Highly Anticipated Ambiente Landscape Hotel Opening This Summer

In-room wine dispensers with free-flowing sips from Arizona’s Verde Valley. Rooftop fire pits and daybeds for stargazing and sleeping under the stars. A roving snack vehicle that dishes out coffee and pastries across the property, not to mention breakfast burritos and sandwiches to-go for an early morning hike.

These are just a few of the amenities at one of the most anticipated boutique hotels in the West: Ambiente, a Landscape Hotel, will open this summer in Sedona, developers say.

“A landscape hotel is a hotel that’s actually built within the environment of the property that’s existing and there, that respects the nature,” says Jennifer May, co-founder of local developer Two Sister Bosses.

Jeff Zaruba

Surrounded by Sedona’s iconic red rocks and built on stilts to leave a minimal footprint, 40 steel and bronze-tinted “atriums” will be thoughtfully appointed in a neutral palette to seamlessly blend with the desert landscape just beyond the glass. You can wake up in a king bed before ascending to the deck to watch the sunrise, then head out to a private trailhead that connects to hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, including the iconic arch Devils Bridge.

Upon return, you can head down to the pool to grab a bite from the Airstream restaurant Alchemy or watch classic films on a custom theater wall. Complimentary yoga and guided stargazing sessions only add to the allure of a getaway at the 3-acre, family-run property. Did we mention you may find a creek flowing beneath your atrium amid decades-old manzanitas?

“What we wanted to try and do was leave the land alone,” says Mike Stevenson, a longtime local developer and May’s father. “We would have loved to be able to float them above the soil and not touch anything….We did as little as possible to the site.”

The family of Sedona natives found inspiration in Vivood Landscape Hotel in Alicante, Spain, where suites and villas are “designed so that you can look out over the landscape,” according to the property’s website. Ambiente itself is sited amid vistas of the Coconino National Forest as well as formations including the Steamboat, Chimney, Coffee Pot, and Snoopy red rocks, according to a press release.

Each of the nearly 600-square-foot atria will feature a refreshment-stocked kitchen and live-edge wood furnishings. They’re currently “undergoing interior and rooftop finishing touches,” the release said. Rates will start at $1,500 per night, with booking for the adults-only hotel beginning in the fall.

Construction is also underway on the two-story lobby and poolside lounge. There will also be a three-room spa with onsite and in-room treatments available.

“So often when you go to a resort, your entertainment’s inside the four walls. What we’re trying to do is immerse people in the environment itself,” Stevenson says. “We’re trying to get people to actually enjoy Sedona as the forest is.”