"By making these capital investments, our ownership is taking definitive steps to elevate the Pointe South Mountain into an upscale, distinctive Arizona resort destination experience for our guests," said Ron Olstad, the resort's managing director. "We have dedicated approximately $13,000 per room on upgrades, which is significantly more than the typical rooms refresh. The scope of the redesign project is more than a renovation; we are creating a new, upscale room product and experience. Our vision is to celebrate the spirit of the desert through the use of color, pattern and texture, making the suites more sophisticated, yet comfortably residential in design," he said.
     
Connecting guests with the resort's South Mountain desert experience, the hacienda-style, one-bedroom suites will feature many of the desert's natural tones and textures, yet will use dramatic color, much like a cactus in bloom. The rooms' artwork and accessories have a personal, hand-collected quality portraying the surrounding South Mountain range, designed from photographs and drawings from several artists who hiked the area.

Not only will guests see the differences, they will feel them. Feather-top mattresses, triple-sheet bedding, deluxe padding under upgraded carpeting, leather headboard and arm chairs, saddle-finished wood furnishings and wrought iron patio furniture elevate the guest comfort level. Rich, earthy hues of sagebrush green, leather brown and sunset red are sprinkled throughout, while marble countertops and vanities add to the new features. Finishing touches include bedspreads inspired by Native American designs, new mirror frames, desert floral arrangements, and new wrought iron horseshoe desk lamps  with rawhide-laced accents. Interior designers for the project are Carl Ross Design of California.

The room redesign is just one part of Pointe South Mountain's scope of enhancements slated through 2002.