The sense of arrival, down a road of saguaro cacti with stunning views of Pinnacle Peak, makes the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale a desert escape straight from the pages of a luxury travel magazine, but reach the hotel and it’s the quiet elegance of it that takes you over. Its design blends into the surrounding environment, with casitas arranged around the most gorgeous pool you’ll ever see, and a color palette that mirrors the tones of the desert. The Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale is a refuge, and a place to enjoy an otherworldly adventure, but since this is Four Seasons we are talking about, luxury is also spelled with a capital L. There are two golf courses here, and imagined by legendary golfer Tom Weiskopf and architect Jay Morrish, they are as stunning as they are challenging, with desert vistas that border on the surreal, and mountain peaks fronted by more saguaro cacti. For more adventurous souls, Pinnacle Peak and its hike and bike trails lie in the hotel’s backyard. Build up a sweat or enjoy the quieter side of Scottsdale from the plunge pool of your suite, the choice is yours. What should be a non-negotiable part of your itinerary, though, is a trip to the spa. Taking its cues from the desert with massages and treatments that use ingredients like prickly pear and desert clay, it is the experience of a lifetime.