Go With Rosie

Where to stay in Phoenix with kids

Phoenix is a valley of separate towns, and the hotel you pick decides how much of the trip you spend on the 101. Six parts of town, one job each, and the honest fees and parking on every card.

Tyler Heilberger·

Every hotel hand-picked by our family travel editors. Prices are totals with taxes.

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Old TownKierlandTempe / AirportDowntownNorth PhoenixBiltmore
Pick your part of town

Six parts of town, one job each

Each part of town below gets its own section: what it is for, what to skip it for, and the hotels we would book there.

01 of 061 hotel

Old Town Scottsdale

The one part of the Valley where you can park the car and walk to dinner, ice cream and the canal path with kids. The resort pools are ten minutes north; the Grand Hyatt's ten connected pools and three-story slide are the reason most families pick this side of town.

Sugar BowlwalkMcCormick-Stillman Railroad Park8 min
Stay here if you want a walkable base and a big pool day within ten minutes.
Skip it if you want free breakfast or a budget rate. Old Town hotels start higher and do not include meals.
Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort
Editor's pick
01.1

Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeens

Ten connected pools on two and a half acres with a three-story slide, a sandy beach entry and Camp Hyatt, ten minutes north of Old Town.

Ten pools, three-story slide

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Queens with sofa bed; suites

Rooms

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park8 minOld Town Scottsdale10 minPaid self and valetResort fee

Watch out. Resort fee plus paid parking, the slide runs 11 to 5 only, and older reviews under the Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch name predate the renovation.

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02 of 062 hotels

North Scottsdale / Kierland

The ballpark side of the Valley. Salt River Fields is a 15-minute drive, the Railroad Park is ten, and Butterfly Wonderland is on the way. The Westin Kierland's lazy river and slide are what the kids will remember.

Salt River Fields10 minMcCormick-Stillman Railroad Park10 minButterfly Wonderland10 min
Stay here if spring training is on the calendar and your kids rank the pool above everything else.
Skip it if you want to walk to restaurants or museums. Everything here is a drive.
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
Editor's pick
02.1

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeens

Kierland Commons is a walk away, Salt River Fields is 15 minutes, and the Adventure Water Park (lazy river, 110-foot slide, FlowRider) is worth planning around once its rebuild reopens.

Lazy river, slide, FlowRider

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Suites; casitas with kitchenettes

Rooms

Kierland Commons5 minSalt River Fields at Talking Stick15 minPaid self and valetResort fee

Watch out. The Adventure Pool and lazy river began a renovation on September 8, 2026 and the FlowRider is closed until further notice; confirm the pool reopening date before you book for the water park.

Spring Training, Sunset Buttes & a Cowboy Steakhouse

In our plan

Spring Training, Sunset Buttes & a Cowboy Steakhouse

4 days · 13 stops

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JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa
02.2

JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeens

A lazy river, three multi-story slides and pools heated to 82 degrees in winter, ten minutes from Kierland in Desert Ridge, with summer AquaNights that keep the slides open after dark.

Lazy river, three slides

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Rooms and suites

Rooms

Musical Instrument Museum5 minSalt River Fields at Talking Stick15 minPaid self and valetResort fee

Watch out. Resort fee plus paid parking, slides require 42 and 48 inches, and the fee covers water park access for only four guests per room.

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03 of 064 hotels

Sky Harbor / Tempe

The practical base. Free-breakfast hotels sit between the airport and Papago Park, so the zoo and Desert Botanical Garden are ten minutes, downtown museums fifteen, and Sloan Park twenty. The Drury Inn's hot breakfast and 5:30 Kickback cover two meals a day.

Papago Park10 minArizona Science Center10 min
Stay here if it is a budget trip or a short stay where free breakfast and a central drive matter more than the pool.
Skip it if you want a resort pool or somewhere to stroll after dinner. These hotels are functional, not scenic.
Drury Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport
Editor's pick
03.1

Drury Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport

Good forToddlersYoung kidsTweensTeens· Budget families

Free hot breakfast and the 5:30 Kickback cover two meals a day, parking is free, and Papago Park is a 10-minute drive.

Heated outdoor pool, whirlpool

Pool

Free hot + 5:30 Kickback

Breakfast

Suites, sofa sleeper, sleeps 6

Rooms

Papago Park10 minArizona Science Center10 minFree self-parkingNo resort fee

Watch out. Airport-area location on University Drive; you will drive to everything, and the free airport shuttle runs on request, so call ahead.

