's Thumb at McDowell Sonoran Preserve

A landmark granite outcrop in the northern preserve, a favorite vantage for sunrise photographers and a rewarding climb to the saddle.

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Day trip

Tonto National Forest

Bartlett Lake Scenic Drive

A desert reservoir ringed by saguaro hills northeast of Carefree, a quiet drive for sunset views and frequent wild-horse herds.

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Restore

Desert spas and the slow Sonoran reset.

Scottsdale is a wellness capital: destination spa retreats, Native-inspired rituals, and mountainside treatment rooms built for the unwind.

Destination spa

Carefree

Civana Wellness Resort & Spa

An accessible destination-wellness resort in Carefree with a daily roster of fitness, mindfulness, and spa programming set in the high desert.

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Iconic

Camelback corridor

The Phoenician Spa

A multi-level spa with a rooftop pool and relaxation deck, drawing on desert botanicals across a deep treatment menu.

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Award-winning

Gainey Ranch

Spa Avania at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale

A chronobiology-based spa that times treatments, lighting, and even the cuisine to the body's daily rhythms.

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Adults-only

Camelback Mountain

The Spa at Sanctuary

An award-winning Asian-inspired mountainside spa with a meditation garden and Watsu pool on the slopes of Camelback.

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Top rated

Paradise Valley

Joya Spa at Omni Scottsdale Resort at Montelucia

A Moorish-inspired spa with a hammam, rooftop garden, and ritual lounges, set in the Andalusian-style Montelucia resort.

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Design-forward

Old Town Scottsdale

VH Spa at Hotel Valley Ho

A sleek mid-century-modern spa in Old Town, a stylish, walkable option for treatments between dinners and shopping.

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Golden sunset light shimmering on the sea

Food & chef experience

Let’s design it around you.

Share what you can already picture. A concierge fills in everything still open and sends back a plan, not a quote.

Design This Trip