Week 14: Grace Perley Robinson
When Dr. Alexander J. Chandler opened his resort hotel, the San Marcos, in 1913, he needed an experienced hotelier to manage the operations. He looked no further than Scottsdale’s Ingleside Inn, where Grace Perley Robinson had been the manager for five years. She accepted Dr. Chandler’s offer, and would go on to be the manager of the San Marcos for nineteen years.
Grace was born in Henry, Illinois, and moved with her family to Phoenix in 1887. She taught for several years before marrying local businessman William H. Robinson and starting a family. After ten years of marriage, Will was diagnosed with lung disease which, in Grace’s words “doomed [him] to a life of invalidism.” After two years of staying home and caring for her husband, Grace found it necessary to return to work.
She found work managing her uncle W. J. Murphy’s new hotel, the Ingleside. During her five year stint at the helm, the Ingleside grew into a destination hotel catering to winter visitors and, according to Grace, “a high class of people.” Will, though hampered by his disease, still managed to superintend the construction of the Ingleside Club and golf course.
Seeking a new challenge, Grace readily accepted Dr. Chandler’s offer for her to manage his new resort. She and Will moved their family to Chandler, where they purchased a lot on Washington Street and built the house that would be their home until after Will’s death in 1937.
As Grace put it, “Opening up the San Marcos was real pioneering.” The hotel was located twenty miles from Phoenix, seven miles from a railroad, sat in the midst of a large swath of agricultural land, and lacked “even a good wagon road leading to us.” Nonetheless, “The world beat a path to our door, because we had what they wanted.” And what they had was warm winter weather, recreational and entertainment opportunities, and a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
During Grace’s time as manager of the hotel, the San Marcos grew from a dream into a world class winter resort. Businessmen, politicians, celebrities, artists, and socialites flocked to Chandler every winter season. Grace oversaw the construction of bungalows behind the hotel that could be rented out by guests. The bungalows were interspersed with gardens, ponds, pergolas, and a grassy promenade lined with citrus trees. Grace knew that one of the keys to success in the hotel business was having good employees. While training for her Ingleside Inn job at the Mission Inn in California, she had observed Korean employees at work in the hotel. She immediately hired a Korean wait staff at the San Marcos.
Will Robinson took an active role at the San Marcos, too. He designed the original golf course with the help of renowned golf course designer Harry Callis. Additionally, being an author of some renown, he wrote the promotional and advertising materials for the hotel.
Grace retired from the hotel business in 1931 after nineteen years at the San Marcos. She spent seven years caring for her husband before his death in 1938. Reflecting on her career at the San Marcos, Grace wrote, “That I was chosen to act as manager has always been a source of satisfaction, and to know that I had some part in building up a reputation which made the San Marcos world-famous.” Grace’s achievements and dedication to the San Marcos puts her at the top of the list of Chandler’s greatest pioneers.