GET THERE: Frontier, United and US Airways fly nonstop into Tucson International (TUS), and Southwest recently added a new daily nonstop flight; America West, American Airlines, Continental, Delta and Southwest make stops. Flights start at $168 round-trip.
GET AROUND: Downtown Tucson is easily navigated by foot, but to truly explore the area, including the excellent shopping meccas of North Fourth Avenue and the Lost Barrio District down on South Park Avenue — not to mention getting to the mountains and the national park — you will need a rental car. Get a comfortable one with air conditioning, because you may spend some time sitting in traffic to get from one end of this sprawling town to the other.
STAY: Arizona Inn, 2200 Elm St., 800-933-1093, arizonainn . Feel free to dine elsewhere and just settle in for some pampering by the regular hotel staff. Bottled water, a New York Times, relaxing by the pool, tennis (racquets and balls provided, as well as a Saturday one-hour clinic), Wi-Fi, bicycles for tooling around town, in-room coffee and an afternoon tea with baked goods are all included. Stroll around the luxurious gardens and browse the selection in the library. The place is just beautiful, and well-located near the university and medical facilities. Rates start at $196 per night in summer and $329 in winter for a standard king.
JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., 520-792-3500, . The pretty rooms with a view, some of them adjoining Tucson Mountain Park, are filled with amenities. Hashani Spa is a multistory shrine to rejuvenation, and the golf courses — three in all, each one nine holes with stunning views and its own set of challenges — are quite the draw. The series of pools set off to one side of the hotel offer yet another option for relaxing away the better part of a day — or a few, depending on the Tucson temperatures. Hiking and biking trails leave right from the hotel, and there are several excellent choices for dining, along with an in-house Starbucks. Basically, if you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to. Rates start at $199 a night.
Natural Bed & Breakfast, 3150 E. Presidio Road, 520-881-4582, . This is not your typical B&B; it feels more like owner Marc Haberman’s groovy house decorated with Asian art and very simple furnishings, which it is. But the real focus here is on nonallergenic, nontoxic, feng- shui-balanced living, and to that end, Haberman doesn’t allow guests to use anything perfumed once you enter the premises (nor does he allow smokers), and you have to remove shoes and wear slippers. But Wi-Fi is free, the four rooms have TVs, and it’s a quiet neighborhood just off North Campbell Road. And it’s cheap — rates start at $85 a night. A hearty, granola- and-grains breakfast is provided, all-organic, with excellent French-press coffee, and the Tucson Racquet Club is just down the street.
DINE: Casa Vicente Restaurant Español, 375 S. Stone Ave., 520-884-5253, . In-the-know foodies flock to the Casa for tapas, small plates of tasty Spanish foods beautifully prepared and costing from $4.95 to $9.95. Spend as much or as little as you care, and pair dishes such as crispy fried smelt and eggplant sauteed with garlic, ginger and wine with one of the Casa’s hundreds of well-priced wines. Tuesday-Saturday there is live music or tango dancing, and in comfortable weather, snag a table on the patio.
Las Cazuelitas de Tucson, 234 E. 22nd St., 520-792-0405. Sit in the booths along one side of the dining room or at the odd little roof-topped bar with a view into next door’s La Buena Tortilleria (also worth a stop for a big stack of just-made tortillas). The zippy salsa, the guacamole and the tampiqueña are all good, but the camaron Lola is special: shrimp sauteed in butter and then topped with a creamy chipotle sauce, pico de gallo, celery, mushrooms and cheese.
Coffee X-Change, 2443 N. Campbell Ave., 520-327-6783 and two other locations. There are three X-Changes in the Tucson area, and while all offer long hours (at least 6 a.m. to midnight), free Wi-Fi and excellent lattes, this X-Change is open 2 4/7 and always has plenty of seating, which means people aren’t standing around looking longingly at you or trying to read your laptop over your shoulder.
