Photo: Barbie Beach House, Mattel Adventure Park (photo credit Mattel Adventure Park)

Arizona is set to welcome its largest hotel to date this year in Glendale – VAI Resort.

Considered a desert oasis and situated on a man-made island, VAI offers 1,100 rooms across four hotel towers, a six-acre swimming pool, private cabanas, white sand beaches, 10 bars, 13 deluxe restaurants and a shopping corridor. It’s also associated with Mattel Adventure Park, opening this year in Glendale as the first-ever Mattel-branded theme park. Here, guests of all ages can join Barbie at the Barbie Beach House, go go-karting at the Hot Wheels track and ride the Hot Wheels Boneshaker rollercoaster.

VAI Resort (photo credit VAI Resort)

Other new hotels debuting in 2024 include The Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley, The Palmeraie, featuring a world-class spa and specialty dining, located adjacent to The Palmeraie Shops.

Just opened in February is Caesars Republic Scottsdale, the first non-gaming hotel from Caesars Entertainment in the U.S., located near Scottsdale Fashion Square and featuring two new dining concepts by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.

And opening in late 2024 following a US$110 renovation will be the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch, which will be rebranded as the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort & Spa, making it the first Grand Hyatt property in Arizona. Top selling points include newly renovated guestrooms, pools, a spa, fitness centre and event spaces.

Outdoor enthusiasts should also note the opening of Rockin’ River Ranch State Park in Camp Verde, Arizona’s newest state park where hiking, kayaking and fishing opportunities abound.

After visiting this day-use-only park, visitors can explore the surrounding Verde Valley including Montezuma Castle National Monument and area wineries.

For more information about travel to Arizona go to visitarizona.com.

Barbie Beach House, Mattel Adventure Park (photo credit Mattel Adventure Park)

Canada flights and possible new lift

Calling the pandemic a game-changer, Tejeda, Senior Travel Industry Marketing Manager, Arizona Office of Tourism says recovery has been slow going, with Canadian visitation peaking at just over 300,000 in 2023, far below the record-breaking numbers in 2019, with close to one million visitors. This has largely been due to a drop in airlift, however, 2024 is looking promising with multiple options for Canadians.

“Air Canada has added lots of frequencies for the summer out of Ontario and Montreal into Arizona, and on the west side also from Vancouver and Calgary,” says Nesteanu, Managing Director Canada for GMS.

“We’ve been working hand in hand with airline partners to make sure that we have a stronger presence in Canada.”

Daily flights are available with Air Canada between Toronto-Phoenix, and twice-daily service between Vancouver-Phoenix. Flair offers 4x/weekly service between Edmonton-Phoenix and Vancouver-Phoenix, while WestJet offers three daily flights between Calgary-Phoenix and two daily flights between Edmonton and Vancouver to Phoenix.

Nesteanu also hints at a possible additional airline flying out of Canada into Phoenix later this year.

“We’re having conversations and nothing’s been made official yet, but we’re hoping to have something to announce in the second part of 2024,” she says. “We’re doing everything on our side to negotiate and we’re really hoping that it will have a huge impact and help increase numbers back to what they were previous to the pandemic.”

Source: Travelweek