The Phoenician, Arizona

Location: Scottsdale is a sunny, affluent city in Maricopa County, Arizona, in the southwest of the USA. The area is well known for its huge number of golf courses.

Getting there: British Airways flies direct to Phoenix from Heathrow. The Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is only nine miles from the resort. The flight time to Phoenix is just over 10 hours from the UK.

Tennis facilities: Twelve courts on four different surfaces: Rebound Ace, Premier Cushion, more hard courts and even one grass court. The website boasts that guests will be escorted to the court with ice water, Gatorade and towels!

Coaching: USPTA-certified pros provide daily clinics, private and group lessons, video instruction, a ‘Book-A-Match’ service, pro shop, racket and shoe rental and a stringing service. The junior academy is geared towards advanced junior players aged between 11 and 18. The team is run by Yazdegerd ‘Yaz’ Tavatli, the Director of Tennis, and even Great Britain Davis Cup captain John Lloyd is listed on the coaching staff!

Eating: The Lobby Tea Court at the Phoenician deserves a special mention for its Wedgewood china and tea served with scones and Devonshire cream. That aside,
the resort has a whopping 11 restaurants including the elegant Mary Elaine and the Windows on the Green, dishing out some fine southwest flavours.

Sleeping: There are 468 guest rooms and luxury suites (including two presidential suites) in the main building and 119 luxury casitas, which nestle along the edge of the resort’s tropical Necklace lake. Alternatively, the Canyon Suites are a boutique resort within a resort and feature another 60 guest rooms and suites.

What else? There is a 27-hole championship golf course, nine swimming pools, the Centre for Well-Being, the Funicians Kids Club and tours laid on by the hotel to see the red rocks of Sedona, day trips to the Grand Canyon, visits to authentic western ghost towns and hikes through the pine covered mountains of Flagstaff.