Recognized with a 2025 Arizona Travel Award and 2024 MICHELIN Key, El Portal continues to set the standard for boutique hospitality in Sedona.
SEDONA, Ariz – Hotel El Portal Sedona is proud to announce two distinguished accolades celebrating its commitment to providing outstanding hospitality and a one-of-a-kind experience for each and every guest. The boutique hotel in Sedona’s vibrant art district recently received a 2025 Arizona Travel Award in the Hotel – Small Market category. This honor follows a 2024 Michelin Key Award – an elite designation held by only seven hotels in Arizona.
“We’re incredibly proud of these honors and the team that makes them possible,” said Steve Segner, who owns and operates El Portal with his wife, Connie. “More than 20 years ago, we built this hotel to provide visitors with a unique experience steeped in art, history and hospitality, which have always been our guiding principles. We aim to distinguish ourselves from the cookie-cutter formats of most national hotel chains.”
Tucked behind the famous Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, El Portal is a hidden gem with an ideal location in the heart of Sedona. Constructed from reclaimed wood and adobe bricks and filled with Arts-and-Crafts-era furnishings and décor that the Segners have carefully curated over many years, El Portal was designed to embody the couple’s love of art, history and timeless Southwestern architecture.
The 2025 Arizona Travel Award honors El Portal’s continued dedication to offering an extraordinary experience in Sedona’s small-market hotel landscape. This recognition celebrates excellence in service, guest experience and authenticity — values that have defined the hotel since it opened in 2003.
The MICHELIN Key award, introduced in 2024 by the globally recognized MICHELIN Guide, serves as a new benchmark for the world’s most exceptional hotels. Based on anonymous inspections and guest feedback, Key recipients are evaluated in five areas: architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, overall personality and character, value for the price, and making a significant contribution to the guest experience in a particular setting. El Portal earned a near-perfect score of 19.8 out of 20 based on six verified stays, with guests praising its adobe-style architecture, personalized concierge service and prime location.
In addition to these high-profile honors, El Portal has also received a 2024 Tripadvisor® Travelers’ Choice Award, a 2024 Booking.com Award, a 2023 KAYAK Travel Award and a 2023 Tripexpert Expert’s Choice Award.
As one of Sedona’s most acclaimed pet-friendly hotels, El Portal welcomes guests and their animal companions without any pet fees, offering the kind of personalized, unpretentious luxury that is seldom found at chain hotels.
To learn more about Hotel El Portal Sedona, please visit https://elportalsedona.com.
