I think you are saying you will be in Tucson for 2/12 - 2/16, is that right? A couple of quick thoughts. Rental cars at PHX (Sky Harbor Airport) have ridiculous taxes and fees. Check for prices for rentals both on and off-airport. It might be worth it to take a shuttle or taxi to an off-airport location to pick up your rental car. Often, you can still drop off at the airport. For the Tucson area, I would say Tucson East is the best area for 2.5* to 3* hotels. However, Tucson is pretty spread out and you might not have a lot within walking distance. (Hilton Tucson East is nice, but quite a ways out of D/T area, for example.) The 2.5* choices are quite good, though - you might get the Courtyard at Williams Center or the Residence Inn, for example. (See my previous posts, I won the Courtyard for dates in March for $42/night.) The Williams Center location would have some things within walking distance, not sure about the Residence Inn. And of course, there might be other properties that come up in place of these.... Tucson Central only has up to 2* and I wouldn't really want to take a chance on that area, although you could end up near the University which would be a good walking area. But you could end up in some iffy areas or properties, also, at least in my thinking. But you could also try for some of the Resort properties in the North and Foothills area. For your dates, you might get a great deal on the Omni or the Westward Look. However, you won't have many things within walking distance.