Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain enjoys a legacy filled with Hollywood celebrities and international tennis stars. The story begins in the early 1950s when the unique mountainside property was bought by a group of prominent investors including Hollywood stars John Ireland, Joanne Dru and Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's son. After acquiring the site, the group hired architect Hiram Hudson Benedict to design a clubhouse and a prototype casita. Benedict was a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright and he and Ireland developed the clubhouse, five tennis courts and a prototype casita that become John Ireland's Arizona home. Known as the Paradise Valley Racquet Club throughout the 1950s, the tennis club attracted a bevy of stars including nationally known tennis figures Pancho Seguero, Ken Rosewall and Pancho Gonzales. In 1965, local real estate entrepreneurs Les Heitel and Vik Jackson brought together a group to buy the property. Together, they purchased the 53 acres that included the clubhouse, casitas and tennis courts. Jackson's group contacted tennis entrepreneur John Gardiner and with his wife, Barbara, Gardiner decided to expand their California tennis operation to Arizona. They constructed 41 casitas on the site and developed a dozen large homes around the perimeter of the property and renamed it John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch. In 1967, a local civic group, headed by Senator Barry Goldwater, was formed to preserve Camelback Mountain. John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch provided strong support for that movement which eliminated any development of land above the 1,700-foot level of Camelback Mountain. To make certain that the mountain was preserved, the owners of the tennis facility transferred acreage from their property into the preserve. In addition to helping save Camelback Mountain, the resort also supported community causes by holding celebrity charitable tennis tournaments on the property. The first tournament benefited the Arizona Children's Colony and attracted many Hollywood stars including Jimmy Durante, Liza Minelli, Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz Jr. and others. The resort also sponsored the Senator's Cup tennis tournament that attracted prominent members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. This prestigious tournament brought together industrialists and nationally known political names who battled it out in front of the gallery. Over the years the resort continued to attract business leaders, sports stars and Hollywood "names" such as Jack Kemp, Dan and Marilyn Quayle, Robert Loggia, Art Buchwald, Johnny Carson, Elton John, Bill Cosby, Barbara Eden and others who found this private hideaway the perfect escape from a public and busy life. In 1992, an Ohio investor who owns several homes and casitas, bought the majority interest in the property. The name was briefly changed to Gardiner's Resort, and, in 1999 the property was renamed The Ranch On Camelback Mountain. In November of that same year, Westroc Hospitality was introduced as the new management company for the resort. In May 2000, The Ranch on Camelback Mountain closed its doors for a complete renovation and the property reopened in March 2001 as Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain. The new name honors both the unique location of this property and the direction Westroc Hospitality took with the resort as a whole... understated elegance with amenities that cater to the mind, body, spirit and senses of our guests. From inspired dining at elements and the intimate spa to the modern sophistication of its guest rooms, each experience at Sanctuary has been designed to live up to its name. Through this remarkable transformation, Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain has taken its place as one of the most unique leisure guest experiences in the Western U.S. An Arizona-based firm, Westroc Hospitality is headed by Scott Lyon and Bill Nassikas. The principals of this firm have previously been involved in the development and management of select resort properties including The Boulders, in Carefree, Ariz.; The Peaks at Telluride in Telluride, Colo.; Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, Calif.; and The Lodge at Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Ariz.