Luxury Travel

Review: Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel (Arizona, USA)

April 10, 2024

Wednesday newsletters all the time characteristic a lodge or flight evaluation.

Today: Review of Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel (Arizona, USA)

A primary of its form in North America, Ambiente, a Landscape Hotel is uniquely designed to mix in with the paranormal crimson rocks of Sedona, Arizona, providing friends the chance to expertise and embrace the pure magnificence that surrounds them in one of many world’s most gorgeous places. Opened in spring 2023, the brand new Ambiente Hotel is comprised of 40 cubed-shaped visitor rooms (known 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 metallic. At nightfall, the tinted glass mirror the character round it creating gorgeous, mirrored silhouettes. The atriums’ glossy and up to date design embodies elegant minimalism and the utmost in luxurious lodging. Onsite services embody a pool, spa and high quality eating restaurant. Ambiente is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World.

Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel, options in my prime 10 checklist of the finest luxurious accommodations within the American Southwest.

Have you ever stayed at Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel? If so, what was your expertise? Leave a remark.

In this evaluation (extra information and pictures under my YouTube video):

PROS & THINGS I LIKE

Opened in spring 2023, Ambiente, a Landscape Hotel has already earned a repute as among the finest accommodations in Sedona. Located 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 crimson sandstone formations, which type a preferred backdrop for a lot of actions, starting from non secular pursuits to dozens of mountaineering and mountain biking trails. Historically, Sedona was a rural ranching neighborhood situated far off the overwhelmed path, however its unsurpassed pure magnificence grew to become nationally identified by way of the movement image business. Today, commercials and tv exhibits nonetheless are filmed within the unsettled areas surrounding this metropolis, which yearly attracts greater than three million vacationers from around the globe.

Overlooking the protected protect of Coconino National Forest, Ambiente Sedona sits on a 3 acres of plot, surrounded by the town’s most iconic crimson rock monoliths, together with the Steamboat, Chimney, Coffee Pot and Snoopy Rock formations. Upon arrival, friends are ushered by way of a monolithic picket door right into a trendy foyer the place a ground–to-ceiling glass wall and adjoining statement deck put the sweeping crimson rock views on full show. The two-story glass and metallic 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. Once check-in is full, an elevator delivers friends to the bottom ground the place they tour the property by way of an electrical car earlier than arriving at their non-public Atrium.

Ambiente Sedona is comprised of 40 cubed-shaped pavilions (known as ‘Atriums’), constructed utilizing matte-charcoal coloured metallic and floor-to-ceiling, bronze-tinted glass partitions. Uniquely designed to mix in with the encompassing geography, the lodging supply up to date, Earth-toned decor to help a disconnection from on a regular basis life and a reconnection with nature. Each Atrium options the identical key parts, together with a bed room with kingsize mattress, a comfy sitting space (proper subsequent to the mattress), a petite kitchen, and a toilet outfitted with an outsized soaking tub, double vainness and a walk-in bathe with twin rain heads. Nearly all Atriums have a personal rooftop deck, that includes lounge seating, a roaring firepit and a day-bed which is nice for sunbathing and stargazing (or sleeping outdoor).

At the middle of Ambiente Sedona is an outside lagoon-shaped pool (with a built-in Jacuzzi) which is situated proper subsequent to a pavilion housing the lodge’s signature restaurant, Forty1. Forty1 contains a full-service kitchen serving à la carte breakfast and dinner each 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. Directly adjoining to the restaurant, an elevated deck options fireplace pits, cozy lounge seating and programming like nightly stargazing. Also poolside, friends will discover a customized Airstream that has been remodeled and reimagined into The Drifter, a separate culinary vacation spot serving lunch and poolside fare each 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. Authentic parts of conventional spa, earthy textures, clear elements, and trendy improvements are artistically intertwined to create distinctive spa experiences. Each spa therapy begins with a number of a novel ZENTS scent mix that might be used for the therapeutic massage. All friends 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 purpose to offer highly effective well-being for each physique and thoughts. One of them is the Dark Sky Lounge, an interactive sound lounge surrounded by the celestial night time sky, and the opposite one the O2 Soaking Bath Lounge, which options lovely Japanese-style heat baths. There’s additionally a cute little sauna room, which is situated proper exterior the spa space.

