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CopperWynd Resort and Club
Fountain Hills, Arizona

With nine courts for 32 rooms and a eight luxury villas, Copperwynd announced its determination to appeal to tennis players from the moment it opened. Guests could look forward to a 5,000-square-foot fitness center, an intimate spa, a couple of swimming pools, and the sumptuous cuisine of Alchemy restaurant.

Overview

The drive to Copperwynd took me into unfamiliar territory, past the entrance to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West and up into the residential foothills northeast of Phoenix. The resort trails along the ridgetop on the boundary between Scottsdale Copperwynd Resort and Spa and Fountain Hills. That elevated setting affords every one of its 32 rooms and 8 luxury villas with a stunning view north across the desert at the stacked Superstition Mountains. Check-in formalities take place in the livingroom-like lobby of the clubhouse, which has a fireplace and comfortable sofas and chairs. A wall of windows facing north frames views of desert foothills with their sentinels of saguaro cactus and of the distant Superstition Mountains.

The small footprint puts everything close at hand. The inn rooms—in two two-story stucco buildings—cling to the ridge on one side of the clubhouse, which affords every one of them with that same panoramic view north across the desert at the distant mountains. The terraced courts and villas trail along the ridge in the opposite direction. In between there is a free-form pool and a lap pool and the spa and fitness center.

Tennis Features

Pro Shop: 480-433-1900

Tennis central at Copperwynd is a small pro shop and gift boutique at the eastern end of the clubhouse. Immediately outside is a covered terrace with views across the terraced court complex. Beverages are as close as the Pavilion Bar and Grille at the main swimming pool immediately adjacent.

Tennis Staff. Tennis director Mark Sydnor has spent virtually his entire adult life teaching tennis. Born in Arizona, he subsequently went to Venezuela, where he worked with some of the top juniors and founded a tennis magazine, El Mundo del Tenis. After returning to the U.S., he was an associate professor of Physical Education at Arizona State University, then moved to California to found a junior academy, which he operated for 15 years before returning to Arizona and Copperwynd in 2004. He heads a staff of three additional pros.
Tennis Programs. With so few rooms, Copperwynd gears its programs to an active membership of some 180 players but ensures that guests have ample opportunity to take part. Thus, the weekly roster features a mixture of programs, including a Friday evening social mixed doubles session, drill sessions, drop in men's and ladies doubles, digital videoanalysis, cardio tennis, and game matching. There are also junior camps over major holidays and during the summer and on-going programs for local juniors that guests' children are welcome to join.
Courts & Fees. There are nine hard courts, four one of them Plexicushion, the rest a shock-absorbing surface called Premier Cushion, which some players adore, and others hate. The main exhibition court, partly enclosed in adobe-colored walls, stands alone on a point north of the swimming pool. The rest are terraced into the ridge line below the pro shop. All have angled corner and desert landscaping of acacia and flowering shrubs. Court fees: Free to guests on tennis packages.

Your Call

Here's what others have had to say about CopperWynd Resort and Club.

"The resort has some great tennis courts but not alot of programs for the visitor. I participated in one drill program one evening and we scraped up 4 players. The resort is more of a tennis club for the local community which is not a retirement community. So the tennis pro will try and arrange a match but most of the members work during the day so you are kind of out of luck if you are on vacation."—J.C., Adv., February 2008

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Other Recreation

Golf Courses. Copperwynd has no golf course of its own but does offer playing privileges as several nearby courses, including the Sunrise Canyon Golf Course visible in the valley immediately below.

Spa & Fitness Center. The fitness center at Copperwynd is remarkably well equipped, especially for a resort this size. It has roughly 20 pieces of cardiovascular facing six TVs and windows out onto the foliage surrounding the swimming pool. Behind them are another 20 or so Cybex stations along with free weights and dumbbells. There's an extensive menu of weekly classes, including aerobics, yoga, and spinning. The fitness center connects seamlessly to an intimate spa that supplements the standard massages with marine skin and body treatments and—your call on this one—toe readings as part of a total-body treatment dubbed ScenTao.

Lodging

There is much to like about the 32 spacious inn rooms at Copperwynd: broad terraces with desert vistas, a gas-log fireplace, hand-made furniture, and a generous bath with room for both a soaking tub and separate shower. They're supplemented by eight, equally elegant 2- and 3-bedroom villas available for rent on a short-term basis.

Restaurants

The signature restaurant, Alchemy, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner from its location just off the lobby of the clubhouse. A wall of windows along one side frames views of Four Peaks, Red Mountain, the Mazatzals, and the Superstitions and can be rolled back in clement weather to let in the desert air. Its decor is whimsical, long on stone, fabric, and hand-blown glass. The Executive Chef, Paul O'Connor, has taken the restaurant's name as an invitation to wander the globe in search of inspiration, from mango chutney and pistachio-crusted halibut to apricot-lacquered pork tenderloin and palm sugar and coriander rubbed ribeye. And during the day, snacks and beverages are available from the poolside Pavilion Bar and Grille.

Travel Essentials

Rates. The resort has 32 mountainside guest rooms, all with private balconies with mountain views, imported handcrafted furnishings, and gas-log fireplaces. It also has eight expansive (that is, 1,900-2,700-square-foot) 2- and 3-bedroom villas with 10-foot ceilings, gourmet kitchens, oversize baths with Roman tubs and walk-in showers, private garages and entries, and washer-dryers. Rates do not include $18 resort fee and tax.


	Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2004	Rooms: $249+
	Jan. 1-Apr. 30, 2005	Rooms: $299+
	May 1-31, 2005	Rooms: $249+
	June 1-Sep. 15, 2005	Rooms: $159+
	Sept. 16-Dec. 31, 2005	Rooms: $249+

Reservations:

CopperWynd Resort and Club
13225 N. Eagle Ridge Drive
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
480-433-1900
Toll-free: 877-707-7760
Fax: 480-333-1901
Web Link: CopperWynd Resort and Club

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Travel Instructions. From Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Rawhide take the Red Mountain Freeway (202) East to the 101 Freeway. Take the 101 Freeway North to Shea Boulevard. Turn right (east) on Shea Blvd, travel approximately 8.8 miles to Palisades Blvd. Turn left (north) on Palisades Blvd, then left (west) on Eagle Ridge Drive, and continue to the top of the mountain. The entrance to the resort is on the right.

General Tourist Information. Visit the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 7343 Scottsdale Mall, Scottsdale, AZ 85251; phone (480) 945-8481 or (800) 877-1117.

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