Granite formations, two on-site courses, and the kind of quiet that luxury resorts rarely achieve.
The Boulders occupies 1,300 acres against a backdrop of 12-million-year-old granite formations in the Carefree area north of Scottsdale. The setting is the first and lasting impression. The rock formations are enormous, stacked in improbable arrangements that look engineered but are entirely natural, and the resort is built around and between them rather than in front of them.
Accommodation is in casitas scattered across the property, which creates a sense of privacy that larger resort hotels struggle to replicate. The rooms are spacious without being ostentatious, with kiva fireplaces that earn their keep on desert evenings between November and March. The distance between casitas and the main facilities means a golf cart or a willingness to walk, which is either a luxury or an inconvenience depending on your disposition.
The two on-site courses, North and South, are both 18-hole layouts that wind through the boulder formations. The South Course is the more visually dramatic of the two, with several holes playing through narrow corridors between rock faces. Neither course reaches the design sophistication of Troon North or We-Ko-Pa, but the setting is singular. There is no other course in the region that looks like the South Course.
The spa is extensive and well-regarded, drawing on the desert setting with outdoor treatment areas and a range of programmes that go well beyond the standard resort offering. For travelling companions who do not play golf, the combination of the spa, the hiking trails accessible from the property, and the general atmosphere of the place is sufficient to fill several days without complaint.
The dining is competent rather than destination-level. Palo Verde handles the fine dining duties with Southwestern-influenced menus and a terrace that overlooks the boulders. For serious food, the restaurants of Old Town Scottsdale are 30 minutes south.