Hi-Coming to Phoenix next month and am looking at hotels on E. Van Buren near airport as well as Near I-17 and Indian School Rd. Any suggestions as to which might be the nicer area of town. Also, how is the area along Indian School Rd. going into Scottsdale? Thanks in advance.

Ric, I don't know the answer to your specific question, but you should really consider using Priceline.

Go to http://www.BiddingForTravel.com and check out the Arizona-Phoenix/Scottsdale hotel thread. You'll see that you can probably get a 3* hotel in most parts of Phoenix or Scottsdale for $40 or less. (This might not be exactly true, since January is probably more of a peak season for Phoenix.)

Anyway, if you're not tied to the areas you mention and you want to give Priceline a try, be sure to read the Hotel FAQs on BiddingForTravel.com first. It'll give you info on how to come up with an initial bid and use free rebids to maximize your chances of success.

Usual disclaimers apply--no vested interest in your using Priceline or the Web site mentioned above, you can't pick a specific hotel with Priceline (just a star-level and a zone or zones within the city), there's no guarantee you'll match previous winning bids (although it's also possible you might beat them), yadda, yadda.

Hope this helps. Have a good time in Phoenix!

Shaft is definitely correct about the accomodations. There are some nicer motel chain types around the airport area...Marriott, Hampton types...consider north of Van Buren on 44th Street and you'll be okay. Indian School Road in Scottsdale is fine, but that is a long way from the airport...I-17 and Indian School would not be a good choice, in my opinion. Use the internet and look into travel ads in the Arizona Republic's Sunday edition...might find some good deals.

I would stay away from the motels on Van Buren - it's a seedy area with prostitutes and druggies. I would go to the east of the airport where there are some nice, new hotels.

Indian School in Scottsdale is not more than 15 minutes from the airport and is a nice location

Thanks for the info--looks like you have kept me from making a huge mistake about the areas of Phoenix I was looking at. It is looking like we will bypass Phoenix altogether and try to see it when the hotel rates aren't double. Happy travels!!

Geez.
Yesterday I posted the same thing Steve said and my responses were zapped by the censor.
Is it illegal to mention "the world's oldest profession" and Cadillac Fleetwoods?