Free Hikes, Pay-What-You-Wish Museums & Kids-Eat-Free Nights

In our plan

Free Hikes, Pay-What-You-Wish Museums & Kids-Eat-Free Nights

3 days · 14 stops

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Arizona Grand Resort & Spa
03.2

Arizona Grand Resort & Spa

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeens

A seven-acre water park with a wave pool, three eight-story slides and a lazy river, included with your stay, 15 minutes from the airport.

Wave pool, slides, lazy river

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Suites; two-bedrooms available

Rooms

South Mountain Park and Preserve5 minSky Harbor Airport15 minCovered by resort feeResort fee, includes water park

Watch out. Slides require 48 inches, kids under 12 need an adult in the water park, attractions rotate through the day, and the resort fee covers four wristbands per standard suite.

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Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix Tempe
03.3

Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix Tempe

Good forToddlersYoung kidsTweens· Budget families

Free hot breakfast, free parking, no resort fee, and the Phoenix Zoo and Papago Park are under three miles away.

Outdoor pool

Pool

Free hot breakfast

Breakfast

Rooms, suites; cribs available

Rooms

Phoenix Zoo7 minDesert Botanical Garden8 minFree self-parkingNo resort fee

Watch out. A drive-to-everything base on North Scottsdale Road with no airport shuttle, and the pool is a plain outdoor pool with no stated heating.

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Tempe Mission Palms
03.4

Tempe Mission Palms

Good forTweensTeens

The only walkable base in this part of town: Mill Avenue and Tempe Beach Park out the front door, with the airport shuttle and parking bundled into the fee.

Rooftop pool, cabanas

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Suites; connecting rooms

Rooms

Tempe Beach Park8 minSky Harbor Airport10 minIn destination feeDestination fee

Watch out. Standard rooms are compact, the destination fee is mandatory, and ASU game and graduation weekends bring crowds and noise on Mill Avenue.

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04 of 062 hotels

Downtown / Roosevelt Row

Four museums in a mile, the Children's Museum, Science Center, Heard and Phoenix Art Museum, linked by light rail, with Heritage Square and the Roosevelt Row murals in between. Hotels here are compact city hotels rather than resorts.

Children's Museum of PhoenixwalkArizona Science Centerwalk
Stay here if you want a car-free museum day or two with kids who can walk a mile.
Skip it if a big pool is the point of the trip.
Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix Downtown
Editor's pick
04.1

Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix Downtown

Good forYoung kidsTweens· Museum-first families

Free hot breakfast and a ten-minute walk to both the Arizona Science Center and the Children's Museum of Phoenix.

None

Pool

Free hot breakfast

Breakfast

Suites, rooms; connecting available

Rooms

Arizona Science Center8 minChildren's Museum of Phoenix10 minValet only, paidNo resort fee

Watch out. There is no pool, parking is valet only and paid, and there is no airport shuttle.

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Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix
04.2

Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix

Good forTweensTeens

A heated rooftop pool at CityScape, a five-minute walk to Chase Field and ten to the Science Center, with no resort fee.

Heated rooftop pool, cabanas

Pool

Paid; free lobby coffee

Breakfast

Two-queen rooms; suites

Rooms

Chase Field5 minArizona Science Center10 minPaid self and valetNo resort fee

Watch out. Event nights at the arena and ballpark next door bring crowds and parking pressure, and the pool is a small rooftop pool, not a resort pool.

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05 of 062 hotels

North Phoenix

Resort pools with the mountains behind them. Piestewa Peak and North Mountain trailheads are five minutes away, the Musical Instrument Museum fifteen, and the Hilton at the Peak and Tapatio Cliffs both have lazy rivers and slides.

Piestewa Peak5 minMusical Instrument Museum15 min
Stay here if you want a water park resort next to the hiking.
Skip it if you want walkable restaurants or a quick drive to spring training. North Phoenix is for hiking and pool days, not a Scottsdale base.
Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak
Editor's pick
05.1

Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeens

A four-acre water park with a lazy river, water slides and mini golf, all-suite rooms, and free self-parking at the foot of Piestewa Peak.

Lazy river, slides, mini golf

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

All suites; multi-bedroom casitas

Rooms

Piestewa Peak Nature Trail5 minPhoenix Zoo20 minFree self; valet paidResort fee

Watch out. The resort fee covers River Ranch access for four guests per room, so bigger families pay extra, and slide rules and pool heating are not published.

