Best hotel area in Sedona
 

I am confused as to the best area to stay in Sedona. I would like to be within walking distance of some nice restaurants, shops, etc., but not in a tourist trap area. Any suggestions?

I am still looking for help. Thanks.

I'm not really sure what you mean by tourist trap area. Is this not the area that has the restaurants and shops? Sedona is kind of spread out along a highway with a few shops here and there and a few areas that have a little concentration of shops. We stayed at the Orchards at L'Auberge which is in the largest of these concentrations and really liked it. I'm not sure if you would consider this a tourist trap area or not. We enjoyed the convevience of being within walking distance of several restaurants and shops as well as having a couple of the jeep tour companies.

Thanks. i guess I mean where locals would go.

Don, we are going to stay at the Orchard's in Sedona. What was it like? It looks quite nice on some web sites. Plus the location looks great. Judy :-)

Judyrem, I found the Orchard's rooms very nice, not what you might call luxurious, but on the level of a Hilton. The rooms have balconies that have great views of the red rocks. It is a three story motel that sits above L'Auberge with an elevator conecting the two. The nice/fancy restaurant is located with L'Auberge, while right in front of Orchard's is their casual, coffeeshop type restaurant (really good breakfast). Also right in front is a Pink Jeep Tours office making it very convenient for a jeep tour. Within a three block area, there are all kinds of shops aand restaurants. Touristy? Yes. Tourist Trap? Matter of definition. But I'm the type of person who really enjoys having things convenient on vacation.

We are local Arizonians and always stay at The Orchards, beautiful rooms, gorgeous views, quiet, but yet right in the middle of things. Their "coffee shop" is really pretty nice and there are two really good restaurants across the main street......couple of nice shops very close, Pink Jeep tours a few doors down the way. Perfect location for driving other locations or walking around.

Don and Karen: thanks so much for the info! I really appreciate it :-) ! Don, I agree that a location that is central, is much more preferable to me. Karen: what were those restaurants called? Judy

To woodnj: I'm not sure what you mean by a place where locals would go. My first reaction to that was that if you're a local, you would stay in your own home! But in terms of "best" the place that often comes up is the Enchantment resort, which is a little ways outside of Sedona. If you do a search, you'll probably come up with several postings about it.

I agree with Judy24--Enchantment is fabulous!! It is certainly not a walk to town, but the location is beautiful and you can hike w/o driving anywhere. It is in a box canyon and the red cliffs are gorgeous. Great view from the restaurant too! We have stayed there several times and would go back again!

Last year and again this year we stayed and will stay again at the Wildflower Inn. It's outside of Sedona a little way but you look out of your room and see a great view of Bell Rock in fact you can walk to it if you want. The best part for us is the price and extremely clean, modest accomodations. Don't expect the Enchantment Resort but also expect to pay about a third of the price. After all we go to Sedona to see the sights not to lock ourselves into a resort. Sorry but you will have to drive to a nice restaurant.

For those who are interested, the Enchantment is offering mid-week prices of $206 per room if you stay four nights. Summer only, of course.

I have booked 3 nights at the Enchantment for the last week of August and the price is $195 per night. The prime rate starts August 28, however since we were already staying 26-28 they agreed to extend the lower rate.

Woodnj, if you want to be within walking distance of nice restaurants and shops 9which defines Uptown Sedona), you would have to stay at the Orchards or a Bed & Breakfast in the area. I stayed at Apple Orchard Inn which was very nice and only about half a mile from all the restaurants and stores.

But we spent so little time in our room that I would never go to that expense again. We were always hiking, biking, horseback riding, etc., and rarely had time to enjoy our room. The next time I would either stay at a hotel in Oak Creek, where the views are as good as Sedona (which is only 10 min away), or in West Sedona where most of the "locals'" places are.

Thanks for everyone's input. I just got back and we stayed at Junipine. It was a drive to town, but a nice rest after a lot of hiking in the Grand Canyon. When I asked about "locals" I meant the restaurants and shops that were consistent enough to be enjoyed over time. Where I live in Nashville, for example, I wouldn't want to actually eat at most of the places on 2nd avenue, Music Row, or the Opryland hotel area. They cater to marketing over substance. Sedona is much smaller than I thought and really these types of places are intermingled with the others. We had a great dinner at a place called Luther's American Grill and Martini Bar. The food was the best we had in Sedona. Junipine was also wonderfull-- peaceful, nice creekhouse, good service. Thanks.