Arizona’s desert getaway gets gayer

BY RUSS BROWN

As far as desert getaways go, we Southern California gays are pretty lucky to have near-perfect Palm Springs in our virtual backyard. Arizona, with its red-state conservatism, always seemed too far, too Republican, and too old-fashioned (they don’t even celebrate Daylight Savings Time!) to warrant traveling the extra four-hour drive.

But Phoenix, AZ, named after the mythological bird that burned to ash and then rose up out of its own pyre, and its close neighbors Scottsdale and Tempe, are in the midst of a multi-billion dollar rebirth of their own. A weekend trip to the three tight-knit cities, dubbed the Valley of the Sun, is a journey into Southwest resorts, retail, and redevelopment, proving that everything old can indeed be made new again. (And Palm Springs better watch its back.)

Anchoring Phoenix’s extensive renaissance is the new Convention Center. Its $600 million renovation in downtown Phoenix’s bustling Cooper Square will elevate the nation’s 5th largest city to top-tier status in the convention market when it is completed next year. Accommodating the Convention Center will be the brand new, city-owned Sheraton hotel, opening its 1,000 rooms next year also, and the Wyndham Phoenix (www.wyndam.com), whose beautifully posh renovated lobby contradicts its depressing, yet freakishly large guest rooms. Additional construction is underway throughout the Valley on the Metro Light Rail, a futuristic above-ground monorail that connects downtown to the airport and the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, making cars unnecessary for tourists.

Hollywood-ization seems to be the goal of Scottsdale’s renovation. Next to the recently opened Mondrian Hotel (www.mondrianscottsdale.com) downtown is construction for the new W Hotel (www.whotels.com), opening next spring. With its glass-bottom swimming pool fabulously hovering over the lobby, the W will have a water motif. (Most hotels here in the Valley have some sort of play on the elements, less for décor and more because addressing the native spiritualism is mandated as the price for development on American Indian soil.) Sushi Roku, Barney’s New York, Skybar and Asia de Cuba are all slated to be open by next year. Scottsdale’s Fashion Square (www.fashionsquare.com) is like the Beverly Center on acid, so sprawling a complex of upscale shops and restaurants, I advise you not attempt to conquer in one day.

The nearby FireSky Resort and Spa (www.fireskyresort.com) is a sufficient boutique resort, recently bought by the Kimpton hotel group and renovated. My “Kimptonized” room featured a poorly designed bathroom whose door refused to shut and swung open on its own, at least that’s what my traveling companion alleges. I’d stay down the road at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa (www.scottsdale.hyatt.com) whose 2 1/2 acre “water playground,” complete with a gay-appreciated “adults only pool,” really sold me.

Better still is The Phoenician Resort (www.thephoenician.com), a truly impeccable five-diamond resort built along the Camelback Mountains. They don’t come much more opulent than the Phoenician, especially since the resort houses the Canyon Suites (www.thecanyonsuitesatthephoenician.com), a separate five-diamond boutique hotel for those needing even more exceptional attentive service, on its grounds. Sunday brunch at the Phoenician may have deliciously yet irreparably altered my body mass index.

Nightlife in Scottsdale is found downtown, home to many shops selling Native American knock-offs and turquoise-a-plenty, and the Art Walk every Thursday night. Next to Old Town is the shiny, new Southbridge district, a $41 million urban development of retail space. CANAL (480/949-9000; 7144 E. Stetson Dr.), a “Fusion of Food and Fashion.” A restaurant just opened there featuring great food like the Confit Duck Tacos and the ultimate Hollywood “Top Model” runway down the center of the dining area. Around the corner is the Kazimierz (www.kazbar.net) world wine bar, a cozy and plush tavern featuring a wine list topping 3,000.

