5601 N. Hacienda del Sol Road, Tucson, AZ 85718, 800-728-6514,
Rates: “Historic” rooms with one double bed start at $175 a night. Overnight parking is free in the lot.
Stay here if you: are participating in an event at the property or just love a good, loud party.
It’s close to: the Santa Catalina Mountains, the shopping on Skyline Drive, the Oro Valley.
The rooms are: tiny if you’re in the historic rooms, slightly larger in the hacienda rooms, and spacious in the casitas. They are nicely decorated with Southwestern rugs and blankets, hand-carved, Southwestern-style sleigh beds and armoires and leather chairs. Each room is individually styled, with original art and locally made pieces.
They put all of the money into: restoring and maintaining the adobe buildings, including the multiroom lodge, which boasts a library and lovely sitting room with a leather couch. The courtyard is elaborate and gorgeous, packed with native cacti and other drought-tolerant plants, and a charming place in which to spend time when the heat of the day passes. Ditto the pool area, which offers mountain views and a shoulders-deep hot tub.
The bottom line: As beautiful as this place is, it leaves much to be desired in terms of customer service — unless your wedding or other event is being held here. Despite being pointedly informed over the phone when I made the reservation that check-in was promptly at 3 p.m., our room wasn’t ready for 40 minutes, and the reception desk was about as welcoming as a firing squad. It became quickly apparent that just below our room in the courtyard there was to be a wedding that night, and after several inquiries we were informed that the dining portion would end at 9 p.m. and the dancing would occur elsewhere on the property, far away from our room. That was a lie. Also, from 8 to 10 p.m., the Grill restaurant on the other side of our room had live music. At 10 p.m. I called the front desk to mention that the dancing was still going on; the desk clerk said she’d been told they were leaving. Ten minutes later, we heard the wedding guests being told that “We have to leave because of some party-poopers, so the party is moving,” and the band at the restaurant finally quit playing. But for the next four hours, the tables and equipment were broken down, and party people loudly shuffled back and forth between the courtyard, the Grill and the vans hauling the wedding stuff away. The next morning, the complimentary continental breakfast involved guests having to beg to get a clean table to sit at, the coffee urn to be filled, butter for the bag of bread that had been thrown down next to a toaster, and clean silverware. Finally, I just walked over to the restaurant to get salt and pepper myself. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed at such an obnoxious place, and certainly not for $175 a night. The shame of it is, the Grill is probably Tucson’s best fine-dining restaurant.
Kyle Wagner
