Arizona
Paradise Valley’s Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa is in the midst of a $7 million renovation of its meetings and events space, targeting completion by December 2025. The Views Ballroom, Views Terrace, Paradise Views, Lower Lawn and Cholla meeting room are all highlights of the refresh. The 3,851-square-foot Views Ballroom will see a dramatic redesign, with enhancements to the North facade to eliminate visual obstructions such as the existing fireplace, exterior bars and partial walls to fully reveal scenic vistas.
Founded in the 1950s and having built an iconic guest list of Hollywood stars, political figures and international tennis legends over the years thanks to its early days as a prominent tennis club, Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa is a luxury historic resort set on 53 acres with 110 casitas and suites. It can accommodate groups as large as 200.
California
Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort revealed a variety of property enhancements in August, focused on its outdoor and wellness amenities. Additions include six new pickleball courts with coastal views, a revitalized pool deck featuring private cabanas with daybeds and the debut of FLOAT Luxury Spa. Guests can also enjoy updated poolside accommodations with private fire pits.
[Related: Boutique Basecamps, Coastal Resorts and More Western New and Renovated Updates]
Located steps from East Beach and in close proximity to the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort has 335 rooms, 25 suites and more than 60,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space, with some areas boasting views of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Ynez Mountains.
Washington
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport, an upscale resort-style hotel situated on the scenic shores of Lake Washington and just 10 miles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, recently debuted the Lakeside meeting and event space. Previously a wine lounge, the space has been transformed into a lakefront venue.
Located on the hotel’s main lobby level, Lakeside offers 2,591 square feet of event space with a capacity of 200 guests. The space has an impressive backdrop, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Washington. In addition, the venue includes Lakeside Boardroom, outfitted with a large high-definition screen, culinary display stations and the adjacent Lakeside Lounge, which easily transforms into a breakout room.
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington has 347 guest rooms and more than 60,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space. Additionally, all guests staying overnight receive complimentary parking in the adjacent self-parking lot throughout their visit.
Tucson’s Shining Starr
Tucson, Arizona’s JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa continues to make progress on its multiyear renovation project. This month, the property will unveil its refreshed and reimagined meetings and events spaces, which combined total to 41,000 square feet indoors. An additional 47,000 square feet of space is available in the form of outdoor terraces and lawns.
The property is also renovating all of its 540 guest rooms and 35 suites, which are slated for completion in mid-2026.
“The big focus for this renovation, with the meeting space and the guest rooms, is to honor the culture, the atmosphere and the locale that we are surrounded by here in Tucson,” said Kaylin Gilmore, senior sales executive for JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa. “But also, to pull in today’s modern world of meetings and events, and the luxury spaces within our JW portfolio.”
Designs and updates being made throughout the resort are inspired by the adobe facade on the exterior of the property, Tucson’s southwestern heritage and natural tones from the destination’s environment, like the deep green of the saguaros.
“It all echoes this beautiful, modern, Southwestern Tucson experience,” Gilmore said.
Read more about new and renovated properties.
