Pasadena Travels: At The Buttes, a Tempe Resort Rises From The Rock

Perched atop a craggy desert butte in Tempe, the Marriott Phoenix Resort Tempe at The Buttes appears almost to have grown from the rock itself — a kind of modern desert Petra, if Petra came with room service, a spa and an espresso martini at sunset.

The resort’s low-slung architecture folds into the volcanic outcroppings so naturally that, from certain angles, it is hard to tell where the mountain ends and the hotel begins. Curved decks follow the contours of the butte. Water spills from clefts in the stone into reflecting pools beside The Market Cafe. The lobby opens onto a rugged interior face of the mountain, lit from below and dotted with saguaro, barrel cactus and yucca, as if the desert had simply been invited indoors.

That sense of place is the property’s strongest asset. The grounds are planted largely with native species — prickly pear, palo verde, mesquite, agave — and the effect is not merely decorative. Hummingbirds, bees, lizards and the occasional cottontail move through the landscaping as if they, too, are guests. Because the resort was built into the butte rather than simply placed on top of it, there are small discoveries at nearly every turn: a shaded bench tucked beneath an overhang, a landing where a stairway pauses mid-climb, a stone alcove that catches the late light.

The property recently completed a multi-million-dollar renovation, including guestrooms and suites, the fitness center, the expanded Kachina Patio for outdoor events and a new patio for the lobby bar. The refresh is evident throughout, but it is most effective where it draws from the landscape rather than competing with it.

Our room carried that same conversation between built and natural straight through the door. A wall of windows framed one of the mountainside pools below, set so neatly into the andesite that it seemed part architecture, part geology. The king bed was backed by a live-edge, wire-brushed oak headboard, split down the middle and joined with wooden bowtie inlays, as though a piece of the surrounding desert had been brought inside and made functional.

The palette followed the butte’s lead: warm copper accents, a burnt-orange pillow the color of sunset on rock, raffia textures and a carpet whose swirls echoed layered, water-worn stone. The bathroom kept the look clean and contemporary, with a white-quartz vanity, a large backlit mirror, a glass-walled shower, a frosted-glass barn door and Aveda dispensers. Outside had become inside — comfortably air-conditioned, but still unmistakably tied to the desert.

The clearest expression of the resort’s drama, however, comes at Top of the Rock, its signature restaurant. The dining room sets the tone before the first course arrives: a soaring conical ceiling ribbed with honey-toned wood, copper accents at the bar and on the tables, a fieldstone fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows wrapped around the space like a panoramic film reel.

We were seated by a window facing west toward downtown Phoenix, and soon after, the sky began to perform. A quiet wash of peach and lavender turned suddenly incandescent — fire pouring from the clouds, the skyline reduced to a black serration against a molten copper horizon. For several minutes, the restaurant felt less like a dining room than a balcony at the edge of the world.

The menu matched the setting, broad enough to satisfy most diners but inventive enough to feel like a destination rather than a hotel restaurant. We began with the Tombo Tuna Cigars, which arrived in a small wooden cigar box, smoke curling out as the server opened it tableside. Inside were crisp, golden cylinders of tuna wrapped in delicate shells, served with lime and microgreens. They were smoky, crisp, creamy and lightly spicy with a whole lot of yum.

For my main course, I ordered the Midnight Fettuccine with one adjustment: I am not a fan of squid-ink pasta, so could the kitchen swap in the standard noodle and turn my Midnight into Daylight? It arrived exactly as requested. The scallops were sweet, tender and deeply caramelized; grilled shrimp added smoke and snap; tomato chimichurri brought brightness; and lemon pulled the dish into focus. My companion chose the Orchard Grilled Pork Tenderloin, a generous fan of rosy medallions served over mashed potatoes with grilled broccolini, mustard-forward sauce Robert and fried sage. Both the sauce and sage were ideal companions to the pork.

Dessert, usually where I surrender, proved worth staying for. I ordered the Opera Cake — almond sponge, coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache, finished with a glossy chocolate top and a treble clef. Paired with an espresso martini softened by Baileys, it made a persuasive case for lingering. My companion chose lemon meringue pie, dressed with a tall torched cap of Italian-style meringue, powdered sugar, berries and Chantilly. We left full, a little stunned and convinced that a hotel restaurant can be reason enough to book the hotel.

Another night brought a more casual meal at On the Rocks, the resort’s expanded lobby bar and patio. It is pitched as the easygoing counterpart to Top of the Rock: craft cocktails, a lively menu and wraparound views of Camelback Mountain, downtown Tempe and the Four Peaks.

We had planned to sit outside on the patio, strung with bistro lights and perched at the edge of the butte, but a summer storm was gathering. The air had that heavy pre-monsoon feeling, so we retreated indoors to low gold-leather chairs, candlelit cocktail tables and a wall of windows that turned the weather into theater. Lightning crackled over the distant mountains while the World Cup played quietly in the background.

The food fit the mood: uncomplicated, well executed and exactly right after a long day in the sun. My companion ordered the Marriott burger with fries; I chose the chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. The chicken was juicy, the bun fresh and the fries crisp at the edges and tender in the middle. With an Old Fashioned for him and an Aperol spritz for me, it was the kind of meal that does not try too hard — and is better for it.

We saved our spa visit for the final full afternoon. Narande Spa, the resort’s tucked-away wellness retreat, takes its name from the Japanese phrase for “alongside flowing water,” a nod to the streams and waterfalls threaded through the property. The space delivers on the promise: warm wood, soft lamplight, the faint scent of essential oils and a calm that seems to arrive before the treatment begins.

The spa includes five treatment rooms, a couples’ suite, a rain shower room for body treatments, a small salon and nail area, and separate men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers and dry saunas. We split up — a rejuvenating facial for me, a relaxing massage for him. I was after moisture, plain and simple; the desert had been doing its desert thing to my skin, and I wanted some of it back. I got that, and then some. What I wasn’t expecting was the bonus that arrived halfway through the treatment: a full hair and scalp massage, not a perfunctory once-over but a slow, deliberate, ten-fingered piece of work that made me lose track of where I was and possibly who. I came out moisturized, glowing, and very nearly purring. My companion came out of his massage all noodley in muscle and mind wandering back to the room with the loose, unhurried gait of a man who had just been very thoroughly put back together.

Driving out the next morning, I looked back once from the access road and was struck again by how completely the resort belongs to its butte. Petra was carved from rose-colored sandstone, shaped by water and time. The Buttes rises from something altogether different: 17-million-year-old volcanic andesite capping tilted beds of ash and sandstone, rock hardened by fire rather than laid down by water.

Different stone, same drama. At its best, the resort feels less like a building placed in the desert than a continuation of it — architecture and landscape finishing each other’s sentences. You do not so much check out of a place like this as agree, reluctantly, to leave it alone for a while.

The 411:

Marriott Phoenix Resort Tempe at The Buttes: 2000 W. Westcourt Way, Tempe, (602) 225-9000
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/phxtm-marriott-phoenix-resort-tempe-at-the-buttes/overview/

Top of the Rock Restaurant: 2000 W. Westcourt Way, Tempe, (602) 431-2370
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/phxtm-marriott-phoenix-resort-tempe-at-the-buttes/dining/top-of-the-rock-restaurant/

On the Rocks Lounge: 2000 W. Westcourt Way, Tempe, (602) 225-9000

Narande Spa: 2000 W. Westcourt Way, Tempe, (602) 431-2357
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/phxtm-marriott-phoenix-resort-tempe-at-the-buttes/experiences/