Fragrant desert blooms, sands in kaleidoscope colours, orange evening skies, and, come winter, snowfall on saguaro and organ-pipe cacti – welcome to Phoenix, a Southwestern city that also thrums with frontier charm, midcentury architecture and delightful shopping. Take it all in from Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, set within a storied 125-year-old property that pre-dates Arizona’s statehood itself, and is now at the heart of Phoenix’s thriving hospitality and cultural scene.
Within walking distance of the hotel, discover independent boutiques, antique emporia, cowboy clothiers, and shops selling just about everything with a cactus detail. Wallpaper’s local highlights? The handsome Phoenix Art Museum’s collection of 20,000 objects of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, photography, and fashion design; the Dorrance Sculpture Garden next door; Downtown Phoenix Farmers’ Market; Straw And Wool millinery; and HawkSalvage vintage store. As for fabulous midcentury modern architecture, the David and Gladys Wright House, in the Acadia neighborhood, was built by Frank Lloyd Wright, who described Arizona’s first city as imbued with “invigorating sunshine”, and surrounded by “arid mountains spotted like a leopard’s skin” and “astonishing cactus plant life”. Phoenix is hot. And so cool.
Here’s our pick of Phoenix buys.
