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Arizona
Tucson
Casa Tierra Adobe Bed and Breakfast
Casa Tierra Adobe Bed and Breakfast

Casa Tierra Adobe Bed and Breakfast

Casa Tierra, built-in 1989, offers three guestrooms available for reservation, each including a patio and a kitchenette. A vegetarian breakfast is served for those who are staying at the property, and snacks are provided in the fridges of each guestroom during patrons' stay. The surrounding area contains several cacti and desert land that can be seen from the brick patios on the grounds. Casa Tierra is open and operating from August to June, with the busiest season typically lasting from February to April. A couple of nearby attractions that typically draw in a fair amount of visitors are the Saguaro National Park and the Desert Museum. The owner recommends visiting both of these places to their guests.

About

Casa Tierra occupies five acres of land in the southern Arizona region, featuring three guestrooms in total. Each of the three units is named after the Spanish language's numerical characters: Uno, Dos, and Tres. Uno and Dos are queen rooms, while the Tres is a two-bedroom suite that has a queen bed in one room and two twin extra longs in the other bedroom, plus a small living room and love seat. This particular room is the only unit that includes a television. For visitors who are staying for a longer period of time, the owner recommends Tres due to the extra space. The three guestrooms are all located in one building on the premises; half of that building is for visitors and functions as the main part of the bed and breakfast, while the other half is where the owners reside. Additionally, on-site parking is available on a dirt road.

Designed as a traditional hacienda, the building itself is square-shaped and features a central courtyard outside on the grounds, which can be used as a common area for guests. Cultivated in the courtyard are various plants that are intended to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. A fountain can also be found at the center of the courtyard. Another common area for patrons is called the portale. It is a covered patio that has a coffee and tea space with cookies and fruit available. The owner also mentions that for visitors who are hoping to watch the sunset at night, there is a second patio that is west facing that they would recommend. Many visitors have congregated there at night and talked with each other about their stories and travels. The exterior of the grounds is desert-like, with several cacti in the surrounding land. As the location is relatively remote, the owner remarks that one can feel as though the desert completely encompasses them.


A private patio with fireplaces and firewood is included with each guestroom, in which visitors can light using the provided lighter in their kitchenette. A few of the items that can be found in each of the kitchenettes are a full set of dishes, a corkscrew bottle opener, a can opener, a fridge, a freezer, and a microwave. Snacks that guests can eat at their leisure are provided in each of the fridges, and a coffee station is available as well. 

One relatively popular amenity that can be found at Casa Tierra is a hot tub. Visitors can use the provided guest robes and flip flops to use to get back and forth from the hot tub to their room. Furthermore, though the property may not have an on-site store or gift shop, Casa Tierra sells custom-designed mugs that visitors can purchase. 

Breakfast is served each morning in a designated room for such. The room contains windows that look out at the desert, and the owner mentions that the Wi-Fi at Casa Tierra works the best in the breakfast room. Dishes that are arranged for breakfast consist of vegetarian meals and mainly egg-based meals. Breakfast is served at 7:00 AM during the summer, whereas meals are served at 8:30 AM in the winter. The owner mentions that she asks visitors about food allergies in advance and strives to accommodate them if possible.

Casa Tierra has close proximity to Saguaro National Park, as the location is adjacent to the national park. The owner mentions that the Saguaro National Park and the Desert Museum are generally the main draws for tourism in the area, both of which are within about ten minutes of the property. While the owner recommends her guests visit the national park and the museum, she also recommends Mt. Lemon. She says that the University of Arizona has created a science app that guides individuals up the mountain and tells about the area's flora, fauna, and history.

Restaurants with varying cuisines are located near Casa Tierra as well. The owner recommends Los Nopales, Tiny's Saloon and Steakhouse, Agustine Kitchen, which is a French bistro, and Seis Kitchen, which serves mainly Mexican cuisine.

Culture

Steinen Hurtado, the current owner of Casa Tierra, remarks that she wants her guests to feel "at home" during their stay, and in an attempt to provide this experience for her visitors, she offers various amenities such as flip flops and flashlights used for the hot tubs. They also try to greet their guests upon arrival and give them a ten-minute introductory tour of the property, showing them how the hot tubs work, where the coffee cups are, and other similar operations at the bed and breakfast. Steinen comments that the tour is provided with the intention to "take the mystery out of the place." One particular patron who previously stayed at Casa Tierra commented, "Steinen is a great host. Her breakfasts are delicious, and she does everything she can to accommodate guests. Her adobe house is beautiful and full of desert charm. She is full of interesting stories and very knowledgeable about things to do in the Tuscon area."

Casa Tierra implements a few policies that visitors are expected to act in accordance with. Two of the main policies are that pets are prohibited from staying at the bed and breakfast, and smoking is only allowed by the hot tub. A quiet hour is currently not enforced unless a wedding is hosted, in which quiet hour is at 10:00 PM. 

Casa Tierra is open from mid-August through mid-June, with the busiest seasons being from February to April and October to November. Families do not make up the general demographic; however, regarding younger visitors to the property, Steinen mentions that they "try to gear it so that kids feel comfortable to come," but they generally do not receive many children. The two-bedroom suite is designed in a way that the second bedroom can be used for those who bring a couple of kids with them. A "pack and play" is also available for guests who have toddlers.

History

Casa Tierra Adobe Bed and Breakfast was constructed and established in 1989, designed as a bed and breakfast from the very beginning. The building itself is made of sunbaked adobe, hence the name of the property. The current owner, Steinen Hurtado, is the third owner and has had ownership of the bed and breakfast since August of 2018. In 1998, the previous owners, Dave and Barb Malmquist purchased the acreage and stayed for fifteen to twenty years. Lyle and Karen Hymer-Thompson, the couple that had owned the land before the Malmquists, were the ones who built the home, owning the property for nearly seven years. Lyle constructed the building by hand, with the help of an individual who started a cultural "trend" in the neighborhood. According to Steinen, "the culture of the neighborhood surrounds the culture of the bed and breakfast in a lot of ways." She also comments that "the two previous owners generated such goodwill," and because of this, repeat guests have stayed with all of the previous owners.

Steinen was led into the lodging industry through her previous efforts of being the main person in her family to host parties and cook food for larger groups. She says that she was looking for something that "played to her strengths" while allowing her the flexibility to still be a mom. Before taking ownership of Casa Tierra, Steinen received her undergraduate degree in art history and her master's degree in architecture from Arizona State University. She has tried to put that degree to use when changing up some of the aspects of Casa Tierra. 

Some of the changes that were made to Casa Tierra during Steinen's ownership mainly consist of aesthetics. Major renovations were made when her family first moved into the building, replacing toilets and adding plumbing equipment, water softener, and a new door and windows. Additionally, the brick patios that are currently on the premises were previously made of wood, and they were in an unusable state before being replaced. The outdoor spaces were enhanced, as well. One particular goal that Steinen has in mind for the future is to add another suite after her kids move out.

Steinen remarks that one of her favorite aspects of running the property is meeting people from around the world and hearing their stories. She says that she enjoys "seeing people appreciate the bed and breakfast the way I had envisioned it."

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Established
1989
Location

11155 West Calle Pima
Tucson, Arizona 85743
United States

Type

Bed and Breakfast

Owners

Steinen Hurtado

Owned Since
2018
Reviews
5 (27 Reviews)
5/5 21 Reviews
Google.com
5/5 6 Reviews
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