Sep-Oct Itinerary
 

How does the following 2 week itinerary look to SW USA experts for late Sep/early Oct?:

(Fly London-Phoenix)
1 night Scottsdale Princess
2 nights Best Western Grand Canyon
2 nights Gouldings Lodge, Monument Valley
2 nights Thunderbird Lodge, Chinle, Canyon de Chelly
3 nights Westward Look, Tucson
3 or 4 nights Hotel del Coronado, San Diego

We are undecided on driving direct from Tucson to SD and then flying back to London from SD/LA or driving from Tucson to PHX, handing back the hire car and flying to San Diego for 3/4 days before flying back to PHX for the return to London.
Are we stupid to stay outside the GC national park?
Is the Hotel Del worth it?
Where else in Tucson would be a good place to stay, assuming we don't want a golf resort?
Is Chinle to Tucson driveable in 1 day?

I'll only comment on two things:

-- To drive from Tucson to San Diego is ridiculous-- what is it, 9 hours? 10? If you're determined to hit SD, just fly. Much easier, less stress.

-- The Del is a lovely historic hotel. The public areas are great. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but if you're looking for 500 square feet of space in the bedroom and a 400-square-foot marble-lined bathroom, look elsewhere.

It's a lot of geographic area to cover, but it can be done....

I second flying from Tuscon to SD. Check for specials on Southwest Airlines(iflyswa.com--they're not on expedia, etc). They often have $39 fare each way.

The Hotel Del is magnificent, but I believe it has new owners as of this week. I don't know what effect (if any) that will have on hotel quality or operations.

Actually I just checked on iflyswa.com and it is now $39 each way, but they're only accepting reservations until May 8. Could you fly home from San Diego instead of going back through PHX? British Air used to have a daily milk run from SD to London--not sure if they're still doing it, though.

Westward Look is pretty mediocre. Fine if you got a great rate, though. September is still low season in Tucson. Have you checked places like Loews Ventana Canyon?
The Hotel Del is in a beautiful spot and is beautiful to take in on a visit, but the rooms not special in any way. Make sure you're getting a competitive rate.
No offense intended, but my comments about hotel quality are relative to other US hotels. If you compare with 90% of British hotels you'll probably think Westward Look and the Del are wonderful. I've had a difficult time finding hotels I love in most of Europe. Very biased, I know.
The drive to SD from Tucson is EXTREMELY boring, (having done it 4 times). Can you get a reasonable one way fare on Southwest Airlines?
Good luck with your plans.

Your itinerary looks great, only thing I would change, if you're in the mood, is eliminate one night in Tucson and tack it onto San Diego or Phoenix...I don't know which hotel in GC is the Best Western, but I would surely stay rimside at Thunderbird or Kachina Lodges...they are identical and just steps from the rim wall.

We had planned to drive from Tucson to Phoenix and then fly to SD, reason being that you cannot fly World Traveller Plus with BA from SD. This way we have 2 return flights and pick up and drop off the rental car in the same place.