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Greetings from Arizona! I made it back home to L.A. from my insane around-the-world trip, which took me from: Los Angeles to Phoenix, Phoenix to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach to New York, New York to Brussels, Brussels to Delhi, Delhi to Nagpur, Nagpur to Bombay, Bombay to Shanghai, Shanghai to San Francisco, San Francisco to Los Angeles for a total of 21,613 air miles. If you are new (welcome!) and want to read the past stories from that trip (or any other, for that matter), you can find them all in our newsletter archive.

HEADING TO PHOENIX
If you're following me on Twitter or Facebook or are reading my blog, then you already know that I was in Phoenix last week for US Airways' Media Day. No matter how you feel about them, you have to give US Airways a lot of credit for opening their doors and allowing a bunch of travel journalists to peek into their daily lives. Of course, I didn't fly into Phoenix the morning of and leave the same day like a few of the other journalists. I played it smart and went in a day early so I could check out the brand new Montelucia Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, which is so plush that President Obama spent his first overnight outside the White House here.



AIRPORT PARKING
I left my house at 8:30am for a 9:45am flight. Since I was only going for one night, I drove and parked at the airport (you can make advance reservations with AirportParkingReservations.com). I parked at ParkOne, which is the closest private lot to the airport and since it's adjacent to Terminal 1, which is where US Airways (and Southwest) departs and arrives, I bypassed the shuttle bus and walked. It's just a couple hundred yards.

TERMINAL 1 SECURITY
To my dismay, I couldn't believe how long the line for security was. It was a Tuesday morning and we're supposedly in a bad economy. Who would have thunk it? The line stretched just as long as it did when everyone had jobs! I asked the agent if I was going to miss my flight since I was so late. She looked at my ticket and said, "You have 30 minutes; that's plenty of time." I thought for sure she was on crack but I strolled back to the back of the line where my late a** belonged and sucked it up. I had a worried feeling in my gut, just like all those other late suckers behind me. But the agent was right. The line did move fast. In fact, it took just five minutes to get inside the building to the next obstacle: the zigzagging TSA security line at the top of the stairs. Those lines were so bulging they diverted a bunch of us up another flight of stairs to a checkpoint I never knew existed. It had two lanes and just a few people. I thought I was getting hosed but instead it was like the red carpet. I made it through there in five minutes and was at the gate as they were boarding Zone 2.

BOARDING EARLY
I lost my elite status with Star Alliance and was holding boarding card 7! That hurt since it meant I would be in the last group to board. When you aren't checking bags it's imperative you get on as early as you can so you can find overhead bin space. Otherwise you may be forced to gate check your carry-on. There's no fee but it adds a frustrating 45 minutes to your trip, waiting around at baggage claim. It took a long time to board each zone since everyone had two bags apiece. These days, everyone is trying to avoid the US Airways-initiated $15 charge for the first checked bag and $25 for the second (most of the other carriers followed). The plane was a 757 and fortunately there was overhead space left since it wasn't a completely full flight. UPDATE: Woo hoo! With this trip, I just gained elite status on US Airways so now I'm back baby, with status on all three alliances: Star, Skyteam and Oneworld. That's my goal each year so now I'm a happy camper! If you're interested in how you can fast track to elite status, check out this article.

FLYING BAGS
An overhead bin a couple rows in front of me opened up twice before takeoff and different flight attendants passed by to shut it each time. Obviously there was a bag in there that was too big so when we started rolling down the runway, it opened up again and I could see the flight attendant's worried face. Everyone else was either sleeping or oblivious but both of us knew a heavy bag flying through the air would decapitate someone and it was inching out as we began to pick up speed. Drama was unfolding and the one aware passenger just below it (a burly Maori) couldn't reach to shut it and the flight attendant told him not to stand up. As soon as we took off (within three seconds) the flight attendant jumped up and walked downhill the five rows to pull the guilty oversized bag out and put it under a seat. He probably saved someone from serious injury and did a great job, which I told him later when he came down the aisle.

