Wednesday newsletters all the time characteristic a hotel or flight assessment.

At present: Evaluation of Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge (Arizona, USA)

A primary of its variety in North America, Ambiente, a Panorama Lodge is uniquely designed to mix in with the paranormal pink rocks of Sedona, Arizona, providing company the chance to expertise and embrace the pure magnificence that surrounds them in one of many world’s most beautiful places. Opened in spring 2023, the brand new Ambiente Lodge is comprised of 40 cubed-shaped visitor rooms (referred to as atriums) which can be elevated above the bottom by metal piers and constructed utilizing floor-to-ceiling, bronze-tinted glass and matte-charcoal and rusted steel. At nightfall, the tinted glass mirror the character round it creating beautiful, mirrored silhouettes. The atriums’ smooth and modern design embodies elegant minimalism and the utmost in luxurious lodging. Onsite amenities embody a pool, spa and tremendous eating restaurant. Ambiente is a member of the Main Lodges of the World.

Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge, options in my high 10 listing of the best luxury hotels in the American Southwest.

Have you ever ever stayed at Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge? If that’s the case, what was your expertise? Depart a remark.

On this assessment (extra information and images beneath my YouTube video):

PROS & THINGS I LIKE

• Opened in spring 2023, Ambiente, a Panorama Lodge has already earned a repute as probably the greatest inns in Sedona. Positioned in Arizona’s excessive desert underneath the towering southwestern rim of the huge Colorado Plateau, the small metropolis of Sedona is a well-known throughout the globe for is spectacular pink sandstone formations, which kind a well-liked backdrop for a lot of actions, starting from religious pursuits to dozens of mountain climbing and mountain biking trails. Traditionally, Sedona was a rural ranching neighborhood positioned far off the crushed path, however its unsurpassed pure magnificence grew to become nationally recognized via the movement image trade. At present, commercials and tv exhibits nonetheless are filmed within the unsettled areas surrounding this metropolis, which yearly attracts greater than three million vacationers from world wide.

• Overlooking the protected protect of Coconino Nationwide Forest, Ambiente Sedona sits on a 3 acres of plot, surrounded by town’s most iconic pink rock monoliths, together with the Steamboat, Chimney, Espresso Pot and Snoopy Rock formations. Upon arrival, company are ushered via a monolithic picket door right into a fashionable foyer the place a ground–to-ceiling glass wall and adjoining statement deck put the sweeping pink rock views on full show. The 2-story glass and steel foyer constructing serves because the check-in space, full with a visitor lounge and statement deck, boutique present store, assembly rooms and places of work, and a spa. As soon as check-in is full, an elevator delivers company to the bottom ground the place they tour the property by way of an electrical automobile earlier than arriving at their personal Atrium.

• On the heart of Ambiente Sedona is an out of doors lagoon-shaped pool (with a built-in Jacuzzi) which is positioned proper subsequent to a pavilion housing the lodge’s signature restaurant, Forty1. Forty1 includes a full-service kitchen serving à la carte breakfast and dinner day by day, in addition to an indoor/out of doors bar full with a number of TVs and ample seating. The restaurant affords a seasonal a la carte menu which is impressed by pure natural elements from the native Verde Valley. Straight adjoining to the restaurant, an elevated deck options hearth pits, cozy lounge seating and programming like nightly stargazing. Additionally poolside, company will discover a customized Airstream that has been reworked and reimagined into The Drifter, a separate culinary vacation spot serving lunch and poolside fare day by day.

• Ambiente Sedona has a powerful give attention to wellbeing. Housed inside the primary foyer constructing is Velvet, an intimate, three-room spa providing therapies that solely combine locally-sourced elements embodying the therapeutic properties of Sedona. Genuine components of conventional spa, earthy textures, clear elements, and fashionable improvements are artistically intertwined to create distinctive spa experiences. Every spa therapy begins with a choice of a singular ZENTS scent mix that might be used for the therapeutic massage. All company additionally obtain a vial of the mix as a present on the finish of the therapy. The Velvet Spa additionally has two experiential areas that intention to supply highly effective well-being for each physique and thoughts. Considered one of them is the Darkish Sky Lounge, an interactive sound lounge surrounded by the celestial night time sky, and the opposite one the O2 Soaking Bathtub Lounge, which options stunning Japanese-style heat baths. There’s additionally a cute little sauna room, which is positioned proper outdoors the spa space.

• Designed by a crew of award-winning architects together with Stephen Thompson of Architect Studio and ASUL Architects, Ambiente Sedona was constructed with a deep respect for the setting. Utilizing sustainable strategies and and an natural deisgn, the resort’s fashionable structure enhances the neighboring surroundings and minimizes the influence on the land because it was constructed across the pure vegetation and topography, requiring much less lower and fill. At preliminary look, all the particular person buildings, from the Atriums to the foyer and poolside lounge, look like floating amidst the panorama because the buildings mirror the environment with using bronzed glass. Ambiente goals to be Sedona’s main instance of sustainable tourism and revolutionary lodge design that promotes long-term vibrancy throughout the neighborhood.

• Ambiente Sedona is owned and operated by a native household, Michael Stevenson and his two daughters, Jennifer Might and Colleen TeBrake. After serving within the US Military, Mike, at age 26, and his spouse Kathleen moved to Sedona to work at his father’s restaurant. In 1973, Mike launched into his calling to fulfil his dream of working his personal enterprise by investing in The Purple Rock Motel positioned on the fringe of Oak Creek Canyon. Sadly, only one quick yr later, that dream ended as he was pressured to declare chapter. In 2016, in a rare flip of occasions, Michael was in a position to buy a ravishing piece of property. After strolling the pure panorama of pinion pines, pure washes, and pink rock formations together with his daughter Jennifer Might a number of occasions, they knew immediately that the surroundings inside deserved one thing very particular. That day, the imaginative and prescient for Ambiente was born, reigniting Mike’s dream from over 40 years in the past.

• Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge is a member of the Main Lodges of the World (LHW). The latter is an exclusive collection of greater than 400 luxurious inns and resorts in over 80 international locations. LHW doesn’t personal inns; it moderately affords a reservation service for impartial inns and helps gross sales and advertising, promoting and public relations, monetary providers, high quality management, and lodge inspections for its member properties. LHW has many iconic properties in its portfolio, comparable to such because the 12 Apostles Hotel in Cape City, The Datai Langkawi in Malaysia, Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, Le Sirenuse in Positano (Italy), Il Sereno Lake Como (Italy), and the Gstaad Palace in Switzerland. LHW additionally has its personal loyalty program, which permits company to gather factors at LHW properties and spend them totally free nights at LHW inns & resorts.

CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

• Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge is positioned proper subsequent to a main freeway, which tends to get very busy throughout the day (the site visitors slows down at night time). The resort’s designers have carried out their utmost finest to distract the company from the presence of the close by freeway and to masks the noise with vegetation, working water and background music. However regardless of all these efforts, you’ll be able to nonetheless hear the street in some areas within the resort, even inside some atriums (particularly these atriums that again the freeway and people on the higher a part of the hilly panorama). The freeway noise is likely to be particularly annoying when you find yourself looking for some tranquility and silence whereas attempting to calm down in your personal rooftop.

• Ambiente Sedona includes a considerably unusual format, because the atriums are constructed very shut along with their home windows dealing with both the walkways or the opposite atriums. Consequently, most atriums don’t get pleasure from nice views, apart from the few, so referred to as ‘panorama atriums’ on the property’s northern edge (which get pleasure from views of the forest and the encircling grandiose surroundings). For instance, I stayed in a ‘forest atrium’ throughout my vacation however as you’ll be able to see on my images, it didn’t supply any forest view in any respect (moderately a view of the close by atriums and a few mountains within the distance). Additionally, whereas privateness is just not a difficulty throughout the day due to the atrium’s bronze-tinted one-way-vision glass, you’ll want to shut your curtains at night time as soon as you turn your lights on (to keep away from others having a direct view into your bed room).

• Ambiente, a Panorama Lodge doesn’t have its personal fitness center. However with direct entry to greater than 300 km (200 miles) of mountain climbing and biking trails in Sedona in addition to premier mountain climbing, out of doors journey and leisure actions, there is no such thing as a want for an onsite health heart, and as an alternative Ambiente encourages company to discover the outside by providing mountain bike leases and mountain climbing excursions. The lodge additionally boasts unique entry to the Adobe Jack Path system, a reasonable 2.7 km ( 1.7-mile) hike that connects to an extra seven miles of trails famend for the picturesque surroundings displayed alongside the best way. For individuals who desire to discover inside lodge grounds, extra wellness trails weave all through the location with designated spots to cease and observe instructed workouts that promote general wellness.

• Ambiente Sedona doesn’t come low cost and ranks among the many most costly inns within the Sedona space. The room price begins round $1100 USD per night time for a star atrium (lowest room class) and rises to greater than $2000 USD per night time for a panorama atrium (the costliest room class and the one room kind coming with a view). It’s fairly insane while you suppose that these charges come near what you’d pay for a 5-star lodge within the Maldives however I assume that’s the brand new customary within the Sedona space. On a optimistic be aware, room charges embody mini-bar (snacks & non-alcoholic drinks), Sedona health heart entry (offsite), valet parking, Audi RS e-tron GT concierge automobile transfers (accessible for airport and native attraction pick-up & drop-off) and free WiFi.

MY VERDICT

• Location: 6/10
• Design: 8/10
• Pool: 7/10
• Rooms: 8/10
• Meals: 8/10
• Breakfast: 8/10
• Spa: 7/10
• Service: 9/10
• Wow issue: 9/10
• Worth for cash: 6/10
• Total expertise: good 7.6/10

TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

• Lower your expenses: get complimentary VIP perks at Ambiente Sedona when reserving by way of Virtuoso (e.g. day by day breakfast, room improve, early check-in, late check-out and $100 USD resort credit score

• Lower your expenses: Ambiente Sedona is a member of  The Main Lodges of the World (LHW) and participates in LHW’s loyalty program Leaders Membership, which permits company to gather factors at LHW properties and spend them totally free nights at LHW inns & resorts (together with Ambiente).

• Lower your expenses: learn here my suggestions for getting the most effective deal at a luxurious lodge like Ambiente Sedona (and/or obtain many free perks).

• Learn my tips for getting ready your journey in time.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Sedona is a four-season out of doors playground. Many individuals plan on visiting within the spring (March & Might) and fall (September to November) to get pleasure from excellent climate for out of doors exploration; nevertheless, you’ll be able to actually beat the crowds and actually expertise the serenity of Sedona within the winter.  Sedona’s excessive elevation retains it principally insulated from the scorching warmth Arizona is known for in summer season.

HOW TO GET THERE

The closest airport to Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge is Sedona Airport (KSEZ) which is 2 miles (3 km) away. Flagstaff Airport is the closest small industrial airport to Sedona which is 25 miles (40 km) or a scenic 40 minute drive. Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is the closest main worldwide airport (roughly 2 hours away by automobile).

PHOTOS

Right here’s a choice of my images of Ambiente Sedona, a Panorama Lodge. To view extra lodge images (together with breakfast, lunch and dinner), click on here.

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