Now more than 100 years old — the property celebrated its centennial in 2017 — the Vendome features 20 guest rooms with private bathrooms, many of which include vintage claw-foot tubs. And while modern amenities have been installed over the years (think Wi-Fi, televisions, air conditioning and heat), much of the hotel’s original charm remains.
Auto courts dominated the roadways when they built the Coronado Motor Hotel in 1938. Combining rooms with adjacent parking under one roof, rather than in separate cottages, was a progressive idea then.
The Peaches built their home at the center of the original 14 units, using timbers from the old Southern Pacific Hotel. Their son, John Jr., literally grew up in the hotel, helping with everything from laundry to checking in guests in the front room of the family home.
Along the wash that fronts the long wooden porch, mesquite trees cast speckled shade on blue agaves and towering prickly pear cactuses. Goldfinches hop from branch to branch while the sun makes pinpricks of light on the trees’ spindly leaves, illuminating the spines of golden barrel cactuses as pale and yellow as beaten egg yolks. Near the outdoor fireplace, a miniature St. Francis maintains a silent vigil.
The Scottsdale couple completely renovated the property, which dates to the 1970s and originally was an office building. People who drive through Strawberry on State Route 87 know it for the windmill out front, which once held a small coffee shop. That windmill has become a popular background for photos, and the inn is drawing visitors from the Phoenix area and beyond.
The lodge’s foundation dates to the turn of the 20th century, when it supported housing for immigrant railroad laborers. The current structure dates to the 1940s, when it opened as Navajo Lodge, one of the motor lodges built along U.S. Route 89 (now State Route 89), which defined the northern edge of town for decades. In later years, the building served as Prescott’s Greyhound station before becoming an extended-stay facility.
It starts with the rooms. Most of them are 650-square-foot suites, and every suite includes a king bed in the bedroom and a queen pullout sofa in a separate sitting area. Between the two rooms is a double-sided, easy-to-operate gas fireplace, and there’s also a kitchenette and a large bathroom with both a soaking tub and a shower. If you need more space, book one of the 1,500-square-foot villas, each of which has a full kitchen, a dining room and a large balcony or patio.