El Charro Cafe, 311 N. Court Ave., 520-622-1922, . Their claim is nation’s oldest continuously operating Mexican restaurant by the same family (since 1922), and they’ve expanded beyond the original location on Court in the historic El Presidio to include five eateries. The thing to order is the chimichanga, another claim that involves founder Monica Flin dropping a burrito into frying oil in 1928 and naming it for the Spanish word for “thingama- jig.” The carne seca, beef steeped in garlicky lime juice, is air-dried on the roof, and the ceviche and tacos are tasty.
El Guero Canelo, 5201 S. 12th Ave., 520-295-9005, elguerocanelo . Not really a restaurant, but sort of a roadside cafeteria set up inside an old supply store, with a menu board and a bunch of buffet carts set up, this divey joint elevates the Mexican hot dog to super-dog status, with the fresh buns just barely split open to order and packed with char-edged franks, cheese and green chile, bacon and a condiment cart with anything else you might desire. The menudo and steak tacos are fantastic (and cheap, $2 for a taco packed with top-notch beef), and the flan is good, too. Mexican Coke and horchata, too.
El Minuto Cafe, S. Main St., 520-882-4145, . Cops, construction workers and other locals line up for quintessential cheesy, gloppy Mexican food at this longtime (since 1939) spot near the police station and the edge of the barrio. The cheese crisps are a favorite, Mexican- style pizzas topped with chiles and chorizo, or try the spicy tortilla soup. The combination plates are huge, and the lunch specials for $5.95 can make midday a madhouse.
The Grill at Hacienda del Sol, 5601 N. Hacienda del Sol Road, 520-529-3500. An amazing restaurant attached to a lodging that suffers from too many noisy weddings and other events. But the restaurant is probably one of the best in the area, offering innovative, contemporary fare served by an efficient staff in a romantic space. The foie gras appetizer, the lobster risotto with the loup du mer and the chocolate lava cake are standouts.
The Hungry Fox, 4637 E. Broadway Blvd., 520-326-2835, the . The apple doesn’t fall far, especially when it’s well cooked — and so it’s no surprise that Sam Fox, owner of North and Bloom (which have outposts in Colorado), once worked here for his father, who owns this breakfast and lunch joint. The comfy diner does double-yolk eggs your way, homemade bread for the toast and oversized cinnamon rolls.
Mariscos Chihuahua, 1009 N. Grande Ave., 520-623-3563; 2902 E. 22nd St., 520-326-1529; 356 E. Grant Road, 520-884-3457. For a city that celebrates its many Mexican eateries, seafood-oriented ones are rare, and fun, festive, nautically decorated ones like this one with cheerful servers and excellent shrimp cocktail even more so. The cold, cheap cervezas by the bottle go well with fresh shrimp sauteed in garlic sauce, two dozen of them atop thick-cut fries that sop up the heady sauce, or deep-fried whole fish as big as a football and sporting an addictive skin that breaks off in oil-soaked, crackly shards. The already ample entrees come with rice, a simple green salad and tortillas.
Mi Nidito, 1813 S. Fourth Ave., 520-622-5081, . Still trading off the fact that former President Clinton loves the place (he has a plate named after him), this dark, brick-lined space, with its serape-striped upholstery and private booths, has a friendly staff and inexpensive, delicious, hugely portioned food. You can’t go wrong with the spicy shredded beef.
Micha’s, 2908 S. Fourth Ave., 520-623-5307. Great, greasy, authentic Sonoran food — the deep-fried beef tacos are killer — and some of the best guacamole around, as well as crispy-edged fajitas, tender machaca and housemade chorizo. Not much atmosphere, but you’re here for the eats.
Primo, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., 520-792-3500. Even if you aren’t staying at the JW Marriott Starr Pass, chef Melissa Kelly’s food is worth a visit. Mediterranean fare is served in a much-cozier-than- your-average-hotel dining room, and the pasta dishes are drop- dead delicious — rich and sauced with intense flavors, but surprisingly straightforward. It’s almost impossible to save room for dessert, but loosen that belt anyway.
MORE INFO: visittucson.org
