royster747

My wife, son and I stayed at the ES in Tempe on Rural Road last Spring Break (early April, 04). It is not a new property, but we had no problems and enjoyed our stay. We will [likely] be staying there again when we take our son to college next August (by the way...not ASU, he's planning to attend UAT). Rates are very seasonal...as you probably know...

GoodTimes

Have stayed in ES in Tempe on business for 3 weeks at a time, several times and have no problems in recommending it. Breakfast is pretty good and there's a "cocktail" evening each night (could be weekday nights only) from 5 to 7pm (if I recall).

There's a tex mex restaurant in the hotel. Across the road, there is a good steak house. You will need a car for other eating establishments.

The swimming pool is quite small - so is the gym.

nordic1

We drove by there last weekend and noticed that the steak place across the street is now a Chinese buffet style restaurant. But there are still a few decent steak places within a few miles of the property.

zsmith2

If you are looking for something cheaper there is a nice HIS in Tempe and not far from ASU. I've stayed there two times and was quite satisfied with it. They have a nice staff and a free van service too.

ellielou

hi,
I'm off to AZ at the end of April, am using my points for this, and need some advice regarding Hilton properties there. This is a leisure trip, so biz facilities really don't matter. Anyway, here's what I'm looking at. I hope someone can help me decide based on location and quality of hotel:

Tucson (one night):
Embassy Suites: Tucson-B'dway
5335 E B'dwy Blvd

Hampton Inn: Tucson-North
1317 W. Grant

Phoenix (2 nights):
Homewood Suites: Phoenix-Biltmore
2001 E. Highland Ave

Hampton Inn: Midtown-Dwntwn
160 W. Catalina

Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.

coachigdon

I really liked the Hilton in Tucson. Not the resort, but the other one. It was cheap too.
Check out Lil Abner's for good ribs in Tucson.

GeorgeJ

Embassy Suites Tucson Broadway is OK; but don't expect anything like a recently built Embassy Suites....it is one of the really old ones built in Arizona (forget the original companiy's name) that were later added to the Embassy chain..these are ones that go back to the 70's...

BamaVol

Not sure how many Hiltons in Tucson. I have stayed several times at the Hilton Tucson East on Broadway. Fine property, beautiful views, decent pool, fun bar. I have found Tucson to be easy to negotiate in a car but sometimes you can't get where you want by going in a straight line - there is a large airbase on the south end of town that has to be circled. The Hilton is maybe 15 minutes from the airport and convenient to everything although there isn't much in the immediate neighborhood.

ellielou

hi,
many thanks for the advice. The Tucson Hilton East looks good, and is even fewer pts than the Embassy Suites there. I'm going to book that.

Any advice on PHX. I'm not sure exactly what we're doing there, other than going to the airport one morning for a flgt about 11:30 am....?

thanks again, Ellen

SEA2BA

Hilton El Conquistador is "the resort one" the previous posters referred to. I have stayed there twice in 6 months and although it's fine, I didn't love it and didn't get the HHonors Gold treatment I would have hoped for. I too have heard good things about the other Hilton in town and intend to try it next time.

On the BBQ note, you must try Famous Dave's, on N. Oracle, on the north end of town. On a recent weekend stay in Tucson we went twice!

Yum!
SEA2BA

mcgahat

Good move in my opinion. The Hilton East is not a high end property but a pretty good property noe the less and I have always enjoyed staying there (about 10 stays). It is certainly better than the Embassy Suites which is pretty bad, at least for my one and only stay there.

For Phoenix, I prefer the Hilton Scottsdale actually as it is a nicer property that is easy to get in and out of (it is a level 5 though so if I was on points I dont know if I would spend that much on it). I dont typically like larger resort properties. I also prefer Scottsdale to Phoenix as it is a little better in my opinion for leisure travel. The Hampton Inn Shea BLVD is pretty nice for a category 2 and has high speed. I think if I where using points in the Phoenix area that is the hotel I would choose for best value. I stayed on a paid stay at Squaw Peak and didnt really care for the property. I have seen some decent reviews of the place but as a diamond I didnt get any upgrade and didnt find the rooms that nice at all. The service was average at best as well. I definitely wouldnt spend the 35k per night there.

travelnurse

I have stayed at the Hilton East for as little as $59. Property is so-so but easily accessible to airport and area businesses. Evening executive lounge sometimes serves buffet "meals" hot and cold edibles with a complimentary 2 drink/person. They sometimes offer 2000 bonus points per stay. Hampton at the airport is cheap and clean. The resorts at Tucson and Phoenix are nice and I've always been upgraded to a suite. The resort properties do not have an executive lounge but do give breakfast certificates. The restaurants at Squaw Peak serve better food than the Con Quistidor. Both proporties have spas though the one at Loews Ventana Canyon is far better. Enjoy your stay in AZ.

ibdsux

Of the PHX properties you listed, definitely the Homewood. It has a great location close to shopping and restaurants. Scottsdale is convenient to get to if that interests you (Maybe 15-20 minutes). There is not as much going on around the Hampton. Midtown PHX is a bit dull after dark.

Mehdron

See this post in another thread.

ellielou

Just wanted to thank everyone again. How did we ever book hotels in advance before the internet?!