Last but not least, my final post in regards to our first babymoon and trip to Arizona. One of the reasons why I loved this week so much, was because of the time Tim and I got to spend together. Our time just the two of us is coming to an end—forever, sometime in the next two months. We will eventually be empty nesters, but our family will never just be Tim and I, ever again. Technically it already isn’t us since we include the pups, but regardless this time is just so sentimental. It feels like yesterday we were taking our first trip together which was to New Mexico when we were boyfriend and girlfriend. And now here we are…crazy.
In case you missed it, the first part of the trip we visited the Grand Canyon which you can read about here. I also did a separate blog post on the Ultimate Food Guide for Scottsdale & Tucson, which you can read about here. After we did the Grand Canyon, we did make two pit stops that I wanted to mention before getting to the hotels!
What a treat! A TON of you messaged me that we were near here after doing the train and I’m so glad I read the messages in time. It was literally a ten minute drive (if that) from our hotel to get here. We did the drive-thru only part because that is what interested us most and we went through twice. Since you could drive-thru an unlimited amount of times, we went for the first round to just take it all in and look at everything. Second time through we got all the photos and videos you can imagine! If you do the same, I highly recommend using the first time to just see everything and then go through again for photo ops. It helps you soak it in a little more and be more present, whomever you are with.
Sedona
After Bearizona, on our way out from there we took the long way to get to Scottsdale by taking a detour through Sedona. We looked at the mountains, drove through the trails and also the town. If I wasn’t super pregnant, I would’ve wanted to stay and do some hiking and probably even more than that. If I ever make it back to Arizona, this is on my top of my bucket list after getting to drive through this amazing place!
Ok, now onto my mini hotel reviews.
I mean…does this hotel have my name written all over it or what? The location. The aesthetic. The layout. Everything. I really wanted to just stay at this hotel the whole time instead of venturing down to Tucson because it was so dreamy. Even though at the end of the day I’m happy we didn’t, I am already making plans to come back to this hotel. Scottsdale has my heart mainly because it is so similar to Orange County, which was my home for 22 years. It feels normal and I could really see myself living there if I picture it. Aside from Palm Springs, I wouldn’t mind making this a regular vacation spot for our family!
The room size was also perfect for us. The bed was SUPER comfortable and we had plenty of space to spread out. After staying here, I really don’t think you could possibly end up with a “bad” room. I can’t quite remember, but I’m almost positive we got the basic room and like I said…perfect.
The whole resort though is on the smaller size without a doubt. They offer two pools which are both located in the middle of the hotel and they are right next to each other. They are both nice pools and poolside service is offered as well as cabanas available for rent! We didn’t get one, but they go for $200 for a whole day. The vibe I was getting from the hotel and also the guests was that it definitely isn’t super kid friendly. Meaning, if Tim and I were to have brought a toddler to either pool, everyone would’ve been staring. Some people had babies (really little) and I think that is about as much as you can get away with. It’s more of a relaxing resort, for young couples and travels to enjoy the atmosphere with little to no interruptions. I’m almost positive they are allowed and not forbidden, I just wouldn’t stay here with kids since they wouldn’t be able to appreciate all of it for the price.
Our next stop was Tucson, which I wasn’t super excited to go to to be honest. Tim is a traveler, and when we go somewhere he doesn’t just like to relax. He wants to see as many things as possible, and have a jam packed busy day. That is if you ask me anyways, ha! With that being said, if it were up to me we probably would’ve stayed in Scottsdale the whole time after going to the Grand Canyon. I’m glad I have Tim, because while I’m annoyed in the moment he almost always pushes me out of my comfort zone to try new things. I am very happy we ended up down here because we had some amazing food (again, read my food guide) and experienced some killer views.
This hotel compared to the Scott Resort is definitely WAY different. The Scott is aesthetically pleasing and trendy, where as this place is historic and older. While a lot of photo ops still remain, they are more charming than “Instagram ready” if you know what I mean. They stuck to their roots by incorporating history throughout the hotel–in the lobby and also in the rooms themselves. Everything in our room was either original pieces of furniture or just original in general. The room was by no means “updated” to 2020 standards. I think that’s why this place is so highly reviewed though, is because you can’t find many places like it anymore. Everyone is trying to keep up with everyone and be the most popular, while Hacienda del Sol is growing with the years but still remembering where it came from. To see the hotel room and also the hotel itself, make sure to watch my babymoon highlight on my profile!
Our Schedule & What We Did
Compared to the Grand Canyon part of our trip, the rest of this vacation was spent relaxing and eating mainly. Which was the goal! I took off completely from work (my nanny job & blogging) to truly get time to myself to do whatever we wanted. Not to mention, COVID is also a thing. So as far as tourist attractions go for both of these cities, I don’t think there is much to do to begin with and if there was, it would be either closed during the week or reservation only. You get the point though…we were either sleeping, eating or at the pool the rest of vacation!
Another state for us down, only 46 more to go! We have time though, right? Until next time, babymoon!