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Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort
05.2

Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeens

Seven pools, a 138-foot enclosed slide and a 40-foot waterfall, open year-round, with two-queen suites that sleep six.

Seven pools, enclosed slide

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Suites; two-queen sleeps 6

Rooms

North Mountain Park5 minMusical Instrument Museum15 minPaid self and valetResort fee

Watch out. Resort fee plus paid parking, the slide runs 11 to 5 only, and the Kids Korral program is summer-only, Memorial Day through Labor Day.

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06 of 061 hotel

Camelback / Biltmore

The historic resort district under Camelback Mountain. Biltmore Fashion Park is a ten-minute walk and the trailheads ten minutes by car. The Arizona Biltmore's seven pools and two-bedroom villas are built for three generations in one booking.

Biltmore Fashion Park10 minPhoenix Zoo15 min
Stay here if the trip spans three generations or you want a five-star resort.
Skip it if you are on a budget. Resort fees and paid parking stack on top of the rate here.
Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts
Editor's pick
06.1

Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts

Good forYoung kidsTweensTeensMulti-gen

Seven pools including the Paradise Pool with a splash pad and a 65-foot triple slide, two-bedroom villas with kitchens that sleep eight, and Camelback Mountain ten minutes away.

Seven pools, triple slide

Pool

Paid

Breakfast

Rooms; 2-bed villas sleep 8

Rooms

Biltmore Fashion Park10 minPhoenix Zoo15 minPaid self and valetResort fee + preservation charge

Watch out. Two separate daily charges (resort fee and Historic Preservation Fund) plus paid parking stack on top of the rate, and the Saguaro Pool is adults-only.

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Hotels in the Phoenix plans

Each ready-made itinerary names a hotel and prices it into the ledger. Start from the plan and the stay is already picked.

Free Hikes, Pay-What-You-Wish Museums & Kids-Eat-Free Nights
3 days

Free Hikes, Pay-What-You-Wish Museums & Kids-Eat-Free Nights

The full family-of-four cost ledger: Hole-in-the-Rock and South Mountain for $0, Desert Botanical Garden's Community Day, the Capitol Museum free, Phoenix Art Museum pay what you wish, and three kids-eat-free dinners on the right nights.

Drury Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport
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Zoo Mornings, Butterflies & a Railroad Park
3 days

Zoo Mornings, Butterflies & a Railroad Park

Phoenix Zoo at opening, McCormick-Stillman's $3 train, Butterfly Wonderland, the Desert Botanical Garden's stroller loops, the Children's Museum, and a fire truck to climb: one anchor per day, naps built in, nothing over 20 minutes from a Scottsdale suite.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort
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Spring Training, Sunset Buttes & a Cowboy Steakhouse
4 days

Spring Training, Sunset Buttes & a Cowboy Steakhouse

Salt River Fields on Friday, Sloan Park's Kids Run the Bases on Sunday, OdySea and a slide-into-dinner steakhouse in between, from a Scottsdale resort with a lazy river.

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
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What to know about Phoenix hotels

Resort fees are the norm

Most Phoenix and Scottsdale resorts add a daily resort or destination fee, paid at the hotel on top of the rate you book. Every card here says whether one applies and what it covers, because the fee often includes parking or water park wristbands.

March is peak season

Cactus League spring training runs most of March and fills resort pools and Scottsdale hotels; book by January for the best choice of suites. Late March highs run the mid 70s to mid 80s.

Pools are heated in winter, not in summer

Resort pools are heated from roughly November through March, which is when families come. From June to September, daytime highs pass 105 and the pool is a morning and evening activity; several resort water parks run night hours in summer for that reason.

You will drive

Papago Park, downtown, Old Town Scottsdale and the north Scottsdale resorts are each 15 to 30 minutes apart. Free parking at the hotel is worth real money over a week; the cards say free or paid for every stay.

Free parking saves real money

Resorts charge for self-parking; airport and Tempe hotels usually include it. Every card here says which.

Frequently asked questions

Most full-service resorts do, and a few select-service hotels add a smaller daily charge. The fee is paid at check-in, not in the booking price, and usually covers Wi-Fi, parking or pool wristbands. Budget hotels near the airport and in Tempe generally charge none, and each card here states which applies.

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