The Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa is an LGBT-friendly resort located in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is set on 27 acres surrounded by palm trees and mountains. The resort has 493 rooms and suites, three restaurants, two pools with a waterslide, and an award-winning spa. It also offers activities like wine tasting, live music, and educational programs about the local Native American culture. The article recommends staying multiple nights to fully experience everything the resort and surrounding Phoenix area have to offer.

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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 Ranch
By 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