Just over an hour’s flight from San Diego, Scottsdale is one of the easiest — and prettiest — getaways we do. This time we did it a little differently: instead of booking one hotel, we went hotel hopping in Scottsdale, splitting our stay between two completely different properties. Hotel Valley Ho, right in the heart of Old Town, and Mountain Shadows Resort, tucked away in Paradise Valley. And we couldn’t have picked two better ones.
The whole idea was to experience the city through two very different hotels — starting somewhere fun and central where there’s always something going on, then finishing somewhere calm and secluded to actually relax. Valley Ho gave us the colorful, social, in-the-middle-of-everything half. Mountain Shadows gave us the quiet, mountain-view reset. Two totally different personalities, and one trip we loved every minute of.
So if you’re trying to figure out where to stay in Scottsdale, here’s the good news: you don’t have to choose.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As always, every opinion here is my own and based on our real stay. Thanks for supporting the blog!
Why Scottsdale Is Made for Hotel Hopping
What we love about Scottsdale is how much it changes from one neighborhood to the next. Old Town is walkable and social — galleries, shops, cafés, and that warm desert energy. Paradise Valley, just fifteen minutes away, is calm and quiet, wrapped around Camelback Mountain. And those desert sunsets? We’re obsessed — the colors are unreal.
🌿 Tip: Fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) — both hotels are about a 15–20 minute drive from the airport, and only 15 minutes from each other. We took a quick Lyft between the two, but a rental car works great too if you want the freedom to explore.
Hotel #1: Hotel Valley Ho Review — Retro Charm in Old Town Scottsdale
First up was Hotel Valley Ho, right in the heart of Old Town. This was the lively, social half of our trip — there’s live music on weekends and events on the calendar — and a great place to start. If you’re after total peace and quiet, that’s what the Mountain Shadows half is for.
Our Room: The Tower Suite
Our Tower Suite was honestly more like a colorful little apartment, and I loved it. It had a full kitchen — and a real one, where you can actually cook, not just reheat (coffee machine, full-size fridge, oven, all of it). There was a big living room with a comfy seating area, and a clever TV that splits the living space from the bedroom. The bed was so comfortable, the bathroom was huge and spotless, and the whole thing was decorated in that playful, colorful Valley Ho style. Plus those views out over Scottsdale. The kind of room you don’t really want to leave.
A Little About the Hotel
Valley Ho has been an Old Town icon since 1956, and it’s somehow both a piece of real mid-century history and one of the most genuinely fun hotels we’ve stayed at. It was a Hollywood hideaway back in the day (Mad Men fans will feel right at home), and after a full restoration it still has all that retro charm with modern everything. Best part: it’s walkable to basically all of Old Town, and there’s no resort fee.
The Pools
Valley Ho has two pools, and they’re the heart of the whole hotel. We spent our first afternoon doing exactly what we came to do — grabbing a lounge chair at the OH Pool, ordering a cold drink, and having absolutely nowhere to be. There’s a poolside bar with cocktails and light fare, private shaded cabanas, plush daybeds, a hot tub, and live music on weekends. Lively without being too much. Exactly how you want to start a trip.
🌸 Tip: If you can, request a room overlooking the OH Pool — waking up to that mid-century poolscape and palm trees with the morning light pouring in is the full Valley Ho experience. And don’t leave without a photo at the “It’s Always Sunny in Scottsdale” mural by the pool.
Dinner at ZuZu
ZuZu was a highlight every single time, and we ate there a lot. The food was amazing across the board — the drinks, the appetizers, the mains, all of it. I had the filet and it was absolutely delicious, and if you want the classic, the Roasted Half Chicken is their staple. There’s a sweet story behind the name, too: ZuZu is named after Rosalyn “Rosie” Bennett Lyon, “ZuZu,” the matriarch of the family that owns the hotel. We had dinner here our first night, came back for brunch the next morning, then went back again for dinner. It basically became our little ritual, and it never let us down.
We used Valley Ho as our home base for exploring Old Town and the Desert Botanical Garden, too — more on both of those further down.
✨Book your stay at Hotel Valley Ho for a colorful, walkable home base in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale — and remember, no resort fee.
Hotel #2: Mountain Shadows Resort Scottsdale — Calm & Camelback Views in Paradise Valley
Then we hopped over to Mountain Shadows in Paradise Valley — the quiet, peaceful half, with those stunning Camelback Mountain views. Where Valley Ho was all energy, this was our exhale. It’s wonderfully secluded, so if you want to pop back into Old Town, you’ll want a quick rideshare or a car.
