Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort

There were few guests and the only sounds came from the songs of tree frogs and crickets.

Huge clouds from a late summer monsoon storm towered skyward on the southern horizon.

From the patio near our room, we could see bolts of lightening shooting out from dark clouds around the tall peaks of the Santa Rita Mountains.

The guest ranch entrance

The evening was so warm we decided to go for a swim.

Relaxing on lounge chairs afterwards, we could smell the delicious aroma of mesquite smoke drifting from Hacienda del Sol’s restaurant, The Grill.

Overhead, bats chased insects drawn to the lamplight and shooting stars occasionally whizzed by.

The next morning, we were greeted by a chorus of song from a flock of birds at the feeder and fountain outside our windows.

On the dining room patio, we ate a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and berry pancakes while gazing at the rugged Santa Catalina Mountains next door.

A saguaro cactus stands watch over a communal patio at Hacienda del Sol

Gila woodpeckers flew from saguaro top to saguaro top and lizards scrambled along the adobe wall.

It was a small slice of Southwestern heaven.

While Hacienda del Sol doesn’t have all of the amenities of its much larger neighbor, the Westin La Paloma Resort, it does offer a nostalgic taste of the old Southwest.

Hacienda del Sol has great atmosphere and is surrounded by beautiful desert in an intimate setting. Stay here and you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back to a quieter, uncomplicated time.

Unfortunately, inconsistent service can tarnish an otherwise quality experience.

The resort sits on 34 acres of Sonoran Desert, tucked away in a residential neighborhood in the Santa Catalina foothills of north Tucson.

The garden courtyard and The Grill at Hacienda del Sol

Parts of the property have sweeping views of the city and the Rincon and Santa Rita Mountains to the east and south.

The Santa Catalina Mountains, on the north side, look close enough to touch.

Hacienda del Sol is more like a bed and breakfast than a guest ranch or resort.

It gets the ranch moniker from its history.

Built in 1929, the property was a ranch that was turned into a "finishing" school for girls from well-to-do families like the Kelloggs, Vanderbilts and Maxwells.

In 1948, the school was converted into a guest ranch and was a favorite hideaway for famous celebrities.

Howard Hughes, Clark Gable and Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were all former guests.

The current owners have left the original adobe buildings with their classic Spanish Colonial design intact and restored.

Plus they’ve added lovely gardens filled with flowers, cactus and shady trees to the already beautiful parcel of native desert.

What really makes Hacienda del Sol distinctive is the small details.

The living room style lobby

Adobe fireplaces, hand-painted Mexican tile and unique carved wood furniture give the property a special charm that we haven’t encountered elsewhere.

At the far end of the courtyard is The Grill, Hacienda del Sol’s only restaurant.

In the evenings, the enticing smells of mesquite wood and grilling food float through the air.

The lobby is in the original ranch structure. Stepping into the building, we felt like we were entering someone’s home.

With saltillo tile floors, wood beam ceilings and thick adobe walls, it’s easy to feel that you’ve traveled back in time to when Tucson truly felt like the "Old Pueblo."

Behind Hacienda del Sol’s lobby is a charming sitting room with a large fireplace and a comfortable couch and chairs.

A small library behind this area is just as it was during the property’s former school days, right down to the original books from the 1930s.

The Spanish style interior courtyard

One of the details we really like about Spanish Colonial architecture is the interior courtyard.

Essentially a small garden in the center of a building, it’s a design that resembles a square doughnut.

Hacienda del Sol’s main building incorporates this feature.

Long banks of windows along the building’s hallways look out onto a garden oasis filled with flowers, vines, bird feeders and a stone fountain.

This is a large one bedroom with a king size bed, saltillo tile floors and a front patio with a terracotta fireplace.

This spacious Hacienda Room has a king sized bed

It is quite spacious although the bathroom is small, as are most of the resort’s bathrooms.

There is a small bathroom counter with a Mexican tile sink and a combination bathtub/shower.

The least expensive rooms are the Historic Rooms ($109/night – summer weekday rate), located off the long hallway in the main building.

These rooms are the actual dorm rooms that the boarding school girls slept in during the 1930s.

Each room has a locking wood slat door in addition to a solid door, allowing guests to let in a cool cross breeze without losing privacy.

Hacienda del Sol’s Historic Rooms are rich in detail. Colorful Southwestern and Mexican art and furniture and tile floors add to the décor without being overdone.

Bathrooms at Hacienda del Sol have Mexican tile sinks

The rooms, however, are quite small by most hotel standards.

They are comfortable enough for a couple, provided you don’t intend too spend too much time in them.

Each has a queen bed, chest of drawers, two nightstands, a chair and an armoire that hides the TV and mini refrigerator.

The full bath has an old-fashioned feel with Mexican painted tiles, antique style faucets and a combination bathtub and shower.

