We are looking to spend Labor Day weekend 2007 in Phoenix/Scottsdale. Can anyone recommend nice/new hotels. We know it will be hot, hot, hot but as long as we have a pool we will be ok. Would also like to be able to hike from hotel without having to get in the car if possible.

Also, any day trip ideas or great restaurants...not concerned about price or cuisine though we both like authentic mexican.

thx

If you go by the Mobil ratings there are no longer any 5 star hotels in Arizona (only 37 nationwide) but there are several with 4 stars.

Here are some links to the 2006 and 2007 Mobil ratings ... any of the four stars would be wonderfully posh (and relatively cheap in the summer).

http://phoenix.about.com/cs/resorts/a/phxresorts.htm
http://mobiltravelguide.howstuffworks.com/fourstar.php
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2...v06_Mobil.html

Bill

I am planning to stay at the Royal Palms, in one of their new Montavista suites.
http://www.royalpalmshotel.com/monta...collection.php
I have a friend who was involved in the design and it really looks like it is going to be nice!

TxTravelPro - I looked at the website and it doesn't mention a pool except at the spa. Do you know if they have any other pools?

thx

AAA has given the Camelback Inn 5 diamonds 37 years in a row. It is a JW Marriott resort property. The hotel is amazing. We had a gorgeous room. There are 2 pools, 2 hot tubs plus an extensive spa (the spa is extra). The grounds are beautiful. You could probably walk to Camelback Mountain to hike but it is about 1 mile away.
The restaurant at the hotel is supposed to be very good. There are plenty of restaurants in downtown Scottsdale also. We did not eat in any Mexican restaurants but it looked like they were all over the place!
I would definitley reccomend a trip to Sedona. It was beautiful! Also, South Mountain Park had many hiking trails and beautiful views.
You will have a great time in this area!

AAA has given the Camelback Inn 5 diamonds 37 years in a row.

Yes, there are several Arizona hotels with five-diamond ratings from AAA ... http://honeymoons.about.com/od/topra.../a/aaa2006.htm ... these are all ranked 4-star by Mobil.

Bill

I stayed at the Pointe South Mountain <http://www.pointesouthmtn.com/resort.htm> during a business trip 13 years ago. It was fabulous and I still dream about going back again (but this time for fun).

I stayed at the Pointe South Mountain during a business trip 13 years ago. It was fabulous and I still dream about going back again (but this time for fun).

Dunno how many stars or diamonds this resort gets (I live close to it), but it does meet the original poster's request for a being "able to hike from hotel without having to get in the car if possible" since there are trail heads into South Mountain Park starting at the edge of the resort's golf course (Denice, you realize it will be very hot at Labor Day, right? ... maybe take one of their horseback rides instead?). Also some good restaurants there.

Also about half price in September

Bill

I was in Phx in October and ate twice at Barrio Cafe restaurant; it's sort of in the downtown area, but west of downtown. Absolutely excellent food, creative, unusual, fantastic. Great service too. Parking was a bit spotty. Not sure if my link works but it's barriocafe dot com.

www.barriocafe.com

I suggest that you look into the Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale and the Boulders Resort on the Scottsdale/Carefree border. Both have hiking right on the grounds and are located at slightly higher elevations than Phoenix proper, therefore are a bit cooler in temperature.