Catalina Park Inn Bed & Breakfast: Tucson, AZ

There are a whole host of inns, chain hotels and bed and breakfasts to choose from when you're visiting Tucson, Arizona. How do you find the lodging that's best suited for your needs? If you're looking for a space that's removed from the bedlam of downtown Tucson but also still within a short stroll of the downtown University district, you may wish to consider my next destination.

Our next stop put us at the stately 1927 bed and breakfast just across from Catalina Park, the Catalina Park Inn. This inn has smartly appointed guest rooms which promise to offer guests a calming sanctuary from the scorching Arizona sun. Historical respites and accessibility are nice, but what about the beds? How do Catalina Parks's six guest rooms fare in offering their customers a stately night's sleep? Let's head inside Catalina Park Inn Bed & Breakfast and see if this is somewhere that you should sleep here now.

The grounds at the Catalina Park Inn are wonderfully appointed and somewhat removed. Catalina Park Inn is still within walking distance of the downtown area of Tucson. The 4^th Avenue shopping and dining scene, tattoo parlors, cafes, bookstores; as well as a campus of the University of Arizona are all a short stroll. However Catalina Park Inn doesn't feel like it's in the middle of all that noise. The ambiance by Catalina Park is sedate. The houses surrounding it are residential and well cared for. This care is reflected by the care taken of the inn.

The rooms in Catalina Park are an interesting set. There are six rooms in this home but innkeeper Mark told us when we arrived that when the home was built there were only two bedrooms. The second floor was apparently one master suite with two bathrooms! The common areas elsewhere and ample washrooms meant that when Catalina Park Inn was divided and set up as a bed and breakfast by the current innkeepers some 20 years ago, no new bathrooms needed to be added.

Breakfast at Catalina Park Inn happens from 8 to 9 am. The day we were there breakfast was a simple cherry tomato omelet with fresh homemade bread, fruit, and an excellent marmalade.

After a wonderful evening spent out on the Catalina Park Inns second floor "east room" porch, sitting beneath the tin roofed deck as the sun slowly sank and a trance-like sleep, it's time to hit the road. Catalina Park Inn is a fantastic destination for whatever in Tucson interests you. Shopping, art and culture, or indulging in some great dining at local favorites are all within reach. If you're in Tucson and you're visiting a friend at the University of Arizona, don't sleep on the frat-house floor's air mattress. Stop on over to Catalina Park Inn, get a proper nights rest and fantastic breakfast, and leave the porcelain god kowtowing to the frat house elite.

Sources:

http://www.catalinaparkinn.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONzM6x1rk_A&feature=related