ENCHANTMENT RESORT SEDONA. Experience A Stunning Desert Retreat

Anthea Gerrie has a thoroughly enchanting stay at the Enchantment Resort Sedona.

Enchantment used to be synonymous with Sedona, a once small and rather spiritual little village settled by the hippies who adopted this verdant, creek and forest-studded stretch of Arizona’s red rock country in the 1960’s. The village is now a proper grown-up town replete with strip malls and shopping centres, and any residual spirituality has retreated into the mountains.

Here, however, there are some quite lovely places to stay which obviate any need to rub shoulders with day trippers in search of crystals and a dose of native American magic with their fast food.
It may seem bold to name a resort Enchantment, but for once the name is borne out by the reality in this upmarket, spa-centred country club-style hotel. Embraced within the area’s finest enclave of rocks, this is a place of sumptuous, secluded `”casitas” with patios and fireplaces and a plethora of alfresco dining opportunities with the stunning scenery as a backdrop.

Enchantment may be enhanced by yoga for the meditative, an invigorating hike in those magnificent mountains for the more energetic, and both are on offer daily, part of a veritable slew of included activities. Starting the morning in the CrystalGrotto to “set your intention” for the day may sound old-style Sedona wacky, but it was a calm and enjoyable prelude to the 8.30am yoga which itself was a tad intense for a wake-up session.

Breakfast, taken on the patio of the impossibly scenic Che-Ah-Chi restaurant was superb, featuring home-made granola good enough to demand a purchase to bring home, and at dinner the same restaurant served, contrary to expectations hundreds of miles inland from the sea, arguably the best lobster bisque in the world. Shame a supercilious waiter and slightly overcooked chicken breast stopped this being a perfect meal, but with the candlelight and sense of communing with the mountains, it was otherwise a pretty perfect experience.

Unlike many high-class resorts where the gift shop is a rip-off, Enchantment Resort Sedona featured charming local pottery and the native American jewellery for which Arizona is renowned at a fair price, and generally warm and friendly service left an overall air of contentment – enchantment, you might say, indeed.