Talking Stick Resort

A talking stick is a long piece of wood, also known as a "calendar stick," onto which a tribe records important events using various symbols.

Opened in April 2010, the 15-floor Talking Stick Resort, was just such an event for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the home of two Native American tribes who share a reservation and who have been diversifying their economy beyond agriculture and casinos.

Talking Stick as seen from the Loop 101 freeway

Their impressive resort, which towers over the community, should help them do just that by drawing in leisure and business travelers as well as conventions.

Talking Stick Resort's close proximity to the new Colorado Rockies - Arizona Diamondbacks spring training baseball facility should also bring spring training fans as this is one of the closest lodgings to the new ballpark.

The $440 million resort complex includes a hotel, casino, golf, three pools, and a full-service spa.

There are 497 non-smoking guest rooms, including a Presidential Suite.

Each room has a LCD HD TV, free wireless internet access, in-room safe, refrigerator, and coffee maker. Some guest rooms, such as the Signature King/Two Queen, Executive King and Two-Bay Suites, also have a balcony or patio.

The atmosphere is clean and contemporary with Native American art and accents.

Talking Stick's room are in a tall tower

The Talking Stick is similar to Las Vegas style hotels in that guests have to walk through the casino in order to get to the hotel elevators. Also, guests must show their room key before entering the elevators.

Casino Arizona at Talking Stick is the resort's 240,000 square foot casino which features over 800 slot machines, card game tables, and Keno.

Although smoking is allowed in the casino, the Poker Room has 50 non-smoking tables of card games and a small non-smoking section of slot machines.

Talking Stick Resort just might have one of the most distinctive spas in Arizona.

Located on the 14th floor, the Spa at Talking Stick offers amazing views from its private spa rooms, each with floor-to-ceiling windows that can be opened during your treatment.

This is a full service spa with many beauty services in addition to standard spa treatments.

Talking Stick’s spa therapies use products made with culturally significant ingredients harvested from the community’s own gardens, such as the Desert Lavender Massage ($130/60 min.), Toxin Release Body Soak ($45/20 min.) and the Prickly Pear Blossom Body Therapy ($190/90 min.).

The spa also has a relaxation and serenity lounge, a spacious steam room and a fully-equipped fitness facility.

Talking Stick Resort as seen from the golf course

For dining, Talking Stick Resort has seven restaurants and four lounges.

Orange Sky Restaurant is the resort’s signature restaurant. Located on the 15th floor, Orange Sky has stunning mountain views not only in the dining room but also from the restrooms.

The menu is fine dining with dishes such as seared king salmon cakes with green chile soft polenta and parsley pesto ($15) and roast pork chop stuffed with dried fruit goat cheese ($29).

Yummy sides include artichoke au gratin, smoked cheddar whipped Yukon gold potatoes, and local farm vegetables ($8 each).

Ocean Trail is a sophisticated seafood restaurant with azure lighting and a 19-seat bar. Traditional Creole cuisine is the highlight here with specialties such as oysters on the half shell ($$9.25/half dozen), seafood corn chowder ($5/small bowl) and seafood Creole over rice ($16).

For those who love buffets, there’s the Wandering Horse Buffet. This huge international buffet offers indoor and outdoor dining and a variety of diverse dishes from the cuisines of Mexico, Asia, Italy, America and the Mediterranean.

There are live cooking stations, a fresh salad bar, a carving station, plenty of desserts and a brick oven pizza kitchen.

Buffet pricing ranges from $9.95 to $26.

Talking Stick Resort’s other dining opportunities are the Coffee Garden, Blue Coyote Cafe, the Black Fig Bistro, and the Poker Room.

Entertainment venues include the Talking Stick Resort Showroom, Shadows Lounge, Degree 270 Lounge, Palo Verde Lounge, and Players Sports Bar.

For golfers, there’s the scenic Talking Stick Golf Club, located behind the hotel.

The Talking Stick Golf Club has great mountain views

Managed by Troon Golf, the club has two distinct 18-hole golf courses, the North Course and the South Course, both designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.

The North Course is a links style course with grasslands, broad, angular holes and clever bunkering. The South Course offers traditional play with tree-lined fairways and raised greens.

Both courses have great desert and mountain views. Unique among golf courses, Talking Stick Golf Club is designated a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf courses, an Audubon International program.

To be certified, a golf course must "demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality" in areas including environmental planning, wildlife & habitat management, outreach and education, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, and water quality management.

Only 16 golf courses in Arizona have been so certified.

Talking Stick Golf Club’s 26,000 square foot clubhouse has a golf shop, player's locker rooms, full service dining room, and private dining areas.

For meetings, consider Talking Stick Resort's Salt River Grand Ballroom, which is part of over 100,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting and convention space.

Address:   9800 East Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale AZ 85256

Management:   Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

Pet Friendly:   No

Room Types:   Deluxe King/Two Queen; Signature King/Two Queen; Club King/Two Queen; 1,00 sq foot 2-Bay Suite; 1,500 sq. foot 2-room Suites; Presidential Suite

Cost:   In Season: $$$$
Summer Season: $$ - $$$

Room Service:   24-hour room service

Views/Setting:   City, mountain and desert

Pools:   Three

Restaurants:   Seven plus four lounges and one golf course restaurant.

Spa:   Yes

Golf:   Yes

Amenities:   Business center, 3 shops, salon, shoe shine, cultural art display, on-site rental car service, dry cleaning/valet laundry, on-site florist

Parking:   Complimentary valet and self service parking.

Accommodations Cost Key (based on a standard guest room, double occupancy):
$: $50 - $100
$$: $100 - $150
$$$: $150- $200
$$$$: $200 - $300
$$$$$: Above $300

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