Destination Guides

Guide to Meeting & Event Planning in
Scottsdale

Learn why you should host your next meeting, event or conference in Scottsdale.

lisa grimaldi northstar meetings group 1

January 16, 2020

Why Scottsdale for Your Next Meeting or Event?

The picture-perfect Sonoran Desert is one of the many reasons meeting and incentive groups are drawn to Scottsdale. The Arizona destination also offers luxurious resorts, hip boutique hotels, outstanding golf courses, pampering spas and a cutting-edge culinary scene.

Meeting Hotels

by number of meeting rooms

The Scottsdale Plaza Resort	58
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess	47
Embassy Suites Scottsdale Resort	35
The Phoenician, Luxury Collection Resort	34
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa	32
Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains	24
Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas	21
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa	21
The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch	20
Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa-Montelucia	16

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Event Venues, Additions & Renovation

New in Town

The iFly Phoenix sky-diving simulator has debuted at The Pavilions at Talking Stick Shopping Center. The attraction arranges custom events for up to 100 attendees.

• Caesars Entertainment will debut its first nongaming hotel in the U.S. in 2021. Called Caesars Republic Scottsdale, the 266-room hotel will feature a 7,000-square-foot ballroom that will open onto an event lawn.

• The JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa's multimillion dollar renovation of its 453 guest rooms is nearing completion. The property is home to 26 meeting rooms and a total of 127,500 square feet of event space. It also features 36 holes of championship golf, six tennis courts, the 32,000-square-foot Spa at Camelback Inn, two swimming pools, and seven restaurants and lounges.

Beat The Heat

Northstar's downloadable white paper, "The Off-Season Advantage", profiles 10 U.S. cities -- Scottsdale included -- and their off-season group offerings. Get all the insight on the benefit of planning a "slow-month" meeting by accessing your copy here.

• The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess — Arizona's largest AAA Five Diamond Resort — is close to completing an upgrade to its 458 standard guest rooms, 20 luxury suites and the swimming pool. The property offers more than 316,000 square feet of meeting space, including two 23,000-square-foot ballrooms, 47 meeting rooms and 21 outdoor venues for special events.

• A room renovation at the 732-room Westin Kierland Resort & Spa is underway, a project that should be finished by December 2020. The property offers 41 event rooms and more than 132,000 square feet of meeting space. The Kierland Grand Ballroom, the resort's largest, accommodates up to 3,600 guests, theater-style.

• The 350-room Great Wolf Lodge Arizona in Scottsdale's Talking Stick Entertainment District opened in September with an 85,000-square-foot water park and a 27,000-square-foot entertainment center. The resort has 12,118 square feet of meeting space.

• The 204-room Scott Resort & Spa has created an island-inspired oasis in the Sonoran Desert with its $15 million renovation. Upgrades included the debut of a six-room spa. The property offers more than 14,500 square feet of meeting space and an abundance of outdoor event space.

• The 404-room Scottsdale Plaza Resort has unveiled the final improvements from a comprehensive, three-year refurbishment project. The most recent upgrades were made to the resort's 50,000 square feet of meeting space, front desk and lobby. Guest rooms and suites were completed earlier in the project timeline.

The 400-foot pool will be a signature sight at the Ritz-Carlton, Paradise Valley.

• Downtown Scottsdale's Hotel Valley Ho had completed an extensive revamp of the rooms and suites in its Tower, a hotel-within-a-hotel whose accommodations now feature midcentury-inspired lighting, décor, flooring and millwork. The boutique property has a total of 194 guest rooms and six meeting rooms. Now, Hotel Valley Ho’s ZuZu restaurant relaunched with a new 1950s-inspired look. The menu spotlights shareable plates using herbs and vegetables from the property’s on-site garden.

Looking to Plan a Scottsdale Meeting?

Learn everything you need to know about this exotic locale at Destination Arizona, Northstar’s premier event for meetings and incentive pros looking to book biz in the area.

• Meeting hotel properties include the 732-room Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, 493-room Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch, 453-room JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa, 404-room Scottsdale Plaza Resort and 326-room Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch. Also in the region is the 497-room Talking Stick Resort & Spa, operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

• Downtown's Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West showcases everything from Hopi pottery masterworks to rare posters starring silver-screen cowboys and Indians. Private events for up 500 guests can be accommodated. (480) 686-9539

• Dancing Spanish horses are the stars at the 15-acre El Samaritano Equestrian Center. The graceful animals perform their steps to flamenco music at the venue, which can host up to 2,000 guests. (206) 604-3034.

• The Alvadora Spa at the Royal Palms Resort and Spa now has an in-house herbalist. The on-site apothecary and botanical program uses plants, herbs, flowers, roots, berries and citrus to create Mediterranean inspired small-batch treatments.

• See the Sonoran Desert from a different angle on a ride with Hot Air Expeditions. Excursions offer views of cacti, wildlife, and landmarks such as Camelback Mountain and Lake Pleasant. For events, tethered rides offer guests a unique and memorable experience while still anchored to the ground. Each basket holds 12 guests.

• For the ultimate outdoor space, consider the 140-acre Desert Botanical Garden. Aside from the gorgeous beds of local plants, the venue has six meeting rooms and four outdoor spaces, and can accommodate up to 500 people.

• Looking to include regional history in your event? Exhibits at the Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West tell the story from the Old West to the New West. The venue hosts groups of up to 500.

• Cosanti, once the gallery of Italian- American architect Paolo Soleri, features his signature bells cast from originals made by the artist, who died in 2013 at 94. The venue holds up to 150 people in an array of spaces, from an outdoor amphitheater to a solar powered indoor classroom.

To find and compare hotels, and send RFPs, visit mcvenues.com.

Area Transportation

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, nine miles from downtown Scottsdale. Transfer cost to Scottsdale by taxi, $28; rides with Lyft and Uber start around $15