At the end of June, Vic and I were able to take a trip down to Phoenix, Arizona with Visit Phoenix to experience some of Scottsdale’s best resorts. On a personal note, I’ve always heard about Phoenix through the sports realms but never actually knew anything about the city except that it was a giant desert. I followed the Suns, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and Coyotes, but my knowledge of the city beyond sports was bleak. I knew nothing about the people/residents, culture, emerging food scene, or the gorgeous resorts! I had no idea what to expect, and I love to keep it that way when traveling. Moving around with a blank slate makes sure that you’re open to new ideas, experiences, and best of all, new foods!
Day 1
When we first arrived in Phoenix, we were met by our driver for the trip who took us straight to the Phoenician, located in Scottsdale. I know the names are different, but consider Scottsdale a suburb of Phoenix, still part of the Greater Phoenix Area. The stay was extremely hospitable, as we arrived early and the staff prioritized our room to be cleaned so that we could drop off our stuff and freshen up. Considering the 4.5 hrs on the plane, hours before hand for security, and the baggage claim, we definitely needed some down time to gather everything and re-set before we explored the grounds.
The resort itself was absolutely stunning. Decked out with 2 levels of pools, and a waterpark structure for the kids, the resort pulled out all the strings to make it a family friendly atmosphere. Mixed in with multiple tennis courts, a basketball court, a full gold course (which was closed for renovations when we were there), and a luxurious spa, the Phoenician made our stay extremely comfortable.
Before going to dinner that day, Vic and I explored the grounds. In an attempt to take photos, she tried to stand on the concrete in scorching 45 degree weather! Clearly it didn’t last long since that would just burn your skin.
We had dinner at the resort’s luxury restaurant, Mowry and Cotton. The spread and the conversation was incredible, as we got to learn more about the Phoenician and the Greater Phoenix Area as a whole. Learned about a lot of the local sports teams, common tendencies of the local residents (people wake up at 4am to walk their dogs in the morning so it’s not too hot on the dogs during the day…4AM!), and of course, the Waste Management Phoenix Open which is the biggest golf tournament in the city every year.
We finished an incredible dinner and moved our ways And of course, we got to experience a gorgeous sunset from the pool side, the best way to end our first day in Phoenix.
Day 2
The next morning, we had a checkout time at 11 or 12 o’clock, so everything we did was hastened. First we explored the Jokake Inn. This inn has been around since the early 1900s and was originally used to house people traveling through the desert and Camelback Mountain. The mud house still stands, although not in use, as a symbol of what the land started off as. We were then treated to an absolutely stellar spa treatment and of course, you know I had to go shoot some hoops before we left the resort.
After we left the Phoenician, we went to a brand new restaurant called Pa’la which merges South American flavours with Mediterranean style fire-cooking. What’s this mean? Picture a lot of fire-cooked proteins with fresh vegetables and lighter carbs like quinoa and beans. The lunch was exactly what I needed after a fully stuffed dinner, something light to keep me mobile for the rest of the day of walking around! We got to meet with others from the Visit Phoenix team, and proceeded on to the Musical Instrument Museum of Phoenix.
This will require a bit more of an imagination, but picture a museum of instruments from across the world. Now expand that into traditional and contemporary instruments. And then expand that into videos/sounds of the instruments and then you’ve gotten what the museum tries to depict for the listener. It was extremely expansive and to be honest, Vic and I were so distracted by the sounds and the traditional culture that we barely took any videos or pictures. Take a look through the Phx stories on each of our respective Instagram pages, the set up was insane!
We then checked into the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess where we experienced Fairmont Gold, a hotel within the hotel, as commonly described by the staff. The staff was extremely hospitable and had carts going around the property so that you wouldn’t have to pull your luggage all around the grounds. Packed with a call service to pick you up whenever you wanted a ride, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess pulled out all of the stops, including a lobby where you could stop in to get a coffee and juices, with a complimentary hot breakfast in the mornings. So what did we do next? More photos! More and more photos! I won’t lie, I was exhausted at this point because shooting in 40-45 degree weather is absolutely insane. I don’t care that people say it’s dry heat so it’s not as bad, 45 is 45 no matter where you are. It just depends on the amount of sweat on your back, but as any Insta husband will tell you, that backpack will give you the back sweats anyways.
