La Posada, Winslow

La Posada is the type of retreat where would-be novelists could spend a week and come away with a manuscript. It has that aura of nostalgia, idiosyncrasy and charm that inspires literature. But even if authorship is not on your agenda, this museum-like inn is a fascinating place to poke around.

Photo courtesy Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain. Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain room

Railroad restaurateur and hotelier Fred Harvey hired architect Mary Jane Colter (of Bright Angel Lodge and Phantom Ranch fame) to design an inn at a stop on the Santa Fe Railway. Author-like, she conceived it as a fictional family’s hacienda. The dapper celebrities and tourists it attracted during the ’20s and ’30s sadly dwindled with the decline of train travel, and the hotel fell into disrepair.
Enter Winslow Mayor Allan Affeldt, who restored La Posada and reopened it in 1997. Now it’s a potpourri of historical and modern treasures: Paintings by Affeldt’s wife, Tina Mion, add a Frida Kahlo-esque quirkiness to the antique Southwestern furniture, hand-painted glass windows, tin chandeliers, vintage photos and Native American handicrafts.

After sampling the various sitting rooms and strolling the gardens, head to the Turquoise Room restaurant. Begin with yin-yang-ish black bean and corn soups poured into the same bowl, proceed to any of the fabulous Southwestern entrées, and whatever you do, save room for the prickly pear cornbread pudding.

While in Winslow, make a rock ’n’ roll pilgrimage to Standin’ on the Corner Park, an ode to the Eagles’ song Take It Easy, where you can stand on the famous corner next to a mural of a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford. And just a short drive away, Meteor Crater is such a fine sight to see.

Photo courtesy Tubac Golf Resort & Spa Tubac Golf Resort & Spa’s championship golf course.

Tubac Golf Resort & Spa, Tubac

The pace of choice in Tubac is the mosey, whether it be promenading between art galleries in the colorful town, strolling down the golf course that had a cameo in the movie Tin Cup, or ambling in the footsteps of the founder of what would become San Francisco.

The place to kick up your feet is Tubac Golf Resort & Spa, once the Otero family hacienda and the first land grant in the region (from the King of Spain in 1789). The 98-room property was spruced up to the tune of $40 million in 2002 but still honors its ranching roots with red-tile roofs, wood-beamed ceilings, brick archways and beehive fireplaces.

Its 27-hole, Red Lawrence-designed golf course stretches across the sycamore- and cottonwood-studded river valley, where cattle graze within slicing distance. Non-golfers can go koala-slow at the spa in the eucalyptus steam room, then ease into the outdoor whirlpool tub and listen to wildlife. At night, put on the nosebag in Stables restaurant, housed in a rock-and-adobe horse barn, then stargaze at nearby Whipple Observatory.

Outdoorsy types will find plenty to do outside the resort. Bird-watch at Madera Canyon, then meander alongside the Santa Cruz River on the Anza Trail, named after Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, who led an expedition along this route in 1775. Keep following the trail and you’ll eventually reach the city by the Bay. Then again, maybe just mosey back.

Photo courtesy Tubac Golf Resort & Spa Tubac Golf Resort & Spa’s hacienda room with sunken living area.

The View Hotel, Monument Valley

Come winter, nothing beats cozying up to a fire with a pair of 1,000-foot-tall mittens. Thanks to The View Hotel’s balcony, and the dearth of tourists in Monument Valley this time of year, you’ll have panoramas of The Mittens practically to yourself.

Until recently, the only hotel in the vicinity was Goulding’s, which has all the appeal of last week’s frybread. But last December marked the arrival of The View, which earns its title by featuring balcony-based vistas in all 95 rooms, plus top-floor rooms with panoramas of the starry night.

Set high on a bluff, the facade blends rather than competes with the scenery. The hotel is Navajo-owned, Navajo-run and Navajo-decorated with handmade rugs and paintings by local artists. This means it’s rooted in local values: It’s not posh (there’s no spa), but it is eco-friendly, dishing out organic coffee and all-natural toiletries.

A dramatic stone fireplace dominates the towering lobby, which leads to a multi-level deck decked with candle lanterns overlooking a cinematographic scene worthy of a John Ford Western.

This is the only hotel within Monument Valley, so adventure is a stone’s throw away. Trundle the backroads in your own vehicle, or take a Navajo-guided four-wheel-drive tour along more remote tracks, where you can shape-spot among Seussical sandstone spires.

Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
15000 N. Secret Springs Drive, Marana,
520-572-3000, dovemountain.com/ritz

La Posada
303 E. Second St., Winslow,
928-289-4366, laposada.org

Tubac Golf Resort & Spa
1 Otero Road, Tubac,
520-398-2211, tubacgolfresort.com

The View Hotel
Monument Valley (no address),
435-727-5555, monumentvalleyview.com

— Keridwen Cornelius can be reached at kcornelius@citieswestpub.com.