1. Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
City: Marana, AZ
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (520) 572-3000
Address: 15000 N. Secret Springs Dr.
Description: One of Tucson’s newest luxury resorts, the very ritzy Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain opened in Marana, just north of Tucson, in December 2009. Nestled against the Tortolita Mountains, the resort features 209 rooms, including 44 individual and casita suites. Rooms are decorated with mesquite furnishings, and you’ll sleep soundly on 400-thread-count linens by Frette and 100 percent goose-down pillows. Every room has wireless Internet access, a 42-inch TV, iPod docking station, and fully automated minibar. A complimentary overnight shoeshine will keep you looking dapper. Amenities include a 27-hole golf course with a 45,000-square-foot clubhouse and a 17,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. The full-service spa houses 14 indoor/outdoor treatment rooms, a Vichy shower, and a full-service salon for mani/pedis and blowouts. Three swimming pools, evening stargazing, and personalized tours of nearby ancient Indian petroglyphs round out the experience. Meeting and wedding planners and guests love the more than 44,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor function space. Dining options include the upscale Core Kitchen and Wine Bar (see the Restaurant chapter), a pub, a Latin grill, and Cayton’s at the golf club. No expense has been spared to make this a top hotel destination for locals as well as visitors.
2. The Accenture Match Play Championship
City: Marana, AZ
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (520) 571-0480, (866) 942-2672
Address: 14000 Dove Mountain Blvd.
Description: The Accenture Match Play Championship takes place at the end of February at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, in Marana, just north of Tucson. The world’s top 64 golfers participate in this exciting 5-day tournament that features a multimillion-dollar purse. This major tournament attracts all of professional golf’s major players.
3. The Quarry Pines Golf Club
City: Marana, AZ
Category: Golf
Telephone: (520) 744-7443
Address: 8480 N. Continental Links Dr.
Description: This course is located in the far northwest, where the town of Marana is rapidly expanding southward toward Tucson. The Pines is situated in a sprawling industrial/residential development called Continental Ranch, and the course itself abuts the west side of I-10 from about Cortaro Farms Road northward. Tucson’s first quarry course, the back 9 holes of this 18-hole course are built on the original 90-acre, 100-foot-deep sand and gravel quarry. The front 9 is a links-style course. The course was designed by the Phoenix architectural firm Gilmore Graves and offers a mix of dramatic elevation changes and stunning mountain views. Course length is 6,486 yards, par 71 with a rating/slope of 70.4/132. There’s a clubhouse, 2 practice greens, restaurant, and full-service pro shop. The peak-season weekend rate is $74 including cart and range balls. Exit I-10 at Cortaro Road west, then to Arizona Pavilions Way north.
4. Comcast Digital Cable
City: Marana, AZ
Category: Media
Telephone: (520) 744-1900
Address: 8251 N. Cortaro Rd.
Description: Servicing Pima County residents, including Marana and Oro Valley, Comcast offers cable, digital cable, and high-speed Internet access.
5. Core Kitchen And Wine Bar At The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain
City: Marana, AZ
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (520) 572-3000
Address: 15000 N. Secret Springs Dr.
Description: The ultra-luxe Ritz-Carlton resort (see Accommodations chapter) in far north Marana is home to the upscale Core. The drive is lovely, along winding roads with beautiful vistas of city and mountains. Once you arrive, the very accommodating valets will park your car and escort you down the winding staircase to Core. Choose from patio, barside, banquette, or table seating in the open dining area, decorated in shades of soothing beige with a view of the mountain. The menu features American cuisine sprinkled with Sonoran Desert influences and ingredients. For starters, a prickly pear grilled quail, accompanied by quail egg and iceberg lettuce wedge draped with blue cheese dressing. A specialty of the house is the buffalo tenderloin with mesquite noodles and a three-chili aioli. Breakfast and dinner are served daily. Reservations suggested.
6. Sunflower
City: Marana, AZ
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (520) 572-9780
Address: 7759 Goldbrook Dr.
Description: The word sun in the community’s name is a good clue it’s another Del Webb venture. The company’s adult development in the Tucson area is located in the master-planned community of Continental Ranch in the town of Marana to Tucson’s northwest. Groundbreaking took place in late 1997, and there are 967 homes on Sunflower’s 245 acres. Currently sold out, homes are available for resale only through real estate agents or homeowners.Like its sister communities, active lifestyle is the byword. A central clubhouse area, with clusters of homes emanating from it like spokes of a wheel, offers a pool, spa, tennis, and tons of activities. The grounds are abundant with walking and bicycling paths, and the wide streets are lined with hundreds of mesquite and paloverde trees along with all the customary desert vegetation. Although Sunflower is outside the city of Tucson, both Continental Ranch and Marana are growing areas. To reach Sunflower, go west on Cortaro Farms Road from I-10 to Silverbell Road, then north to Twin Peaks Road, and watch for the entrance.