West - Staying in Scottsdale, getting to HRC; opinions please

Okay so splurged and doing a UA MP DEQM run for a weekend to PHX and am staying at the Fairmont Scottsdale, which I gather is a nice large resort though a ways away from much of everything. Being out of the loop is okay except for my penchant for visiting Hard Rock Cafe's when I'm travelling so I need some advice from the locals & others more familiar with the area.

Rather than try and get down to the HRC from the resort while there would I be closer when I'm at PHX and could make a detour for what seems a fairly short distance? And would I have to get back to the airport to then catch the regular airport shuttle to the Fairmont?

Not being made of money cabbing it around doesn't really work well and renting a car equally unappealing so I hoped I could take a short and hopefully inexpensive cab ride PHX to the HRC, which BTW is at 3 South 2nd Street in downtown Phoenix, have some food & beer and then go to the hotel. My flight lands at noon so I could spend some of the early afternoon on this detour.

Opinions on the logistics would be appreciated. ^

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If you really want to be cheap, take the airpot bus to the light rail, then that to 3rd St/Washington, and you'd be about a block from the Hard Rock.

I haven't been to the Hard Rock since it moved, but have driven by many times. It is across the street from BOB and the AWA. The old location was much better, they had a huge patio, but evidently problems with the lease.

I'm assuming you're staying at The Princess? If so, it is a great resort, but way out in North Scottsdale. The Phoenix Open (or whatever they call it now) uses the TPC nearby. Unless you plan to stay on property the entire time, you really do need a car.

Let me know of you need anything else.

I'm not a local so you should probably ignore this post.

But it looks like the Hard Rock is 5 miles from PHX, and then it's another 22 miles to the Fairmont. It's kind of on the way, so your plan of going there after your flight arrives seems sound.

However, I don't think the Fairmont has a shuttle from the airport. I poked around at the site and I don't see anything referencing a shuttle.

Being not made of money, have you thought about Priceline or Hotwire for a rental car? Sometimes you can get really great deals. :)

I'm not a local so you should probably ignore this post.

But it looks like the Hard Rock is 5 miles from PHX, and then it's another 22 miles to the Fairmont. It's kind of on the way, so your plan of going there after your flight arrives seems sound.

However, I don't think the Fairmont has a shuttle from the airport. I poked around at the site and I don't see anything referencing a shuttle.

Being not made of money, have you thought about Priceline or Hotwire for a rental car? Sometimes you can get really great deals. :)

No, the Fairmont doesn't offer airport shuttle service so thought I'd catch the Super Shuttle at PHX roundtrip to/from the hotel and while a tad high at $46 according to their website it's much cheaper than a cab. I'm normally loath to rent a car when I travel because while the convenience factor grows so does hassle factor of hotel parking charges, insurance, navigation, etc.

I'm assuming you're staying at The Princess? If so, it is a great resort, but way out in North Scottsdale. The Phoenix Open (or whatever they call it now) uses the TPC nearby. Unless you plan to stay on property the entire time, you really do need a car.

Other than this detour I hadn't planned on sightseeing around Phoenix this trip, which is meant more of a combination mileage run and stress break from work. The surfing I found online says there's a shopping centre about a mile from the Fairmont, the Scottsdale Promenade, so might spend an hour or two there and grab a bite to eat but that's really about it for off site plans.

BTW, I like the idea of using the airport shuttle to the light rail as it'll allow me to get back to PHX fairly easily and cheaply to catch the Super Shuttle to the Fairmont, which I gather everyone still calls the Princess.

I appreciate the input and am looking forward to this getaway which is this Sat. through Mon. Despite the forecast of white stuff in DEN, the weather in PHX looks hot and that gets a ^ from this Canadian who will probably see more white stuff in the months ahead.

Don't forget to use discount codes for Supershuttle. That will usually save you a few bucks, in each direction.

I think driving is pretty easy here, but I live here, so my thinking may be skewed.

Don't forget to use discount codes for Supershuttle. That will usually save you a few bucks, in each direction.


Where would I find that code?

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I agree a rental car is the best choice here. However, parking near the Hard Rock may be a problem, much more so if there's any games at the baseball or basketball venues nearby.

I'd budget 45 min each way for public transportation PHX to Hard Rock. It may be shorter though.

The Super Shuttle could stop at many places in between....other hotels, people's houses, etc. I've never used it here but have elsewhere. I'm hoping they have it somewhat organized by the part of town you're going to at least. I took it from LAX to the cruise terminal, and we stopped in some parts of town I'd rather avoid.

Yes and do make sure you call it The Princess. Many locals won't know it as The Fairmont.

Where would I find that code?

Of the top of my head, it's UYR59. A Travelocity/Site 59 code. Only works when you book online. You can get 50 FF miles in some plans, for each way too.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7C144 Safari/528.16)The Super Shuttle could stop at many places in between....other hotels, people's houses, etc. I've never used it here but have elsewhere. I'm hoping they have it somewhat organized by the part of town you're going to at least. I took it from LAX to the cruise terminal, and we stopped in some parts of town I'd rather avoid.

Well, you never know what you get when you go with Supershuttle. I take them 6-10 times a year, and have gotten a few heartpounding rides. :) I live in the NE part of Phoenix, near Paradise Valley mall. I often get put on as the first or second stop, with later stops being in way North Scottsdale, or even Carefree or Cave Creek. I'd assume that a way North Scottsdale stop will probably be the end of the line.

Of the top of my head, it's UYR59. A Travelocity/Site 59 code. Only works when you book online. You can get 50 FF miles in some plans, for each way too.

Many thanks!

I think I'm leaning towards getting to the resort right from the arrrival on Sat. and then check out early 10-11 a.m. Mon. and catch the Super Shuttle back to PHX and then from there spend a few hours at the HRC before a later afternoon flight back home. At least that's the plan at this moment...:p