Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe Hotels

Developers and hoteliers have taken advantage of the Valley's wide-open spaces to introduce super-size, luxury resorts like the Westin Kierland and the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort offering everything from their own golf courses and water parks to four-star restaurants and shopping villages. Places like the retro-hip Hotel Valley Ho, the Hollywood-chic Hotel Theodore, and the sleek, mountainside Sanctuary have brought Arizona to the forefront of luxury-hotel style. Regal resorts like the Phoenician, the Four Seasons, the romantic Royal Palms Resort, and the new Spanish-inspired Intercontinental Montelucia keep lodging grounded in traditional, unsurpassed elegance, while plenty of boutique and business hotels keep it grounded in price.

Downtown Phoenix properties tend to be the business hotels, close to the heart of the city and the convention centers—and often closer to the average vacationer's budget. Many properties here cater to corporate travelers during the week but lower their rates on weekends to entice leisure travelers, so ask about weekend specials when making reservations. With more than 55,000 hotel rooms in the metro area, you can take your pick of anything from a luxurious resort to a guest ranch to an extended-stay hotel. For a true Western experience, guest-ranch territory is 70 mi northwest, in the town of Wickenburg.