Arizona

Why Oprah Winfrey just had to shout out these 3 Arizona spa resorts

Published

5 months ago

June 10, 2025

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Why Oprah Winfrey just had to shout out these 3 Arizona spa resorts

Three Arizona spas were listed in Oprah Daily’s 2025 Hotel O-Wards.
The list includes spas with exceptional treatments, services and practitioners.

Three of Arizona’s most luxurious destination spa resorts received praise from Oprah Winfrey.

Her website Oprah Daily recently honored 53 destination spas worldwide in the 2025 Hotel O-Wards. Now in its second year, Oprah’s Hotel O-Wards recognize spa resorts whose treatments, services and practitioners are “best-in-class.”

The 17 honorees in the U.S. and Canada include three from Arizona: Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, Mii amo and Castle Hot Springs.

The three resorts are no stranger to recognition among Arizona’s most celebrated travel experiences, with Oprah Daily praising each of them for high quality and distinctive services.

Here’s a look at each of the Arizona honorees and why they were selected.

Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, Scottsdale

Scottsdale has more than 50 resort and day spas, according to Experience Scottsdale, the city’s convention and visitors bureau. Sanctuary Camelback Mountain stood out among them in the Hotel O-Wards survey because of the size of its spa − 12,000 square feet − and the diversity of its treatment menu.

Standout offerings include a restorative meditation experience called Nidra sound voyage, which is claimed to equal three hours of sleep, and a form of underwater shiatsu massage known as watsu therapy.

Mii amo, Sedona

The accolades for this wellness spa within Enchantment Resort in Sedona’s Boynton Canyon − a vortex believed to have healing energy − have piled up since a $40 million renovation was finished in 2023, including from USA TODAY readers who named it the nation’s best spa in 2024.

Oprah Daily cited the renovation for elevating its offerings, including 23 casitas, 26 treatment rooms, a two-story fitness studio and a new restaurant, Hummingbird.

All-inclusive getaways at Mii amo can last from three to 10 nights, with treatments including past-life regression with a hypnotherapist and aura photography, both cited by Oprah Daily as highlights.

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Castle Hot Springs, Bradshaw Mountains

One of Arizona’s oldest resorts, the 1,100-acre Castle Hot Springs in the Bradshaw Mountains north of Phoenix offers wellness retreats that include bathing in the resort’s mineral-rich hot springs.

A multimillion-dollar renovation brought the resort back to life in 2019 after a fire shuttered it in the mid-1970s; its second life has seen widespread critical acclaim, including Travel + Leisure declaring it Arizona’s best resort in three of the last four years.

Oprah Daily praised the water-centric programming, including watsu therapy in the hot springs, paddleboard yoga and − in contrast with the average 106-degree temperatures of the springs − a newly introduced cold plunge pool with temperatures ranging from 43 to 46 degrees.

Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist who’s covered travel and tourism since 2014. His work as The Arizona Republic’s consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations. He can be reached at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com.

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Arizona

Arizona-based Hickman’s Family Farms set to be acquired by Brazilian company

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

Arizona-based Hickman’s Family Farms set to be acquired by Brazilian company

GREELEY, CO (AZFamily) — Mantiqueira USA announced Friday it has entered an agreement to acquire Hickman’s Egg Ranch, an egg producer headquartered in Arizona.

Hickman’s has over five locations across Arizona. The company also has locations in California, Colorado, and Nevada.

The Arizona egg farm took a huge hit after losing most of its chickens to bird flu earlier this year. About six million birds were lost. Glenn Hickman, president and CEO of Hickman’s Egg Ranch, says it was the first time in 81 years that the company had been unable to fulfill 100% of customer demands.

Hickman said this new transition will bring opportunities to customers, employees and partners.

The acquisition marks MTQ USA’s formal entry into the U.S. market. The company is a spin-off from Mantiqueira Brasil.

“Expanding into the United States has long been a vision for our family, and taking this step through the acquisition of Hickman’s makes this moment especially meaningful,” said Leandro Pinto, founder of Mantiqueira. “Hickman’s is a respected leader with a legacy of quality and service.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

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Arizona

What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after tough win over Arizona State

Published

21 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after tough win over Arizona State

Friday didn’t feature the cleanest 40 minutes Gonzaga has put together over the first two weeks of the college basketball season.

Though despite an abnormal amount of turnovers, defensive lapses and woeful shooting stretches, the Bulldogs remained level-headed down the stretch to leave Desert Financial Arena with a 77-65 victory over Arizona State.

A combined 58 free throw attempts, 44 foul calls and a pair of technical fouls between the future and former Pac-12 schools underscored the chaotic nature of the late-night tilt, creating quite the environment for the Bulldogs’ first true road test of the 2025-26 campaign.

