Safari Hotel

Ground was broken in March 1956 by Gilbert & Dolan Construction Co.[2] Developed by Ernie Uhlman, the hotel opened on November 16, 1956, with the Scottsdale mayor and Miss Arizona in attendance.[3] The resort initially offered 108 rooms.[4] Upon opening, the resort featured its own orchestra, which released records on the resort's own record label.[5]

In 1959, the resort expanded by building another 80 rooms and a banquet room which could seat up to 700 people at the east end of the property.[6]

The resort was the headquarters for both the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles baseball teams during spring training in the late 1950s.[7][8]

The Safari was very popular in the 1960s as a destination resort. The hotel featured the French Quarter nightclub, and a 24-hour coffee shop, and the Gracious Dining restaurant.[9] These opened in the early 1960s after Paul Shank took over the resort's restaurants, spending $400,000 on renovations which replaced the resort's orchestra with more contemporary entertainment.[5][10][11] In order for the nightclub to open, the city of Scottsdale had to repeal its ban on dancing.[3] The French Quarter hosted entertainment acts such as Rosemary Clooney and the Mills Brothers.[11] The French Quarter spent $60,000 on a remodeling in 1969. At the time, the Safari's restaurants employed 250 employees and claimed to have the highest volume of food sales in the state of Arizona.[12] However the French Quarter could not maintain its success and closed in 1978 after pivoting to dinner theatre during the mid-1970s.[11]

Hogan's Heroes actor Bob Crane was seen at the Safari shortly before his homicide in 1978.[9]

The Brown Derby restaurant operated in the resort from 1981 to 1996.[9]

The hotel was sold in 1986 to PALS Development Corporation, which explored a number of redevelopment options during the 1990s.[13][14] By that time, the hotel had become dated and could not compete with the newer resorts that had opened in Scottsdale.[9]

The resort closed in September 1998 with a proposal to redevelop the site with a $143 million Marriott hotel, and the buildings demolished in 1999.[3] However, the Marriott plan never materialised, and in 2005 the site was vacant apart from the former resort's palm trees, which were not removed.[9] By 2010, condominiums had been completed on the site of the resort.[15]