Christmas in Tucson?????

[Casey1230]

My sister and I are planning to visit Tuscon over Christmas this year. Neither one of us has been before.. she is coming from California and I'm coming from Virginia. Are looking for a nice place to stay...not terribly expensive, but a little upscale.. figured we would forgo exchanging gifts and spend it on ourselves! Any suggestions would be appreciated. A spa resort would be nice if not so much that I would have to sell the house :eek: . Figured that this far in advance, we might have a chance at a nice place. Also things to do there over the holidays. TIA

[funnybone]

Sorry, I can't help you with the area, just bumping up for you so the thread doens't get lost.

[aggie94]

Keep in mind that December in Arizona is high season, so rates will be high.

The Arizona Inn (www.arizonainn.com) is very nice, but not a spa resort. For spa resorts, one of Tucson's reputed best is Canyon Ranch (www.canyonranch.com). I am a big fan of JW Marriott properties, so Starr Pass (www.starrpassmarriott.com) is an option.

Not sure what you are thinking of spending, but any nice resort properties are going to run at least $200-300/night during high season for a basic room. You might start checking out package deals and specials by signing up on their email lists.

[Kathy B]

Have you ever used hotwire.com? We recently stayed in a Hyatt which was 2 blocks from the nation's capitol in DC (and billed as a 3-1/2 star hotel) over a holiday weekend, and our rate was $84 per night. We booked it using hotwire about 2-3 months ahead of time. You don't know the NAME of the hotel until you book it, but you do know how many stars it is rated (they have a guide that gives examples of hotels in their 2- star, 3-star, 4-star categories) and it lists many of the available amenities. In larger cities, you can also choose the section of town you want to stay in.

We also had good luck with it when DD and I booked a room in St. Louis the day before we went. I think the rates available change from one day to the next, so if you look today, then look again in a couple of days, you may have new choices. You can also sign up for hotwire to email you when new rates are available. Might be worth checking out. :)

Hotwire (http://www.hotwire.com/)