Where to Stay
in Sedonathe short, factual version

Uptown or West Sedona?

The deciding factor is whether you want to park the car for the weekend or use it every day.

Choose Uptown if

You want dinner, coffee and shopping on foot. You have a group that will split up during the day. You would rather not drive after a glass of wine. Uptown is also where the trolley tours depart, which matters if anyone in the group is not hiking.

Choose West Sedona if

Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock are on your list. You want a bigger lot and fewer neighbors. You care about night skies, since West Sedona sits farther from the light of the commercial strip. Sedona is an International Dark Sky Community, so on a clear night the difference is genuinely visible.

Pools, swim spas and hot tubs

3 homes have full 15x30 in-ground pools. 3 have heated swim spas instead. All 8 have a hot tub.

This distinction is worth getting right before you book. A swim spa is a compact heated unit sized for soaking and for swimming against a current. It is not a pool your group can splash around in. If that matters, the three in-ground pools are at Sedona Dream, SkyLine Sedona and Starview Sedona.

• Sedona Dream 15x30 in-ground pool
• SkyLine Sedona 15x30 in-ground pool
• Sedona Shangri-La No pool. Hot tub, sauna, cold plunge
• Uptown Sparks! 18ft heated swim spa
• Uptown EPIC! Two swim spas, 18ft and 20ft
• Starview Sedona 15x30 in-ground pool
• Uptown Splash! 20ft heated swim spa
• Sedona Epic Dream Endless Pool R500 swim spa

Sedona summers run hot and dry, so water changes the shape of the day: hike at sunrise, cool off through the afternoon heat, head out again in the evening. If you are visiting between May and September, treat it as a requirement rather than a luxury.

Uptown EPIC is the combined booking of the two Grove homes, so it carries both of their swim spas and both hot tubs. Sedona Shangri-La takes a different approach entirely, pairing a hot tub with an infrared sauna and a cold plunge for guests who want contrast therapy over swimming.

Saunas and cold plunge

Three of the eight homes have a sauna, and they are not the same kind.

• Sedona Dream Almost Heaven barrel sauna. Finnish cedar, Harvia heater, seats 4
• Sedona Epic Dream Almost Heaven barrel sauna. Finnish cedar, Harvia heater, seats 4
• Sedona Shangri-La Infrared sauna and cold plunge

The distinction matters if you came for the recovery. The barrel saunas are traditional dry heat: Finnish cedar with a Harvia heater, reaching proper Finnish temperatures, seating four. An infrared sauna heats the body directly at a lower air temperature, and paired with a cold plunge it gives you the full contrast cycle. Sedona Shangri-La is the only home set up for that.

More on the wellness side of the collection is on the Sedona wellness rental page.

Best options for large groups

Uptown EPIC! sleeps 25. It is the largest single booking in the collection.

Uptown EPIC! is two neighboring homes reserved together, which gives a large group 10 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, two pools, two hot tubs and two game rooms while keeping everyone on the same street. It works for family reunions, wedding parties and corporate retreats that would otherwise be split across hotels.

All 8 homes compared

Rates are starting nightly rates before taxes and fees, and move with season and demand. Ratings and review counts reflect guest reviews across booking platforms.

What it actually costs

Nightly rates start at $700 and run to $1,800 for the 25 guest property.

Per person, a full house is far cheaper than it looks. A 12 guest home at $750 a night is about $63 per person. Two hotel rooms in Sedona will often exceed that without a kitchen, a pool or a living room to share.

• Lowest starting rate$700 per night
• Highest rate (25 guests)$1,800 per night
• Typical 5 bedroom rate$700 to $850 per night
• Arizona lodging taxApplied at checkout, roughly 13 to 14 percent
• Cleaning feeOne time, shown before you pay
• Platform guest service feeNone when you book direct

When to visit

• March to MayPeak season. Highs in the 70s and 80s. Book early, especially for spring break weeks.
• June to AugustHot and bright, highs often above 95. Best value, and the reason to want a pool. Afternoon monsoon storms arrive in July and clear fast.
• September to NovemberThe other peak. Comfortable days, cool nights, thinner crowds after mid October.
• December to FebruaryQuietest and cheapest. Mild by day, cold at night, occasional snow on the red rocks that photographs better than anything else all year.

Common questions

Should you stay in Uptown Sedona or West Sedona?

Stay in Uptown Sedona if you want to walk to restaurants, shops and the trolley without driving. Stay in West Sedona if you want more space, quieter streets and faster access to Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and the Mystic trail system. Uptown is roughly a ten minute drive from West Sedona, so either choice keeps the whole town within reach.

Which Sedona vacation rentals have private pools?

Three homes have full 15x30 heated in-ground pools: Sedona Dream, SkyLine Sedona and Starview Sedona. Three have heated swim spas rather than full pools: Uptown Sparks!, Uptown Splash! and Sedona Epic Dream. Uptown EPIC is those same two Grove homes booked together, so it carries both of their swim spas and is not a fourth. Sedona Shangri-La has no pool and instead offers a hot tub, an infrared sauna and a cold plunge. Every one of the eight homes has a hot tub.

What is the best Sedona vacation rental for a large group?

Uptown EPIC! sleeps 25 guests across 10 bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms. It is two neighboring homes booked together, so a large group gets two pools, two hot tubs and two game rooms while staying on the same street. For groups of 12 to 13, Uptown Sparks!, Sedona Epic Dream, SkyLine Sedona, Starview Sedona and Uptown Splash! all work.

How much does a Sedona luxury vacation rental cost per night?

Nightly rates across the collection start at $700 and run to $1,800 for the 25 guest property. Rates move with season and demand, so spring and fall price higher than midsummer and midwinter. Split across a full house, a 12 guest home at $750 works out to roughly $63 per person per night.

Is it cheaper to book a Sedona vacation rental direct or on Airbnb?

Booking direct is cheaper because the guest service fee that booking platforms add at checkout does not apply. That fee commonly runs in the low double digits as a percentage of the reservation, so on a multi night stay in a luxury home the difference is usually hundreds of dollars. The home, the hosts and the cancellation terms are the same either way.

Which Sedona vacation rentals have a sauna?

Three of the eight. Sedona Dream and Sedona Epic Dream each have an Almost Heaven barrel sauna, Finnish cedar with a Harvia heater, seating four. Sedona Shangri-La has an infrared sauna paired with a cold plunge, which is the one to pick if you want contrast therapy rather than a traditional dry heat session. All three also have hot tubs.

When is the best time to visit Sedona?

March through May and September through November are the most comfortable months, with daytime highs generally in the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit. Summer is hot but rentals with pools make it very workable, and July and August bring afternoon monsoon storms that clear quickly. Winter is quiet and mild by day, occasionally dusted with snow on the red rocks, which many guests consider the best photography of the year.

How many bedrooms do Sedona Epic Stays homes have?

Seven of the eight homes have four or five bedrooms and sleep 11 to 13 guests. The eighth, Uptown EPIC!, combines two houses for 10 bedrooms and 25 guests. Every home has at least three bathrooms.

What is the difference between a pool and a swim spa at these homes?

A swim spa is a compact heated unit built for soaking and swimming against a current, not for lap swimming or a group splashing around. Three of the homes have full 15x30 in-ground pools. Three others have swim spas. If a real pool matters to your group, choose Sedona Dream, SkyLine Sedona or Starview Sedona. Every home has a hot tub in addition to whatever else it offers.