The deep-set bathroom window of our room opened onto a desert garden near a burbling fountain.

In the mornings, we saw quail, doves and cottontail rabbits foraging for food around the cacti and plants under the window.

Our Hacienda Room had a private patio with city and mountain views

Some of Hacienda del Sol’s Hacienda Rooms have two queen beds and are carpeted.

They are larger than the Historic Rooms and more modern in design and décor.

We did not like the carpeted rooms as well as the Historic Rooms, despite their larger size.

They just didn’t have quite the same Old Southwest character.

There are also 5 suites and two casitas available.

Some of the suites and the casitas have their own patios.

A beautiful cactus garden awaits visitors just on the other side of the mission arch

Hacienda del Sol’s main entrance is through a gated adobe mission arch complete with an old bell.

The brick pathway leads into a lovely garden courtyard full of native trees and colorful flowers.

A Spanish-style fountain in the center of the courtyard burbles with the inviting sound of falling water and is a favorite perch for many resident birds.

Hacienda del Sol has a nice pool and hot tub with great views of the Santa Catalina Mountains and the nearby La Paloma Resort’s golf course.

The pool and The Grill Restaurant look out to the Santa Catalina Mountains

The hot tub sits apart from the pool in its own area on a lower terrace.

These terraces make a great place to sit and enjoy the views.

In addition to spending time at the pool, guests can take horseback rides into the desert from the Hacienda del Sol Stables, located just uphill from the resort.

Ask at the front desk and you can also get complimentary fitness passes to local fitness centers.

They have converted one guest room into a spa retreat. Their treatment menu offers massages ($95/50 minutes) such as:

• deep tissue massage
• araomatherpy massage
• hot stone massage.

Their specialty treatments include:

• mud wrap ($95/50 minutes)
• Thai massage ($190/100 minutes)
• craniosacral therapy ($95/50 minutes).

You can also arrange to have a manicure and pedicure ($110) in your room.

The dining room at The Grill looks out to the Santa Catalina Mountains

The large, dark wood dining room and outdoor patios have a warm, romantic atmosphere and mirror the Spanish Colonial design of the rest of the property.

The Grill’s menu combines Southwestern, Mediterranean and California style cuisine prepared with classic French techniques.

Dishes feature local and regional ingredients and the menu changes seasonally.

The Grill is also reputed to have one of the most extensive wine lists in the country, with varieties from around the world.

In the evenings you can enjoy tapas and drinks outside at the Terraza del Sol, Hacienda del Sol’s casual bar scene.

Guests staying at Hacienda del Sol can have a continental breakfast each morning.

Most of the food is served buffet style and includes bacon, roasted potatoes, toast, cereal, yogurt, freshly baked muffins and pastries and an assortment of fruit.

There is also a cook on hand to prepare freshly made omelets with your choice of fillings.

The food was fresh and flavorful. At one time, the breakfast was complimentary. Currently, Hacienda del Sol charges $12.50 per person for the breakfasts.

Hacienda del Sol’s famous Sunday brunch is open to both guests and nonguests.

This hallway just off the lobby has historic photographs from the property's years as a girls’ school

The varying service quality may be due in part to Hacienda del Sol’s mostly youthful staff who can seem ambivalent and inattentive.

Also, the property does a large local business in parties, weddings, banquets, etc.

As the resort is small, guests staying at Hacienda del Sol can feel cramped and in competition with the parties of locals.

Our very first stay here was perfect but during subsequent stays, we’ve had varying levels of service.

Once we waited 20 minutes at the front desk to get towels for the pool. During our entire wait, no one was at the desk. The phone rang unanswered.

If we’d been so inclined, we could have jumped over the counter and robbed the place blind. Jeff finally went into the restaurant to get one of the young hostesses to help us.

On another visit, we decided to extend our stay by an additional night.

We had to change rooms, which wasn't a problem. Our entire luggage had to be moved, of course, and we offered to do it ourselves.

However, the surly woman at the front desk wouldn’t let us move our own things and wouldn’t give us a ballpark figure as to when the move would happen. We had the distinct impression that she didn’t care in the slightest.

Later in the afternoon when we went to our new room, we discovered that our toiletries case had been dropped and had fallen open. The contents had been randomly shoved back into the case and some of the items had leaked.

Colorful gardens surround the old adobe buildings at Hacienda del Sol

Most recently, I had booked a spa appointment at 9:00am in the morning.

I was to meet the therapist at the front desk and informed the clerk upon my arrival. She told me to wait in the lobby and the therapist would be there momentarily.

I waited 20 minutes. No therapist and the front desk clerk never bothered to check back with me even though she could clearly see me waiting.

I informed her that I was still waiting and she looked surprised even though I’d only been a few feet away from her the entire time.

They never could find the therapist. They did offer to arrange something later in the day but we were checking out that morning and I had to decline.

