Trip of the week: winter sun in wild Arizona

It’s not somewhere you’d normally think of for winter sun – but with “reliably rain-free” weather, beautiful landscapes and temperatures averaging 22°C, Arizona makes for a wonderful escape at this time of year, says Louise Roddon in The Times. A little way to the east of the state capital, Phoenix, lies the Scottsdale region, where there are “gorgeously flop-worthy” hotels offering “wellness” activities including “desert bathing”, outdoor yoga and “meditative stargazing”.

Alternatively, head a bit further for hiking, riding and kayaking in the Tonto National Forest, one of the country’s ten largest national parks. Add in some “excellent” restaurants, and it’s small wonder that celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor to Alicia Keys have long chosen to holiday and even live in the area.

Scottsdale itself is a “low-key” town where one-storey stores sell Native-American trinkets and cowboy boots, but there are also some “unassuming-looking yet seriously cool” restaurants and bars. Among its best hotels is the Four Seasons, where the “appealingly homely” adobe casitas have balconies overlooking “jagged” Pinnacle Peak and the pale blue hills beyond.

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Built in the 1950s, nearby Mountain Shadows is a “mid-century modern” boutique hotel that was once a favourite of the Rat Pack and still has a “buzzy vibe and pared-back glamour”. Next door sits Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, a spa resort where Jay-Z and Beyoncé honeymooned.

The forest itself is bleakly beautiful, and riding there beneath the navy-blue desert sky can be “unutterably lovely”. On the lower Salt River, which is wonderful for kayaking, herons fish, and violet and green swallows flit among the reeds. And no trip here is complete without a visit to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, with its windows overlooking cactus-strewn plains.

Premier Holidays (premierholidays.co.uk) has seven-night breaks from £2,649pp, including flights and car hire.