Sanctuary's Overhaul Starts in 2027. Camelback's Trailhead Changed in September.

"We are thrilled to move forward as an independently owned and managed property as we look toward 2027 and beyond," said Laura McIver, managing director of Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, in the resort's September 14 announcement on PR Newswire. Two days later, the Arizona Republic reported the news as a multimillion-dollar facelift for one of metro Phoenix's most luxurious resorts.

None of the announced work begins in 2026. Elements and jade bar are the same restaurants they were in August, and they will stay that way through the holidays and well past them. On the north slope of Camelback, the change that has already happened this fall is at the Echo Canyon entry gate.

What the Sanctuary Timeline Says

The release names the new owners as Berger Holdings and RJ Hospitality, which it calls "two local firms with deep roots in the region." Hart+Howerton is architect and designer of record. The work comes in two phases, and neither one begins this year:

1. Guest rooms and casitas. All 110 rooms get an interior refresh starting in summer 2027, with completion targeted for September 2027.
2. Dining and spa. Elements, jade bar and Sanctuary Spa follow in 2028, once the rooms are finished.

So the restaurants are about two full holiday seasons away from any announced change. The announcement says nothing about local memberships, access programs or day-to-day restaurant and spa operations for the rest of 2026. The one recently completed project the release mentions is the $7 million renovation of its meetings and events space.

The release also recalls that the 53-acre property opened in the 1950s as a Tennis Ranch Club. This year's holidays are the last ones on the calendar before any of the announced work begins.

Sanctuary's Calendar Runs as Usual

The resort's happenings calendar is already full through New Year's Eve, and it reads like a normal season.

• Cigar & Tequila Dinner, Wednesday, November 11. On the Paradise Views Patio, with a 6:30 p.m. reception and dinner at 7. $250 per person plus tax and gratuity.

The calendar's other listings:

• Rhythm & Flow, Saturday, November 7. An outdoor event combining yoga, dance and music.
• Gemini Supermoon Celestial Circle, Tuesday, November 24.
• Holiday Martini Making Class, Wednesday, December 9.

The holiday dinners at Elements carry the season's highest listed prices on this side of the mountain. Thanksgiving seats from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at $175 per adult and $55 per child 12 or younger. Christmas Day keeps the same hours at $185 per adult and $65 per child. New Year's Eve runs from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at $185 per person.

One correction for anyone booking from the resort's homepage. The homepage lists Thanksgiving as "Thursday, November 27." Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26, which is the date on Sanctuary's own Thanksgiving event page.

The Hermosa Inn Is the Other Fixed Point

LON's at the Hermosa Inn has published a full holiday calendar of its own. Its prices put Sanctuary's in context. Executive Chef Brian Peterson's three-course Thanksgiving prix fixe runs from noon to 8 p.m. on November 26 at $135 per adult and $35 per child, plus tax and service. That is $40 less per adult than the Elements Thanksgiving listing before LON's adds tax and service, so the real gap depends on what each final check includes.

The restaurant takes its name from cowboy artist Lon Megargee. His adobe hacienda, Casa Hermosa, still has his paintings on the walls. Peterson's menus draw on that history, and the Hermosa's fall and holiday schedule puts as much weight on music as on food:

• An Evening With Esteban, Sunday, October 18. A four-course dinner with the Spanish guitarist from 5:30 to 9 p.m. $295 per person including tax and gratuity, with beverages extra.
• Esteban Christmas Matinee Concerts in the Garden, Sunday, December 20. Two seatings, 3 to 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m., with light tapas and wine. $175 per person including tax and gratuity.
• Christmas Eve, 4 to 8 p.m., and Christmas Day, noon to 8 p.m. Three-course prix fixe at $135 per adult and $35 per child, plus tax and service. Patio seating is not guaranteed.

For a more casual evening, LON's lists happy hour daily from 3 to 6 p.m. At the JW Marriott Camelback Inn, Lincoln Steakhouse & Bar runs its happy hour daily from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The newest menu on this side of town is at Andaz Scottsdale. Arizona Foothills Magazine reported on October 5 that Weft & Warp has introduced a fall menu with new pasta, beef cheek, branzino, seasonal pastry and fall drinks. The restaurant also offers a Thursday pasta-making class. El Chorro has posted three-course Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals, but its menus and prices are still listed as to be announced.

The Season on One Page

The Town's car show is the only municipal date in the table. It displays cars and motorcycles built before 1985 in the Town Hall parking lot.

The Gate on McDonald Drive Is What Changed

Phoenix Parks and Recreation closed Echo Canyon Trail from September 2 through 18 to install automatic gates and repair safety cables. As reported by YourValley, the gates are part of a citywide rollout of electronic signs, cameras and automated gates at trailheads. Deputy Parks Director Jarod Rogers told the outlet that automated gates allow scheduled closures and free park rangers for other areas.

What the gates mean for an early start is still unsettled in the public record. The City's Camelback Mountain page still lists hours as sunrise to sunset and does not post a gate schedule. In the approved minutes of the August 19 Parks Board meeting, a public commenter reported that Echo Canyon's opening had moved from 4:30 to 5:00 a.m. without notice, and that cars waiting for the gate had blocked the lane. The City has not published an announcement confirming or explaining that change.

A few trailhead rules are stated plainly on City pages:

• Capacity. The Echo Canyon lot closes its entry gate when it is full. The City says weekdays usually fill from late morning to early afternoon in winter and spring, and weekends can stay full all day.
• No waiting on the road. Vehicles may not idle on McDonald Drive or Tatum Boulevard while waiting for the gates to reopen. Police may ticket idling cars and tow illegally parked ones.
• Heat. Echo Canyon and Cholla close from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on any day the National Weather Service issues an Extreme Heat Warning. The published rule has no seasonal end date.
• Cholla. The trailhead at 5150 N. Invergordon Road has parallel parking only, in designated sections on the west side of Invergordon. Rideshare drop-off is at yellow-curb locations, and most nearby streets prohibit parking.

Cholla also had a short closure of its own this season. AZFamily reported that it would close August 17 through 28 for Phoenix Water Services sewer-line construction.

So the two things on either side of Camelback's north slope are moving on different schedules. The first phase of Sanctuary's work is scheduled for summer 2027 and the dining phase for 2028, while the Echo Canyon gate already controls when the trail opens, and its exact hours have not yet been posted. A Thanksgiving morning hike followed by an 11:30 table at Elements still works. Just confirm the gate's opening time in person, and don't count on waiting along McDonald Drive if the lot fills.

If you own near Sanctuary or the Echo Canyon trailhead and would like to talk through how the resort's 2027 and 2028 phases could affect your street, Bob Nathan Team AZ is glad to help. Request a private consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.