Despite the proven talents of first-time feature director Genndy Tartakovsky (“Dexter’s Laboratory”), writers Peter Baynham (“Arthur Christmas”) and “SNL” vet Robert Smigel, and a voice cast headed by Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, the collaboration falls flat virtually from the get-go, serving up half-hearted sight gags that have a habit of landing with an ominous thud.

An official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Thursday at the Best Western Legacy Inn & Suites, which is the first Best Western-branded hotel in Gilbert.

Drive up the elaborate round port cochere at the W Scottsdale and immediately hit sensory overload.

Two hotel industry heavyweights plan to launch a new global hotel brand, and Scottsdale, along with such prime destinations as Paris, Madrid, Costa Rica, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., will get the first versions.

A clerk at a downtown Scottsdale hotel was robbed by two men early Monday, Scottsdale police said.

Three people were arrested at a Scottsdale hotel after a security camera caught one man removing another camera from the hallway that faced his room.

A man facing several felony charges stemming from an incident inside a Scottsdale hotel room in July told police he was doing drugs before he shot a man in the stomach with a 9 mm pistol and fled.

Since the Hotel Valley Ho in downtown Scottsdale reopened in November 2006, it has recycled more than 48,000 pounds of paper, installed water-saving guest room features and dimmed the lights.

At the Hyatt Regency Resort Scottsdale about 15 percent to 20 percent of reservations come through the Internet, a hotel spokeswoman said. The number is low compared to the industry norm, but apparently those who do book the local property’s rooms online have an easy time of it.

Boutique hotels are booming in downtown Scottsdale, thanks to younger tourists who are looking for something exciting and different, according to industry analysts.

Valley hotels fared well in March — typically the top tourism month of the year. Local hotels took in 8 percent more last month than in March 2006.

At the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, summer guests can hunt for desert plants and local bugs with a Gila River Indian Community guide.