Stay Porter Blog

The Two Arizonas: There Is Always a Peak Season Somewhere Short answer: Arizona runs on two opposite clocks: greater Phoenix and Scottsdale peak from November to April, while Flagstaff peaks in the cool summer, and Sedona rides twin peaks in spring and fall. Whichever market your home is in, there is a season when it is the most desirable address in the state. The craft is capturing that peak completely...

Where to Stay in Sedona: Uptown vs. West Sedona vs. the Village of Oak Creek Sedona is small enough to feel like one town and spread out enough that your home base changes the whole trip. Stay in the wrong spot and you can spend an hour a day fighting traffic through the same intersection. Stay in the right spot and the marquee trailheads, the restaurants, and the red-rock views...

Flagstaff Is a Four-Season Rental (and Most Owners Only Sell Two) Short answer: Flagstaff earns in all four seasons: the big cool-air summer, winter ski and snow-play weekends around Arizona Snowbowl, golden-aspen fall in the world’s largest contiguous ponderosa forest, and spring’s Grand Canyon gateway traffic. Most rental calendars only market summer, and sometimes winter, leaving roughly a third of the year’s earning power barely contested. Position the same home...

Where to Stay in the Scottsdale Area: Old Town vs. North Scottsdale vs. Paradise Valley vs. Cave Creek Scottsdale sells itself as one destination, but the area you actually book is four very different bases, and the one you choose shapes the whole trip. Reserve a walkable Old Town condo and you can leave the car parked all weekend. Reserve a quiet resort-style home up north and you will drive...

Big Homes, Big Magic: Why Group-Sized Homes Are Winning Arizona Short answer: Travel keeps reorganizing around togetherness, and group trips shop for one thing first: a home that holds everyone. Porter’s own Flagstaff review found large homes and high-end amenities won the year in a ~48 to 54 percent occupancy market: a structural advantage. Each sleeps tier opens a new door (two-family trips past 7, reunions past 10, retreats and...

Flagstaff With Kids: A Four-Season Family Guide to Trains, Trails, and Snow Most Arizona family trips fight the heat. Flagstaff lets you skip it. Sitting at about 7,000 feet in the largest ponderosa pine forest in the country, this mountain town runs 20 to 30 degrees cooler than Phoenix in July, then turns into a genuine snow-play destination by December. That range is the whole point for parents: the same...

Pet-Friendly Arizona: Traveling With Your Dog in Sedona, Flagstaff, and Scottsdale Arizona is an easy state to bring a dog to, as long as you respect the heat. Sedona in particular is one of the most dog-friendly places you can hike in the Southwest, with leashed dogs welcome on almost every red-rock trail. Flagstaff’s cool pine forests are a natural summer basecamp for a dog, and Scottsdale’s Old Town is...

What Five-Star Feels Like: The Hospitality Standards Behind Great Stays Short answer: Five-star reviews are the output of a system: specific standards at every stage of the guest’s arc. Before arrival, confidence (a concierge-grade message, a code that works). In the first five minutes, delight (lights on, the wow revealed, a welcome touch). Through the stay, ease (hospitality-clean rooms, stocked kitchen, hotel-grade beds, abundant towels). At departure, grace. The hard...

The Scottsdale Golf Trip: Best Courses, When to Play, and Where to Stay Scottsdale packs more than 200 golf courses into the Valley of the Sun, which is exactly why a buddies trip here can go sideways before it starts. Pick the wrong week and you either roast in 108-degree heat or pay peak-winter rates on greens that just came out of overseeding. Pick the wrong courses and you burn...

Visiting Sedona With Kids: Family-Friendly Trails, Attractions, and Stays Sedona gets sold as a grown-up destination: vortexes, spas, wine drives, sunrise photo shoots. But the same red rocks that draw couples are a giant natural playground for kids, and the town is far more family-doable than its bucket-list reputation suggests. We have watched four-year-olds scramble up the low benches at Bell Rock like they were born on them. The trick...