can someone tell me about the Phoenix Biltmore district? (Scottsdale: condos, hotels)

[RetiredCop]

I have been condo shopping primarily in Scottsdale. Although, in my shopping I have come accross ads Pushing the Biltmore district. What is it like? Is this a safe location? Does anyone of any good condo complex's in this area?

I am in NY and planning on moving to Phx so i am wondering with my next trip if i should schedule a few visits to this area for my Condo shopping? Any insight would be appreciated.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by RetiredCop

I have been condo shopping primarily in Scottsdale. Although, in my shopping I have come accross ads Pushing the Biltmore district. What is it like? Is this a safe location? Does anyone of any good condo complex's in this area?

I am in NY and planning on moving to Phx so i am wondering with my next trip if i should schedule a few visits to this area for my Condo shopping? Any insight would be appreciated.

It's a great location, but be careful about deceptive ads, especially in light of the posting you made last week. See this map I created for Biltmore and Arcadia boundaries and be careful of places outside these boundaries that claim Biltmore or Arcadia locations.

[RetiredCop]

Thanks for the map! I guess I will have to actually get out of Scottsdale and go see for myself next time I am out there,

[RetiredCop]

I guess Arcadia is another nice area?

[vegaspilgrim]

"Biltmore" can refer to five different things: 1. The Arizona Biltmore resort. 2. The exclusive neighborhoods with million dollar homes surrounding the golf course to the immediate north, west, and east of the resort. 3. The Biltmore Fashion Park, a Westcor shopping mall. 4. The 24th & Camelback office building corridor, and other stuff along Camelback Rd. 5. The neighborhoods south of the above four areas, of various degrees of quality, which are often marketed as "Biltmore."

My take on the overall Biltmore area is that it is nice, but overrated. The main advantage to living there is that you're centrally located within the metro area, which means less time spent driving around, a huge plus. The mall itself and the AMC Theater across the street are pretty nice-- although it's just another Westcor shopping mall with the same chain stores you can get anywhere. It's slightly dated looking when compared to the more state of the art Scottsdale Fashion Square or the Chandler mall. There's a neat old outdoor shopping center nearby called "Town & Country" which has a lot of unique restaurants as well as a Trader Joes. A lot of the condos marketed as Biltmore are actually on Highland Ave. They're nice, but look just like any other 1990s era condos in the Phoenix area, with the stucco and pink tile roof. There's a couple of strip malls with your standard big box chains between Highland and Camelback, from 16th st to 24th st.

The reason I say it's overrated is because I often hear people raving about the Biltmore area like it's some kind of cool "urban" area, when it's not at all. It's just as suburban, car-dependent, and big-box "chain"-y as, say, Chandler-- just that it happens to be centrally located. There's nothing wrong with it, just that the reality doesn't cut to the hype. In my opinion, old town Scottsdale blows the Biltmore area away-- it's much more walkable, unique, and fun. Scottsdale in general is one of the few cities within the valley that actually has bragging rights.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by RetiredCop

I guess Arcadia is another nice area?

Yes, it's a residential area between the Biltmore Area and the Scottsdale border. It is centrally located with good access to Downtown, Midtown, Scottsdale, Biltmore, and the Airport. People tend to play games with the boundaries of Arcadia; in fact, some would say that the true Arcadia neighborhood begins at 44th St. and runs from there to the Scottsdale border. I stretch the boundary west to 32nd St. Regardless of the western boundary, your main objective is to stay north of Thomas Road.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

"Biltmore" can refer to five different things: 1. The Arizona Biltmore resort. 2. The exclusive neighborhoods with million dollar homes surrounding the golf course to the immediate north, west, and east of the resort. 3. The Biltmore Fashion Park, a Westcor shopping mall. 4. The 24th & Camelback office building corridor, and other stuff along Camelback Rd. 5. The neighborhoods south of the above four areas, of various degrees of quality, which are often marketed as "Biltmore."

My take on the overall Biltmore area is that it is nice, but overrated. The main advantage to living there is that you're centrally located within the metro area, which means less time spent driving around, a huge plus. The mall itself and the AMC Theater across the street are pretty nice-- although it's just another Westcor shopping mall with the same chain stores you can get anywhere. It's slightly dated looking when compared to the more state of the art Scottsdale Fashion Square or the Chandler mall. There's a neat old outdoor shopping center nearby called "Town & Country" which has a lot of unique restaurants as well as a Trader Joes. A lot of the condos marketed as Biltmore are actually on Highland Ave. They're nice, but look just like any other 1990s era condos in the Phoenix area, with the stucco and pink tile roof. There's a couple of strip malls with your standard big box chains between Highland and Camelback, from 16th st to 24th st.

The reason I say it's overrated is because I often hear people raving about the Biltmore area like it's some kind of cool "urban" area, when it's not at all. It's just as suburban, car-dependent, and big-box "chain"-y as, say, Chandler-- just that it happens to be centrally located. There's nothing wrong with it, just that the reality doesn't cut to the hype. In my opinion, old town Scottsdale blows the Biltmore area away-- it's much more walkable, unique, and fun. Scottsdale in general is one of the few cities within the valley that actually has bragging rights.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone describing Biltmore has a hip and cool urban area. It's definitely not that and it doesn't pretend to be; instead, it's a shopping, office, and resort district that is predominantly suburban in character but still near the heart of the city. I do have to disagree, however, with the characterization of Biltmore's retail as identical to suburban areas such as Chandler. While there are familiar big boxes such as Best Buy, Biltmore is also home to the state's only Saks Fifth Avenue store, its only Cartier store, and much more that is one-of-a-kind in Arizona. It's also home to numerous recreational opportunties at Piestewa Peak, Grenada Park, and along the Arizona Canal.

