Hotels

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Well, we confess, we don't really know that much about hotels in Tucson. After all, when we're in Tucson, we don't stay at a hotel. Still, we'll try to come up with a suggestion or two.

Windmill Inns & Suites

4250 North Campbell Ave., Phone: 577-0007

When we have visitors that we couldn't accommodate at home, we suggest staying at the Windmill Inn and Suites. So far none of them complained; it can't be bad. Located in St. Phillips Plaza at the corner of River Rd and Campbell Ave (essentially the north central portion of town) it might be a little bit out of the way for some visitors, but overall it's never that difficult to get around in Tucson to make the location be that much of a problem.

Resorts

Tucson has a plethora of resorts, all of them get rave reviews. Of course, that means expen$ive during the high tourist season. But if you happen to be visiting in the off season (summer, when it's well over 100F) you can get some of the best travel bargains around. Imaging getting $300+ rooms for $69 a night, in a world class resort to boot. Here are a few you could check into: The Westward Look Resort (245 E Ina Rd., Phone 297-1151), Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort (5601 N Hacienda Del Sol Rd., Phone 299-1501), Loews Ventana Canyon Resort (7000 N Resort Dr., Phone 299-2020). Of these, I'm partial to the Westward Look, simply because they regularly put small press releases in the paper advertising their hummingbird trail to locals – free, including guide at the front desk.

InnSuites Hotels

475 N. Granada, Phone 622-3000

6201 N. Oracle Rd., Phone 297-8111

I list the InnSuites since whenever we go to San Diego we stay at the InnSuites. Overall, they seem to provide a good value. Full breakfast included in the price of a room; social hour in the evening, complete with drinks, chips, pretzels, chips and salsa; Wednesday is bar-b-que night with free ribs and fixin's. All at a good price (for San Diego $59-$99 depending on the season). I assume it's similar here in Tucson.

Firelight B&B

While this is not in Tucson (it is in the small town of Williams, AZ), we figured that some people coming to Arizona might just be heading up to the Grand Canyon. If you are and are looking for a great place to use as your base of operations consider this B&B. We stayed here this year and it was perfect. The hosts are great, and you'll have a lot of fun playing shuffleboard while listening to music on their old jukebox. It also makes a convenient place to stay if you're considering taking the train up to the Grand Canyon. Every time we're in Williams, we'll be staying here.