From the moment you walk into Sonoran Clubhouse, there is an energy that resonates. Whether it’s the warm greeting from the staff, the sight of friends and neighbors catching up in the lobby, or just the active lifestyle of our Members, there is a special nature that reverberates throughout the Clubhouse. It’s the center for vitality, and the place Members know they can go to look and feel their best.
For two specific stops within the Clubhouse, it goes beyond just a physical feeling. The connection that links The Spa and Sonoran Boutique lies within a spirit of care for all Members and guests that walk in.
At The Spa, you’ll find a myriad of wellness and aesthetic services, including massages, facials, hair styling, and manicures. At the Boutique, there is a wide variety of athletic and leisure clothing, home goods, gifts and clothing for men, women, and children, along with the basic necessities for travel. But the true characteristics of the two go beyond these fundamental qualities.
“Our Members want to be social, active, and have connections with friends and family,” Parker Fales, Director of Spa, said. “What we’re trying to achieve is offering a calming and restful experience that’s still very much peaceful, but also give them the results that go with that.”
To bring those components together, the work is two-fold. It’s offering the high-end products that Members wouldn’t be able to easily get anywhere else, while also creating an experience that makes both locales one that Members can be proud to visit.
Leading the way is Fales and Nora DeJesus, Retail Shop Supervisor at the Boutique. Both combine years of their own industry practice, and have been around and used the products they sell. Fales discovered her passion for skincare when she started working with her mother at a med spa during her high school years, learning how the power of results-driven products and services can make one feel more comfortable in their own skin. DeJesus worked with her family as a young teenager in retail stores they opened and soon discovered her love for creative merchandising and how to assist customers and to help select what works best for them.
Bringing together those years of product expertise, customer service, and industry knowledge is what gives Fales and DeJesus a close working relationship, while building upon the services and shopping experience that distinguishes both The Spa and Boutique.
“This is something Desert Mountain does so well – it’s personalizing and customizing an experience, and building relationships with the Members,” DeJesus said. “By building those relationships with them, you’re able to do something that will make someone either mentally, emotionally, or physically feel better.”
Fales, in her year and a half as Director, has helped transform The Spa into a destination for vitality and relaxation, and a place Members can trust for advice and knowledge on beauty and well-being. Services like lymphatic massages, reflexology, and red-light therapy, combined with products like essential oils, are all part of the broader list of offerings Members can receive at The Spa. Navigating the variety of product and service selections alone can be challenging, but Members can expect a curated selection and team-first approach in choosing what will best suit their needs.
“Going to The Spa is an intimate experience, and every product and service we offer needs to be trustworthy,” Fales said. “I talk to other people in the field of what’s popular out there, I talk to my team about it and what they like to use. For as much as I drive the bus at The Spa, I’m not going to choose a product or a service if my staff is against it. If they don’t believe in it, we’re not going to use it.
“Every product and service we sell needs to have that calming mind, body, soul connection that we’re looking for.”
Down the hall at the Boutique, that same mindset is ever-present. As the place to acquire clothing, gifts, and gear for exercise and racquet sports, DeJesus and the Boutique offer retail that is different from the golf-oriented shops across the Mountain. The varying types of clothing and gifts allow Members to bring their families for a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. It’s a notion that DeJesus understands and doesn’t take lightly.
“When Members are here with their families, they say, ‘You need to come to the Boutique and look at the clothing and all they have.’ It’s fun seeing the upcoming generations visiting the Boutique, wanting something with the Desert Mountain logo on it, then going to The Spa to have that experience as a family or friend.
“They brag about it, and I love to hear that.”
There is a little something for everyone at the Boutique, and it doesn’t stop at just workout clothes. Members can find options for a casual dinner. There are curated gift sets designed around major holidays like Easter and Christmas. Desert Mountain branded items like car window sunshades and license plate frames. Whatever the item may be, you can think the Boutique may already have it, or DeJesus may find a way to get it.
“It’s extending the brand to anywhere and everywhere Members go,” DeJesus said. “And making it fun, especially for the kids, because you want to see them running around with their little Desert Mountain logo. They take pictures of it, and they share it with us.”
Both Fales and DeJesus also routinely work together to combine their services for greater personalization. Many of the products and gifts that both The Spa and Boutique now offer once started as ideas through conversations with Members and staff. They’ll converse with Members during their appointments and go to Member Mixers on the Mountain, offering an opportunity for priceless feedback.
These conversations ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of their interests, which plays a vital role in enhancing the offerings and personalization.
“Our Members look forward to coming in and chatting with our staff,” DeJesus said. “It turns more into a natural conversation like you have with your friend. It’s never salesy. We want Members to know that they can trust us and can give us their recommendations.”
Being just mere steps away from each other, in the middle of the Sonoran Clubhouse, The Spa and Boutique may offer two different services, but work hand-in-hand to give Members the full sense of luxury, rejuvenation, and connection one would expect at a top ranked private club. You can get your nails and hair done along with a fantastic massage at your 1 p.m. appointment, then head over to the Boutique to pick up a comfortable bathrobe to refresh your nighttime routine. For the men, there’s a barber available to get a hot lather shave and haircut before you take home a brand-new wardrobe for dinner later that evening.From head to toe, it’s an experience you can’t get anywhere else on the Mountain.
“Having a really welcoming and friendly community of people that are here to have your best interests at heart, and that all want to collaboratively work together for a synergistic experience makes all the difference,” Fales said.
This story was originally written for and published in the Fall 2025 issue of Inside Desert Mountain Magazine.