• Hacienda del Sol is a particularly good place for nature lovers. You will see a variety of animals including birds, butterflies, lizards, toads, the occasional snake and lots of insects. Some visitors have even caught a glimpse of a coyote or bobcat.
• It can be a very romantic place for couples. However, there isn’t much for children to do, so we wouldn’t recommend it for most families.
• Hacienda del Sol is generally very serene and quiet. However, the property is small. So if there is a big party or event taking place, noise and difficulty finding a parking place can be a problem.
• There are very few onsite activities at Hacienda del Sol.

This Tucson resort has many lovely spots to sit and enjoy the garden

Arriving at Hacienda del Sol

• A small sign is all that signals you to turn onto the drive to Hacienda del Sol, so keep an eye out for it. The property is towards the top of a large hill.
• Some of the parking areas are not paved but they are close to all of the rooms.
• Though it bills itself as a resort, it does not have the large staff of such a facility. There are no valets or concierge. There is valet service for dinner at The Grill, however.
• There is no bell service, so you’ll need to carry in all of your baggage.

Choosing a Room

• Historic Rooms are small with just one queen bed.
• Historic Rooms do not have patios. Most of the Hacienda Rooms have communal patios. One has a private patio. A few of the suites and the casitas have private patios.
• Most rooms have garden views. Few have mountain views.

Restaurant and Spa Tips

• The Grill is a very highly rated and popular restaurant. Be sure to make reservations well in advance, especially for Friday or Saturday night.
• If you do not wish to eat at The Grill, there are many restaurants nearby on Sunrise Drive
• While the resort offers spa treatments, they do not have a full-service spa. Treatments are given in a small room at the back of the Historic Wing.
• Spa appointments must be made 24 hours in advance because there are no therapists onsite.

Favorite Features:   Look and feel of building, rooms and grounds. Seeing lots of birds and other wildlife. Nice views from pool and jacuzzi.

What We Didn’t Like:   Very inconsistent service. Some staff can be brusque and ambivalent one day, charming and friendly the next.

Good for Kids:   Not really. There are no special activities or amenities for children.

Pet Friendly:   No pets

Nearby Attractions and Amenities:    The nearest golf course and full service spa is at the Westin La Paloma Resort nearby. There is shopping at the upscale La Encantada shopping center which has chains like Crate and Barrel and Ann Taylor as well as specialty boutiques.

For hiking, make the 15 minute drive east to Sabino Canyon, one of the premier desert preserves in southern Arizona.

Location:   North Tucson in the Santa Catalina foothills. Note: Hacienda del Sol is located in a residential neighborhood. Watch for the very small sign indicating the turn off to property.

Address:   5601 N. Hacienda del Sol Road, Tucson, AZ 85718

Google Map Directions: Click on "+" and "-" signs on Map Controls in upper left hand corner to zoom in and out on the location.

Style:   Historic Southwestern/Spanish Colonial

Room Types:   31 guest rooms, suites and casitas. Some rooms have private patios or balconies.

Cost:
In-season: $$$ - $$$$
Summer: $$
Go to Cost Key

Occupancy Tax: State and local tax adds up to 12%

Extra Fees:   There is no resort fee. $15/day for each additional person over age of 5. Children 5 and under are free.

Room Service:   Available for dinner from 5:30pm - 10:00 pm.

Check in/Check Out:   3:00pm / 12 Noon.

Views/Setting:   Desert setting with mountain and city views. Views are primarily from communal patios and the pool area.

Pools:   One pool and hot tub

Restaurants:   One restaurant - The Grill serves Southwestern/California cuisine prepared with French techniques. Extensive wine list. Open nightly for dinner (5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.). Entrées range from $22 - $38. Kid’s menu available ($6.95)

Sunday brunch buffet costs $32 per person. 12 and under ½ price. 10am -1:30pm.

Guests staying at the resort can have a daily breakfast buffet in the restaurant for $12.50/person; Monday - Saturday 7:00 am - 10:00 am, Sunday 7:00am - 9:30 am.

Guest may order Lunch-to-Go boxed lunches from The Grill from their room for excursions. Available 11:00am - 4:00pm

Terraza del Sol – casual outdoor bar serving tapas on a heated patio with fireplace; cool misted in summer. Extensive wine list. Live music Thursday – Sunday evenings. Prices: $7 - $13.

Spa:   Although there is not a full service spa, they do offer spa treatments onsite. You must book an appointment 24 hours in advance. Appointments are available 9am – 7pm.

Golf:   No. Nearest golf course is at the nearby Westin La Paloma Resort and Country Club. Call the front desk for golf discounts.

Activities:   Swimming, horseback riding at stables on-site. Free hi-speed internet access in roon. Front desk can provide complimentary fitness passes to a nearby fitness/workout facility.

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