The property dates to March 1925, when it was homesteaded. In the century since, it’s had many uses, including a short time as a bed and breakfast in the 1980s. “We understood that the property, the location and the town were special, and we needed to share that,” Janet says. “So the bed and breakfast was born.”
The Caylors bought the mansion during the COVID-19 pandemic after they noticed it was for sale; as it turned out, Rob knew the previous owner through his building company. He and Margo decided to operate it as an inn, with a heavy emphasis on historic preservation. “We had a previous innkeeper who would say, ‘You’ve just walked into a time machine; you’ve stepped back hundreds of years,’ ” Margo says.
The property, on Brewery Avenue in Brewery Gulch, features two rentable units. The Nopales Suite (pictured) is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a kitchenette and is suitable for two guests. The larger Agave Casita is well suited for two, as well. And, along with its one bedroom and one bathroom, it features a full kitchen loaded with all the comforts of home. Both units are available through Airbnb.
The tribe answered, and the hotel, which is the first Hopi lodging venture constructed off tribal land, features design elements that mimic traditional Hopi architecture: beams with wooden slats; a whitewashed look to the walls, to reflect the tribe’s seasonal cleansing rituals; and an extensive collection of original artwork, including a Duane Koyawena mural behind the reception desk.
“There are lots of ghost stories,” says Amy Naico, who bought the hotel with her husband, Kenny, in 2023. “Our motto is that we’re your ‘haunt away from home.’ ”
The Oliver House opened in 1909, in the aftermath of a fire that burned much of Bisbee. “Perhaps the finest building on the hill is the recently completed private hotel of Mrs. Frank Oliver,” the Bisbee Daily Review reported that year.
An astronaut mannequin, stationed at the hotel’s entrance, is the first hint of the history — and kitsch — found at every turn. According to the hotel’s general manager, Zach Miller, the mannequin references the astronauts who trained in the Flagstaff area before walking on the moon. Meanwhile, the star-patterned pillows strewn about the orange midcentury couches in the board-game-furnished lobby allude to Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930.
Since it opened in 2020, Origins has revolved around making guests comfortable, employing lessons the couple learned on business trips during their corporate careers. As Saelens recalls, she reached a point of saying, “We just can’t do this until we retire; this is really hard on our brains.” When she approached Raible about opening a B&B, he was on board: “I liked it because it would be a great excuse to build a really cool house.”
But a fire in May 2012 destroyed the building next door and caused smoke damage to the hotel, resulting in yet another iteration. Today, the Grand Highland Hotel offers 12 guest rooms, each with its own bathroom and upgraded amenities. The hotel’s general manager, Natasha Baierl, says the owners prioritized keeping some pieces of the original building, and that’s what makes the hotel a part of Prescott history.
But survive it has. And now, a venerable property that once was among the city’s grandest has a new owner and attitude to go along with the altitude, with steps being taken to move it into modern times. A fresh coat of paint was applied to the interior and exterior, the rooms were renovated and equipped with upgraded amenities, and the courtyard was overhauled and redone. “We really did a full renovation of the property,” White says. “We basically stripped it down to the studs and brought it back to life.”
The Herolds already had some experience in the tourism industry, having run several Airbnb rentals in the area. Along with co-owners Les and Kelli Powers, they purchased this property in September 2019 and spent nearly three years building it before opening to guests in July 2022. “This was something we needed in the area,” Lisa says.
