The newest thing to bloom in Arizona's Sonoran Desert is the brand-new Paradise Ballroom, which made its official debut last week at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Located on 125 acres in Scottsdale's Paradise Valley, JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa boasts 453 guest rooms and suites, 36 holes of championship golf, six tennis courts, a 32,000-square-foot spa, two swimming pools, and seven restaurants and lounges. For meeting professionals, however, the resort's highlight has always been its meeting space, which now totals 127,000 square feet thanks to the addition of the Paradise Ballroom.
The new ballroom, according to the resort, is one of only six ballrooms in the United States to feature folding nano doors and windows -- accordion-style windows and doors that seamlessly blend indoor with outdoor spaces. It also features adjustable walls that create up to eight separate meeting rooms, the smallest of which is 818 square feet and can accommodate up to 80 guests. The largest, meanwhile, totals 4,280 square feet and can accommodate up to 480 guests. With all of the walls removed, the 15,000-square-foot ballroom can fit groups of up to 950 people for a sit-down dinner and up to 1,500 people for a standing reception.
The new, $16.5 million meeting space includes not only the ballroom, but also 16,500 square feet of outdoor terraces, bringing the new facility's total square footage to 31,500. Terraces include the newly expanded Sonoran Terrace, which can host up to 800 people for receptions, as well as the smaller Paradise and Outdoor Terraces for more intimate events.
One more highlight: The Paradise Ballroom is the first Marriott property to house artwork from the personal collection of Marriott Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board J.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr., who has hand-picked approximately 40 pieces to showcase at the property -- a favorite destination for the Marriott family, who began vacationing there prior to Marriott purchasing the property in 1967. During the family's early visits, Bill Marriott Sr. made a habit of purchasing artwork from local art galleries; it is from those pieces that Bill Marriott Jr. made his selections.
"The artwork that Mr. Marriott has chosen represents a very special and personal selection of the family's memories from their many vacations here, and we are incredibly honored that he has chosen JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa as the new home for these cherished pieces," said General Manager Jim Rose.
Five More New Ballrooms for Arizona Meetings
The JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa isn't the only resort in Arizona boasting a new or improved ballroom. Here are five other venues that have recently bloomed in the desert:
• Paradise Ballroom at Mountain Shadows (Paradise Valley, Ariz.): Mountain Shadows -- also in the Scottsdale area -- has a Paradise Ballroom of its own. Opened in 2017, when Mountain Shadows debuted, it totals 4,293 square feet and can accommodate groups of up to 600 people for a standing reception. Although it doesn't have nano doors and windows, the 18-month-old space does have a retracting glass wall that opens onto a terrace with views of Camelback Mountain. Between the ballroom and the terrace, there's 9,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor space.
• Latilla Ballroom at Boulders Resort & Spa (Carefree, Ariz.): The Boulders Resort & Spa completed a renovation of its Latilla Ballroom in December 2017. The 5,500-square-foot space features 16-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows with waterfall views. It can accommodate groups of up to 450 people and also boasts a 1,200-square-foot patio with an adobe wood-burning fireplace.
• Ballroom at Harrah's Ak-Chin (Maricopa, Ariz.): Harrah's Ak-Chin in Maricopa -- south of Phoenix -- is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion, the centerpiece of which is a new 20,000-square-foot ballroom and concert venue. Although the venue is already complete, it's currently home to the property's slot machines while the casino floor is being renovated and enlarged. The space is expected to begin hosting meetings and events in 2019.
• The Great Room at the Clayton House (Scottsdale, Ariz.): Just because you're looking for a conventional ballroom doesn't mean you have to end up in one. For a funky ballroom-alternative, look no further than The Clayton House, an industrial venue that opened in December 2017 in Old Town Scottsdale. Its largest space, known as The Great Room, is 5,217 square feet and can accommodate up to 700 people for a standing reception.
• Ballroom at The Ritz-Carlton, Paradise Valley (Paradise Valley, Ariz.): Last but not least is The Ritz-Carlton, Paradise Valley, which is currently scheduled to open in March 2019. Although details so far are scarce, the much-anticipated resort will include 20,000 square feet of meeting space -- which will almost certainly include a spectacular new ballroom space for Scottsdale-area meetings and events.