Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Two weeks ago, Glendale’s Vice Mayor Ray Malnar and I had the opportunity to tour VAI Resort with its CEO Grant Fisher. There are not enough adjectives to describe VAI. It’s incredible, amazing, and unique. When it opens it will blow minds. It will be THE PLACE to stay in the Valley. I am sure it will draw visitors from all over the world.

We learned a great deal and here are a few of the highlights:

  • They have added a Barbie hotel, 22 stories, 227

    site of Barbie hotel

    feet tall. It will be Barbie themed throughout using traditional Barbie colors.

  • Main hotel

    With the addition of the Barbie Hotel, VAI will host 1400 rooms, making it the largest hotel complex in the southwest.

  • The original parking lot on the west side of the Mattel area will be used to add additional rides.
  • Parking will be a breeze. Guests can park in the parking garage at 93rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road. They will use self-driving vehicles that will take them directly to the Resort and then will automatically return to the garage for another trip.
  • The Resort contains a mile of underground tunnels large enough to accommodate carts and small trucks. Employees will use these tunnels exclusively to move around the complex.
  • There are 55 different uniforms planned for staff. For example, chefs, valets, cleaning crew, maintenance crew, front desk, etc., will have their own distinct uniforms.
  • Every employee will check in at the main office across the street from the complex. Once clocked in, they will proceed to the basement level. There, they will use an autonomous system to get their uniforms. Uniform cleaning and pressing are all automated. There is a long, rectangular glass door. Adjacent to it is a card reader. The employee will use the card reader and retrieve their uniform from the glass door to the left.
  • Each hotel is themed and the main hotel is musically themed.
  • The amphitheater is in-the-round and has 37 feet tall LED screens, also in-the-round. Concert attendees will be able to enjoy the performers from any viewpoint.
  • There will be seating for approximately 15,000 concert goers who are not staying at one

    Spaces for concert attendees

    of the hotels.

  • Suite patio overlooking the amphitheater

    Those rooms that face the amphitheater have balconies for private viewing of the concert. But what if a guest has a room on the off-side? There are private lounges facing the amphitheater for guests whose rooms do not face it.

  • The conference area is 120,000 square feet and is about the size of the Renaissance conference area.
  • Each hotel entry portico will be unique and there will be abundant landscaping using desert and exotic plantings.

The cost of construction has been said to be about $1.2 billion. With the addition of the Barbie hotel, expansion of the Mattel portion and the addition of the conference area, the cost is estimated to be about $2 billion. The Fishers are self-funding the entire complex. There are no other investors and no debt. This is undoubtedly the largest, private, self-funded project in the southwest and perhaps the country.

The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is, when will it open? With the addition of new elements, I expect a phased-in opening in 2028. Patience is a virtue and just like everyone else I will have to be patient.

There have always been two projects that are on my mind daily and for which I have strongly advocated. One is VAI and the other is Heroes Park Recreation and Aquatic Center. I am 84 years old and I plan to attend the opening of both. I am excited about each and I hope you will join me in the celebrations.

© Joyce Clark, 2026   

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