Mid-century modern in the heart of Old Town, at half the price of the resort corridor.
Hotel Valley Ho opened in 1956 and was restored in 2005 with a commitment to its mid-century modern origins that stops well short of pastiche. The architecture is clean-lined and confident, the interiors reference the era without cosplaying it, and the pool area manages to be both a social centre and a genuinely relaxing space. It is a hotel with a point of view, which is more than most golf-trip accommodations can claim.
The location is the primary practical advantage. The hotel sits in Old Town Scottsdale, within walking distance of the area's best restaurants, galleries, and bars. For a golf trip that wants to include evenings out without driving 30 minutes back from dinner, this is the logical base. The tradeoff is the commute to the courses. TPC Scottsdale is 15 minutes north. Troon North is 25 to 30 minutes. We-Ko-Pa is 35 minutes east. These are manageable drives, and the morning routes through the desert have their own appeal.
Rooms are well-appointed without the square footage of a resort casita. The mountain-view rooms on the upper floors are worth the modest premium. The pool is the hotel's centrepiece: a large, well-maintained space with cabanas, a bar, and mountain views that becomes lively on weekend afternoons and quiet on weekday mornings.
ZuZu, the on-site restaurant, serves modern American food with Southwestern touches and is better than hotel restaurants are expected to be. The real dining advantage is the surrounding neighbourhood. A five-minute walk puts you at a half-dozen restaurants that would hold their own in any mid-sized American city.
The hotel is not a golf resort. It does not have on-site courses, a golf concierge, or stay-and-play packages. What it offers is a well-designed, well-located hotel at a nightly rate that is often half what the resort properties charge, in a neighbourhood that is more interesting to walk around in than any resort lobby.