Our Room
The rooms here are more modern but really carefully decorated — custom furnishings and bold design that make the whole thing feel like a properly styled retreat, with everything you need. After all of Valley Ho’s color, it was a calm, light-filled counterpoint — the kind of room that makes your shoulders drop the second you walk in.
A Little About the Resort
Mountain Shadows sits right at the base of Camelback Mountain, on a historic golf course, and those mountain views are everywhere — the lobby, the pools, the restaurants, your room. It’s earned a Michelin Key and a spot on Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 10 Southwest Resorts, but what we’ll really remember is just how calm it is. Fifteen minutes from Old Town, and it feels like a completely different world.
Dinner at Rusty’s and Hearth ’61
We got in just in time for a casual first dinner at Rusty’s, the patio-and-lounge spot right by the golf course. Easy, refreshing food with views of the green and Camelback — such an easy, low-key welcome.
But Hearth ’61 was the one. We had dinner there twice, and both times the food was delicious and those mountain views were unreal. The Roasted Halibut and the Two Wash Ranch Half Chicken were both so good, and don’t skip the Blistered Shishitos to start — honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. It’s modern American, built around local and seasonal ingredients, with an award-winning wine list and an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs cook over the hearth oven. Exactly what we needed to end each night.
The Pools, the Gallery & the Grounds
Scottsdale gets hot in early summer, so the pools were an easy yes. We spent a long, slow afternoon at the Citizens Club, where there are two 75-foot pools with — of course — Camelback Mountain views. We’re not golfers, but I have to say: if you play, this might be your dream hotel, because you can basically walk out of your room straight onto the course. And don’t miss The Gallery, the resort’s curated art gallery with museum-quality exhibitions. One of my favorite slow mornings was just wandering the gallery hallway and the grounds with a coffee.
🌸 Tip: There’s an adults-only Sunset Pool tucked away at the western end of the resort if you want something even quieter than the main pools — ideal for a slow, grown-up afternoon.
The Reiki Session We Didn’t Expect to Love
One night we tried something we’d never done before but had always been curious about: a Reiki session right in our room. Reiki is a Japanese technique for relaxation and stress relief, and ours lasted about 50 minutes. It’s completely no-touch, but you get this strange, lovely feeling of warmth (apparently everyone feels it a little differently). I honestly can’t tell you how it ended, because we both basically fell asleep before we were even halfway through — it didn’t feel anywhere near 50 minutes. When it was done, we just drifted right off to sleep. For a trip that was all about slowing down, we couldn’t have asked for more.
✨Book your stay at Mountain Shadows Resort for serene Paradise Valley views, a Camelback backdrop, and one of the most relaxing resorts in Scottsdale.
Things to Do in Scottsdale
Outside the hotels, here’s what we got up to.
The Desert Botanical Garden was such a beautiful surprise. It’s 55 acres with over 1,000 species of cactus, trees, and flowers — part garden, part easy walk through the desert. We watched hummingbirds zip around, wandered under towering cacti, and completely lost track of time.
We also spent an afternoon wandering Old Town Scottsdale — the shops, the cafés, the old-Western charm. It’s so walkable from Valley Ho and absolutely worth a few hours.
And then there’s the desert itself. Some of our favorite moments were honestly just slow afternoons watching the sky change color at sunset.
And right in Paradise Valley, just minutes from Mountain Shadows, is Cosanti Originals — the studio and gallery of architect Paolo Soleri, known for its handcrafted bronze and ceramic windbells. You can wander the earth-cast structures and, if you time it right, catch a bronze pouring. A lovely, low-key stop and a very Scottsdale kind of place.
If you’ve got more energy than we did, Taliesin West — Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio and winter home — is also right nearby and a stunning piece of midcentury desert design. We chose to stay in and enjoy the pool this time, but it’s high on the list for next time. (Book tickets in advance.)
🌿 Tip: If you’re visiting the Desert Botanical Garden in the warmer months, go earlier in the day and grab your tickets in advance — it’s mostly open-air, and the heat builds fast by afternoon.
Would We Do It Again?
A hundred percent. We took this trip to slow down for a few days, and splitting our stay gave us two completely different ways to enjoy one city. Valley Ho gave us the colorful, social, out-in-the-city half; Mountain Shadows gave us the calm, mountain-view reset. Two totally different personalities, one trip we’d happily do all over again.
The only “downside” is repacking once — and that’s a tiny price for getting to experience a city from two totally different points of view. Scottsdale, we’ll be back.