Thank god the Fairmont had misters set up everywhere. Outdoor bars, no problem. Chilling lounges and pools, no problem. Perfectly set up with misters (not those kinds of misters…) to make sure that you stayed cool and refreshed. We eventually finished and had dinner with others from the Visit Phoenix team as well as other media members who joined us on the trip. On the menu that night, delicious tacos at The Mission, which prides itself on being Modern Latin American food. Fresh guac, delicious tacos, and new types of margaritas was an amazing way to end Day 2!
Day 3
This was probably our busiest day so far! Nice and early breakfast at the Fairmont, and then took a nice long drive out to the Botanical Garden. I know, gardens in the desert – kind of a weird idea but geez, it was exhausting. We were there for 8:30 to avoid the blaring heat throughout the day, and we got to see different types of trees and cacti that are able to grow in the harsh heat.
A quick brunch in downtown Phoenix, a pit stop to explore some streetside art work and graffiti, and a stop into the Heard Museum to learn about Native American history in the Phoenix Region, and we finished the first few hours of the longest day. The next pit stop was the part I was most excited for whenever Phoenix came to mind. It would be easy to say that I’d love to go to the Suns or Cardinals game, but this is much more low key and only for the locals. We went to visit the wildly acclaimed Pizzeria Bianco and it did not disappoint! Fresh pizza on a wood stove, with the perfect amounts of sauce and flavour for each topping, geez. This was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had, and was not over-hyped whatsoever.
After a visit to the Fairmont’s spa for a relaxing massage (my back is literally full of knots, surprise surprise. I know I should, but I rarely stretch), we visited La Hacienda for an amazing dinner topped off with a tequila sample tasting. Fresh guac, amazing appetizers, and snake head tequila samplers were all topped by the flaming coffee!
Day 4
We made our way out of the city again, this way to Mesa, which is another region in the Greater Phoenix Area. For the first time, I went paddle boarding with No Snow Stand Up Paddleboards (NoSnowSUP)! I was really skeptical because I can’t swim (yes, I’m one of those…) but I hit it with a life jacket and hit the waves! Kidding, not waves, the water was super still because we were on a man-made lake where boats were really far off from us so we had zero waves. The experience was incredible as we just got to chill. With no waves, we were able to just relax and chill and get to know both the other media members and the Visit Mesa team. We even made friends with some local free range horses!
We then explored the Usery Mountain Regional Park, where we got some cool photos and then I got pricked by a jumping cactus. The jumping cholla are an absolutely real thing and my calf will always be evident of it. I still have marks on my calves from the cactus that embedded itself into me for a good 15-20 minutes. It wasn’t a smooth removal like a needle, but it was really wedged in there and took some heavy maneuvering to get it out. BUT, we got some cool pictures! Was it worth it? Hmm..
We then visited an olive farm, the only olive farm in the region! After a delicious lunch and tour of the facility, we moved on to our next destination of the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch (that’s a long name, I’ll be referring to it as the Hyatt). The whole is massive and extremely family friendly! How family friendly, you ask? In the general pool, I’d estimate about 80% of the users were under 18. On the other hand, there is a completely separate pool for adults. The colours are very vibrant and the staff are extremely helpful with any issues that we had.
Day 5
On the last day of our trip, it was our earliest rise of the trip! We were up at 4:30AM to go catch a hot air balloon ride over Phoenix with Hot Air Expeditions. I can’t hide it, I was pretty grumpy being up that early with no coffee or food at the time. I slept around 12:30 that night as well, so working off of 3.5 to 4 hours of sleep wasn’t great, but it was totally forgotten as soon as we hit the air. It was an incredible feeling being able to float above the whole city, seeing Camelback Mountain, and experiencing the city from a true aerial view.
The hot air balloon ride was by far the best highlight of the trip. Truth be told, I had originally planned on doing one this year anyways so this was just perfect timing. What better way to learn about a city, a culture, and a history than to have the widest view possible. From eating at spots that only locals would know, exploring the desert, experiencing Pizzeria Bianco, and riding a hot air balloon, this trip with Visit Phoenix was truly a remarkable one.
Special thanks to Visit Phoenix for this remarkable collaborative effort to work with Vic and I to truly learn and explore Phoenix and its surrounding regions. Although the trip was in collaboration with the Visit Phoenix team, all the opinions are solely mine.