[sirwinston73]

Originally Posted by RetiredCop

I have been condo shopping primarily in Scottsdale. Although, in my shopping I have come accross ads Pushing the Biltmore district. What is it like? Is this a safe location? Does anyone of any good condo complex's in this area?

I am in NY and planning on moving to Phx so i am wondering with my next trip if i should schedule a few visits to this area for my Condo shopping? Any insight would be appreciated.

I've lived in both Arcadia and Scottsdale (both north and south) and can tell you that the Biltmore/Arcadia area far, far, FAR surpasses Scottsdale in terms of quality of living, friendliness of residents, restaurants, and so much more.

Keep in mind that Zagat named Phoenix the #2 restaurant city in the US after NYC, and that 90% of those great restaurants are concentrated in the Biltmore/Arcadia area as well as north-central Phoenix which is nearby.

I would very strongly recommend living in the Biltmore or Arcadia districts over Scottsdale. I think if you spend a week or two visiting and spend enough time in both you will see what I mean. The dreary dusty landscape of Scottsdale combined with the rude pretentious residents, vs. the pretty green landscape of Arcadia and the friendly people who live there. It's pretty much a no-brainer after you experience both. Not to mention that Scottsdale has a police force that overzealously writes speeding tickets while ignoring the fact that they have the #1 car theft and burglary rate in the Valley, vs. Arcadia/Biltmore which is very safe due to the hardworking and diligent Phoenix P.D.

Especially if you're from NY, you will enjoy Biltmore/Arcadia over any other area. I used to live right off Camelback and 44th St. Feel free to PM me for any detailed info you need (I'm from NJ and my girlfriend is from NY so we can relate!!)

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

"Biltmore" can refer to five different things: 1. The Arizona Biltmore resort. 2. The exclusive neighborhoods with million dollar homes surrounding the golf course to the immediate north, west, and east of the resort. 3. The Biltmore Fashion Park, a Westcor shopping mall. 4. The 24th & Camelback office building corridor, and other stuff along Camelback Rd. 5. The neighborhoods south of the above four areas, of various degrees of quality, which are often marketed as "Biltmore."

My take on the overall Biltmore area is that it is nice, but overrated. The main advantage to living there is that you're centrally located within the metro area, which means less time spent driving around, a huge plus. The mall itself and the AMC Theater across the street are pretty nice-- although it's just another Westcor shopping mall with the same chain stores you can get anywhere. It's slightly dated looking when compared to the more state of the art Scottsdale Fashion Square or the Chandler mall. There's a neat old outdoor shopping center nearby called "Town & Country" which has a lot of unique restaurants as well as a Trader Joes. A lot of the condos marketed as Biltmore are actually on Highland Ave. They're nice, but look just like any other 1990s era condos in the Phoenix area, with the stucco and pink tile roof. There's a couple of strip malls with your standard big box chains between Highland and Camelback, from 16th st to 24th st.

I live in the "Biltmore slums", as it has been jokingly referred to. It's a nice, well kept, older greenbelt neighborhood that has a suburban feel. However, the main drag (Camelback) between 20th & 32nd Streets is very much urban ... not as urban as a downtown area, but much more so than your typical cookie cutter suburb. In fact, it's a lot like Kierland in many ways.

Yes, one of the advantages is its location, and less driving in general. That's one of the reasons I like the area. Another is the wide variety of stores and eateries that cater to a more professional crowd. It's not really a hip area, but it's very attractive to business people.

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

It's just as suburban, car-dependent, and big-box "chain"-y as, say, Chandler-- just that it happens to be centrally located. There's nothing wrong with it, just that the reality doesn't cut to the hype. In my opinion, old town Scottsdale blows the Biltmore area away-- it's much more walkable, unique, and fun. Scottsdale in general is one of the few cities within the valley that actually has bragging rights.

Actually, the 24th Street/Camelback area is VERY walkable ... more so now than it used to be. On the south side, there's the Esplanade which is a very pedestrian friendly complex. The city recently added a pedestrian underpass from the Esplanade to the Biltmore Fashion Park.

But other than that intersection, you're right that the area itself (like most other areas of Phoenix) is car dependent. It would have been better if the city had considered the initial light rail line along EAST Camelback through the Biltmore area. Or better yet, monorail could have been built with the help of some of the exclusive firms that are officed in the area. That's how Las Vegas got monorail near the Strip: the hotels (private business) helped finance most of the cost.

[sirwinston73]

LOL ... I love the idea that old town Scottsdale is "walkable" ... it's nothing but touristy souvenir shops selling Indian jewelry and other crap that nobody wants ... there is *nothing* for locals in old town Scottsdale. When I lived in Scottsdale, even visiting family & friends were over old town Scottsdale after about 30 minutes and said "isn't there anything else to do around here?"