Non H&F related: those of you in Arizona...

[enfuego23]

DH and I are thinking of heading out to Phoenix for my spring break. We are looking for a nice place to stay...any recommendations? I know I can google it, but wanted "real people" recs first:) 

Thanks in advance!!!

[adcobe]

Do you know roughly where in Phoenix you will be? I know of a couple nice places throughout the valley. Scottsdale of course is know for their beautiful hotels.

[taratru]

Phoenix is HUGE - as I learned driving across it a million times for the marathon - so narrowing it down to an area would probably be a good start.

[enfuego23]

We were thinking of Scottsdale or right downtown. Anyone ever stayed at the Four seasons in Phoenix or the Royal Palm?

[adcobe]

Okay in order to direct you to downtown or scottsdale I have a question. Are you guys here for relaxing by the pool? Hiking? Or exploring things? What is the main reason for the visit? If you guys want pool relaxing, spas, and some hiking. Scottsdale is the way to go. Check out the fairmont princess, JW Marriott at Desert Ridge. A little closer to downtown but not right in downtown are The Phoenician, and Montelucia. Pointe Tapatio Cliffs and The Pointe Hilton are super nice. Almost all of these hotels are near hiking trails. I don't have many recommendations for downtown. Hope this helps.

[enfuego23]

We decided on Scottsdale because we want to relax and hike:) Thank you for all the recommendations!

Now, what are some things to do that we shouldn't miss while we are out there? Best places to hike? Best restaurants?

[foundmylazybum]

We have a house in Scottsdale...We are very relaxed people..so I'll give some recommendations for restaurants but just know they are "relaxed" lol.

If I could go back to AZ today and eat I would go to:

Pita Jungle. Yum. www.pitajungle.com/locations/
Scottsdale, Scottsdale Fashion Square or Tempe are probably going to be your closest locations

Oreganos: www.oreganos.com/index_main.html :Scottsdale or Tempe locations will be closest to you

Le Grand Orange--the pizzeria is good and the grocery is good for breakfast. I really like it and the neighborhood is cute

www.lagrandeorangegrocery.com/

Postino--wine bar also near LGO. Very tasty and awesome atmosphere:
postinowinecafe.com/

The Vig...American food, good atmosphere, relaxed, also in Arcadia/ Biltmore
www.thevig.us/


For hiking:

Camelback is probably the most well-known place near by

Also near by is Piestawa: phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/piestewapeak/index.html

I really like Piestawa for running and hiking...here--for running there are a couple trails..one is flatter, you can do up to 15 miles around the base--OR you can do 11-13 miles of some pretty intense peak to peak climbing. Both are pretty and you *might* get to see some wildflowers here. I recommend going early in the morning or at sunset for prettiest views.

A bit further away but awesome hiking--and where you can really see some good Saguaros and views is South Mountain. It's not actually that far away from Scottsdale (like 20 min). South Mountain is the largest free park in North America. It's huge. The main trail there is National trail. National is a seriously awesome trail for running and hiking. It's an out and back that is 12-14 miles. phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/south/hiking/index.html It is challenging, but really pretty.


If you want to drive...I would go out to Cave Creek, Carefree and then out to lake Saguaro..it's very pretty. www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g31350-i180-k4507186-Scenic_Drives_from_Scottsdale-Scottsdale_Arizona.html

Cave Creek has cute shopping.

If you want to go to any museums or stuff like that, I recommend the Desert Botanical Garden--It has one of the most extensive collections of desert plants in the world. It seriously is a world class institution. It's not like other typical botanical gardens.

The Phoenix Zoo is really good--Go early to see the animals at their most active!

I think the art museum is okay.

The Heard Museum has an AWESOME collection of Native American art and artifacts. They have a permanent exhibit called "Boarding School" which is really good and informative.

[enfuego23]

Wow!! Thank you so much for all the recs:) I definitely want to run and hike while I'm there. We are big foodies so thank you for all the restaurant recs!

[gumi]

Mar 17, 2013 13:41:31 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

Pita Jungle. Yum. www.pitajungle.com/locations/
Scottsdale, Scottsdale Fashion Square or Tempe are probably going to be your closest locations

Oreganos: www.oreganos.com/index_main.html :Scottsdale or Tempe locations will be closest to you

Le Grand Orange--the pizzeria is good and the grocery is good for breakfast. I really like it and the neighborhood is cute

www.lagrandeorangegrocery.com/

Postino--wine bar also near LGO. Very tasty and awesome atmosphere:
postinowinecafe.com/

The Vig...American food, good atmosphere, relaxed, also in Arcadia/ Biltmore
www.thevig.us/


For hiking:

Camelback is probably the most well-known place near by

Also near by is Piestawa: phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/piestewapeak/index.html

I really like Piestawa for running and hiking...here--for running there are a couple trails..one is flatter, you can do up to 15 miles around the base--OR you can do 11-13 miles of some pretty intense peak to peak climbing. Both are pretty and you *might* get to see some wildflowers here. I recommend going early in the morning or at sunset for prettiest views.


The Phoenix Zoo is really good--Go early to see the animals at their most active!

When is your spring break?

I live by everything mentioned above so hit me up if you have questions.  

Camelback is everyone's favorite mountain, but they actually have the main trail closed off right now for construction.  The back trail is still open but its too crowded and there is no parking.

here is my hotel rec but it's kinda in the middle everything, not sure if that is what you want.  that is just personally what i like.  www.hotelvalleyho.com/scottsdalehotels/index.html?

[foundmylazybum]

We stayed at the Ho after our wedding --they have a good breakfast and also fun bar.


Personally, my favorite place to stay in Scottsdale is Sanctuary. Good rooms, good restaurants at the hotel, freaking great pools, good bars and the spa is amazing.

sanctuaryoncamelback-px.trvlclick.com/index.html