Are there any parts of Tucson that are cooler than others in the summer - maybe due to elevation, etc.? We'll probably stay at either the Westin La Paloma, Marriott Starr Pass or Hilton El Conquistador.
And in general, is the weather in the summer about the same as Phoenix, or slightly hotter or cooler?
Edited: 3:49 pm, March 03, 2013Of the three, I would suggest La Paloma because it is somewhat closer to town. Other options you should consider are Loews Ventana Canyon, Westward Look, and the Arizona Inn -- the last being right in town.
All of these will have pretty much the same temperatures, except when monsoon rains go through town. Some areas will cool off into the low 70's and get rain, while other areas in town stay hot and get no rain.
Tucson is virtually always cooler than Phoenix, since we are at 2600+ feet elevation and Phoenix is around 1100 feet. It is normally 5 to 7 degrees cooler during the day in Tucson and can be 10 degrees or more cooler at night. During a good part of the Summer, Phoenix nighttime temperatures do not even go below 90.
Thanks, Mike. I know 10 degrees isn't that big a deal, but every little bit helps.
I'm curious as to why you're suggesting we stay closer to town. We'll be sightseeing, but also want a nice resort to relax at (even in the heat). We collect points with Hilton, Starwood and Marriott that's why I was limiting it to those resorts. And we also happen to think the Westin looks the nicest of the three, I understand it's been newly renovated.
Even though you will be driving to everything, you don't want the commute to and from your hotel to be too long. Plus, you will want to be closer to "home", probably, for dinners out. Yes, since you have Hilton points, those 3 make sense.
There is really nothing right around Starr Pass. The El Con is way out Oracle Road, and having to drive Oracle Road in the mornings going somewhere or in the late afternoon, going back, will put you squarely in rush hour traffic. No other route to the El Con.
La Paloma is fairly close-in on the north side of town, so no more than maybe 15 minutes to lots of restaurants. Also, nice views of the city lights.
I actually live about 10 miles north of the El Con, so to me it doesn't seem "way out" but if you're driving south from there into town the traffic can indeed be difficult. Although there aren't a lot restaurants very close by, there are quite a few very good restaurants within a 15 minute drive from there, too.
Although the resort itself at Starr Pass is nice, Mike is right - you are really pretty isolated from services there. And since the hotel is in foreclosure (like a lot of the resorts are right now) a lot of the needed renovations and upgrades haven't been done there.
Of the three you listed, I'd probably pick La Paloma first, but the El Con would be a good choice too.
Sounds like La Paloma is our place. We also looked at the Ritz Carlton Dove Lake (you get Marriott points there) but they don't seem to have the great inexpensive summer rates like the others do.
One day we wanted to go to Kartchner Caverns - since that's south, we'll do our best to avoid rush hour.
Dove Mountain is REALLY out of the way, good if you want to stay at the resort mostly, bad for general sightseeing.
Kartchner Caverns is very far southeast, so even rush hour traffic shouldn't be much trouble. From La Paloma, I would head east to Swan Road. South on Swan to Speedway, east to Houghton Road, then Houghton to I-10 and east from there.
I have taken the Rotunda/Throne Room tour probably at least 6 times and the big room tour twice. I much prefer the Rotunda/Throne Room tour. If you get an early enough start, you can also see Tombstone and Bisbee on the same day, or Sonoita / Elgin wine tasting.
Also, during the Summer, a day (or at least an afternoon) on Mt. Lemmon is mighty refreshing -- 30 degrees cooler than in the valley. Do that during the week to avoid horrendous crowds.
Edited: 7:09 pm, March 03, 2013Thanks, think we'll stick with La Paloma.
You may have seen the haboobs on the national news last summer. Those are in Phoenix. Tucson just gets wind, often followed by rain. The rain is actually great and it ends up being not that hot just after the rain.
I like La Paloma better for the resort itself. Starr Pass is newer and maybe a bit nicer, but there's very little out there. At the same time, it's actually closer to Downtown than the resorts in the Foothills are.
We've been going to Phoenix to visit family for 35 years and are well aware of haboobs, monsoons, flash flooding...unfortunately July will be our next trip, and we realized that in our 35 years of visiting we have NEVER been to Tucson, so that will be an add-on this trip.
Other than the UofA campus (and its Arizona State Museum) what are some other "don't miss" attractions right downtown? - most of what we want to do seems to be outside the downtown core.
There really isn't a lot; downtown is mainly business and government.
