Commentary: Discover Tucson’s Triple Crowned Casino del Sol

By Stacey Wittig / Vagabonding Chica – Travel Writer

Forbes Travel Guide, creators of the original Five-Star ratings system and leading travel authority recently announced that Casino Del Sol in Tucson has received three top rankings for their hotel, Hiapsi Spa and PY Steakhouse restaurant. The stars are awarded to properties that impress with attentive service and exceptional facilities.

I had the good fortune of experiencing the award-winning hotel, spa and restaurant recently. Casino Del Sol lies in the southwest hills of Tucson, seven miles west of iconic San Xavier del Bac Mission, established in 1692. The glorious Spanish colonial mission has drawn wayfarers since 1692 and it seems fitting that the Pascua Yaqui Tribe has built an equally stunning facility that attracts contemporary travelers.

My Casino del Sol visit began at the Hiapsi Spa where its four-stars rank it with the likes of The Spa at Beverly Wilshire, The Spa at Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore Santa Barbara and The Spa at the Carneros Inn. “Hiapsi means ‘heart’ in the Yaqui language,” explained JaShonnah Gutierrez during my Blooming Desert Foot Ritual. She used a soothing blend of herbs and oils to exfoliate, mask and restore my footsies. After the moisturizing foot massage and topnotch pedicure, I left the relaxing treatment room with a complimentary bottle of SpaRitual vegan nail lacquer. Next, masseuse Tara Coultas met me at the Hiapsi Spa aroma bar to concoct a customized blend of essential oils for my Dream Weaver Aromatherapy Massage. Tara spent time creating an intermingling of scents from the 20 choices that included lavender, grapefruit and geranium. We settled on lemongrass and sage to balance my spirit. After 80 minutes, I walked out of the spa feeling at peace and smelling like the blooming Sonoran Desert. I would expect to pay twice the amount at other comparably starred resort spas.

Filled with peace and toenails freshly painted the color of desert skies, I couldn’t pass up the chance to explore the meditative sanctuary sometimes called the Dove of the Desert just down the road at San Xavier. It was Sunday at the whitewashed National Historic Landmark and local worshippers mingled with visitors to experience Spanish colonial murals, carvings and statues. Walking through the tall mesquite wood doors, I felt as if I were stepping back into the 18th century. I had not visited since my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Consequently, I was stunned to see reminders of El Camino de Santiago: shell window treatments, scalloped architectural features and figures dressed in pilgrim gear. The shell is the symbol of Santiago or Saint James and the Spanish pilgrimage.

Outside the church sits a curious small chapel. I entered timidly, only to be met by unbearable heat. Hundreds of burning candles, lit as prayers for loved ones, were firing up the adobe chapel like a hornito oven. I took a few quick photos, but the inferno pushed me back. I couldn’t help but think of hellfire damnation and was happy to step outside into the 106 degree Sunday afternoon.

Back at Casino   Del Sol, I was grateful for the cool parking garage. “This really is like an exclusive Las Vegas resort,” I thought listening to the lounge music piped into the pristine parking structure. “Only I don’t have to walk so far.” Another difference was that I was not forced to walk through casinos to get to front desks or elevators to my room. The casino area was away from the common spaces and entrances.

“The only thing that I make you go by is the Starbucks,” laughed Mark Sheller, vice president of Sales. Sheller gave me a tour of the property, which encompasses six restaurants and seven lounges under one roof. The casino itself is reminiscent of the Venetian in Las Vegas with its domed trompe l’oeil skies and Italian walkways. Wandering Casino del Sol is like strolling along a vibrant Tuscan village complete with sidewalk cafes and romantic streetlamps.

“It is an honor to be awarded Forbes’s four star rating for the hotel, but it is quite a distinction to receive two additional awards for the spa and PY Steakhouse,” Sheller said of his triple crown. When Forbes awarded PY Steakhouse four stars it joined only two other Arizona restaurants that enjoy that top rating.

From my high-design booth at the lively PY Steakhouse, I could see the trendy open kitchen. I ordered jalapeño bacon-wrapped dates to start. The chef sent over a taste of fresh octopus as I waited. Delish! Arriving on bamboo skewers, the dates fired up my mouth for the prime rib. A tender end cut was available so I ordered it with a loaded baked potato and julienned carrots, squash and peppers. The food, wine and attentive service were all what you would expect from a four-star establishment.

After dinner, I wandered outdoors to the pool area where fire pits blazed and laminar flow fountains danced to music by Celine Dion and other singers heard at the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. Laminars are the smooth arcs of moving water that seem to jump out and dive back into to the pool.

Casino Del Sol Resort is not a stranger to acclaim. Last year, the $130 million expansion of the 215-room, 161,000-square-foot resort was rated as a Four-Diamond destination by AAA, and boasts a Certified Green Accreditation.

“The four stars and four diamonds put you in the top five in the state, no matter how you look at it,” concluded Sheller.

If you go:

> Casino Del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, Tucson — www.casinodelsol.com

>  San Xavier del Bac Mission — www.sanxaviermission.org