A guide to every restaurant at The Global Ambassador, Sam Fox's food-first Phoenix hotel
Restaurateur Sam Fox's highly anticipated The Global Ambassador hotel opens to the public on Dec. 6.
The Global Ambassador is Fox's passion project — everything in the hotel reflects his taste, from the carpeting in the hallways to the color of the pillows.
The project was 10 years in the making and began when Fox, the owner of Fox Restaurant Concepts, attempted to open a Culinary Dropout inside a Las Vegas hotel. It was unlike a regular restaurant opening, because he had to work his own concept into an already-existing hotel with an unfamiliar team.
He decided that if he were ever to open a restaurant inside a hotel again, he would have to own the hotel.
Building a hotel restaurant-first
"I wanted to expand my career and evolve as an entrepreneur. And so, a hotel was sort of the next evolution for me. I never thought I'd do something this big," Fox said.
When he began looking for a hotel a decade ago, he focused on buying a pre-existing structure, like a Motel 6, which he could simply take over and redesign. But as he searched for a location, the project grew in size and scope until it became clear, he'd have to build the hotel from the ground up.
The guest experience: Global Ambassador, Sam Fox's luxury Phoenix hotel, opens Dec. 6. Here's what's inside
He purchased three acres of land at 44th Street and Camelback Road, between an apartment complex and the Phoenix Suns' practice facility, 6 miles from Sky Harbor International Airport and 12 miles from Scottsdale Airport. The 141-room hotel was developed by Fox's own company, Author & Edit Hospitality.
"We don't have partners, this is our project," he said. "And I believe we're going to wind up with a more synergistic hotel and our guests and our employees will feel that difference. I wanted to control the whole experience from start to finish," Fox said.
Fox is still, first and foremost, a restaurateur.
"Sometimes I forget that we even have rooms here because we lead with food and beverage, that happens to have hotel rooms around it," he said.
The hotel includes three state-of-the-art kitchens which, to Fox, were absolutely critical to build in order to support the five onsite restaurants.
Fox said that designing restaurant concepts specifically for a hotel is unlike any other restaurant project he's worked on in the past, because while people might visit one of his other restaurants like The Henry for a lunch or dinner, they leave when they're done eating. Guests at the hotel will be spending the night and eating three meals between visiting the spa or the pool. That meant Fox had to create each restaurant concept to cater to as many different audiences as possible.
"The Global Ambassador will get used so many different ways by so many different people," Fox said. "So there's a lot of different price points, a lot of different cuisines."
What restaurants are at The Global Ambassador
Fox said the design of the hotel was heavily inspired by his travels abroad in Europe. And the restaurants further expand on that vision with menus offering Parisian and Mediterranean cuisines.
The hotel has four restaurants opening on Dec. 6: Le ?me, Le Market, Pink Dolphin and the Lobby Bar.
The fifth restaurant, théa Mediterranean rooftop, will open in January.
All five restaurants will be open to the public — no room reservation required.
Le ?me at The Global Ambassador hotel
Le ?me is a Parisian steakhouse that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and a weekend brunch.
For breakfast, Le ?me offers European breakfast, French toast, French omelets and "pancrepes" or crepe pancakes. For lunch, guests can expect French dips, frites and mains like king salmon and quiche Florentine.
Dinner options include lobster frites, wagyu bolognese and steak and seafood from the grill. There is also a raw bar including oysters and shrimp cocktails, and plenty of French hors d'oeuvres.
Le ?me is the most upscale option, which Fox sees as a destination restaurant for celebrating special occasions. As such, it has some of the highest price points of the five restaurants.
Le Market at The Global Ambassador hotel
Le Market is a casual, grab-and-go style cafe that offers breakfast pastries, coffee and light lunch fare. Fox described it as a place for hotel guests to go for a relaxed breakfast or lunch, or just a comfortable space to pull up a chair and work on your laptop over a cup of coffee.
Breakfast is served from 7 to 11 a.m. and lunch is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lunch options include French bread pizza served on a Le ?me baguette.
Pink Dolphin at The Global Ambassador hotel
Pink Dolphin is a fusion restaurant with a focus on Mexican and Peruvian flavors, offering dishes like ceviche and fish tacos. The drinks menu will include cocktails, margaritas and sparkling wines.
The restaurant includes poolside dining and is attached to the hotel boutique store.
While many poolside restaurants at hotels are open only to guests with room reservations, Pink Dolphin is open to all visitors, who can dine all-day at tables inside or outside near the pool.
Lobby Bar at The Global Ambassador hotel
The Lobby Bar offers a large selection of craft cocktails and an all-day snack menu, including chips served with an onion dip made with Osetra caviar and Krug champagne.
The patio doors of the Lobby Bar open to provide beautiful views of the hotel's lawn and Camelback Mountain. Fox said the Lobby Bar will also occasionally feature live music.
théa at The Global Ambassador hotel
The restaurant Fox is most excited about is théa, the Mediterranean rooftop bar that will open in January. théa offers one of the most breathtaking views in the area with its location overlooking Camelback Mountain.
The menu is still in the works, but Fox said it will include some of his favorite dishes from his travels.
"I've been to Greece, the south of France, Capri off the coast of Italy. And what I love about all those places, at those restaurants the food is light, it's fresh, it's vibrant, it's healthy. You're usually eating fish out of the Mediterranean, and you're used to getting small plates, sharing tzatzikis and pita and all these great share plates," he said. "So I would say that's where I drew most of my inspiration for the rooftop."
How to visit the restaurants at The Global Ambassador
The Global Ambassador hotel's four restaurants — Le ?me, Le Market, Pink Dolphin and the Lobby Bar — open Dec. 6. théa Mediterranean Rooftop will open in January.
Le ?me: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Closed between 2 and 5 p.m. Reservations required.
Le Market: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Lobby Bar: 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday. 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.
Pink Dolphin: Food service from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Bar open until 5 p.m.
théa: 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Reservations recommended. Opening January 2024.
Details: 4360 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. 480-800-2211, globalambassadorhotel.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Phoenix restaurants opening at The Global Ambassador hotel
