I agree...a trip to Deer Valley would be wasted if you don't tour both Westwind and PanAm. The two schools have differences that go beyond just price and the type of airplanes they fly. Each school has it's own "personality" or atmosphere...to me, the difference was drastic. The only way to find out which fits you better is to visit and talk to people who are actually there. When visiting, always keep in mind that these are people you'll need to deal with for at least the next year or two.
There are some significant differences between Westwind's planes and PanAm's. One difference is price; PanAm definitely charges more per hour. But to be honest I don't think PanAm is necessarily overcharging for their planes, they're just different. Here's the breakdown of the differences as I see them:
As fukoki noted, PanAm's planes all have air conditioning...I don't know of any Westwind planes that do. Phoenix gets insanely hot in July and August; 110 to 115º is not uncommon in the afternoon. I've honestly never been in an air conditioned plane, so I don't know how much of a difference it would really make. Running through the pre-start checklist only takes a couple minutes, and I've found that once the engine is running with the window open, the spinning prop is about all the air conditioning I need. Of course, you need to shut the window for take off, but then you have the air vents...and once you get above about 3,000 ft, the outside air temperature drops considerably anyway. I haven't found myself wishing for A/C so far.
PanAm flies Pipers, Westwind flies Cessnas (except for multi training, which is also done in Pipers). I like Pipers because that's what I did all of my Private training in. That's one of the reasons why PanAm made my short list when I was originally looking into schools. But I also know that Pipers tend to rent for more than Cessnas no matter where you go...it was true in New Jersey, and it seems to be true here.
The PanAm planes seem to be maintained just as well as Westwind's, so I don't think there's much of a difference there. Both schools have dedicated, on-site, full-time maintenance facilities.
All of PanAm's planes are equipped with a full color, moving map GPS, which is a very nice piece of equipment, but not something I want to pay for on every flight...WSAs planes all have integrated GPS, most have moving map displays, and several have full color Garmin 430s. You have the freedom to choose which planes you want to fly at WSA, so you're not always paying for equipment that you won't necessarily need or use.
All of PanAm's planes are painted identically...white with blue and gold. It definitely looks impressive to see their fleet of planes sitting together on the ramp, and you can identify PanAm's planes immediately on sight. But the custom paint is also reflected in the price. Westwind's planes look like any others you might see, except for the "Westwind" logo on the vertical stabilizer. For me, I find that I learn equally well regardless of what color the plane is
So, to make a long story longer, the planes at PanAm are more expensive, but you do get something for that money. The question you need to ask yourself is, how important is it to you to have those things. For me it wasn't worth it.
Also, remember that a large part of the tuition quote that any school gives you also includes the costs associated with ground schools, flight instructing, etc. I honestly didn't go so far as to compare the hourly rates for instructors or ground school costs, but I suspect that is also part of the reason why PanAm's price is so much higher than WSA.
Remember, the choice is yours...I'm very happy with Westwind so far, but there are obviously students that chose PanAm instead. Weigh the differences carefully and decide which is best for you!