This year, a lot of money went into the resorts along Lincoln Drive. Most of it landed where a neighbor without a room key can't get to it yet. Camelback Inn's $25 million spa is open, but it serves resort guests and private members. Sanctuary has new owners, and their renovation starts in summer 2027. Montelucia's spa revamp has a 2027 target. The Ritz-Carlton site near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road is in a bankruptcy courtroom in Texas.
That leaves the kitchens. Between now and the end of December, nearly everything a Paradise Valley resident can book on resort row without staying over is a meal, a tasting, or a ticketed evening. The menus are also where the changes from this year show up first.
| Resort | What changed in 2026 | What a non-guest can book this fall | What's still ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| JW Marriott Camelback Inn | Spa reopened after a $25M overhaul | Spa is limited to resort guests and private members | Limited memberships offered |
| Sanctuary Camelback Mountain | New independent local owners | Thanksgiving at Elements, Nov. 26 | Rooms in summer 2027; dining and spa in 2028 |
| Omni Montelucia | Chef Rich Hinojosa's menus roll out | Taco Tuesday, Wine Down, Prado | Joya Spa revamp targeted for summer 2027 |
| Mountain Shadows | Fall programming at Hearth '61 | Seminars, day passes, a December wellness day | Golf pass runs into January |
| Hermosa Inn / LON's | September 2026 menus | Happy hour, art classes, holiday prix fixe | Christmas matinee Dec. 20 |
| Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley | Chapter 11 plan filed Sept. 18 | Nothing confirmed open | Court hearing Dec. 15 |
Camelback Inn Finished First, for Guests and Members
Camelback Inn opened its spa in 1989. PHOENIX magazine notes it was the first resort spa in the Marriott chain. It reopened in February 2026 after a $25 million transformation. The new spa is built around a philosophy called ariVéa and its four pathways: Detox, Soothe, Harmonize, and Restore. The facilities include a Wellness Circuit with a Himalayan salt sauna, an aromatherapy steam cavern, and limestone infrared loungers, plus an outdoor hydrotherapy circuit called Wellness Waters. Ora Café serves food sorted by pathway, along with adaptogenic drinks.
The access rules matter more to a neighbor than the amenity list does. The spa's own site says it serves resort guests and private spa members, and that a limited number of private memberships are available. The October 2026 class calendar lets resort guests join classes for a $35 fee. The site doesn't publish a membership price. So the most finished reinvestment on Lincoln Drive this year is the one that requires a phone call before a local can walk in.
Sanctuary Changed Hands, and Elements Stays the Same Until 2028
Sanctuary Camelback Mountain has the biggest change of the season on paper. On September 14, Berger Holdings and RJ Hospitality announced that the 53-acre resort was returning to independent local ownership. They paired the announcement with a multimillion-dollar renovation plan.
The schedule is the part that matters for anyone who already has a regular table there. Hoodline's summary of the coverage says all 110 guest rooms and casitas get an interior refresh first. That work starts in summer 2027 with a target finish of September 2027, and Hart+Howerton is the architect. The second phase, in 2028, covers Elements, Jade Bar, the Table XII private dining experience, and Sanctuary Spa. The resort hasn't released a total dollar figure or any details on how the work will affect operations.
The only finished project is a $7 million renovation of the meetings and events spaces, which debuted in January. It added an expanded Views Ballroom and work on the Views Terrace and Lower Lawn. That helps anyone planning a wedding or a fundraiser more than someone looking for dinner.
For dinner, the clearest booking this fall is Thanksgiving at Elements on Thursday, November 26. It's a three-course meal with seatings from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., priced at $175 per person and $55 for children 12 and under, before tax and gratuity. Elements is one of the outlets the new owners plan to enhance in 2028.
Montelucia's Change Is Already on the Menu
Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia is where this year's reset actually shows up on a plate. Rich Hinojosa joined as executive chef after his CRUjiente Tacos closed in 2025. PHOENIX magazine reported in May that he was adding pop-up wine dinners, bringing in K4 Ranch Arizona beef for Prado's steakhouse menu, and putting new tacos on at Taqueria Centro. The magazine's July Best of the Valley coverage still listed him overseeing all of the resort's culinary outlets. In March, Phoenix New Times reported Prado serving K4 Ranch ribeyes nightly at dinner.
