Fun and fascination in Phoenix

Author: By Louis A. DiIorio, Globe Staff

Date: SUNDAY, January 11, 1998

Page: M5

Section: Travel

We came to the Valley of the Sun because we've never been here, not to escape bitter winters. Also, we wanted to check out a few new resorts; and to drop in on an old friend, Hans Turnovszky, general manager of the Phoenician, a 580-room, five-star showplace at the base of Camelback Mountain in nearby Scottsdale.

As it turned out, Turnovszky has been in Vienna running a hotel in his hometown the last two or three years. Nevertheless, we came, we saw, and we toured this 130-acre visual masterpiece of nature, landscaping, and architecture, as well as a $1.7 million art collection. Like many of Arizona's pleasant surprises, it's not to be missed.

The same may be said for the newly-opened Royal Palms resort a half-mile west on East Camelback, but in Phoenix. The former winter home of Cunard Steamship executive and financier Delos Cooke, Royal Palms -- with its lofty palms lining the driveway to the front entrance -- is built around the original 1929 mansion, El Vernadero. A pair of enormous wooden doors opens into the covered breezeway, which then leads to the central courtyard.

The Cookes were garden lovers and used much of their $10,000 annual household budget to purchase and rare plants and unusual flora. The property nurtured some 900 palms, many imported from Egypt; a lush citrus grove; numerous varieties of shrubs and flowers; and a rare specimen cactus garden.

A gracious Mediterranean-style hideaway, Royal Palms may not have a golf course, but it does have 120 beautifully appointed casitas (cottages) and guest rooms set in lush, manicured courtyards and gardens, all built around the original Cooke mansion. The hotel also features Old World antiques, tiles, and artifacts, many from Cooke's travels around the world.

Conveniently located between the prestigious Biltmore area and popular downtown Scottsdale, Royal Palms is one of those hideaways offering privacy and pampering you come to expect in the Valley of the Sun.

We opted to stay in the much smaller, out-of-the way 35-room Hermosa Inn on the outskirts of Phoenix. An authentic Southwestern hacienda, it was built in 1930 by cowboy/artist Lon Megargee who came West at the turn of the century, earning his way as a cowboy, bronco buster, poker dealer, commercial artist, and home builder.

The present Paradise Valley, bordered by Squaw Peak to the north, the canal to the south, Camelback Mountain to the east, and the wide-open desert to the west, was far beyond the Phoenix city limits in the '30s. But when ``the dean of Arizona cowboy artists'' set his eyes on the isolated plot of land, it ``spoke to him'' and he built a one-room studio in the middle of it and called it home.

Influenced by the architecture he studied in Mexico and Spain, the Philadelphia native added to his studio by using old beams and wood picked up on trips south of the border. Over the years, a pool, tennis courts, one of Arizona's finest restaurants, and the casitas and villas have been added to this desert hideaway. Pathways ramble through the inn's 6 1/2-acre grounds, marked by olive and mesquite trees, towering palms, and brilliant flowers.

Megargee may have died in 1960, but his stories linger, and we've been told that the old patriarch still checks in on his Casa Hermosa from time to time!

There is so much to do in and around Phoenix, the golf capital of the Southwest, and what we thought would be the quaint village of Scottsdale (165,000 residents in 183 square miles!) that I recommend checking with their tourist offices for specifics. But for those planning on exploring the state, the Phoenix area and the 2,000-square-mile Valley of the Sun are ideally situated.

One of the more popular day trips is to Sedona, halfway between the Valley of the Sun and the Grand Canyon. The fast-growing cultural community (at 4,500 feet), Sedona enchants millions of visitors each year with Oak Creek Canyon's towering red rock scenery. Only a two-hour drive north of Phoenix via Interstate 17, Sedona provides a welcome respite from the heat of the desert summer. For more information on Sedona; its surroundings; and Tlaquepaque, a village of quiet courtyards surrounded by arts and craft shops, galleries, and restaurants shaded by giant sycamores; call the Chamber of Commerce at 520-282-7722.

(Sedona makes for a great day trip, but with so much to see and do in the area, the chamber encourages a minimum stay of four or five days. And if you think the world hasn't discovered Sedona, think again. One realtor is advertising homesites from $149,000 to $419,000 . . . but, ``The million-dollar views are free.'')

Known as a land of contrasts, Arizona offers everything from the tall, cool pines of of the north to the cactus-filled scenery of the Sonoran Desert. One of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon (five hours from Phoenix) is open year round and may be experienced through nature walks or mule rides into the canyon, or by taking a leisurely drive along the canyon's outer rims.

Arizona also is home to Lake Powell on the Northern border. Named for John Wesley Powell, leader of the first Colorado River expedition through the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell is 186 miles long and has more miles of shoreline than the entire Pacific coast. The lake, which extends into southern Utah, took 17 years to fill.

Located in eastern Arizona, the White Mountains stand at an elevation of 9,000 feet and, being 30 degrees cooler than Phoenix, make for a popular summertime getaway. Sunrise Ski Resort is one the area's best-kept secrets.

Other scenic trips worth taking include venturing to the town of Prescott, site of the historic 1857 John C. Fremont House and the first territorial governor's mansion; the Apache Trail, a world-famous trail that twists through the Superstition Mountains; and Montezuma's Castle, a 12th-century Aztec-designed dwelling carved into a steep cliff, once inhabited by Pueblo Indians.

Flagstaff, Tucson, Biosphere 2, the magnificent geological Mogollon Rim fault, and the Boulders resort in Careferee -- all are worthy of a visit.

With more than 140 golf courses in the Valley of the Sun, this can be a ``swinging'' destination (sorry about that), but for those who prefer to be a spectator rather than a participant, there are: the Phoenix Open, the Fiesta Bowl, Cactus League baseball, the NHL Phoenix Coyotes, the NBA Phoenix Suns, the NFL Arizona Cardinals, Senior PGA golf, the Phoenix 500 NASCAR race, the Phoenix 200 Indy Car Race, arena football, LPGA golf, as well as horse and greyhound racing. And if that isn't enough, the entire state is getting ready for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix's entry (next April) into major league baseball. Bank One Ballpark, a 48,500-seat stadium will feature a retractable roof similar to the Toronto Blue Jays stadium, but will sport a natural grass playing surface. Located next to the America West Arena, home to the Suns and Coyotes, it will certainly become the new heart of downtown Phoenix.

If sports isn't your thing, Phoenix has museums to suit nearly every taste: the Heard Museum (Native American); the Desert Botanical Garden (the world's largest collection of desert plants); Taliesin West (home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation); the Phoenix Art Museum (the Southwest's largest art museum); The Fleischer Museum (American Impressionism); The Arizona Science Center; The Hall of Flame (featuring the world's largest collection of firefighting equipment); and Pueblo Grande Museum and Cultural Park (Native American).

Next to running into friends from back east in Sedona, The Heard, well known for its Native American art exhibits, including the nation's largest Kachina doll collection (donated by Barry Goldwater), provided us with the biggest surprise. In the gift shop at the cash register and wrap desk were two Kachina dolls of Keith Tkachuck, former Boston University hockey player and now captain of the Phoenix Coyotes. At $350, I passed!