Thunderbird Hotel

A locally run hotel since 1959, Bob Harris of Lake/Flato Architects reinvigorated the Thunderbird’s classic ‘50s horseshoe shape and interior courtyard for its 2005 reopening. The renovation transformed the structure into a model of modern design and livability while maintaining the original hotel’s bygone feeling of leisure. The Thunderbird is everything a small hotel should be, providing privacy, hospitality and stylishness without pretension. With its pool and pale blue exterior reflecting the desert sky, a sensation of light and spaciousness pervades. Stands of native plants and cacti anchor the hotel in its environment, and a latticework of salvaged oil-field piping shades the breezeways and poolside lounge with orange honeysuckle vines. Careful landscaping, attention to detail: the Thunderbird is characterized by a wealth of inviting spaces.