Scottsdale Limo Shopping Tours

Shop Scottsdale like a star with a chauffeur-driven limo excursion from one amazing boutique to another, led by your own personal shopping expert.

By Nora Burba Trulsson

Seven of us stood expectantly at the hotel curbside as the sleek black limo glided up. “Okay, ladies,” instructed our guide, Nancy Shina. “Put your sunglasses on and act mysterious!”

Our group – two homemakers, two insurance executives, one nurse, one teenage daughter and one writer – were embarking on a four-hour, limo-driven, champagne-fueled Scottsdale shopping excursion, guided by Shina, founder of Spree! The Art of Shopping, a company that puts together custom shopping tours for convention groups, as well as groups of individuals.

“We know where everything is,” says shopping maven Shina, who started her company in 2005 after some 20 years in the hospitality industry. “I’ve got about 150 stores in my ‘inventory,’ the majority of which are locally owned and operated – not chains. I’ll go all over metro Phoenix, but I have to admit, most of the places I go are in Scottsdale.”

It’s no wonder – shopping is one of Scottsdale’s most popular activities, with literally hundreds of one-of-a-kind boutiques dotting the city, not to mention dozens of specialty shopping centers and the Southwest’s largest mall, Scottsdale Fashion Square, with nearly 2 million square feet of retail nirvana.

Shopping Tours for Special Occasions

That much fashion overload can be daunting to some visitors, so Shina will tailor shopping tours to fit the group, be it meeting participants, bridal parties or 40th birthday celebrants. She’ll do local boutique forays, discount crawls, art and jewelry adventures, home decor prowls and even cigar-chomping men’s shopping tours that end up with a trim and a shave at an upscale barber shop.

“I try to gear the tour to the group, so I usually ask a lot of questions when the tour is booked,” Shina says. “Not everyone buys something during the tours, but most people will usually find something they’ll fall in love with. I had one lady on a tour buy a huge chandelier. Of course, she shipped it home.”

Scottsdale Boutique Shopping

Our group’s first stop was at The Borgata, an Italian-style specialty shopping center, where we sighed over chic suits and crocheted sun dresses at Femme de Paris and floaty skirts at Bryn Walker. Chic shopping bags in hand, we loaded up our buys in the limo trunk and headed further up the road to About Face, a makeup salon and clothing boutique loaded with stylish jeans, embellished tops and formfitting jackets.

Another ten minutes of champagne sipping and limo chat landed us at Holland Boone, a vast warehouse crammed with polished pewter tableware imported from Mexico, plus furniture, antique reproduction wall clocks, candles and accessories. Nearby, we wielded credit cards at Camille’s Collection, stocked with silk florals, vases, ornately carved settees, lacquered Oriental boxes and shelves of fragrant candles, oils and potpourris.

Despite our efforts to ship purchases home, the limo’s trunk was getting dangerously filled with shopping bags. Champagne drained, credit cards singed and numerous humorous stories exchanged, our merry group of shoppers headed back to the hotel.

“We take the madness out of shopping,” says Shina, as the seven of us crept out of the limo. And, obviously, she puts the fun back in.

Going?

Spree! The Art of Shopping
Four-hour guided limo shopping tours, $495 for up to four people
Phone: (480) 661-1080
www.azshoppingspree.com