Lots of Scottsdale resorts boast about being in the middle of the Sonoran desert. But The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa actually feels like you're in the middle of the desert. I even saw a coyote loping through the cacti at the front gate!
Set at the furthest northern edges of Scottsdale, Golden Door Spa at The Boulders is almost an hour from the Phoenix airport. And while there's plenty of expensive new homes in the area, the mountainous desert landscape feels much more open.
Light-Filled Spa in A Dramatic Setting
Golfers come to The Boulders for the two Jay Morrish-designed championship golf courses, but Golden Door Spa is an equally compelling draw for spa lovers. It's also a beautiful, light-filled spa in a dramatic and beautiful setting, at the base of ancient boulders for which the resort is named.
What sets Golden Door Spa at The Boulders apart is the gorgeous natural setting, a wide range of treatments from seasoned therapists, and a full schedule of excellent exercise classes for both day and overnight guests. With a strong focus on wellness and personal exploration, Golden Door Spa at The Boulders is a resort spa with a destination spafeel.
Once you pass through the front gate, there's a mile-long drive through the desert landscape, past 55 Pueblo-style villas that are privately owned. Guests stay in 160 casitas which you reach via golf cart. The ample-sized rooms have their charms, including white, curving Santa Fe-style walls, high, timbered ceilings, leather chairs and a real fireplace all set to go. What a novelty to hear the crackle of real wood rather than the hum of a gas fire!
Fabulous Spa, Lots of Classes
Golden Door Spa at the The Boulders is set well away from the casitas, its own little world. In fact, it's so far that a shuttle van runs regularly from the Lodge. Big glass walls in the Tea Lounge where you wait for your treatments offer views of the massive boulders, pool and gardens right behind the spa.
I arrived early so I could go to a Feldenkraise class and had a chocolate protein smoothie tasted just like a milkshake at the Spa Cafe. Feldenkraise, which you don't find at very many spas, is a very gentle modality that helps realign the skeletal structure and address imbalances in the body. It's actually s a great class to take before getting a massage. I stayed for an excellent yoga class in a beautiful studio.
Purification Ritual
Then I warmed up for my massage with the "purification ritual" the spa recommends. You start with a steam bath and follow it with a cold shower that's actually in the steam room, which felt wonderful! Americans are sometimes "wimpy" about cold water, but alternating heat and cold actually invigorates your system and is commonly done in European spas. The spa recommends a visit to the sauna, another cold shower, then a dip in the Japanese-style "onsen" pool, but I recommend you skip the last step because U.S. regulations require chlorine in communal pools, and I don't think it's healthy for the skin or body.
All warmed up and ready for my deep tissue massage ($155 for 50-minutes), I asked massage therapist Tina Leamon to focus on my shoulders, back and arms because 50 minutes isn't really enough to cover the whole body. She gave an excellent massage. Then it was back out to the Tea Lounge, where I stepped out onto the patio and lay on a white chaise, enjoying the sunshine and the sound of water rushing past the spa in a small stream. I felt like I'd been set down in paradise.
A Conversation With My Body
My next spa treatment was something new (so rare in the spa world!) called "Somatic Insights" ($220 for 80 min), created by a massage therapist with a master's degree in counseling psychology, Tej West. "I noticed that it wouldn't matter how often a person got a massage, there was something more locked away in the body," she told me. Somatic Insights gives you a way to access what the body is saying to you, and help it release blocked energy. For me Somatic Insights yielded dramatic results.
This treatment is done in comfortable clothes. West started by burning incense ("it gets people in their body") and analyzing how I walked and stood. She pointed out that I gripped my toes, which I wasn't aware of. On the treatment table I lay on my back and answered questions that West posed while she did energy work on me. "You're supposed to be talking to your body, and I faciltate," West said. At one point I could literally feel my right leg pulling up and "joining" the rest of my body. I feel much more "grounded" and balanced ever since, and have less pain in my right hip ever since.
I recommend this treatment to people who get a lot of massage but still have chronic pain. West doesn't push people further than they're ready to go, but you should know there might be some aftermath as emotions that have been held in the body are released. I was irritable for two days, and it only lifted when a friend gave me a quick Reiki treatment. So you might need some follow-up.
After the treatment, I enjoyed a lunch of grilled sea bass and polenta on the back patio, and it was delicious. My only regret was that I didn't have more time to sample their fascinating menu. There's an outdoor watsu pool where they do "refloatology" -- reflexology in the water -- and they also offer Asian modalites, Ayurvedic therapies, Lomi Lomi, and Russian sports massage. It also offers life coaching, hypnotherapy and numerology.
My bottom line is this is a first-rate spa with everything -- a beautiful facility in a spectacular setting, terrific therapists, unusual modalities, lots of great classes and an excellent spa cafe.
The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa At A Glance:
- Type of Spa: Resort Spa
- Address: 34631 N. Tom Darlington Drive, Carefree, AZ
- Room Rates: $150 - $1110. Book Now.
- Room Reservations: 800-553-1717
- Golden Door Spa at The Boulders Appointments: 480-595-3500
- Website: The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodations and treatments for the purpose of reviewing those services. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.