Designed by a staff 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. Using sustainable strategies and and an natural deisgn, the resort’s trendy structure enhances the neighboring surroundings and minimizes the affect on the land because it was constructed across the pure vegetation and topography, requiring much less minimize and fill. At preliminary look, all the particular person buildings, from the Atriums to the foyer and poolside lounge, seem 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 May and Colleen TeBrake. After serving within the US Army, 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 Red Rock Motel situated on the fringe of Oak Creek Canyon. Unfortunately, only one brief yr later, that dream ended as he was compelled to declare chapter. In 2016, in a rare flip of occasions, Michael was capable of buy a stupendous piece of property. After strolling the pure panorama of pinion pines, pure washes, and crimson rock formations together with his daughter Jennifer May 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 Landscape Hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW). The latter is an unique assortment of greater than 400 luxurious accommodations and resorts in over 80 nations. LHW doesn’t personal accommodations; it quite affords a reservation service for impartial accommodations and helps gross sales and advertising and marketing, promoting and public relations, monetary companies, high quality management, and lodge inspections for its member properties. LHW has many iconic properties in its portfolio, corresponding to such because the 12 Apostles Hotel in Cape Town, 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 friends to gather factors at LHW properties and spend them at no cost nights at LHW accommodations & resorts.

CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel is situated proper subsequent to a main freeway, which tends to get very busy in the course of the day (the visitors slows down at night time). The resort’s designers have accomplished their utmost finest to distract the friends from the presence of the close by freeway and to masks the noise with vegetation, working water and background music. But regardless of all these efforts, you may nonetheless hear the highway 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 perhaps particularly annoying if you end up in the hunt for some tranquility and silence whereas making an attempt to chill out in your non-public rooftop.

Ambiente Sedona contains a considerably unusual format, because the atriums are constructed very shut along with their home windows going through both the walkways or the opposite atriums. As a consequence, most atriums don’t take pleasure in nice views, aside from the few, so known as ‘landscape atriums’ on the property’s northern edge (which take pleasure in views of the forest and the encompassing grandiose surroundings). For instance, I stayed in a ‘forest atrium’ throughout my vacation however as you may see on my pictures, it didn’t supply any forest view in any respect (quite a view of the close by atriums and a few mountains within the distance). Also, whereas privateness isn’t a problem in the course of 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 Landscape Hotel doesn’t have its personal fitness center. But with direct entry to greater than 300 km (200 miles) of mountaineering and biking trails in Sedona in addition to premier mountaineering, out of doors journey and leisure actions, there is no such thing as a want for an onsite health heart, and as a substitute Ambiente encourages friends to discover the outside by providing mountain bike leases and mountaineering excursions. The lodge additionally boasts unique entry to the Adobe Jack Trail system, a average 2.7 km ( 1.7-mile) hike that connects to a further seven miles of trails famend for the picturesque surroundings displayed alongside the way in which. For those that favor to discover inside lodge grounds, further wellness trails weave all through the location with designated spots to cease and comply with instructed workouts that promote general wellness.

Ambiente Sedona doesn’t come low cost and ranks among the many most costly accommodations 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 most costly room class and the one room kind coming with a view). It’s fairly insane if you suppose that these charges come near what you’ll pay for a 5-star lodge within the Maldives however I suppose that’s the brand new commonplace 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
Food: 8/10
Breakfast: 8/10
Spa: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Wow issue: 9/10
Value for cash: 6/10
Overall expertise: good 7.6/10

TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

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

Save cash: Ambiente Sedona is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) and participates in LHW’s loyalty program Leaders Club, which permits friends to gather factors at LHW properties and spend them at no cost nights at LHW accommodations & resorts (together with Ambiente).

Save cash: learn right here my suggestions for getting one of the best deal at a luxurious lodge like Ambiente Sedona (and/or obtain many free perks).

Read my suggestions 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 & May) and fall (September to November) to take pleasure in excellent climate for out of doors exploration; nevertheless, you may actually beat the crowds and really expertise the serenity of Sedona within the winter. Sedona’s excessive elevation retains it largely insulated from the scorching warmth Arizona is legendary for in summer season.

HOW TO GET THERE

The closest airport to Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel 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

Here’s a number of my pictures of Ambiente Sedona, a Landscape Hotel. To view extra lodge pictures (together with breakfast, lunch and dinner), click on right here.