VALLEY HO REBORN AS HIPSTER HOT SPOT.

Byline: - Eric Noland

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- On a counter in the guest room, two artsy martini glasses kept company with a gleaming metal shaker. Above the sweeping curve of the ZuZu Lounge, a swath of indirect light emitted an eerie red glow, evoking the dawn of the Atomic Age. And everywhere there were walls of glass and spare, functional furniture with spindly legs.

The 20-somethings who crowded the bar on a Friday night seemed to be lapping up this retro rage, along with their gin-laced libations.

At least the midcentury ambience at the Hotel Valley Ho is thoroughly authentic, not some designer's concept of what the 1950s might have been like. The hotel -- uh, let's be honest, it's in every way a motor lodge -- was built in 1956, and in its glory era hosted Jimmy Durante at the piano (since removed), Betty Grable on the tennis court (ditto), and Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood in a private banquet room for their wedding reception.

Because baby boomers have such fond memories of the era, and their progeny enthusiastically embrace the kitsch of it all, the Valley Ho has been reborn after an exhaustive renovation.

The furniture and decor have been stylishly updated -- though the look is sure to trigger jangling deja vu for anyone who rode station wagons around the West as a tyke and pulled in for the night at a succession of sleek-looking motels.

Rooms have sliding glass doors that open onto patios. The round pool is the focal point of the place. The cafe has meatloaf on the menu and an ice cream soda fountain. And the higher- end restaurant on the grounds is a just-opened Trader Vic's, a onetime Scottsdale institution (at another location) that had closed its doors in 1990, before its tiki gods, umbrella drinks and pupu platters became newly hip.

But the retro immersion at the Valley Ho is not total. It probably wouldn't last a year if it was. Contemporary updates include 32-inch flat-screen TVs in the rooms, wireless Internet everywhere, high-quality beds and linens, guest-room bathrooms set off with translucent walls, and an expansive spa -- with a fitness center that stays open around the clock.

Just the thing to knock down the cobwebs from those Ricky Ricardos -- vodka, lime and soda, with three olives -- you downed in the bar last night. Ring-a-ding-ding, indeed.

6850 E. Main St., Scottsdale. ``So Summer'' package is $139 per night, and includes a poolside drink at check-in and 20 percent off all spa services. Information: www.hotelvalleyho.com; [phone] (reservations) or [phone] (hotel).

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Midcentury decor is celebrated in the lobby of the Valley Ho in Scottsdale, a renovated 1956 property.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor