IHG Hotels & Resorts’ Kimpton brand has officially opened Kimpton Miralina Resort & Villas Paradise Valley, completing a $42 million transformationof the former Scottsdale Plaza Resortinto a new luxury-lifestyle desert retreat positioned between Camelback Mountain and Mummy Mountain.
The opening phase introduces 260 accommodations (224 guestrooms and 36 casitas)on a roughly 40-acresite, with the resort’s broader plan calling for 404 total keysas additional villas and residences come online later.
What’s New: Dining, Wellness, and Meetings
Miralina is launching with a full slate of resort programming aimed at both leisure travelers and group business:
- Hecho Libre, the signature restaurant, is led by Chef Wes Avila(described in opening materials as a James Beard Award finalist).
- Spa Miralinaand six poolsanchor the wellness and downtime pitch.
- More than 50,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space—including a glass-enclosed Horizon Pavilion—targets meetings, weddings, and incentive groups.
Background: From Scottsdale Plaza to Kimpton in Early 2026
The property’s debut follows a rebranding plan announced in 2025. IHG said the resort would become the first branded IHG luxury and lifestyle property in the Paradise Valley/Scottsdale marketas part of a “significant reimagination” of an existing resort.
Local reporting in Arizona also framed the move as the market’s first Kimpton resort conversion of the Scottsdale Plaza site, which was slated to open in early 2026 after renovation.
Competition: A Crowded Luxury Field in Scottsdale–Paradise Valley
Miralina enters one of the Southwest’s most competitive resort corridors. Within the broader Scottsdale luxury set, travelers routinely compare properties such as Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows, and Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, among other high-end options.
How Miralina differentiates (so far):
- Lifestyle positioning + conversion scale:The resort’s “new-to-market” energy comes from a major repositioning rather than a small boutique opening, with a multi-phase expansion plan.
- Food-led branding:Attaching a recognizable chef-driven concept (Hecho Libre/Wes Avila) aims to compete for both guest spend and local diners—key in Scottsdale’s resort restaurant scene.
- Meetings/weddings firepower:50,000+ sq. ft. is meaningful inventory in a destination where groups often decide based on flexible indoor-outdoor venues and winter-season buyouts.
Outlook: Expansion, Group Demand, and the “Soft Luxury” Race
The near-term business story hinges on how quickly Miralina converts renovation buzz into steady occupancy—especially during peak-season desert travel—while ramping additional villas/residences toward the resort’s full 404-keybuildout.
If the resort succeeds, it strengthens IHG/Kimpton’s leverage in a market dominated by entrenched luxury operators and ultra-premium independents. At the same time, the competitive bar is high: Scottsdale and Paradise Valley travelers expect distinctive pools, strong spa programming, and restaurants that feel destination-worthy—areas where Miralina is clearly placing early bets with six pools, Spa Miralina, and Hecho Libre.
Bottom line:Kimpton Miralina opens as a major “reset” of a legacy resort site—bringing new lifestyle-luxury inventory and group-ready event space into a market where differentiation is less about having amenities, and more about making them feel uniquely Scottsdale.
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