See inside the Hermosa Inn, the top-rated hotel in the 'Beverly Hills of Arizona'

• The luxury and boutique Hermosa Inn was named the best hotel in Arizona by Travel + Leisure in 2023.

• Located in Paradise Valley, the hotel is well-known for its celebrity guests and unique history.

• The four-star establishment offers a vibrant, peaceful oasis surrounded by mountains.

From Clark Gable and Whitney Houston to David Spade and Tyrese Gibson, celebrities have been staying and dining at the Hermosa Inn for decades, AZ Central reported.

The luxury boutique hotel, which has been around for nearly a century, was named the best hotel in Arizona by Travel + Leisure in 2023.

I stayed there myself in April to see what all the hype was about.

Nestled onto six acres in the ultrawealthy Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley — otherwise known as the "Beverly Hills of Arizona" — the four-star establishment felt like a vibrant, peaceful oasis surrounded by mountains.

"We have the cowboy lore, we have the south of the border influence here with our architecture, and we have all kinds of neat desert vegetation," Tami Norton, a guest service agent at the Hermosa Inn, told Business Insider.

Take a look around the property.

The Hermosa Inn was built by a cowboy in 1936.

Lon Megargee was a cowboy, an artist, and an architect who built the Hermosa Inn for his home and studio, according to the company's website.

"I like to think of him as a renaissance man," Norton told BI.

According to a fact sheet provided by the hotel, Megargee drew inspiration from traditional Mexican and Spanish architecture. He used desert soil to make adobe slabs for the exterior and gathered other materials for the structure from an abandoned mine.

Megargee lived and hosted friends there until 1941, when it opened as the Hermosa Inn.

Today, it maintains the same traditional Southwestern style and charm.

From the moment I checked into the Hermosa Inn, I felt like I was living in the early 20th-century West. The hotel's interiors are just as traditionally Southwestern as the adobe structures themselves.

In the lobby, I spotted wood beams on the ceilings, geometric-patterned rugs, rustic furniture topped with ranch hats, and original Megargee artworks framed on the walls.

The Hermosa Inn has 43 rooms — each in its own building.

Behind the lobby building are garden pathways lined with casitas, each built in the same Southwestern architectural style.

There are four tiers of rooms. All have a patio and a king-sized bed, and most also have a fireplace and a skylight.

During the peak season — February to April, when I visited — starting prices range from $600 to $800, depending on the tier, a representative of the Hermosa Inn told BI.

The Rancho Casita is the cheapest option. It's 350 square feet and includes a bedroom and bathroom. The next tier is a Garden Casita, which is 400 square feet and includes a sitting area. Deluxe Casitas are larger, at 600-700 square feet.

The most expensive accommodations are Grande Casitas, which are 750 square feet with a living room separate from the bedroom and a large patio.

I stayed in a Deluxe Casita, the second-highest tier of accommodation.

While BI received a media rate for the one-night stay, the accommodation's starting rate during peak season is about $730, according to the representative.

Inside, I had a 600-square-foot room filled with rustic flair.

I felt like a fancy cowgirl in my room. My king-sized bed was topped with Egyptian linens and had wooden posts. I sunk into the oversized leather chairs. I appreciated the amenities, including a walk-in closet, a mini fridge, a safe, and a Keurig coffee maker.

The bathroom was spacious.

The bathroom felt large, with a jumbo-sized tub and a roomy shower with two shower heads. Two plush bathrobes were hanging on the door.

I especially appreciated the fireplace.

The fireplace sparked up with the touch of a button. It was so easy and relaxing.

After getting settled, I took a walk around the grounds.

Most of the grounds were packed with gardens. I spotted palm trees, cacti, succulents, vibrantly colored flowers, and fountains.

At the front of the property, I spotted bikes for guests.

Bike use is complementary, and the hotel provides helmets, water bottles, and maps.

In the middle of the resort, I found a pool.

There's one pool with a whirlpool next to it in a fenced-in space lined with chairs and cabanas. During my stay, I never saw more than two guests using the pool area at a time.

Nearby was a fitness room.

The fitness room is a modest gym with exercise machines and free weights.

There's also an award-winning restaurant on the property, LON's.

Called the most romantic restaurant in Arizona by Food & Wine Magazine in 2022, LON's serves all meals inside the building that served as Megargee's house almost a century ago. It also has a vast garden patio for outdoor dining. Next to it is a bar called LON's Last Drop.

For the past four years, LON's has made Open Table's list of the best brunch menus in the country.

In the same building as the restaurant, there's a wine cellar and a library.

The Hermosa Inn added an underground wine cellar to the building in 2003, along with a library and a boardroom, to amp up the hotel's luxury offerings.

The wine cellar and the library are used to host guests for exclusive tasting menus and private events.

Behind the restaurant, there's a spa.

Unlike most hotels, where anyone can book a spa treatment, the Blue Door Spa is only for guests, Norton said.

After staying at the historic, celebrity-loved hotel, it's easy to see the appeal.

The Hermosa Inn is so unique that I wouldn't recommend it to every traveler. Those who want to experience a mega-resort's wide variety of activities — especially for kids — may have a better time elsewhere.

But I think the Hermosa Inn is ideal if you're anything like me — an adult searching for a secluded paradise packed with culture and history.

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