• The Hermosa Inn (Paradise Valley; www.hermosainn.com; tel. 602/955-8614): The main building here dates from 1930 and was once the home of Western artist Lon Megargee. Today, the old adobe house is surrounded by beautiful gardens and has become a tranquil boutique hotel with luxurious Southwestern-style rooms and a beautiful restaurant terrace.

  • Royal Palms Resort and Spa (Phoenix; www.royalpalmsresortandspa.com; tel. 602/283-1234): With Mediterranean styling and towering palm trees, this place seems far removed from the glitz that prevails at most area resorts. The Royal Palms is a classic, perfect for romantic getaways, and its designer showcase rooms are among the most dramatic in the Valley.

  • El Portal Sedona (Sedona; www.elportalsedona.com; tel. 800/313-0017): Built of hand-cast adobe blocks and incorporating huge wooden beams salvaged from a railroad trestle, this inn is a work of art both inside and out. The mix of Arts and Crafts and Santa Fe styling conjures up haciendas of old.

  • El Tovar Hotel (Grand Canyon Village; www.grandcanyonlodges.com; tel. 888/297-2757): This classic log-and-stone mountain lodge stands in Grand Canyon Village only feet from the South Rim and is utterly timeless. The lobby may not be very big, but it has the requisite trophy animal heads and a stone fireplace.

  • Grand Canyon Lodge (Grand Canyon North Rim; www.grandcanyonforever.com; tel. 877/386-4383): This, the Grand Canyon's other grand lodge, sits right on the North Rim of the canyon. Rooms are primarily in cabins, which aren't quite as impressive as the main building, but guests tend to spend a lot of time sitting on the lodge's two viewing terraces or in the sunroom.

  • La Posada (Winslow; www.laposada.org; tel. 928/289-4366): Designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, who also designed many of the buildings on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, La Posada first opened in 1930 and was the last of the great Santa Fe Railroad hotels. Today, La Posada has been restored to its former glory and is again one of the finest hotels in the West.

  • Arizona Inn (Tucson; www.arizonainn.com; tel. 800/933-1093): With its pink-stucco walls and colorful, fragrant gardens, this small Tucson resort dates from Arizona's earliest days as a vacation destination and epitomizes slower times, when guests came for the winter, not just a quick weekend getaway.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.