For Every Purse and Personality

A person planning to come to Arizona for a vacation in the sun has a wide choice of accommodations to choose from. In truth, there is something for every purse and personality.

There are the large and more expensive places which offer all the service and luxury of big resort hotels wherever they are located, plus our delightful Arizona climate and the charm of our southwestern way of living. Two persons can secure accommodations at most of these places for $30 per day American Plan, but it can run more or less than that. Each of the famous Arizona resorts is completely different from the others, possessing in common a delightful atmosphere of rest and relaxation, carefully planned entertainment programs, superlative food and beautifully landscaped grounds.

Dining rooms and lounges and some of the guest rooms are in the central buildings, but most of the bedrooms are in cottages or bungalow suites, each with its own private sun patio or terrace.

These resorts, ablaze with flowers and shrubbery, bloom in the desert, welcoming you with swimming pools and golf courses, whose grassy fairways and greens are set like oases in the desert. Be sure to make a reservation long in advance of your expected visit. They open from the middle of November and close from April 15 to May 1st. The rush season is from January 10th to March 30th. If it is your first visit, don't be surprised if they are unable to give you a reservation during this period. Try coming in December or April and you will be welcomed with appreciation and lots of loving attention.

Then there are the small inns, lodges and ranches, accommodating from 6 to 30 guests. Rates will average around $10 per day per person. They open anywhere from September 15 to October 1st, and close from May 15th to June 1st. Some operate all year round.

They concentrate on good beds, private baths and good food. Entertainment and facilities for outdoor activity are available but you can take them or leave them alone. There are always saddle horses on the place or at nearby stables. There is generally a golf course not too far away.

You may feel prices are high, but you should realize that these places have only a short season in which to operate profitably and must charge accordingly. They are the answer to the needs of a great many winter visitors. People who want a taste of ranch life, a soupcon of the desert and a good sun tan; but strictly with fine service, and plenty of movies, restaurants, bars and night clubs within easy visiting distance. Provided for guests who want only to rest and relax in the sun, there are sun decks, patios, lounge chairs, books and fire places and a little fast croquet or shuffle board. It's all there for you and the kind of life you find is the one you choose for yourself.

Now we come to the ranches the real dude ranches operated primarily for the comfort and entertainment of the guests. They usually have several hundred acres or are spang in the middle of real range country. The emphasis is on horses, horses, horses. There'll be barbecues, chuck wagon parties, moonlight picnics, roundups and rodeos, and cowboy dances. Generally a swimming pool is handy. Accommodations are modern and comfortable, but the location is purposely a little isolated and entertainment is provided by the ranch activities.

Next are the operating cattle ranches. These are the outfits where the steer and the coyote roam and a few lucky people are allowed to visit a while. Comfortable accommodations are provided, and the opportunity to take part in the daily routine of ranch life. You will get good food, be well served and made mighty welcome. But be sure to realize that the main purpose of these ranches is their operation as a ranch and if it's round-up time or there is work to be done, you will be expected to shift for your own amusement. Always remember that a lost cow with a new calf is worth a lot more to the ranch than you are and you're just lucky as all get-out to be a part of the outfit. There is always something doing in ranch country and there is something lacking in you if you need entertainment planned for you. Some of these ranches have been operating since long before "dudes" were thought of in the West, and the parents of the present owners may have "fit the Indians" while they proved up on the land they were homesteading. Other ranches were old Spanish Land Grants. You'll find that these ranches are usually located in the most scenic and beautiful sections of the state and the nearest post office and trading point is a little cow-town that you'd better not call quaint.

In making your choice of a place to stay, read the literature carefully; look for the number of guests, how far from what town, length of season and general accommodations. From these points you can pretty well judge what type of place it may be. Check the rates and know before you make your reservation whether the daily or weekly rate is all inclusive. At some places everything is included, at others you will be expected to pay extra for riding horses, trips to town and special outings. This is perfectly fair and is all worked out on that basis in figuring the rate quoted, but know before you get here if there are going to be extras you will be happier.

There are of course many excellent commercial hotels throughout Arizona, a number of which are also popular as winter resorts. The many attractive and comfortable motels located all over the state are of the greatest convenience to the thousands of motorists who visit Arizona all through the year.

Somewhere in Arizona the weather is beautiful all year round. When it's cold and rainy and that winter cold just won't go away, come out to Arizona in April and stay until Spring has really arrived back home. Or make Indian summer last a while longer and come out in October. November is a lovely month and our turkeys are just as plump and our pumpkins just as golden as yours. Snow at Christmas is very picturesque, but our trees have oranges and grapefruit on them instead, and while the blossoms may look white, like snow, they smell much sweeter. A December visit in Arizona is something to try.

If you have oranges and grapefruit and sunshine and sand then come in the summer and try the bracing smell of pine trees and the crisp air you'll find in our mountains. It's nice and cool at 5,000 feet and even nicer at 7,000. Oak Creek Canyon and the Verde Valley can't be equalled for any time of year, and have you visited Flagstaff and Prescott, or stayed a while in the White Mountains? Here is summer at her best. Remember, too, there are many places along the border operating all-year and are delightful both in summer and winter. You can't go wrong!

In making your reservations for your visit to Arizona, travel agents throughout the country are Arizona conscious and will assist you; the airlines, railroads and bus lines serving Arizona will be glad to help you; as will the offices of the A.A.A. Write to the ranch, resort hotel, lodge or inn that may sound interesting to you. Descriptive literature will give you the more detailed information.