BENSON, Arizona -- Stargazers never had it so good. Spectacular viewing, first-class telescopes, coupled with the homey atmosphere of a bed and breakfast.

Here in the Sonoran Desert, about an hour's drive east of the Tucson International Airport, sits the Skywatcher's Inn and the Vega-Bray Observatory. It is a perfect family getaway and an ideal setting for the amateur or professional astronomer alike.

All manner of equipment is available: from tripod-mounted giant binoculars, a small planetarium and, of course, telescopes of all sizes -- the largest, housed in an electronically-controlled dome. That big beast of an instrument is completely computer-controlled, and can be used with state-of-the-art detectors for a fun-packed night of astrophotography.

In the observatory's classroom are computers, collections of meteorites, fossils, optics and numbers of touch-and-do science projects there for the learning.

Day or night, the Skywatcher's Inn lives up to its promise of acquainting people of all ages with astronomy and the skies above.

This night, the oohing and ahing has picked up as a shooting star streaks through the sky. Somebody else points to a satellite whisking across the backdrop of stars.

One father tells his daughter not to take too long at the telescope because the clouds are rolling in. He's quickly corrected, advised that those clouds are, in fact, the Milky Way.

It's all in a night's viewing.

In 1990, the Vegas opened the Vega-Bray Observatory, one of the largest and most complete amateur astronomical facilities in the world. Five years later, the Skywatcher's Inn was born, a first-class lodging facility, built next to the observatory.

"It was a slow process. We started off with one bedroom. After a few months we realized that people were really interested, so we added more bedrooms," Ed Vega told SPACE.com.

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Being able to see so much sky is an eye-opener for most city folk. Southern Arizona has one of the highest percentages of clear nights in the United States and the world.

"People are fascinated to be able to actually see the stars without too much light pollution. The light pollution in the big cities robs people of viewing the Milky Way," Vega said.

"We show our guests planets, galaxies and nebulae. But using all the equipment, they also have a better idea of what kind of telescope is best suited for them if they want to buy an instrument themselves," Vega said.

If you want to be in with the inn crowd, stay overnight. There is plenty of room. Unique bedrooms are available for the star struck and weary-eyed.

Per-night lodging that includes a full breakfast is available in rooms with names like the Galaxy Room, the Astronomer's Studio, the Floral Room and the Egyptian Suite.