Taliesin West AZ
 

They have quite a few tours {60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours, daytime, desert walk, night.} and even night tours. If you have been there, which tour did you do [time] and were you glad you did that tour.

Thanks,
Deb

I don't recall exactly which tour we took, but we loved it. It was during the day, and didn't go into the desert--just the buildings. If we had time, we'd have gone on more of their tours.

I think we did the 90 minute tour. It took us into all parts of the house. It was just the right length.

ST

Hi Deb..
We did the 90 minute tour in March and it seemed like the right time frame and we went into the studio, parts of the house and a theatre.
The only thing I didn't like were the huge 'Kachina' power lines that were right in front of the gorgeous home.
Have fun Deb and you are really going to love the Royal Palms!
Merry Christmas!

We did the 90 minute tour in the morning and the desert walk...the desert walk wasn't our favorite since we had already done a few hikes and guided tours, though you do get to see all the little "shelters" the apprentices have built and live in. If they offer a tour of those, I would jump at the chance to go!

We LOVED the 90 minute tour--but we would have done the 3 hour had it been an option.

Hvae a great time!

Also did the 90-minute daytime tour and enjoyed it. Can't imagine spending 3 hours, but I guess they must do something special to make it interesting.

Our guide had some interesting notes about the place.

One was that Wright, obviously without success, appealed directly to Harry Truman in an attempt to stop the building of the powerlines.

A couple of other observations reveal how totally impractical Wright was about building.

For instance, You'll also see that the complex was heated entirely by individual fireplaces, so Wright could keep that outdoorsy feel. I asked the guide, since the place is in the middle of a desert, "Where'd they get the wood?" She laughed and admitted that they had to ship it in from Oregon.

And the kitchen area is enclosed by glass, but the guide told us that the original structure had no glass enclosure and was open to the elements (that outdoorsy thing again). The problem, of course, was that animals kept invading the kitchen for the food.

I strongly recommend reading a book about Wright and his life before visiting Taliesin. The background, including how Taliesin got built, is quite interesting.

Have you visited the Biltmore in Phoenix? It's by Wright, and it's interesting, too. I've stayed there a couple of times. Nice hotel, too.
:)>-