Tempe, pronounced with the emphasis on the “pee,” sits just outside of Scottsdale and is home to ASU. When I asked a woman at the local tourism center where they put all the people of color, she didn’t slick over an answer—she just looked at me like she didn’t understand the question. You will find plenty of color in any of the campus’ 20+ free art galleries. Take in some bottled spirituality at the brand new I Am the Center (www.iamthecenter.com), an impeccably stylish yoga studio, retail shop and delicious café, which I suspect may be too ahead-of-its-time for Tempe.

Nearby is the magnificent Tempe Center for the Arts (www.tempe.gov/tca). Funded entirely by $66 million of sales tax, the 2 month old complex features two state-of-the-art theaters, an art gallery, and a sculpture garden—all built separately under the Center’s roof to buffer sound from the nearby airport. The Center sits on the bank of the Tempe Town Lake, where you can take in year-round outdoor concerts, the annual Ballet Under the Stars, or just ogle local ASU athletes rowing or running on the lakeside track, if you’re into that sort of thing.

If all this redevelopment is too much for you, a glimpse into the Valley’s past is just a 40-minute ride east to the Apache Trail. One need only play a few holes at the Snakehole Golf Course, where grease remains from the local fast food chain is used to soften the otherwise too-dense desert dirt that comprises the course, to understand that when locals refer to the area as the “East Valley,” its code for “whitetrash.” But down these unpaved roads lay the breathtaking Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest (www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto), whose hiking trails, deep forests of saguaro and fero cactus, and deep blue lakes are not to be missed. Local legend says the treasure of the “Lost Dutchman” still lives in the caves somewhere, and the museum at the base will gladly sell you the route to find it, like the Arizona equivalent of a Hollywood Star Map. The Peralta Trail on the backside of the Superstitions is the local favorite for hiking.

Also at the base of the mountains sits Goldfield Ghost Town, an “authentic” (read: replicated) mining town from AZ’s gold rush in 1892. Do not miss Jay’s tour of a “real” gold mine but try not to snicker as he unironically details the difficulty of maneuvering in a “9 Man Cage.” Also be warned: his idea of a gloryhole is not our idea of a gloryhole. Up the dirt road, Tortilla Flat, the last remaining stagecoach stop along the Apache Trail, is a corny yet entertaining Mainstreet Disneyland-style restaurant, replete with obese Americans scarfing down prickly pear ice cream.

In terms of gay nightlife, the Valley of the Sun isn’t without its attractions. Charlie’s (www.charliesphoenix.com) western bar is the clear crowd favorite, offering two-stepping till midnight and a packed dance floor well past after hours. Sunday afternoons at Charlie’s are also wildly popular: one local described it as “the only place to see gay people converge in the daylight.” Burn Nightclub (www.myspace.com/burnnightclub) also has a great dance floor, and a Weho-style patio in the front so you can inspect new meat as they enter. Kobalt (www. phoenix.gaycities.com/bars), a gay bar located in a shopping mall is everything you’d expect of a gay bar in a shopping mall. Scottsdale’s only gay bar downtown, BS West (www.phoenix.gaycities.com), was dead on the Thursday we went, but is allegedly packed on Wednesdays when they cater to the ASU undergrads, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Phoenix also boasts the nation’s earliest gay Pride festival (www.phoenixgaypride.us) in April—June is just too hot—and the new Rainbows Festival (www.rainbowsfestival.com) in October. Held in the Heritage Square Park downtown, this mixed-crowd, two-day street fair is considered the Sunset Junction of the Valley. Beware how festive you get: sobriety checkpoints are everywhere in the valley now.

Arizona is still a red state and while “gay-friendly” may be a stretch, it is “gay-tolerant” for sure. And therein may be its appeal: Palm Springs, with its man-blouse, mid-century mod culture, can feel like a loud hyper-gay amusement park whereas the Valley of the Sun offers a desert gay getaway that’s subdued, family-friendly, and relatively normal. Furthermore, the state’s recent decision to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day shows that it is starting to relax its antiquated conservatism and that, more than any urban development, is a renaissance whose time has come.