Scottsdale, AZ (specifically spring training) without a car?
January 5, 2011 12:30 PM Subscribe
Scottsdale, AZ (specifically spring training) without a car?
So I wanna take my boo for a romantic spring training weekend in March, but neither of us drive. We're Giants fans and they're playing at home in Scottsdale Stadium the weekend I'm thinking of, which seems relatively central. Is this a reasonable trip to take without renting a car? Where's the best place to stay to make this happen? I'd especially like to keep it under, say, $120 a night and extra credit for places that are funky/hip and/or have a pool.
Bonus question: would it be possible to make it out to Taliesin West without a car? Are there shuttles or reasonably priced taxi/car services?
So I wanna take my boo for a romantic spring training weekend in March, but neither of us drive. We're Giants fans and they're playing at home in Scottsdale Stadium the weekend I'm thinking of, which seems relatively central. Is this a reasonable trip to take without renting a car? Where's the best place to stay to make this happen? I'd especially like to keep it under, say, $120 a night and extra credit for places that are funky/hip and/or have a pool.
Bonus question: would it be possible to make it out to Taliesin West without a car? Are there shuttles or reasonably priced taxi/car services?
There's no real taxi/car service culture in the Phoenix Metro area, so they are all pretty expensive IIRC.
Having a car of your own in AZ is like, THE most important thing. Having to walk places or get around in areas without the light rail is pretty abysmal. Everything is so far apart, takes a lot longer to walk than you think.
You don't explain your reasons for not wanting to rent a car, but if it's $$ then anything you save from not renting a car is going to be eaten up by having to pay for the closest possible lodgings, which I doubt will be within the price range you set. Scottsdale is a monied area and a touristy area, the lodgings are not going to be very cheap.
posted by hermitosis at 1:07 PM on January 5, 2011
Having a car of your own in AZ is like, THE most important thing. Having to walk places or get around in areas without the light rail is pretty abysmal. Everything is so far apart, takes a lot longer to walk than you think.
You don't explain your reasons for not wanting to rent a car, but if it's $$ then anything you save from not renting a car is going to be eaten up by having to pay for the closest possible lodgings, which I doubt will be within the price range you set. Scottsdale is a monied area and a touristy area, the lodgings are not going to be very cheap.
posted by hermitosis at 1:07 PM on January 5, 2011
hermitosis: "You don't explain your reasons for not wanting to rent a car,"
Actually, the OP says that neither of them drive, which I assume means that they don't want to rent a car because neither of them can drive it.
posted by decathecting at 1:10 PM on January 5, 2011
Actually, the OP says that neither of them drive, which I assume means that they don't want to rent a car because neither of them can drive it.
posted by decathecting at 1:10 PM on January 5, 2011
Scottsdale does have a bus system (although via Google's bus planner it does not extend out to Taliesin West), so getting from a hotel to the stadium may not be a problem via bus. The Valley Metro bus service allegedly has a trip planner (linked to here), but their website is down for me.
posted by muddgirl at 1:41 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by muddgirl at 1:41 PM on January 5, 2011
Maybe find another couple to go with and have them drive?
posted by exogenous at 2:16 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by exogenous at 2:16 PM on January 5, 2011
Best answer: Staying in Scottsdale without a car does not sound like a fun vacation to me, personally, but I did find that the Homestead Studio Suites Scottsdale on Marshall within walking distance (it's a half mile away) of the stadium is under $120. For the particular weekend I looked at, it was $75 a night, and it has a pool. Nothing else Kayak found anywhere near was under $120. I don't think you're going to find anything funky/hip in Scottsdale for under $120. In fact, I'm surprised I found the one fairly boring, low rated one I did.
It will not be easy to get to Taliesin West. (You can check the public transportation options yourself using the Valley Metro site, which was working for me, but there wasn't a stop within a couple of miles of Taliesin. It's also twelve miles away, which will run between $20 and $60, depending on what the driver feels like charging (I say this from experience with Phoenix cabs).
The one positive thing I can find about that hotel is that it is pretty close to the free Scottsdale trolley to take it most of the way to the stadium, to save you walking that half mile.
posted by wending my way at 2:26 PM on January 5, 2011
It will not be easy to get to Taliesin West. (You can check the public transportation options yourself using the Valley Metro site, which was working for me, but there wasn't a stop within a couple of miles of Taliesin. It's also twelve miles away, which will run between $20 and $60, depending on what the driver feels like charging (I say this from experience with Phoenix cabs).
The one positive thing I can find about that hotel is that it is pretty close to the free Scottsdale trolley to take it most of the way to the stadium, to save you walking that half mile.
posted by wending my way at 2:26 PM on January 5, 2011
Response by poster: Yeah, neither of us can drive a rental car. Is there much to eat/see/do in downtown near the stadium?
posted by animalrainbow at 2:51 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by animalrainbow at 2:51 PM on January 5, 2011
For questions about public transportation, I love to use Google maps to show the directions, then click on the bus/train icon. For your trip, there is bus service from downtown Scottsdale to Fountain Hills (72/512), but you would have to take a taxi to get all the way to Taliesin West. Looks like about 3 miles from the 512 bus.
posted by CathyG at 2:56 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by CathyG at 2:56 PM on January 5, 2011
There's plenty in cabbing distance downtown Scottsdale and if you're a scenester, you'll have your choice of plenty of late-night clubs.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 4:21 PM on January 5, 2011
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 4:21 PM on January 5, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Taliesin West is way the F out in the desert, though, so good luck.
posted by Oktober at 12:57 PM on January 5, 2011