96 FUN & GAMES BEST SKATE PARK DESERT WEST SKATEBOARD PLAZA 6602 W. ENCANTO BLVD. 602-495-3700 PHOENIX.GOV Fun fact: The first skate park in the U.S. was the now-closed Dry Surf, which opened in Tempe in 1965. Sixty years later, skate parks can be found in every corner of the Valley. Desert West Skate Park, open since 1997, is Phoenix’s finest. It boasts 25,000 square feet of curbs, steps, ledges and three bowls, all skateboard-only. It’s for the people: open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., no supervision, no fees. The concrete gets repainted annually with fresh art, so even when you wipe out, you have a decent view on the way down. ESPN aired the PHXAM contest live from here in 2011, and the park still hosts it every spring, pulling skaters from well outside Arizona. Bring your own pads — the skating’s at your own risk here. Which is the whole point, man. i i i BEST PLACE TO LEARN MAHJONG PHOENIX MAHJONG CLUB 4821 N. SCOTTSDALE ROAD, #106, SCOTTSDALE 480-979-2571 PHOENIXMAHJONGCLUB.COM At the Phoenix Mahjong Club, you’re greeted by 15 tables of automated mahjong tables, pink walls and grand chandeliers. It’s a culture collision and an effort to make mahjong accessible. The patient instructors want you to feel at home even if what you’re learning seems like a whole different language. Lessons are year-round, and if that doesn’t work for you, you can get a private lesson with a minimum of four people. Once you’re successfully schooled — and possibly a little hooked — you can buy tiles and racks on your way out, or keep coming back for the social events: tourna- ments, drop-ins, lunches and other excuses to get your mahj ong. i i i BEST PLACE TO ENTERTAIN YOUR KID ENCHANTED ISLAND AMUSEMENT PARK 1202 W. ENCANTO BLVD. 602-254-1200 ENCHANTEDISLAND.COM Every evening and weekend, Valley parents are thinking the same thing: How can I keep these little bastards from bouncing off the walls? You can pony up for any number of indoor playplaces that make you buy their stupid rubber-gripped socks, or you can check out one of central Phoenix’s best-kept secrets. Enchanted Island Amusement Park sits in the heart of Encanto Park, and it’s geared especially toward the toddlers and elementary school kids who have turned your home into a cacophonous zoo. The 7.5-acre park is free to enter, though you’ll need to buy tickets for rides. (A book of 10 tickets is $51.75 plus tax. One ticket gets you one ride.) The attractions are basically kiddie carnival rides — a carousel, a dragon-shaped kid-coaster, a budget version of Disneyland’s Dumbo ride — but littles will excitedly race from one to the other and back again. The park also offers concessions, hosts birthday parties and is a generally safe place to let your child burn some energy. Pro tip: Check out the year pass, which goes for only $62.09 and comes with unlimited rides. There may be no better deal in the Valley. i i i BEST WATERPARK GOLFLAND SUNSPLASH 155 W. HAMPTON AVE., MESA 480-834-8319 GOLFLAND.COM Gather longtime Phoenicians of a certain age and we’ll wax about bygone places we miss. The Cine Capri. Monti’s La Casa Vieja. Metrocenter. “But,” someone will chime in, “we still have Golfland.” Golfland Sunsplash has entertained Valley residents since 1983. It has evolved over the years (haven’t we all?) and today stands as the go-to spot for water- based fun in the Valley. It’s got baby pools and splash pads for the littlest guests, a lazy river, a wave pool and more than a dozen slides that range in intensity from “oh, this is nice” to “where’d my trunks go?” This year, Golfland Sunsplash added Riptide, a monster of a waterslide that starts almost 10 stories in the sky. Work up the nerve to ride it and you could hit speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. Valley favorites come and they go. It’s comforting to know Golfland Sunsplash is still delighting new generations of guests. BEST RESORT WATERPARK ARIZONA GRAND RESORT & SPA 8000 S. ARIZONA GRAND PARKWAY 602-438-9000 ARIZONAGRANDRESORT.COM Having to leave your hotel to get to a water- park epitomizes first-world problems. But wouldn’t you rather roll out of a king-sized bed and straight into a one-piece? Keep your trunks on at Arizona Grand Resort & Spa and its seven-acre Oasis waterpark, which is open for hotel guests. The Travel Channel named the pocket-sized Oasis among the top 10 waterparks in the U.S. — lucky for you, then, that it’s so nearby. We like chilling out on the Zuni River; you might prefer the waterslides, the oversized hot tub, the wave pool and or the water play areas for small children. Once you’re tuck- ered out and chlorine-wrinkled, crash in your room. Or, if you’re not staying at the hotel, get access the old-fashioned way, with your ResortPass, and drive back home a little drippy. i i i BEST STAYCATION SPOT ARIZONA BILTMORE 2400 E. MISSOURI AVE. 602-955-6600 ARIZONABILTMORE.COM Your staycation deserves a great spa and a luxe room, for starters. You may want golf and some way to entertain your kids. Or fine dining and a fancy cabana beside the pool. Guess what, you lucky so-and-so? The Arizona Biltmore has you covered. The grand dame of Arizona hospitality, now close on to its 100th birthday, offers a laundry list of incredible staycation-grade amenities: seven pools, multiple restaurants and bars, tennis and pickleball, the adults- only Citrus Club lounge. And its iconic, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design brings an understated elegance you’ll find at no other property in the middle of town. One quick Uber ride to the Biltmore lets you feel thousands of miles away from everyday life. i i i BEST PLACE TO RECHARGE CIVANA WELLNESS RESORT & SPA 37220 N. MULE TRAIN ROAD, CAREFREE 480-653-9000 CIVANACAREFREE.COM Places around town that promise calm and relaxation too often underwhelm. CIVANA Wellness and Resort & Spa actually delivers. Maybe it’s the location, on the mountain- ringed edge of metro Phoenix. It could be the signage around the grounds encouraging people to be quiet and present. Highlights of a recent visit to CIVANA included a stretching session and later, a gratitude cere- mony at the resort’s labyrinth; a filling but not heavy meal at the Terras restaurant; and a soothing facial at the renowned spa. As the sun set and rabbits frolicked on the yoga lawn, we realized: This is truly chill. Even a day pass to the resort will leave you relaxed in ways few places can offer. i i i BEST HOTEL FACELIFT HOTEL SOLAYA 4000 N. DRINKWATER BLVD., SCOTTSDALE 623-352-7272 HYATT.COM You may know the hotel at Indian School Road and Drinkwater Boulevard as The James. Or The Mondrian. The Saguaro. The Theodore. It’s been a lot of things over the decades. As of this year, it’s got (yet another) new name, a new style and a new outlook. Hotel Solaya is part of the JDV by Hyatt brand, the international chain’s category of boutique lifestyle hotels. What does that actu- ally mean for the Scottsdale property? Rede- signed rooms with desert boho style. Elevated Southern fare by chef Brian Paskvan at Ella on the Park, the hotel’s on-site restaurant. A new grassy event space for private parties, yoga classes and other activities. And a completely remodeled pool area that hosts bangin’ summer parties. As Hotel Solaya, one of Old Town Scottsdale’s oldest hotels has roared back to hotspot status.