Phoenix & Scottsdale Travel Guide
Where to Stay in Phoenix and Scottsdale
The base decision that shapes a Valley trip — five areas compared for walkability, resort life, budget and driving time, with this guide's hotels placed and matched to trip types.
In a metro as spread out as Phoenix, your hotel's location decides how much time you spend in the car and what you can do on foot. There is no single right answer: the Valley's five main visitor bases each suit a different kind of trip. Decide what matters most — walkability, resort facilities, price, airport access or a particular event — and the choice becomes simple.
Old Town Scottsdale — walkable fun. If you want to walk to dinner, galleries and bars, Old Town is the answer. The compact district packs historic Western streets, the Main Street arts district, Fifth Avenue shops, the canal waterfront and the Valley's busiest dining and nightlife into about a square mile, with a free trolley and plentiful parking. Hotel Valley Ho, the 1956 midcentury icon on Old Town's western edge, is the stand-out stay: stylish, historic, with a lively pool and everything on foot. Hotel Adeline, a short ride down Scottsdale Road, delivers a similar retro mood and pool scene at a friendlier price. The trade-off: weekend nights get loud in the Entertainment District, and prices soar during spring training and the Phoenix Open.
Paradise Valley — the resort life. This small, affluent town between Phoenix and Scottsdale holds some of the Valley's most celebrated resorts on the slopes of Camelback and Mummy Mountain. Stay here for space, views, spas and quiet. Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, with its casitas stepped up the mountainside, an infinity pool and the Jade Bar at sunset, is the romantic choice; note its new local owners plan a room renovation starting in summer 2027. You will drive or rideshare everywhere, but Old Town and Camelback's trailheads are ten to fifteen minutes away.
The Biltmore area — classic glamour, central location. Northeast of downtown, beneath Camelback and Piestewa Peak, the Biltmore district combines upscale shopping and dining with one of America's great historic resorts. The Arizona Biltmore, opened in 1929 with Frank Lloyd Wright as consulting architect, offers about 700 rooms, cottages and villas, several pools including a triple waterslide and the historic Catalina Pool, and golf next door. It is ideal for families who need pools for every age, architecture lovers and anyone wanting a resort that is central to both Phoenix and Scottsdale.
Downtown Phoenix — events and light rail. For games, concerts, conventions and car-free museum days, downtown makes sense. Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix, in the CityScape complex, has a pool deck with the Lustre rooftop bar, a strong restaurant and a light rail stop a short walk away, connecting to Midtown's Heard Museum and Phoenix Art Museum, Tempe and the airport. Downtown has grown into a real neighborhood around Roosevelt Row and Heritage Square, but it is an urban, business-oriented base rather than a resort zone, and some blocks are quiet on non-event nights.
Tempe — value and convenience. The college town beside Arizona State University offers walkable Mill Avenue, Tempe Town Lake, lower prices and the shortest drive to Sky Harbor. Tempe Mission Palms, a Destination by Hyatt hotel, has a palm-shaded courtyard and a rooftop pool a block from Mill Avenue. It is close to Papago Park and the Desert Botanical Garden, and it suits families on a budget, early-flight travelers and anyone visiting ASU or ASU Gammage. The trade-off is distance from north Scottsdale and Taliesin West.
Matched to the trip. First visit, long weekend: Old Town Scottsdale, at the Valley Ho for style or the Adeline for value. Romantic getaway: Sanctuary for seclusion and sunset, or the Biltmore for history and glamour. Family vacation: the Arizona Biltmore for its pools, or Tempe Mission Palms for value and a rooftop pool. Sports and events: the Palomar downtown for arena and ballpark games; Old Town Scottsdale for spring training at Scottsdale Stadium and the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Car-free trip: downtown or Tempe on the light rail.
Price and timing. The Valley's prices follow the weather. Peak season from January to April, especially February and March with spring training and the Phoenix Open, brings the highest rates and minimum stays. November, early December and late April offer pleasant weather and better value. Summer rates drop dramatically, with resorts offering deep discounts to locals and visitors willing to embrace the heat with early mornings and long pool afternoons. Nearly every resort charges a daily resort fee; factor it into comparisons.
One more tip. If you want both city energy and resort calm, split the stay: two nights in Old Town for dining and nightlife, then two in Paradise Valley or at the Biltmore for pools and spa. Moving once costs half a morning and gives you two very different versions of the Valley.
Questions to ask before booking. How much is the daily resort fee, and what does it include? Is parking free, self or valet? Which wing or building is the room in, and how far is it from the pool and the lobby? For resorts, is any renovation scheduled during your dates, and are pools heated in winter? For Old Town and Tempe hotels, which rooms face the street or the pool, and how lively do weekends get? For event weekends, is there a minimum stay? These answers often matter more than the star rating, especially at large historic properties where room quality varies by building.
Getting between bases. Old Town Scottsdale to the Biltmore area is about fifteen to twenty minutes by car, Paradise Valley sits between them, downtown Phoenix is roughly twenty-five minutes from Old Town, and Tempe is fifteen minutes from both downtown and the airport. Rideshares are plentiful across the Valley, and the light rail links Tempe, the airport, downtown and Midtown, so a Tempe or downtown base can work without a rental car for museum-focused trips.