We began our recent Southwest road trip in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area, a destination famous for its lavish resorts and golf courses, hoping to find a hideaway there that would connect us to the area’s cultural and natural attractions. Our first stop was The Hermosa Inn, a small hotel in Scottsdale’s Paradise Valley, 15 minutes north of the city’s international airport. Renovated in 2017, the inn has since piled up many accolades from the media; we wanted to see if the hype was justified.

The Hermosa Inn

On arrival, we were greeted by the manager, who offered us cool pink prickly pear lemonade. After a few formalities, we were entrusted to the valet, who gathered our bags and escorted us to our accommodations. The 43 adobe casita-style rooms are connected by a labyrinthine garden path. Scottsdale was hitting the peak spring bloom season during our stay, and the beds of snapdragons were spectacularly colorful.

Our Garden Casita was decorated with Western accents and came with two large leather chairs squeezed together along a wall, a gas fireplace, a comfortable king canopy bed and a spacious bath with a walk-in shower but no tub. Our porch looked out on shared garden space with a Jacuzzi; there was also a small outdoor pool in the central courtyard nearby.