Tennis Resorts Online: Westward Look Resort

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Westward Look Resort
Tucson, Arizona

Tennis has long been a central amenity at Westward Look Resort in the foothills of Tucson's Santa Catalina Mountains. The 80-acre landmark dates to 1912, when the Watsons built an adobe home on the property. It later evolved into a guest ranch and then, during the tennis boom, added 8 hard courts, giving them a prime location at the top of the resort overlooking the original adobe buildings and the Tucson Valley beyond. The rooftop terrace atop a new ballroom has a 360-degree panorama that takes in the five mountain ranges ringing the valley.

Westward Look may not be as glamorous as some of the late-comers, but it retains a rich Sonoran character, in its architecture and its landscape. The original adobe homestead survives, converted now to a library with a wood-burning fireplace. The entire property is a botanical garden of desert species, set off here and there by ramadas with bird feeders and interpretive tiles about wildlife.

Although tennis remains a central amenity, it is not the only one. The guest ranch tradition survives in horseback rides into the adjoining hills, supplemented now by guided hikes, mountain biking, a fitness center, a spa, and three heated swimming pools, the largest of them—a lap pool—immediately adjacent to the tennis courts.

Tennis Features

Pro Shop: 520-297-0134 or 800-722-2500, ext. 489

The complex of eight hard courts begins near the pro shop and cascades down the slopes of the foothills through a botanical garden of desert foliage. It has a tiny pro shop, with Wilson racquets, balls, accessories, on-site restringing, a limited selection of clothing, and snacks. Throughout much of the winter and spring, every court is likely to be in use during the prime 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. period, booked either by guests or locals for whom this is a membership club.

Tennis Staff. Tennis director Tom Lepisto can to Westward Look in the fall of 2004. Originally from Minnesota, this former college and satellite player directed adult and junior programs at the John Gardiner resorts in Scottsdale and Carmel Valley and then ran the operations at private country clubs before making the move to Westward Look.
He left intact the successful match-assistance program. "Tennis players are social," he notes. "When you call these members they really do want to play. We have enough members at 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 level that we can get something going." He further encourages activity with a policy of offering some free programs, including the Friday evening "Wine Down," where players bring snacks and beverages to share after an evening of playing, and Saturday clinics. "We aren't going to nickel-and-dime out guest," he insists. "I'm here anyway, so to run a round robin or play with a guest is no big deal. My position is that by offering guests something for free, we're encouraging them to come back."
"We offer a high level of technical expertise in our teaching," says Lepisto of his staff of USPTA-certified pros. "If you're happy with you're strokes, we're happy. But once the options are presented in the right way, we find people are much more willing to accept technical changes than they thought they would be."
Court Fees. $15/hour but included in tennis packages.

Your Call

Here's what others have had to say about Westward Look Resort.

