Paradise Valley's public tree lighting this year happens in Cortijo Plaza at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia on the evening of Friday, December 4. It's free, and anyone can come.
The rest of the season works the same way. The Town's own events wrap up before Thanksgiving. From then through New Year's Eve, the public holiday calendar lives at Montelucia, The Hermosa Inn, Mountain Shadows and Sanctuary Camelback Mountain. Each resort has taken a different job, and knowing which one does what makes the season easier to plan.
The Town's Own Calendar Wraps Up in November
The Town of Paradise Valley has two public events this month, and neither one is about the holidays. The Veterans' Appreciation Vintage Car Show runs Saturday, November 14, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Town Hall, 6401 E. Lincoln Drive. It features cars and motorcycles built before 1985. A week later, on Saturday, November 21, the Town holds a free document-shredding and electronics drop-off from 8 a.m. to noon at the Paradise Valley Police Department, 6433 E. Lincoln Drive. The Town prefers appointments but takes walk-ins.
December's Town calendar has municipal meetings and Coffee with a Cop. That fits how the Town describes itself. Its resident guide says the resorts "not only provide a source of revenue for the Town, but have an array of outstanding amenities for our residents." The guide also lists resort sales and bed taxes among the Town's revenue sources. In December, those amenities make up most of the public calendar.
Montelucia Hosts the One Free, Open-Door Night
Omni Lights Up the Holidays is the one event on this list that works like a town tree lighting. It runs Friday, December 4, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Cortijo Plaza, with a live drumline, Santa photos, s'mores, cookie decorating and hot cocoa. Omni says it is complimentary and open to the public. It's also the only resort event in this post that says so outright. Most of the resort events below are booked ahead.
The rest of Montelucia's season is built for families. Blitzen's, the Christmas bar Omni calls its "signature over-the-top" seasonal bar, takes over Centro Bar from November 28 through January 3. Breakfast with Santa fills Prado on Saturday, December 12, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a buffet, cookie decorating and a Santa photo. Reservations are required. Beginning November 15, Montelucia also hosts Sweet Treats and Holiday Screenings on select dates, with cocoa, seasonal sweets and holiday movies.
Prado's Christmas plans stay simple. Christmas Eve, 4 to 9 p.m., is the regular menu. Christmas Day is a buffet brunch from 7 a.m. to noon. For people who live nearby, that early Christmas brunch leaves the afternoon free for a big meal at home.
Thanksgiving Comes Down to Who Does the Cooking
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, and three Paradise Valley kitchens are taking reservations. Their offers differ more than the prices suggest, because only one of them sends dinner home.
| Option | Format | Hours | Adult price | Child price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearth '61 at Mountain Shadows | Turkey Day Feast, dine in | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | $159 | $35, ages 12 and under |
| Hearth '61 at Mountain Shadows | Meal to-go | Pickup 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | $84 | $42, ages 12 and under |
| LON's at The Hermosa Inn | Three-course prix fixe | 12 to 8 p.m. | $135++ | $35++ |
| Elements at Sanctuary | Holiday menu | Seatings 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. | $175 | $55, ages 12 and under |
Tax and gratuity are extra at all three.
Mountain Shadows is the only one that solves Thanksgiving at home. Its to-go meal costs a little over half the dine-in price per adult, and the turkey is Two Wash Ranch slow-roasted turkey raised for Hearth '61. The catch is the deadline. To-go orders close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 24, and pickup runs only from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
LON's is the lowest dine-in price for adults at $135++, and it books through OpenTable. Sanctuary's Thanksgiving at Elements costs the most, at $175 per adult and $55 for children 12 and under.
LON's Fills Lon Megargee's Garden Most Weekends
The Hermosa Inn has the busiest calendar of the four, and most of it happens outdoors. Cowboy artist Lon Megargee built LON's in the 1930s as his home and studio, and the restaurant's patio has five outdoor fireplaces. From mid-November through Christmas, the inn hosts a run of ticketed events, and most of them take place in the garden.