LOS ANGELES TO PHOENIX
Flight time to Phoenix was a quick 50 minutes and the seatbelt sign didn't go off once. I've noticed that most international carriers turn the seatbelt sign off within three minutes of takeoff but American carriers don't. I wonder if it's a legal issue.

DID YOU KNOW? There's no time change this time of year in Arizona as they have Daylight Savings; it's one of the few states that doesn't. So, that made adjusting a breeze. I will mention this later but US Airways has brought back free non-alcoholic beverages on their flights. I wrote a few weeks back when I took their last flight out (February 28th) about them selling beverages (including water), that it wasn't about making money – it was a storage issue. Turns out I was wrong. They were making money. They only stopped because no other airline joined in the game and they were getting a negative image.

AIRPORT TO HOTEL
I made a beeline to the taxi stand. I've taken my fair share of taxis in my life and one of my ways of avoiding being taken for a ride when going to a place I'm not familiar with is to get specific directions beforehand. The Montelucia Resort informed me that a cab ride is about 15 minutes without traffic and will cost roughly $20. They advised me to make sure the driver takes me straight up 44th Street to the corner of Lincoln and Tatum. I did just that. I had a friendly Somali driver and the trip took 15 minutes and cost $21 without tip.

MONTELUCIA RESORT & SPA
The $325 million Montelucia Resort features 293 guest rooms and suites. It’s set in the foothills of Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley and their good service began the moment my taxi rolled up when a bellman opened my door and welcomed me to the resort. I walked through the archway and into the main square, which felt like a town in the Mediterranean. I was escorted to the front desk, which had three friendly agents and still a short line. I waited four minutes until I handed over my credit card and ID for verification. I asked how business was. They said they were sold out the night before, which is why my room wasn't ready. I asked if they had seen any trends and they said bookings these days are coming in at the very last minute, which seems to be the industry norm right now.

CRAVE CAFÉ
I wasn't upset that my room wasn't ready since it was only 11:30am and besides, it's a good sign that the economy is improving! As a nice gesture, the agent walked me a few steps over to Crave Café to buy me a gourmet coffee while I waited. I noticed another agent did this for the arrivals behind me as well. I really wanted to get their delicious-looking gelato but I was good boy a got a Fiji water instead. BTW: I tried one of their homemade ham and cheese breakfast empanadas the following morning. It would have been delicious if I didn't rush the guy to take it out of the toaster (I was running late) so it was cold.

RESORT FEES
Instead of logging on to the wireless Internet (it's included in the resort's $24 mandatory fee) I asked to go on a quick tour with their PR guru, Kirsten Schaefer. Is it just me or do you think resort fees suck (most Arizona and Hawaii resort properties have them) and that they are a scam? In my opinion, they should be either built into the rate or optional and have a la carte pricing as a choice (i.e. pay for use of the fitness center, Internet, etc.)

PROPERTY TOUR
Kirsten gave me a quick tour. First stop was their resort map so I could get my bearings. The lush desert property is huge with over 34 acres and multiple buildings -- including a section of 34 multi-million dollar, privately owned villas (there are only a few left and currently only one owner has opted to rent his). We then saw some of their 27,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space. This included a wedding chapel modeled after the Hotel Cipriani in Venice. The imported 400-year-old door was amazing.

KIDS CLUB & PRESIDENTIAL SUITES
Then it was on to Planet Trekkers Kid's Club (ages 5-12) which had eight or nine kids in there loving life. There were video games, billiards, computers, arts and crafts, bicycles, a basketball court and more. My last stop was one of the two presidential suites (they go for $3,000 to $4,000 per night), which was being cleaned since some fortunate family had spent the night before there. But the one I got to peek into has already given the property instant history as President Obama spent his first overnight here outside the White House. Most presidents stay at the Biltmore but he and his crew took 100 rooms (but occupied about 80 of them) back in February.

