Downtown Tempe / Mill Avenue

Tempe Mission Palms, a Destination by Hyatt

★★★★★

Tempe Mission Palms is the smart-value base for travelers who want walkability, a good pool and quick access to the airport without paying Scottsdale resort prices. Now part of Hyatt's Destination by Hyatt collection, the hotel sits in downtown Tempe a short walk from Mill Avenue, the college-town main street lined with restaurants, bars, coffee shops and stores, and close to Tempe Town Lake and the campus of Arizona State University. Rooms and suites are arranged around a large, blooming courtyard shaded by palms, which gives the property a resort feel despite its urban location, and the rooftop pool, with views across the Valley of the Sun to the surrounding mountains, is the hotel's best feature. Cabana Bar and Grill serves drinks and casual food poolside, and the hotel has its own restaurant for breakfast and dinner, plus meeting space that makes it popular with conferences and university visitors. ASU Gammage, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed performing arts center that hosts touring Broadway shows, is less than a mile away, and the Mill Avenue District and Tempe Town Lake's paths and Tempe Beach Park are minutes on foot. Sky Harbor Airport is roughly ten minutes away by car, and the Valley Metro light rail runs through downtown Tempe, connecting to downtown Phoenix and the Midtown museums.

Tempe has a different energy from Phoenix or Scottsdale: younger, more casual and very walkable, with a student population that keeps Mill Avenue busy and affordable. For visitors this means plenty of inexpensive eating and drinking within a few blocks, a lakeside path for morning runs or bike rides, and easy evening entertainment. The Mission Palms puts you right in it while giving you a calm courtyard to come back to. It is also the closest of this guide's hotels to Papago Park and the Desert Botanical Garden, about ten minutes' drive north, and a natural base for Arizona State football or basketball weekends.

Choose your dates thoughtfully. On ASU game days, graduation weekends and major conferences the hotel fills and prices rise, while ordinary weekdays and summer offer strong rates. Rooms are comfortable and practical rather than luxurious, with the best facing the courtyard. Parking is available on site, and the light rail makes it easy to leave the car for downtown Phoenix trips.

Who should stay: value-minded couples and friends, families who want a pool without resort fees on the scale of Scottsdale, visitors attending events at ASU or ASU Gammage, and anyone with early or late flights. Who might not: travelers seeking a secluded spa resort or a design-forward boutique; for those, look to Paradise Valley or Old Town Scottsdale.