Location
& History: Located at the North end of Uptown Sedona on Hwy. 89A,
the 5 story Best Western Arroyo Roble Hotel was constructed by Robert &
Patricia Evans in 1982. Originally a Limited Partnership, the hotel
ownership included sons Steve & Philip as General Partners. Over the
course of the following five years, all investors limited partnership
interests were purchased by the Evans Family.
Additionally, the Evans’ owned 10 acres on Oak Creek that they developed
in 1983 into 72 timeshare villas that was sold out by early 1989. The
time share resort features a 15,000 sq. ft. recreation building that
offers indoor and outdoor swimming and whirlpools, full exercise
facility, steam and sauna rooms, 2 indoor (air-conditioned) racquetball
courts, 2 lighted tennis courts, locker rooms, meeting room, and
administrative offices. This facility is utilized by both timeshare
owners and guests of the hotel, providing users of both properties
extensive recreational opportunities that are not normally offered by
hotel and resort properties of such a small scale.
Seven of
the 1300 sq. ft. Creekside Villas were retained by the Evans Family and
incorporated into the hotel operations, thus the current name Best
Western Arroyo Roble Hotel & Creekside Villas. Additionally Robert and
Patricia Evans sold their interest to their sons and four grandchildren
in 1999. Philip Evans is the Managing Member of the hotel operation
which employees a General Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations.
The Arroyo Roble is truly a family involved and owned enterprise that is
now owned, in part, by 3rd generation Evans family members.
Keeping
Up-to-date: To compete with new lodging facilities, Arroyo Roble
Hotel consistently upgraded all facets of the property including the
recent replacement of large amounts of concrete walkways and kool-deck
with rustic tumbled brick pavers, resurfacing the pool with “Pebble-tec”,
construction of a 4 vending rooms to enclose vending equipment,
construction of a large fountain incorporating bronze statuary, complete
remodeling of the lobby, and the conversion of 2 guest rooms into a new
office space and public handicap accessible restroom.
Purpose
of New Building – Arroyo Roble Village Shops: In recent years the
traveling public has come to expect breakfast to be provided along with
lodging. Additionally, Best Western began requiring minimum breakfast
standards; our hotel did not have space to accommodate this new
requirement other than in a make-shift fashion in the lobby. Therefore
we demolished an old house located on hotel property, just south of the
hotel and fronting on Hwy 89A, in order to construct a building that
would house the purpose-built continental breakfast room. Additionally,
we included a state-of-the-art meeting room, deluxe restrooms, and
daylight basement for the maintenance department, all for the benefit of
the hotel.
Creating
Synergy: To further complement the hotel and increase revenues, it
made sense to build a top floor on the new building to provide space for
retail businesses. Because we are located on the northernmost edge of
Uptown, we believed a synergy would be created by “filling in” an
underdeveloped (and unattractive) property with a beautiful new building
and high quality businesses. The shops would bring additional pedestrian
traffic in front of the hotel (and obviously to the new businesses),
thereby increasing business for both through increased “walk-in” traffic
for the hotel. This appears to be the case because, although the
hotel has unusually high occupancy rates, it has experienced over a 5%
increase in gross revenue from January – June (not including
retail rental income). This is especially important because, due to a
very rainy spring season, revenues had been flat for the first few
months of the year.
Size /
Leasing: The three retail suites comprise just 3,216 sq. ft. of the
total building area of 7,500 sq. ft. The remainder of the building is
used exclusively for hotel purposes. While we have a great deal of
interest from potential tenants, we have consciously decided to be very
selective in choosing businesses and owners who blend well with our
hotel business. We want to encourage art galleries to locate back into
the Uptown Sedona area, rather than losing them to the less expensive
outlying areas of town with which we now compete. Currently we have two
tenants for the largest suites; “Goldenstein Gallery” which is a
high-end gallery featuring art works in paint, bronze, copper and unique
hand-crafted furnishings and “Lost Creek Ranch” offering unique
southwestern furnishings, art, personal accessories and gifts. The
smallest suite of 655 sq. ft. is available for lease.
High
Quality Construction: The new 2 ½ story building is constructed on
a hillside and the retail shops are level with the busy walkway along
Hwy. 89A, offering easy access to pedestrians meandering down the rustic
tumbled paved sidewalk. A.D.A. compliant restrooms are located on the
middle floor and can be conveniently reached by stairs or elevator.
Although 2
½ stories high, because of the hillside the building only appears 1
story tall from the front elevation. Therefore, we were able to
construct a building that meets our needs while preserving the views of
the red rocks of Sedona from Hwy. 89A and for our neighbors directly
across the highway.
The 7500
square foot building (including 1265 sq. ft basement) was meticulously
constructed with high quality materials and craftsmanship to create a
rich Old World styling to compliment recent hotel improvements.
Construction details include smooth stucco walls, custom designed cast
concrete moldings, and fired clay tile roofing set in mortar and
installed in a serpentine fashion. The underside of each balcony and
the ceiling of suite #2 are covered by hand-peeled latillas (hewn wood
poles). Balcony railings have been crafted from hammered wrought iron
that was imported from Italy. Hand-formed copper gutters and downspouts
were used completely around the building eves to insure timeless beauty
and functionality. Windows and doors were constructed of clear dual
pane glass to maximize the view of merchandise from both the walkway and
street. Outdoor chandeliers, carriage and parking lot lighting were
custom designed and fabricated by Hinkley’s Lighting Factory (a nearly
100 year old Phoenix company).
Construction Quality vs. Costs: Construction costs were relatively
high at approximately $200.00 per sq. ft. due to the use of expensive
materials and craftsmanship, installation of an elevator, and the small
size of the building on a rocky hillside lot. However, we feel that
quality construction reduces future maintenance expenses. Additionally,
the ambiance created by quality design and materials is appreciated by
the traveling public we strive to serve, as well as the community, for
the life of the building.
Summary: We believe that by constructing a high quality and
attractive building, we have been able to enhance our existing hotel
business, greatly improve the appearance and ambiance of the “Northern
gateway to Sedona”, add to the Sedona’s heritage as an art community
with our selection of tenants, and finally, add to the tax base on which
the Sedona community ultimately depends.
Photos included with Nomination
Page
1 & Page 2
