El Portal Sedona Hotel ★★★★

On the Old Schnebly Homestead, an Adobe House Full of Collections

The name Schnebly belongs to the family who settled this bend of Oak Creek and gave the town its post office, and El Portal stands on what was their homestead and apple orchard. The building plays the part without costume: thick adobe walls, a shaded courtyard, Saltillo tile underfoot, heavy doors set by hand. Inside, the lobby works as a small gallery, hung with turn of the century painting and lit by period fixtures, and the furniture is the real thing rather than a reproduction of it. Twelve suites open off the courtyard. The house is family run, which shows in the way arrivals are handled: someone tends to know your name before you reach the desk.

Why It Works

Three things decided it for us. The house is genuinely old rather than styled to look old, and the collection inside, from Molesworth Western Craftsman to Greene and Greene joinery, gives every suite a point of view instead of a colour scheme. The scale is twelve rooms in a town that mostly builds resorts, so the service stays personal and the courtyard stays quiet. And El Portal holds a Michelin Key, a recognition that rarely lands on a twelve room property run by one family. Sedona has grander addresses. It has very few with this much character per square foot.

Why This Location

The gate opens onto the art district, at the calm end of State Route 179, with Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village immediately next door and more than fifty shops and restaurants within a short walk. Oak Creek runs behind the property, so the evening soundtrack is water rather than traffic. Uptown, the busier end of Sedona, sits a few minutes north by car, which is the right distance: close for dinner, far enough to sleep. Trailheads into the red rocks start within a short drive, and the road north to the Grand Canyon is one of the finest in Arizona. Most guests park once and leave the car.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: collected, Arts and Crafts, hushed, unmistakably Southwestern

• Rooms: 12 suites, each individually designed, several with river rock fireplaces, private patios or balconies

• Best For: couples on a red rock escape, design and antique lovers, travellers bringing a dog

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the fenced pet yards with their own fire pits, attached to several of the ground floor suites

• Dining: none on site by design, with the cafes and tables of Tlaquepaque a two minute walk away

• Amenities: interior courtyard, complimentary day passes to the neighbouring Sedona Spa with gym and two outdoor pools, one accessible suite, dogs welcome

• Attractions: Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village next door, Oak Creek behind the property, the Sedona gallery district on foot, the Grand Canyon within a scenic drive

Twelve Suites, Named Rather Than Numbered

Each room carries a name and a story. The Adobe keeps whitewashed walls and Saltillo floors and is the accessible suite, with a pet patio and fire pit of its own. The Grand Canyon and The Juniper both turn around river rock fireplaces under log beam ceilings. The Arts and Crafts suite shows a vega and latilla ceiling. The Rim View sits upstairs with bay windows that catch the distant rim, The Santa Fe exposes its adobe brick and opens onto a private balcony, and The Governor's Suite, the largest, is the one couples book for a honeymoon. Several of the upstairs suites set a minimum age, which is worth checking when you book for a family.

A Hotel That Means It About Dogs

Pet friendly is a claim most hotels make and few design for. Here several suites come with their own fenced yard or patio and a fire pit at the centre of it, so a dog has somewhere to be that is not the room or the car park. The gate closes properly, sizes are generously interpreted, and the only firm rule is that dogs stay out of the pool next door.

Before You Book

Day passes to the Sedona Spa at neighbouring Los Abrigados come with the room, where the gym and two outdoor pools are. The art district fills up in the middle of the day, so the courtyard is at its best early and late. Suites vary a great deal in size and stair access, and the age minimums apply upstairs, so it pays to choose the room rather than the rate.