Paradise Valley’s Mountain Shadows, a luxurious 183-room resort, will be opening early next year. Hotel executives announced earlier in the week that the resort’s expected opening date is February 14th. The former Marriot Mountain Shadows was closed in 2004.
The original Mountain Shadows resort, opened in 1959, served as a vacation hotspot for stars such as Bob Hope and Sammy Davis, Jr. Shortly after the resort’s opening, “The Brothers Brannagan,” a detective television show, used the resort as a film location for two seasons.
The resort’s site at 56th Street and Lincoln Drive, a prime real estate location with scenic views of Camelback Mountain, has been the cause of much drama and uncertainty over the past decade. Host Marriot closed Mountain Shadows in 2004 and shortly thereafter put it up for sale. In 2007 it was purchased by the developer of the Montelucia, a neighboring resort. However, after the recession hit, Montelucia’s developer met financial trouble and the site never materialized into a new resort as planned.
In 2015, Woodbine Development and Westroc Hospitality purchased 45 acres of the property, reviving plans for a resort and golf course on the property. Woodbine Development is a Dallas-based real estate developer. Westroc is a Scottsdale-based hospitality firm that owns and operates the swank mountainside resort Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain.
President and chief operating officer of Westroc, Bill Nassikas said Mountain Shadows has been a point of interest for the company over the past years. Bill said Westroc was outbid on its first attempt to purchase the property several years ago. He says the big draws are the resort’s address and rich history.
“It really comes to its location as the social crossroads of Paradise Valley,” said Bill. “For us, one and one equals three. We have Sanctuary across the street.”
Rooms at Mountain Shadows are to top $300 a night during winter tourism season and drop as low as $125 a night during the summer months.