It starts on Sunday, November 15, with The Long Table at Casa Hermosa: A Garden Harvest Dinner. Forty guests sit at two long tables in the garden for a four-course harvest dinner by Executive Chef Brian Peterson. Bob Boze Bell, executive editor of True West Magazine, tells Old West stories between courses. Guests arrive at 6 p.m., dinner is at 6:30, and the $195 ticket includes wine, cocktails and mocktails, plus tax and gratuity. Seating is limited to 40.
Then the series continues:
- Mimosa & Monet with Carrie Curran Art Studios: "Everlasting Sunset" on November 21 and "Desert Jewels" on December 12, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The $120 price covers instruction, supplies, a mimosa, coffee, pastries, tax and gratuity.
- Winter Wonderland Gingerbread Workshop: Sunday, December 13, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's $50 per person plus $75 per gingerbread house and includes a holiday brunch buffet. A cash bar is open in the garden.
- Esteban Christmas Matinee Concert in the Garden: Sunday, December 20, at 3 to 4:30 p.m. or 5:30 to 7 p.m. It's $175 per person including tax and gratuity, with light tapas and wine.
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at LON's: three-course prix fixe menus by Chef Peterson, 4 to 8 p.m. on December 24 and 12 to 8 p.m. on December 25. Both are $135++ per adult and $35++ per child, with drinks extra. Patio seating can be requested but isn't guaranteed.
A note on the Esteban concerts: guests can book dinner at LON's before or after the show, or stop by The Last Drop bar more casually. That turns a 90-minute concert into a whole evening.
Sanctuary Focuses on Evenings for Adults
Sanctuary Camelback Mountain's holiday events are mostly for adults. The Cigar & Tequila Dinner is Wednesday, November 11, on the Paradise Views Patio, with a reception at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7. It costs $250 per person plus tax and gratuity. On Wednesday, December 9, at 3 p.m., Elements hosts a Holiday Martini Making Class for $100 per person.
Elements' holiday dinners run all day. The Christmas Day prix fixe has seatings from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at $185 per person and $65 for children 12 and under. New Year's Eve seatings run from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at $185 per person. Montelucia stays open later that night. Its New Year's Eve runs from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a five-course prix fixe at Prado, live music at Mbar and a midnight champagne toast. If you want an early dinner on New Year's Eve, book Elements. If you want to stay up for midnight, book Montelucia.
The Season in Booking Order
The resorts set these schedules and prices, and they can change, so confirm when you book. Here is everything above in date order:
- Wed, Nov 11: Cigar & Tequila Dinner, Sanctuary
- Sat, Nov 14: Veterans' Appreciation Vintage Car Show, Town Hall
- Sun, Nov 15: The Long Table harvest dinner, Casa Hermosa, and the first Sweet Treats and Holiday Screenings dates at Montelucia
- Sat, Nov 21: Town shred and electronics day, plus Mimosa & Monet at LON's
- Tue, Nov 24, 5 p.m.: Mountain Shadows Thanksgiving to-go order deadline
- Thu, Nov 26: Thanksgiving at Hearth '61, LON's and Elements
- Sat, Nov 28: Blitzen's opens at Centro Bar
- Fri, Dec 4: Omni Lights Up the Holidays, Cortijo Plaza, free
- Wed, Dec 9: Holiday Martini Making Class, Sanctuary
- Sat, Dec 12: Breakfast with Santa at Prado, plus Mimosa & Monet at LON's
- Sun, Dec 13: Gingerbread Workshop, LON's
- Sun, Dec 20: Esteban Christmas concerts, LON's garden
- Thu, Dec 24 and Fri, Dec 25: Christmas dining at LON's, Prado and Elements
- Thu, Dec 31: New Year's Eve at Elements or Montelucia
Holiday guests staying in Paradise Valley ask the same questions residents do: where the tree lighting is, which kitchen does a turkey to-go, and how to get one of the Long Table's 40 seats. Building calendars like this one for guests is part of how Neighbors Luxury runs concierge for the vacation homes we manage. If you're thinking about renting out your Paradise Valley home during the season, request a free vacation rental property analysis and we'll show you what those holiday weeks could earn.