JOYA SPA
One the highlights of the hotel has to be the Moroccan-inspired 31,000 square foot Joya Spa. This place is even popular with locals who can come here for a day at the spa and can drop their kids off at the kids club free of charge. There are 19 treatment rooms including five suites (mostly for wedding parties) with king size daybeds, terraces, fireplaces, flat-screen televisions, indoor and outdoor showers and dual massage tables.

MY MASSAGE
I signed up for their 90-minute Joyambrosia Signature Massage ($235) which is described as warming "your heart and your body with organic oils including Morocco's 'liquid gold' argan oil, enhanced by the light of the full moon. Circular movements and gentle stretching with aromatic waves of Spanish citrus, Moroccan mint, and spices awaken joy and peace of mind." WHATEVER! I would just describe it as complete bliss. Veteran masseuse Sandra Lee, who originally hails from New York, made my back and body feel like jelly (not that difficult, given the way I've been eating lately). At the end of the treatment, Sandra was waiting for me with a glass of water and a dark chocolate treat.

MEN'S LOCKER ROOM
Walking into the spa will make your jaw drop. The ceiling is high with dangling Moroccan lanterns and climbing up the long spiral staircase is memorable. At the top, guests get to choose one of five stones after catching their breath, to put on the wishing table. Choices were: Tiger Eye for focus, Blue Lace Agate for courage, Rhodonite for achieving your potential, Rose Quartz for love or Hematite for stress relieving. I'll let you guess which one I chose. The men's locker room waiting area didn't do it for me except for the bowl of dried mango slices and unsalted walnuts. It was a bit too dark. But the rest of the area was stylish with it's Hammam, steam room and hot tub.

PRADO RESTAURANT
The resort has a total of six restaurants and we made a pit stop in Prado, their signature restaurant. It features a rustic and authentic Andalusian cooking method and an open kitchen with an open wood fire grill. For lunch, I dined out on the patio and started with Caprese with Burrata ($15), then had a chicken breast sandwich with a pepper spread in a pita served with salad or French fries ($10). The sandwich is all I needed but I got carried away. For dinner we tried their Fluke Carpaccio special ($8), Cochinillo -- suckling pig, which is their Monday night special ($25) and chicken paella.

THE POOLS
It's kind of a maze finding your way around the resort at first as there are a number of different guestroom buildings. But once you make your way, all the rooms are killer and offer a view of either one of the five sparkling pools or the Camelback mountains. I was in the Oasis building, which had a much more laidback pool scene in its courtyard but my room was overlooking the main pool that housed all the sunning exhibitionists (just kidding). Contemporary music was pumping in the background and there was a mix of young couples from southern California and families with teenagers that seemed to be mostly from the wealthy Midwest neighborhoods. I spoke to a few from the North Shore of Chicago.

MY ROOM
The Andalusian-themed rooms are large and all have private patios and a dining table that allows guests to dine in. The modern amenities include a flat-screen TV, an iPod docking station and espresso machine. The bathroom was luxurious with a sunken bathtub and a gigantic walk-in stone shower with dual showerheads. They offer the usual bathroom amenities but in addition, they sell designer products in large quantities, which I'm sure many guests mistake for the free stuff, then later get hit with a $33 apiece tab. However, I loved the fact that they offered lip balm ($3) since I'm always forgetting mine.

MY BED
The bed was very comfortable but I didn't sleep that well, either because I'd eaten too much the night before or because the mini-bar fridge, that charges you instantly when pulling a drink out, was making an ever-so-slight but annoying humming sound. I'm a particular sleeper and I like it really quiet and dark. It also bummed me out that one of the lawn guys or construction workers was outside my door with his electric cart and clanking a ladder at 6:30am. But I'm a freak and most people wouldn't have heard it. Besides, it was just as well, as I needed to be up for the day anyway. A note to management: If you are going to include a resort fee it should include a couple of bottles of water; that's the only thing my room was lacking. But to end on a high note, the night maid left a little note on my bed that said: "We do not remember days, we remember moments." Don't worry, Montelucia. I'll remember you and hope to come back for a longer stay. Rates begin at $125 (in the summer). InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, 4949 E. Lincoln Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, Tel: 480-627-3141.

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