"As we sat sipping our ersatz resort coffee on our first day at the Westward Look Resort in Tucson Arizona AZ, because the expresso machine was broken, our aching backs kept us leaning on the table trying to stretch out our backs a bit. Our waiter Brett had no idea when it might be fixed.
It was the first day of our 7 day stay from 2.15.08 thru 2.22.08 at the Westward Look Resort (www.westwardlook.com ), doyenne of resorts in the Tucson area. We are a family of five, joining three more family members for a mini family reunion at Westward Look.
The grounds are impressive and well-kept with all variety of cactus, euphorbia, citrus trees and palms. A resident owl hooted hello to the twilight every evening near building 9, where we stayed.
Back to our backs and the aches: the beds are old and so soft that it was like sleeping in an upholstered salad bowl, causing us to wake up with our middle-aged backs in agony. The front desk readily acknowledged that the beds were too soft for “some tastes” but that there was no solution until the rooms were renovated. We repeatedly requested to speak to a manager, but the manager Alan Klein was never available, even when asked for by name.
Much insistence finally brought the engineering department around to putting boards between the box spring and the mattress, but we ended up sleeping on the floor on cot mattresses as the beds were still too soft and worn out in the center. This is really a scandal for a resort charging $391 per night. Please do not believe the standard corporate reply that Westward Look will post in reply to this decidedly mixed review which blames everything on the on-going renovation: while some small part of the resort is being renovated, none of our complaints were related to renovation issue, as beds can be replaced anytime. The beds are so bad that the staff had many excuses ready.
Our room had an aging bathroom with mildew and shower flow issues, and the whole bath area just had paint slathered all over it with no effort to smooth out the walls after repairs.
Back to the food: as our kids like Cheerios, these were unavailable until the last day of our stay. Upon asking why we were told that they ‘did not have the slightest clue’ which pretty much sums up the staff attitude to any request we made. The entire staff acted as if they were there only temporarily, and requests and complaints just rolled off their backs like water off of a duck. Brett then managed to spill orange juice, milk and coffee (twice) on my wife. We then took to requesting a ‘not Brett’ table, and were told “you are not alone”.
We booked the tennis package, and the bright spot was the experienced tennis pro Sam Mihoulides who has the touch to improve the tennis game of all abilities and ages. He brought our three children along very nicely, and helped our game a lot, even working some of the kinks out our backs. He runs tennis clinics for kids several times per week and effortlessly controls gangs of adolescents with drills and competition.
The tennis program staff was less helpful, with Brian refusing to set up the ball machine when our young boys asked him to, and it required the father to request that it be done, and even then it was done over protests that there is no electric outlet on the turf court, and if there was, the extension cord would not reach. Of course there was, and it did. Brian is a bit limited and not at all friendly. The hard tennis courts are all recently redone, but are marred by cracking. The Astroturf/sand courts are nice.
The Gold Room at the Westward Look Resort has good food, but breakfast, lunch and dinner all take 30 minutes to serve after placing orders. One night we tried to reserve for 7 PM, but were told that 6:30 would be better. Well, we arrived punctually but couldn’t order until after 7 PM, and the place was more than half empty. The staff just wanted us out of their hair early!
On the last day we requested an hour extension for check out from 12 noon to 1, and all clues were found and doubts banished when we were told that there would be absolutely no late check outs."—A.C., Int., February 2008

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Other Recreation

Golf Courses. Westward Look has no golf course of its own but does have an affiliation with many courses in the Tucson area.

Wellness Center at Westward Look Spa & Fitness Center. The Sonoran Spa at Westward Look provides massage and skin treatments using products indigenous to the region. Its seven treatment rooms are named for such healing desert plants as jojoba, Indian tea, and creosote. There are yoga and Pilates classes as well. At one end, there is an outside patio with lounge chairs and tables set just behind a cactus garden backdropped by the Santa Catalina Mountains.
The fitness center, in the same building as the tennis pro shop, is similarly modest, with a small array of cardiovascular machines, one Vectra workout station, and some hand weights. It has a gaslog fireplace, a television, and windows on the lap pool.

And ... As a former guest ranch, it understandably offers horseback riding on property. But there are also guided hikes and mountain biking tours and a looping fitness trail.

Lodging

The rooms are scattered through roughly 40 one- and two-story buildings that spill down the hill from the main lobby. These tend to be larger than typical hotel rooms and have rough plaster walls, a Southwestern decor, spacious bathrooms, and mountain or valley views. All have been recently renovated.

Restaurants

There are two restaurants at the resort: the casual Lookout Bar & Grille and the Gold Room. The latter has burgundy banquets upholstered in a Southwestern pattern, viga and latilla ceiling, and dazzling views of the city below. Executive chef Jamie West uses traditional herbs and spices to give his cuisine a Southwestern flair. The menu also helpfully provides suggested wine pairings drawing on a cellar containing hundreds of selections.

Travel Essentials

Seasons. Although the resort is open year-round, the best period for tennis runs from late September into May.

Rates.

Reservations:

Westward Look Resort
245 E. Ina Rd
Tucson, AZ 85704
520-297-1151
Toll-free: 800-722-2500
Fax: 520-742-2540
Web Link: Westward Look Resort

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Book Online: Westward Look Resort

Travel Instructions. Tucson claims to get 350 days of sunshine a year, more, says the Convention & Visitors Bureau, than any other city in the U.S. Expect high temperatures in the mid 60s in winter, in the upper 90s in summer. The rainiest months are July, August, and September.

General Tourist Information. For information about vacationing in Tucson, visit the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 110 S. Church Ave. No. 7199, Tucson, AZ 85701. Phone: 520-624-1817; Fax: 520-770-0507.