Sedona sits in a bowl of Permian sandstone that oxidises red, with formations named Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Coffee Pot and Thunder Mountain rising several hundred metres out of the valley floor. There are about 10,000 residents and roughly three million visitors a year.
Two local rules shape a stay here more than anything else. Building must be earth-toned and low, so nothing competes with the rock. And Sedona has been an International Dark Sky Community since 2014, with lighting ordinances that keep the town glow down, which is why the night sky here is what it is.
What actually decides the room
The formation in front of you. Sedona's red rock is not a backdrop you get everywhere in town. Specific properties face specific formations, and a room facing the wrong way looks at a car park in a place where the view is the entire product. This is the thing to confirm before booking, by formation name, not by the phrase "red rock view".
Uptown or the canyon. Uptown Sedona, at the northern end, has the shops and the crowds and sits at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon. The Village of Oak Creek, ten minutes south, is quieter, cheaper and faces Bell Rock. Boynton Canyon, west, is a box canyon with almost nothing in it.
The traffic. Sedona has two main roads and they jam badly from late morning through the afternoon in season. Being able to walk out to a trailhead matters more here than it sounds.
The nine below are grouped by where they sit.
Boynton Canyon and the west
Enclosed canyon settings with trails from the door.
Enchantment occupies 28 hectares inside Boynton Canyon, surrounded by rock on three sides, with casitas, five pools, a golf course and trailheads that start on the property. It is the most spectacular hotel site in Arizona.
Enchantment
Boynton Canyon · 4★ · $$$$
Twenty-eight hectares inside a box canyon with trailheads on site
Check availabilityMii amo sits within the same canyon as a separate all-inclusive destination spa with its own crescent-shaped building, a structured programme and no children. The setting is the same and the proposition is entirely different.
Uptown and Oak Creek
The northern end, at the mouth of the canyon, closest to the shops and the creek.
L'Auberge De Sedona occupies a creekside site in Uptown with cottages along Oak Creek, a spa and the best restaurant in Sedona on a terrace above the water. It is the most romantic hotel here.
L'Auberge De Sedona
Uptown, Oak Creek · 5★ · $$$$
Creekside cottages with the best restaurant in Sedona
Check availabilityAmara Resort & Spa sits above Uptown with a rooftop terrace facing the formations, a pool and the shortest walk to the shops.
Amara Resort & Spa
Uptown · 4★ · $$$
Rooftop terrace facing the formations, shops on foot
Check availabilitySky Rock Sedona, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel occupies a hillside position with rooms angled at the rock, a good pool and a design that leans modern rather than southwestern.
Sky Rock Sedona, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Above Uptown · 4★ · $$$
Rooms angled at the rock with a modern interior
Check availabilityWest Sedona
The residential middle, between the two ends, with the best trail access.
Ambiente, A Landscape Hotel occupies a site built into the landscape with individual guest quarters facing specific formations, an emphasis on the dark sky and the most architecturally considered building in town.
Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa sits on the main road with a spa, a pool and a courtyard, and it is the best value of the four-star properties.
The Village of Oak Creek
Ten minutes south, facing Bell Rock, quieter and cheaper.
Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock occupies a hillside site facing Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte with two pools, a golf course and the most complete facilities in the area.
Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock
Village of Oak Creek · 4★ · $$$
Facing Bell Rock with two pools and golf
Check availabilityThe Wilde Resort and Spa sits nearby with a pool, straightforward rooms and rates well below the Uptown properties.
The Wilde Resort and Spa
West Sedona · 4★ · $$
Pool and straightforward rooms below Uptown rates
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The vacation rentals and the timeshare resorts around the Village of Oak Creek are excluded. They are how many families do Sedona and several have good views. They are apartments and houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Hike early. Devils Bridge, Cathedral Rock and the West Fork of Oak Creek all fill by mid-morning and several trailheads run a shuttle in season because the car parks cannot cope. Start at sunrise.
Look up. The dark sky ordinance means the Milky Way is visible from the town itself on a clear night, which is rare anywhere with three million annual visitors.
Drive Oak Creek Canyon north toward Flagstaff, which climbs through switchbacks into pine forest and is a completely different landscape twenty minutes away.
Swim at Slide Rock, a natural sandstone chute in the creek, in summer.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is built into the rock and takes twenty minutes. The Palatki and Honanki cliff dwellings are the archaeology most visitors skip.
Practical notes
Phoenix Sky Harbor is two hours south and Flagstaff is 45 minutes north. The Grand Canyon's south rim is about two hours.
March to May and September to November are ideal. Summer runs into the high thirties and the monsoon brings afternoon storms in July and August. Winter is cool, quiet and often clear, with occasional snow on the red rock, which is worth seeing.
A car is essential and parking at trailheads is the main daily frustration. Some require a Red Rock Pass.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Sedona Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Which formation should the room face?
Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock are the two most people want. Ask by name; "red rock view" covers everything and guarantees nothing.
Uptown or the Village of Oak Creek?
Uptown for the shops and the creek, the Village for quiet, Bell Rock and lower rates. Ten minutes apart and the traffic between them is the variable.
Is the stargazing genuinely good?
Yes. The town has been a Dark Sky Community since 2014 and the Milky Way is visible from within Sedona on a clear night.
How many nights?
Three. Four with a Grand Canyon day, which is two hours each way.