7 New Options for Business Entertaining in Phoenix/Scottsdale

The Gladly, which opened in September, is a contemporary American restaurant in Anchor Centre in the Biltmore neighborhood. The space offers several spaces for events, including a patio that seats 55 or holds 65 for receptions, a semiprivate dinning room for 25, and a large private dinning room that seats 56 or holds 75 for receptions; full buyouts are available.

For an event with a view, Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain hotel expanded its Jade Bar into an indoor-outdoor space with floor-to-ceiling windows and a bar made of actual jade. The renovation doubled the seating space to 61 seats indoors and another 40 on the patio. For outdoor events, design elements include a retractable fabric shade, heaters, and a fireplace.

Cake Nightclub, which opened in February in Old Town Scottsdale, blends baroque-era decor with modern technology such as a Funktion One Sound System and a lighting system from CG Lighting. The 3,500-square-foot venue holds 150 people for events and has a layout with seven built-in banquettes, six high-top tables, staging for dancing behind each table, aerial rigs for performances, and two go-go platforms for dancers. The venue also has several LED screens for custom video graphics and messaging.

For golf outings, JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa opened a $10 million Ambiente Golf Course in November. Ambiente, which means “environment” in Spanish, is the first new golf course development in greater Phoenix in more than five years. The par-72 course was designed with environmental features including 100 acres of new native desert and grass areas intended to promote wildlife habitats, water conservation efforts, and a decrease in fertilizer and fossil fuel usage.

The Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains, an all-suite hotel overlooking the TPC Scottsdale Champions Golf Course, recently finished a $5.9 million renovation that added the Agave Southwest Bar and Grill, a casual eatery that has private rooms equipped with Wi-Fi and audiovisual equipment. The renovation also added 4,300 square feet of meeting and event space, as well as updated the lobby and fitness room. The hotel now has 20 meeting rooms, including the centerpiece Barcelona Junior Ballroom, among its 14,391 square feet of total meeting space. Its boardrooms feature ergonomic executive chairs and 60-inch LCD flat-screen TVs.

For large outdoor events, the JW Marriott Desert Ridge debuted a dining concept in September, Stonegrill, which replaced the former Blue Sage restaurant. Stonegrill seats 225 in the restaurant and another 125 on its patio overlooking the resort’s Sage Court lawn. Among the menu items are baked cage-free poached eggs with short rib; achiote grilled tofu and corn lettuce wraps; and applewood-smoked chicken.

The Boulders Club, a semiprivate country club at the Waldorf Astoria Resort, has added two faster-play golf courses for quicker outings. The so-called "pebble tees" courses offer nine holes with yardages of from 100 to 200 yards and are only available in the afternoon. The resort has also added offerings such as "Four at Four"—four holes of golf played after 4 p.m.—a yoga boot camp, and "Dine and Dash" teambuilding, which combines a scavenger hunt with food tastings spread over the golf course and dessert and drinks afterward.