Whether you're an ardent devotee of Arts and Crafts design, or you simply like staying in artfully furnished, luxury inns, you should consider booking a room at the sublime El Portal Sedona (95 Portal Lane, 928-203-9405 or 800-313-0017). Built in the early 2000s as an homage to 1900s to 1930s design and furinture (especially the Arts and Crafts movement), the inn's rooms are done with exquisite rugs, handmade furnishings, and period materials. Pictured here is the Rim View Room on the second floor, with its massive windows. Other rooms are themed after the aesthetic of Santa Fe, the Greene Brothers (leaders in Craftsman-style design), the Grand Canyon, and designer Warren Hile. Rooms on the second floor have terrific views of the spectacular Sedona landscape. This sumptuous, stylish inn has just a dozen rooms and suites, and rates substantial (mostly in the upper $200s to 400s per night) but quite fair given the high prices of Sedona's other leading hotels.
The food here is another plus - incredible breakfasts include such tempting fare as lemon-buttermilk pancakes topped with fresh peaches. There's also dinner available Wednesday through Saturday, by reservation only - the menu of seasonal American fare changes often but has featured the likes of ancho-chipotle-dusted fillet of salmon with a chipotle beurre blanc, sauteed asparagus, wilted spinach, and herbed couscous; and rack of elk served with red-and-white posole, fire-roasted green chiles, dried New Mexico chile-infused bordelaise sauce, and seasonal vegetables. For the ultimate romantic weekend amid Sedona's glorious red rocks, this gay-friendly inn that also welcomes guests traveling with pets is in a class by itself.