Public spaces of the Biltmore hotel, Arizona

The Arizona Biltmore is not only a hotel as I've mentioned but a huge resort regularly used for conferences, weddings, and other events. Many of these spaces are original to the hotel and in the main building and I thought I'd share them with you here today!

One of the first rooms one comes upon while entering the hotel is the Aztec Room which was designed as a lounge and theater in the original to the 1929 hotel.

Featuring a spectacular gold leaf ceiling, 2 fireplaces, garden access, and a curtained stage, no wonder this is so popular for weddings!

One of the 2 unusual fireplaces in the Aztec Room.

The Gold Room off the lobby was originally designed as the main dining room and also features a stunning gold leafed ceiling.

Much larger than the Aztec room it also features french doors out to a terrace.

I love the unusual shape to these windows!

This beautiful wood and metal screen was near the entry.

Two enormous murals featuring Native American scenes add color to the room flanking the wall of glass.

As you can see the room is enormous!

Upon entering the hotel you don't enter directly into the main 2 story lobby but rather a discrete anteroom which features an unusual water feature built of the textile blocks. Here you can see how some of the textile blocks are actually glass and provide ambient light.

Also in the lobby is a stained glass window designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1927 (Saguaro Forms and Cactus) and donated to the hotel by his wife after his death.

One of numerous hotels is named after the architect who inspired the design, Wright's.

This pleasant sunny space was at one point the hotel's sun lounge or conservatory. It also features a gold leafed ceiling and pleasant garden views as well as an enormous terrace.

This pretty little garden is the view from the restaurant.

And rising above the restaurant is the hotel itself. Notice the unusual pierced roof overhang above.

The hotel has become a campus and the outbuildings which host conferences, apartments, and other guest rooms are designed in the same Wright'ian style incorporating his textile blocks. As you can see despite the warm weather the trees do loose their leaves which surprised me!  This brings to an end my sharing of the Biltmore Hotel but I will be bringing you Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West shortly!

Arizona Biltmore cottages

Nestled in the garden courtyard of the Arizona Biltmore hotel are a number of textile block cottages.  These date to the original construction of the hotel in 1929 and believe it or not, were designated for guest's children and nannies to keep them from under foot. Today they are the most desirable addresses within the resort.

The lush grounds are as perfect as a golf course and in fact hold a number of putting greens within their bounds. Each cottage is different and of varying sizes but I especially liked this low slung version above.

I overheard a guest excitedly telling some friends how the hotel had placed him in one of these cottages as the rooms were all full in order to fulfill his reservation. He had a living room, dining room, kitchen, and 2 bedrooms at his disposal (as opposed to one rather standard sized hotel room, no matter how luxurious)!

Those were some lucky nannies! Like the hotel itself the roofs of these bungalows function as terraces.

 The original cantilevered copper awnings are rather spectacular.

 As it is a garden in the midst of a desert water features are to be found everywhere.

 This lush greenery wouldn't be out of place in Beverly Hills or Greenwich.

A number of the larger cottages are actually split into separate units, accessed at different points to remain private.

 I love the textile blocks with copper detailing which are a great foil to the lush vegetation.

Don't forget to visit the cottage court if you find yourself at the Arizona Biltmore!

Arizona Biltmore Hotel

Sitting here in snow and ice it's hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago I was in paradise or at least the closest thing in winter: Phoenix, Arizona! One of the most well known sites in Phoenix is the Arizona Biltmore Hotel resort.

While many believe that Frank Lloyd Wright was the architect of the Biltmore Hotel it was actually Albert Chase McArthur, a mentee of Wrights and formerly in his employ. Frank Lloyd Wright consulted on the design for 4 months in 1928 which included his textile blocks. The hotel opened in 1929.

Wright developed these concrete textile blocks 6 years earlier for use in Los Angeles. Concrete blocks are formed with decorative patterns which give these buildings their distinctive appearance.

Oddly enough Wright did not get his way for once in design matters; the blocks here were designed as rectangles rather than Wright's squares by McArthur's insistence.

The grounds are exquisitely manicured as you can see in these pictures. The hotel sits in a desert but you'd never know it by the amount of surrounding green.

To take advantage of these grounds and the glorious winter weather all of the roofs function as patios for the rooms offering views of the grounds and in some cases the mountains beyond.

 The copper detailing mimics the textile block pattern.

Across the main entrance one can see the Wrigley mansion perched on a hill which is now owned by the resort and used as a private club.

 Some of these large roofs have nearly enough room to play a game of football!

The views are breathtaking. As you can see in some of the photos the resort has expanded from the main building over the years to include other wings and buildings - all designed in the same Wright-ian Prairie style.

Replicas of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Sprites" from his Midway Gardens project in Chicago (1915) dot the grounds as do many other Wrightian references.

 Can you imagine spending an entire winter here as people were wont to do in the 1930s & 40s?

 The textile blocks are a great backdrop to the vegetation.

 While visiting don't miss the fabulous swimming pool where Marilyn Monroe was often photographed.

 No detail is overlooked at the resort, not even the gate to the pool area!

In more recent history Senator John McCain conceded defeat for the Presidency of the United States on the hotel grounds in a newscast ( November 4, 2008) - yet another reason to enjoy the resort!

Inside the spaces are cool and dark. Other than the 2 story lobby spaces ceiling heights are low. Don't forget that although Phoenix can be delightful in the winter the hot summers are brutal and the building responds to that architecturally. Air conditioning was installed in the 1960s enabling the hotel to operate year round.

 These unusual columns surround the lobby, seen here from the second floor.

I loved the art deco mailbox still in use in the lobby.

The stairs throughout the hotel are open and airy. I wonder if the metal railings were added to the textile block guardrail later for code purposes (36" height) or were original?

Detail of the interesting stairs.

The textile blocks are used in many different ways. In some areas they are used as a sort of window with embedded glass (above), in other places they function as light fixtures, while on the exterior they make up the shell of the building.

I'll be bringing you more photos of the grounds of the Arizona Biltmore in future posts as well as my previously promised post on Taliesin West!