Hotel icon Bill Marriott reveals his surprising history with the Camelback Inn and the four most important words in the English language.
By Douglas Towne | Phoenix Magazine
When hospitality magnate J. Willard “Bill” Marriott Jr. travels and books a room, he has his pick of more than 6,500 hotels in 127 countries. But each spring when it’s time to celebrate his birthday, he heads to his favorite, the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa, as he’s done for the past 50 years. “My family grew up vacationing at the Camelback Inn,” he says. “You just can’t duplicate our memories here, no matter how fine the hotel or how exotic the destination.”
Marriott celebrated his 85th birthday last year at the historic resort nestled between Camelback and Mummy mountains with his wife, Donna, and 53 relatives. “Family is everything to us,” he says.
