STORY:
Arizona Revelers Will Pay To Party

According to an article appearing in the Arizona Republic, resorts in and around the Phoenix area are popping the cork on New Year's Eve 1999 with packages of lodging, entertainment and millennium gifts ranging from a couple of thousand dollars up to $100,000. The $100,000 package at the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix buys at least two nights in the hotel's premier suite, with its private dining room and baby grand piano, a sunset flight over the Grand Canyon, use of a chauffeur-driven Jaguar car, a pair of 18-karat gold Bulgari watches, 24-hour butler service, daily in-room massages, champagne, Baccarat flutes, golf at a choice of top Valley courses and the couple also take home a Ritz-Carlton blue golf cart. A back-to-the-future reality check reveals more modest Ritz packages that include two tickets to the hotel's Millennium Ball, accommodations and gifts, starting at $1,999 for two nights. Arizona Biltmore has lined up the Temptations on Dec. 30 and the Righteous Brothers on New Year's Eve. Guests can watch the odometer of years roll over from 1999 to 2000 with four nights and five days in a Biltmore suite or villa, VIP seating at the shows, along with gifts, dinners, room-service breakfasts, golf and spa services for $15,000 per couple. Unlike big shows in Las Vegas, the Biltmore is selling only 400 packages so the crowd for the two shows will be limited to 800, he said, adding that the resort expects to sell all its packages, 90 percent of them to out-of-town visitors. The Biltmore has other four-night packages for $7,000 or $8,500 each. The article says the resort has sold about 25 packages, three of them the $15,000 variety The Phoenician's five-star millennium package pampers guests for a week in a luxurious premium-view room, breakfast each morning, champagne, flowers, millennium gifts and a New Year's Eve gala for $6,600 for two. The cheapest rooms are $490 per night with a five-night minimum, or $2,450. The Arizona Republic listed a few of the Millennium packages they found. Here's a sample:

• Ritz-Carlton Phoenix $100,000: Sunset champagne flight over Grand Canyon, use of Jaguar luxury car, two 18-carat Bulgari watches, 24-hour butler service, a daily in-room massage, a magnum of Tattinger champagne with two Baccarat crystal flutes and other gifts. Other two-night packages start at $1,999.
• Arizona Biltmore $15,000 Exclusive Villa Millennium Package: Four nights in villa or suite, champagne reception, VIP seating for Righteous Brothers and Temptations shows, three nights of dinner for two, breakfast daily including room service, golf and spa services and a welcoming gift. Other four-night packages cost $7,000 or $8,500.
• The Phoenician $6,600 Five-Star Millennium Package: Seven nights in premium-view room, commemorative millennium gift, bottle of premium champagne and fresh flowers and breakfast daily. Other millennium room rates, with a minimum five-night stay range from $490 per night for a standard room to $1,750 for a two-bedroom suite.
• Marriott's Camelback Inn $3,600 Seven Nights in Paradise: Standard casita for seven nights, breakfast daily, two nights of dinner for two, choice of golf or spa treatment, millennium commemorative gift, New Year's Eve gala featuring dinner, dancing, hosted bar, party favors and champagne midnight toast. Five nights for $3,000.
• Scottsdale Princess $2,508 Millennium Ballroom Package: Five nights in standard room, commemorative gift, ballroom celebration featuring C.C. Jones Orchestra, fireworks, telecast featuring highlights of celebrations around the world and a midnight dessert buffet.
• The Boulders $4,965: Five nights, commemorative gifts, New Year's Eve dinner, and a gala featuring local jazz singer Alice Tatum, as well as a choice of three activities - golf, spa treatment, rock-climbing lessons, personal fitness training, hot-air balloon ride, a desert tour on horseback or in a Hummer or a star-gazing astronomy session.
• Wigwam Resort $3,900 Millennium Milestones: Four nights with breakfast, dinner and golf daily, plus gifts and New Year's Eve celebration, including hosted bar, champagne and dancing to the Mickey Finn 17-piece orchestra.

Source: Arizona Republic

DATE: 5/18/99

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