History
The Francisco Grande dates back to 1959 when San Francisco Giants owner Horace Stoneham developed the property as a spring training camp for his popular Major League Baseball team. Then Arizona Governor Paul Fannin attended the dedication before the first exhibition game in 1961, as did National League president Warren Giles, to an overflowing crowd. Optimism swirled like desert dust devils when Willie Mays hit a 375-foot home run off Gaylord Perry in the forth inning of the first ever game at Francisco Grande. "Francisco" was taken from the San "Francisco" Giants and "Grande" was taken from Casa "Grande"; thus the name "Francisco Grande." While Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal were honing their Hall of Fame skills, the Resort became an exclusive and intimate desert hideaway for Hollywood elites. Legends such as John Wayne, Dale Robertson, Pat Boone, and Gale Gordon made the Francisco Grande their home away from home.

There are several unique architectural facts concerning our Resort. Our famous swimming pool is in the shape of a baseball bat, and the hot tub is shaped like a baseball. The parking area in front of the hotel where Willie Mays parked his pink Cadillac with "Say Hey" plates was originally designed like a baseball diamond and the flower beds were constructed to resemble bats and balls. The overhang on the north side of the tower was built to resemble the brim of a baseball cap. The stairwells on the south side of the building were built to resemble those in a stadium at the time of construction. From the Sunset Terrace, you will notice the coach's observation tower; a round two story structure which was used by coaches and members of the press to view the action of players during practice. With your imagination, you can see the four baseball diamonds with some of the sport's best known players (then and now) as they practiced in their "Field of Dreams".

After the Giants were enticed to move to Scottsdale, the California Angels used the facility from 1982 until 1984. The next two years saw the transformation of the baseball fields into football fields, which were used as the training camp headquarters for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers and the Denver Gold.

From 1984 to 2002, the Francisco Grande operated as a destination golf resort. Visitor's golf skills were tested on one of Arizona's longest PGA Championship courses. The course plays 5,224 yards from the front tees and a staggering 7,545 yards from the championship tees. Guests were treated to exceptional service and fine dining in the Palo Verde dining room and helped the Francisco Grande become known as "Arizona's Friendliest Resort."

In 2003, the "Old Girl" was completely closed for a much needed repositioning. This $8.5 million dollar undertaking included a complete renovation of the main tower, all restaurant and banquet facilities as well as a major facelift for the golf course and hotel grounds. This project was done in a way as to not change the history or integrity of the original Francisco Grande. Our history is one of the most important parts of our culture and your guest experience. If you left your heart in San Francisco and want to go back and visit a little bit of your youth, you have come to the right place