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BOOK IT! Recommendations of LGBT friendly hotels and resorts that help you engage with the identity of a destination.

Looking for the perfect relaxation destination? Escape your humdrum daily schedule and prepare for a luxurious desert getaway at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch. It’s more the speed of what one looks for when booking a trip to unwind and enjoy the precious minutes. As soon as you pull in the drive of the resort, you’ll feel right at home in Scottsdale, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert and majestic McDowell Mountains. The LGBT-friendly Hyatt

Hyatt Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey RanchBy Aaron Drake

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doesn’t disappoint at its Scottsdale location—in fact, it’s one of its finest.

Palm trees hover over the hotel and a giant tiered fountain welcomes guests to the resort. Shops line the drive, including the Solstice Shop, selling Southwest-inspired men and women’s clothing; Canyon Market, a hiking lifestyle store that sells all the gear you’ll need, provides Starbuck’s coffee, squeeze juice and smoothie bar, homemade ice cream, and yummy salads and sandwiches. You’ll also pass the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale’s award-winning Avania Spa.

Inside the front doors, enter into the spacious, two-floor, light-filled lobby—the sun’s rays stream through a smartly designed glass atrium, taking advantage of the fact that the greater Phoenix area is soaked in sunshine for more than 300 days out of the year! Beyond the entrance, the lobby overlooks the rear of the property: Fountain Court, the hotel’s swimming pool complex, a 27-hole golf course, a winding lake, and mountain backdrop. If the scenery hasn’t eased you into paradise, being greeted at check-in with a pear margarita is a definite sign this vacation will be a memorable one. You have arrived.

With 493 rooms and a total of twenty-seven acres, luxury and relaxation are key at the Hyatt Scottsdale. The majority of the resort’s traditional rooms and suites are in the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired main building. You can expect the usual amenities, like Wi-Fi, 37” flat-screen TVs, small

refrigerator, and iPod docking station. Members of the Hyatt Regency club can enjoy additional perks of personalized concierge service that includes a European-style breakfast, light snacks throughout the day, and hors d’oeuvres in the evening, as well as complete access to the resort’s fitness facility and Spa Avania. Off to either side of the resort’s central building are an additional 18 casitas that feature two or four-bedrooms, each with a wet bar, fireplace and Jacuzzi, perfect for bigger groups or longer stays. Since gays love to bring their furry friends, it’s worth noting that Hyatt Regency Scottsdale is a pet-friendly property. The resort welcomes dogs and cats with additional amenities such as treats, toys, and a custom-made Comfy pet bed with advanced reservations and an additional $150 fee.

Hyatt’s three on-property restaurants provide a diverse choice of what’s for dinner (or breakfast, brunch, and lunch depending on the time of day), without ever needing to leave the resort. Dine inside or al fresco: SWB, a Southwest-style bistro; Italian Alto ristorante e bar, with its Formaggio & Salumi Cellar selection of artisanal meats and cheeses, singing servers, and award-winning wine; and Noh, a cozy spot to order sashimi, sushi and Japanese cuisine. For a fresh take on the dining experience, the Interactive Chef Kitchen demo at SWB peers into the executive chef’s open kitchen and giant woodfire ovens while he prepares Southwest-style cuisine from fresh, seasonal

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ingredients. Each of the multiple courses during the meal is paired with wine and tequila that is carefully chosen to enhance the flavor of each dish. Aside from dinner, Hyatt Regency Scottsdale offers a fun, tastebud-tantalizing experience for guests to do wine tasting with an Arizona twist. Guests will try two glasses of wine of the same varietals, one being a familiar version and the other bottled in Arizona, then make a guess of which is which. As my host for the tasting shared, Arizona wineries are still relatively young so it may not be that difficult to pick the Arizonian, but you will be surprised by the different flavors.

If after wine tasting you’re still in the mood for cocktails, you’ll notice the Center Stage Bar on the ground floor of the lobby, quite possibly featuring live entertainment since live acts play there throughout the week. The live acoustic band that rocked out for a packed bar the first night of my stay performed excellent renditions of familiar pop songs that had guests singing along. The

bar spills outside with a patio ensconcing fire pits and additional seating. Cantina Due is another bar located just off the lobby, snuggled between SWB and Alto. Here guests can unwind with a handcrafted cocktail made from fresh juices, artisanal syrups, and only natural and organic ingredients.

For those craving a little fun in the sun, there is fun to be had at the resort’s adult water playground made up of 10 interconnecting pools—get ready to play! Go for a swim in the adults-only pool, one of four cold plunges, soak in the Jacuzzi, opt for a game of water volleyball or basketball, stretch out on the sandy beach, or get your thrills on the three-story waterslide and 14-foot-high aqueduct. H2oasis serves a menu of delicious favorite foods to the poolside cabanas, and two poolside bars will keep you liquored up. It’s everything an adult playground needs!

When you’re ready to take a break from the sun, you can rejuvenate at Spa Avania. This little slice

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Aaron Drake is Executive Editor of Gaycation Magazine. He has contributed to The Advocate, Out Traveler, Man About World and Amtrak Ride With Pride. When he’s not writing and traveling the globe, you can find him at the beach, at the movies, or playing with his two mischievous dogs. Follow his travels and travails on Twitter and Instagram at @theaarondrake.

of heaven features 19 treatment rooms, including four couples treatment rooms, five indoor/outdoor garden treatment suites, a fully equipped men’s suite, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Select your treatment from an array of options that focus on restoring balance and harmony to your body, like a traditional Swedish massage, body wrap, or the aromatic Vichy scrub—a full-body salt or sugar scrub and massage followed by a rain shower cleanse. Unique to Spa Avania, all treatments here are customized for the time of day they’re offered and what the body needs, changing up essential elements like music, antioxidant teas, natural light, and spa products used to invigorate your body if it’s morning, or wind down in the evening. Before or after your treatment, make use of the dry sauna, steam room, outdoor French Celtic mineral pool, open-air relaxation room, and outdoor showers. Showering naked beneath a refreshing rain shower surrounded by mountain views was a definite highlight of the visit!

The resort’s open-air lawn court and ballrooms, which also look out onto the resort’s Desert Garden (and rooftop garden containing more than 100 types of succulents and cacti that further immerse you in the Southwestern landscape), are ideal for business meetings or weddings now that same-sex marriage has made its way to the Grand Canyon State (yay, Arizona!). If you’re yearning to learn about the surrounding area, guests are invited to get cultured in the resort’s Native American Learning Center, where you can find out about the region’s tribes. The resort also offers Camp Hyatt Kachina, a day camp specifically for kids age 3-12 that teaches about the desert landscape and history. Adults can even partake in the “Four Worlds” program designed to explore the people, food, and environment of the Southwest through activities like Navajo beadworking, flute carving, Hopi Kachina carving, and Pima basket weaving.

Whatever you choose to do, the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa is a vacation experience by itself, to say nothing of what lies beyond the

resort’s grounds. The greater Phoenix area has a huge LGBT community, with gay bars, gay-owned shops and businesses, an amazing restaurant scene, outdoor adventures like hiking and hot-air ballooning, and a full calendar of outdoor festivals happening almost every weekend from November to April.

There was more to explore at the Hyatt Regency than I could squeeze into my two-night stay, so when making your vacation plans I definitely recommend making time for multiple nights. That way you can experience it all at your leisure and, of course, have time for that much-needed R&R.

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch

www.Scottsdale.hyatt.com