The cheapest way in is also the most regular one. Taqueria Centro's Taco Tuesday is listed for October 13, 2026, with $3 chef's-choice street tacos and $6 "3 Amigos" margaritas. On Wednesdays, Mbar's Wine Down takes 50% off select bottles when you order two or more tapas.
The spa runs on a different clock. PHOENIX magazine reported that Joya Spa, 31,000 square feet built around a Moroccan hammam concept, was getting a revamp projected to finish by summer 2027. Montelucia's menus are changing now, and its spa won't be done until next year.
Mountain Shadows and LON's Sell Tickets
Two properties on this stretch are selling local, non-guest access on a fall calendar right now, with dates and prices published.
At Mountain Shadows, the Citizens Club pool day pass starts at $45, daybeds from $125, and cabanas from $249. All are starting rates that change by date. The resort's FAQ says that dining at Hearth '61, booking a cabana, or booking a tee time can qualify you for parking validation. It also says Hearth '61 has no happy hour. Golfers get a fall pass at $750 plus tax, then $10 per round, Sundays through Fridays, from October 9, 2026 through January 22, 2027.
Down Palo Cristi, LON's at the Hermosa Inn is posting September 2026 menus. The Last Drop bar runs happy hour daily from 3 to 6 p.m., which is the hour Hearth '61 doesn't offer. Blue Door Spa, though, is limited to in-house guests.
Here are the confirmed dates between now and the end of the year:
- Thursday, Oct. 15: Spirited Sipping Seminar: After Dark at Hearth '61, a four-course, wine-paired evening led by Executive Chef Charles Wiley and Food & Beverage Manager Jim Gallen. Mountain Shadows' page lists $189 plus tax and gratuity, and Tock shows $239, so check the price at checkout.
- Oct. 17, Nov. 21 and Dec. 12: Mimosa & Monet at the Hermosa Inn, $120 per person. The price includes instruction, supplies, a mimosa, coffee, pastries, tax, and gratuity.
- Oct. 30: Last day for early-bird Jungle Rhythms tickets at Mountain Shadows.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving three-course prix fixe at LON's, noon to 8 p.m., $135++ per adult and $35++ per child. Elements at Sanctuary serves the same day at $175 and $55.
- Saturday, Dec. 19: Jungle Rhythms Holiday Edition at Mountain Shadows. Tickets are $75, or $65 early bird, and pool access is for resort guests only.
- Sunday, Dec. 20: Esteban Christmas matinee concert at the Hermosa Inn, 3 to 4:30 p.m., $175 per person.
- Dec. 24 and 25: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day prix fixe at LON's, $135++ per adult and $35++ per child.
The One Address Missing From Every Calendar
The Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley was supposed to be the newest dining and shopping destination on this stretch. It doesn't appear on any fall calendar.
As Phoenix Business Journal reported in late September, the 122-acre project near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road has been in some stage of development since 2008. The plan calls for a 215-room hotel, 80 condominiums, 32 single-family homes, and The Palmeraie retail center. Entities tied to Five Star Development filed for Chapter 11 on November 4, 2025, in the Southern District of Texas. On September 18, 2026, they filed a liquidating plan. It would market the incomplete hotel through court-approved bidding, and any qualified bidder would have to name an experienced hotel developer committed to finishing it. The plan also gives the parent companies' equity holders an option to buy the hotel property and the undeveloped land at a stated $570 million, subject to adjustments.
September's reporting projected a November 4 vote on the plan, but only if a judge approved it for solicitation first. A docket summary updated October 12 shows an October 8 scheduling order instead. That order sets October 19 for preliminary challenges and a December 15 hearing, with final disclosure-statement approval and plan confirmation coming after. The November 2025 filings described Mott 32 and Carbone as planned hotel restaurants and The Palmeraie as a planned 29-acre retail and dining district. The September 2026 coverage still describes the hotel as incomplete and the property as under construction. The next date on the court's calendar is the December 15 hearing, five days before the Esteban matinee at the Hermosa Inn.
If you're weighing a membership at the Camelback Inn spa, or thinking about how Sanctuary's 2027 and 2028 schedule might affect the streets around it, The Caniglia Group is glad to share what we're seeing along Lincoln Drive. Schedule a Free Consultation, and we'll start with the Paradise Valley questions you care about most.
