In Arizona's Sonora Desert, most resorts boast poolside smoothie bars, pampering spas, and restaurants with chili-laden Southwestern fare.
Guests looking for local flavor beyond mealtime often have to venture off site.
Not so at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch. Vice president and managing director Bill Eider-Orley wanted guests and other visitors to learn something about the native Americans who helped put Arizona on the tourist map. The resort has a small, dedicated exhibit space for art and artifacts made by Hopis, who live on a reservation three hours north. But a tour of the weavings, pottery, photographs, toys, baskets, and other objects thoughtfully assembled by a small group of Hopis and attractively displayed behind glass will give the curious traveler more for his money than a whoosh down the resort's three-story water slide. Rod Davis is an interpreter at the Hopi Learning Center at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort in Arizona.