Best Out-of-Town Weekend Getaway 2009 | The Shady Dell | Arts & Entertainment | Phoenix
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Best Out-of-Town Weekend Getaway

The Shady Dell

As much as we love Phoenix, sometimes we need to get the hell out of Dodge for a day or two to collect our thoughts and find our center. Lately, there is only one place that comes to mind when the urge to disappear strikes us: the Shady Dell. Located in historic Bisbee, the Shady Dell RV park has nine beautifully decorated vintage Airstream trailers for guests to stay in. If the prospect of living it up trailer park-style with your own Astroturf yard doesn't seal the deal for you, it's worth mentioning that downtown Bisbee and its funky shops and restaurants are just five minutes away. With a cool tiki vibe, a 1950s-style diner and cabin names like "El Rey" and "Homemade," it's easy to get wrapped up in the Dell's kitschy goodness.

Best In-Town Weekend Getaway

Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa

The drive to Wild Horse Pass is 20 minutes from central Phoenix, but as soon as you check in, you'll feel like you flew a thousand miles. The resort's signature restaurant, Kai, got Mobil's five-star rating this year and, thanks to the down economy, it's offering a "Kai Cares" prix fixe menu for $59. At the spa, Aji, you can indulge in a "native herbs cleansing wrap." And if the piped-in Native American flute music starts to be a bit much, you can ride a gondola over to Rawhide or drop 20 bucks at the casino. In all, it's a great getaway for your staycation.

Best Spa

Joya Spa

If you've ever had fantasies of being Caesar or Cleopatra, a day at the Joya Spa is an absolute must. Joya's "Hammam" bath revives the ancient Roman tradition of the bathhouse. For $45, you get a scrub, herbal steam in rose mist, whirlpool, sauna, and refreshingly brisk shower. And that's just the beginning of the royal treatment. To compliment a dozen massage types from Thai to neuromuscular to stone therapy, Joya's signature body product line includes creams infused with real gold, sapphire, diamonds, and a "secret" night-blooming cactus blossom. We left feeling like butter after the spa's signature Joyambrosia massage with heated Moroccan "liquid gold" argan oil, and we can only imagine what we'd be willing to do after the pricier Moroccan sour cherry wrap or the two-hour Restorative Sleep Ritual. Bribe, anyone?

Best Walking Tour

Taliesin West

When you hear the words "walking tour," inspirational may not be what comes to mind. But the tour at Taliesin West, former winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright, just may prod the creative genius in you. Regardless of your medium, this place will make you think. Always willing to go against conventional wisdom, FLW left his fingerprints all over the Valley. Taliesin West, built in the 1930s, is the headquarters for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and winter session of the school of architecture. Get a taste by taking one of several tours offered. They range from one to three hours in length. Prices vary accordingly, from $27-60, and include mid-morning tea. On the Desert Shelter tour, architecture students show you up-close living quarters they have constructed. The Insights tour features the Wright's living quarters and living room.

Best Urban Fishing

Tempe Town Lake

A typical city can't offer its residents a fully stocked lake right in the center of town — more likely, you'll get a polluted river full of mercury-filled carp and hypodermic needles. Lucky for us, this is not your typical city. Tempe Town Lake is filled and refilled with 12 species of fish, including rainbow trout, large-mouth bass, and flathead catfish. For $23.50 a year for Tempe residents, and $70.25 for everybody else, you can cast off from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. all year long.

Best Tennis Courts

Phoenix Tennis Center

No, they don't sell Perrier in the pro shop, some of the courts occasionally are dotted with leaves, and the noise factor from the nearby streets can be a pain. But we'll take this city-run tennis mecca any day, if only because it's cheap, the lights are good, and, if you learn how to play your cards right, it's easy to make a reservation for one of the 22 hard courts. Head tennis pro Matt Peck is an exceptionally nice fellow, and his teaching business always seems to be booming. And who can resist that scruffy little terrier named Spice always hanging around, yellow tennis ball in her mouth, surveying her domain? Helpful hint: If you can help it, don't sign up for one of the courts that abuts 21st Avenue. You may be just about to hit that nasty serve of yours when some turkey will drive by and honk at ya, just for fun.

Best Park for Pickup Basketball

Encanto Park

Some may take issue with giving this award to a place that charges for an activity that's typically free, but look at it this way: The hoopin' has gotta be good if it's all pay-to-play (not much, only a few duckets). Encanto is Phoenix's one-and-only spot for finding legendary pickup games that parallel those found in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Said another way, you'll rarely find armchair hoopers trying to work out their remote-control elbow on this concrete court. Basketballing hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

When the downtown Y remodeled its facility a few years ago, it upgraded the wooden upstairs b-ball court. The result is a full-on awesome gym — minus the creaky floorboards and dead spots in the paint. Don't have an indoor-worthy basketball? No problem, because you can rent one free of charge at the front desk, whether you're playing a game of H-O-R-S-E, running full-court in a pickup contest, or playing in a competitive five-on-five league. You either have to be a member or have a guest pass to enter the facility.

Best Place for Indoor Pickup Basketball

Lincoln Family Phoenix Downtown YMCA

When the downtown Y remodeled its facility a few years ago, it upgraded the wooden upstairs b-ball court. The result is a full-on awesome gym minus the creaky floorboards and dead spots in the paint. Dont have an indoor-worthy basketball? No problem, because you can rent one free of charge at the front desk, whether youre playing a game of H-O-R-S-E, running full-court in a pickup contest, or playing in a competitive five-on-five league. You either have to be a member or have a guest pass to enter the facility.

Best Batting Range

Casey at the Bat

We love the egalitarian nature of this friendly north Phoenix "cage." The pitching machine on one end of this clean and spacious outdoor facility flips in strikes slow enough that a determined 8-year-old can feel comfortable going for it. Down on the other end, a burly slow-pitch type can pretend to be Babe Ruth (beer-ball style) on every pitch. In the middle sits the mighty "Big Unit," a hard-balling machine named after ex-Diamondbacks great Randy Johnson. It hits 80 miles per hour — which is about 20 miles per hour less than the surly southpaw reached regularly in his prime — and presents a nice challenge to most hitters. Twenty balls — most of them over the plate — for just a buck. Can't beat it.

Best Driving Range

Fiesta Lakes Golf Club

It might be called a "golf club," but Fiesta Lakes, a down-home par three (tucked behind a Hilton and an abandoned Best Buy across from Fiesta Mall) is anything but fancy. The parking lot is gravel and the clubhouse is a trailer. This is the kind of course you won't feel self-conscious playing in cut-offs and flip-flops, which is why we like it. The driving range is the real delight, though: tree-lined and with the sort of rough but functional grass that reminds us of courses in the Midwest. You get a bucket of balls by putting a token in a rusty old contraption that looks as if it might be steam-powered, and then you can practice your swing off real tees instead of those annoying rubber tubes. And at $4 a bucket, it's the sort of bargain you're unlikely to find other places this close to town.

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