Best Hotel For The Sequel To Barton Fink

Palm Court Inn
4425 E. 22nd St.

STAFF PICK: There are many people who come to Tucson to escape, to get their acts together, to start new lives. They arrive anonymously, often short on cash. For those too delicate to sleep in the shrubs along the Rillito River, there's a happy medium for temporary residence: In recent years, intrepid folks gravitated toward the Palm Court Inn (now called "The Inn and Up," and under new management). New guests were asked how long they expected to stay. If the answer was "months," a prospective tenant was shown to a room with a small kitchenette and a refrigerator. Some rooms even offered a narrow balcony view of spare, urban, traffic-laden 22nd Street. Bed linens and towels were dispensed in a large green duffel bag, for which a deposit was required. There's also a deposit for the hotel key. And the telephone. And pretty much everything, so each guest knew where he stood with regard to management. A newcomer to the Palm Court Inn soon discovered many of its chronic residents did little more than collect welfare checks and watch television at a high volume. But the price was right at the Palm Court Inn (still just $112 a week). One former resident swears detectives recently left calling cards in hotel room doors regarding a recent murder on the second floor; but the new management claims to know nothing about it. It's probably better that way. In the winter months, the snowbirds flock in and room prices go up.