The Wilde Resort & Spa

The Wilde Resort & Spa offers sumptuous boutique accommodations in the middle of Arizona’s spectacular Red Rock Country. While the alien landscape, with its pockmarked spires and dusty crimson canyons, might evoke Mars, the hotel’s soft bedding and lovingly appointed spa evoke another type of otherworldly experience. The location means you can just as easily wander around the desert as enjoy a stroll around the city’s main shopping-and-eating drag.

The Wilde's design and programming speak to the twenty-first century, but the property still honors its roots. Beds come with lambs’ wool blankets that would be perfectly at home on the range. Fido is welcome, assuming he’s under seventy-five pounds and good with cityfolk. At night, you can count shooting stars from the roof terrace or tell stories of days gone by in front of the communal outdoor fireplace. The on-site restaurant, Rascal, offers huevos rancheros and fresh tortillas for breakfast, even as it serves fish sliders and rosemary chicken breast later in the day.

These days, of course, Sedona attracts more crystal-gazers than cowboys. In addition to the usual massages, the spa lets you learn about guided visualization, or experience quantum healing, clairvoyant coaching, and spiritual acupuncture. There’s a course on past life regression too. For constant access to chakras, etc., you can even stay inside the spa, rather than in the hotel proper; the handful of rooms and suites here come with their own super-sized soaking tubs.