After having its 14-point lead chopped down to five midway through the second half, Gonzaga took advantage of a pair of technical fouls assessed against the Sun Devils, including one on head coach Dan Hurley, to pull away late and advance to 4-0 on the season.

Here’s what Mark Few had say about his team’s performance after the game.

“I think we just kind of hung in there. I thought we had some really good performances by several of our guys, but it was kind of like in spurts, and then in some instances, a good first half out of somebody, and then not so good the second half.”

“Like I told them afterwards, anytime we can win a game like this, and maybe not feel like we played perfect; as long as we learn from it, that was a really, really good chance to learn. So we got to watch a lot of stuff.”

“Obviously, their quickness and athleticism and what they were doing had a lot to do with it. But these guys stepped up. [Ike] made big plays in both halves. I thought Tyon really got in there and really helped us, especially in that first half, really made a difference.”

“We were struggling on the offensive end. Too many turnovers for us, and too many kind of little defensive breakdowns there that we’ve been doing a good job and not having quite as many of those.”

“That’s so hard to do. He had missed some shots early, and I know he was down on himself, wasn’t feeling good. And I think that just shows incredible mental toughness … when it’s not going good, to flip the switch and come back and make plays and those shots were huge. It kind of gave us a cushion to kind of get us through there at the end, so I was proud of him.

“That was a kind of a hostile environment and kind of a crazy game, but our guys just made enough plays to win.”

“I mean, it’s hard to put your finger on it. Sometimes it’s been a little bit of a defensive problem. Sometimes it’s been a little bit of an offensive problem.”

“You’re not going to blow somebody out in the first 4 minutes. We’re establishing a rhythm, trying to figure out how they’re covering us, and if our coverages are working, and how they’re attacking that. So a lot of times it’s just a little bit of a feeling-out process.”

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Arizona

Republicans’ chances of defeating Katie Hobbs in Arizona governor race—Poll

Published

2 days ago

November 14, 2025

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Republicans’ chances of defeating Katie Hobbs in Arizona governor race—Poll

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is in for a close race against Republican challengers in the 2026 midterm elections, according to a new poll.

Newsweek reached out to Hobbs and the Republican candidates’ campaigns for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Arizona emerged as a key swing state over the past decade, with both parties scoring statewide victories. Last November, President Donald Trump carried the state by nearly six points, but Democrat Ruben Gallego eked out a win in the Senate race, a sign of how competitive the state can still be.

Hobbs, first elected in 2022, is up for reelection next year. Democrats are optimistic about their chances in the midterms. Historically, the president’s party loses seats, and Trump’s approval remains low.

A series of Democratic victories in recent elections has also fueled hopes about a blue wave in the midterms. But forecasters still view the race as competitive for both parties, and the Emerson College poll released Friday underscores just how close it may be.

What To Know

Hobbs narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake in 2022, a year that was generally stronger for Republicans. Prior to the election, Hobbs served as Arizona’s secretary of state and as a state legislator starting in 2011.

Several Republicans are vying to challenge her, including Arizona Representatives Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, as well as attorney Karrin Taylor Robson. Trump has endorsed both Biggs and Robson.

The Emerson poll showed Hobbs with a slight lead over each of the Republican candidates.

She held a single-point lead over Biggs (44 percent to 43 percent) and Robson (43 percent to 42 percent), and a five-point lead over Schweikert (44 percent to 39 percent), according to the poll. It surveyed 850 registered voters from November 8 to 10 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

Biggs held a lead in the primary, with 50 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him. Meanwhile, Robson and Schweikert held 17 percent and 8 percent support, respectively, in the primary, the poll found.

Other polls have also painted a picture of a close race. A Noble Predictive Insights poll, which surveyed 948 registered voters from August 11 to 18, showed Hobbs with a two-point lead over both Biggs (39 percent to 37 percent) and Robson (40 percent to 38 percent). It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

In 2022, Hobbs defeated Lake by less than a single percentage point (50.3 percent to 49.7 percent) in what was one of the closest races across the country. Arizona was also one of the closest states at the presidential level in 2020—former President Joe Biden carried it by less than half a percentage point.

In 2024, however, Trump gained back ground in the state, winning 52.2 percent of the vote to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 46.7 percent.

What People Are Saying

Spencer Kimball, director of the Emerson College poll, wrote in a report: “In a matchup between Hobbs and Biggs, voters who say the economy is their top issue break for Hobbs, 45% to 41%, while those who find immigration to be the top issue break for Biggs, 81% to 6%.”

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in April: “I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so.

“When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

What Happens Next

The Arizona race is likely to become closely watched—and expensive—as both parties try to win over voters over the coming year. Sabato’s Crystal Ball classifies the race as a pure toss-up.

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