Hermosa Inn

The Hermosa Inn is a small boutique hotel located in the affluent Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley near 32nd Street and Camelback Road. Though not as well known as some of the larger resort hotels in Phoenix, the Hermosa Inn is highly regarded by many established travel companies, including AAA, Condé Nast Johansens, and Fodor's. [cite web|url=http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=phoenix_scottsdale@120&cur_section=lod&property_id=334386|title=Hermosa Inn at Fodor's Online Travel Guide|accessmonthday=September 6 |accessyear=2007] The Hermosa Inn is listed as an Historic Hotel with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

History

Cowboy artist Alonzo "Lon" Megargee purchased six acres of land in what is now considered Paradise Valley in 1935. He built his studio of adobe bricks in the middle of the site and kept adding to it, calling his home Los Arcos and later Casa Hermosa, meaning "beautiful house."

Megargee had no formal plans for the building. Influenced by architecture he had studied in Spain and Mexico, he used old wooden beams from an abandoned mine and poured a mixture of oil and ash from the roof to age the exterior walls. Due to the extended length of the stays of many of his guests, Megargee began running a guest ranch to supplement his artist's income. Local law enforcement suspected that Megargee used the ranch for illegal gambling, so he constructed a tunnel from the main building to the stables to provide an easy escape into the desert should the law make a surprise visit. [cite web|url=http://www.a-1beerprints.com/HTML/Lon%20Megargee.html|title=The History of Lon Megargee|accessmonthday=September 5 |accessyear=2007]

Succeeding owners renamed the property Hermosa Inn, and added a pool, tennis courts, casitas, and villas. In 1987, a fire severely damaged the original building.

The property was purchased by current owners Fred and Jennifer Unger in 1992. Following restoration of the adobe walls, charred beams, and ironwork in the main building, the property re-opened in 1994, again as the Hermosa Inn, with a restaurant - "Lon's at the Hermosa", named for Lon Megargee - occupying the original building.

Today, the hotel encompasses thirty-five separate accommodations, including basic rooms (ranchos), larger single rooms (casitas), one bedroom suites (haciendas), and two bedroom stand-alone suites (villas). The hotel property is currently closed as it undergoes an extensive property enhancement project; it is scheduled to re-open toward the end of Summer 2009.

References

External links

* [http://www.hermosainn.com/ The Hermosa Inn]
* [http://www.lons.com/ Lon's at the Hermosa]
* [http://www.historichotels.org/ Historic Hotels of America]