Hotels of Whim and Vigor

Ray Stonecipher thought it was hokey when he heard that his biotechnology convention was booked at the Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa outside Phoenix, Arizona. The idea of a hotel designed around a western theme "sounded like a dude ranch," he says. Instead, the marketing manager from San Jose, California, found rooms decorated with authentic baskets and pottery from the native Pima and Maricopa tribes; an upscale spa that offered such Native American-inspired treatments as tashogith , a clarification bath using juniper and cypress; and the Kai restaurant, which features dishes like lobster with fry bread, an Indian staple. Says Stonecipher:...