Scottsdale, AZ: Trip Highlights

Like many other Canadians, my husband and I love to get away from our (cool) climate as often as possible. After checking out one destination popular with “snow birds” last year – Palm Springs – we decided to visit a different one this year: Scottsdale. Both of us loved California, and were curious to see how Arizona would measure up; of course, we can’t really compare two entire states based on brief visits to one small area, but in this limited engagement, we both agreed that Scottsdale emerged as the winner for us. I can’t entirely put my finger on the reason why, but we simply felt comfortable in Scottsdale as soon as we arrived, and from there on out, everything just felt into place like a charm. We didn’t end up following any of our plans, and still had an amazing time. I am already planning our return visit – next time, likely with our kids.

Here are my general impressions of Scottsdale and the Phoenix area.

Our Resort

We stayed at the Royal Palms Resort & Spa on the recommendation of a friend (and frequent visitor), and it was fantastic. The hotel is a former private estate; the grounds are stunning, and the Spanish-style architecture is charming. We ended up upgrading our room to a casita for a reasonable $30USD/night, which proved to be a great idea. The room was spacious, and had its own little patio area; we were also located right next to the pool area, which was convenient. Although considered a luxury resort, the Royal Palms is not the height of modern-style indulgence; it has a lot of charm and character as well as great service, which made us enjoy it but YMMV. Here is a contrast with other places we have stayed: the toiletries (shampoo, shower gel, etc.) were non (famous) branded, but the turn-down service chocolates provided every night were Ferrero Rocher. That was a-OK with me.

The landscape

I always thought that cacti were cute, but I became obsessed with them on this trip. On the recommendation of the hotel staff, we checked out the Desert Botanical Garden. It was the highlight of our trip! I have been to plenty of other botanical gardens in my travels, but this one was hands-down my favourite. The thing about cacti is that they are interesting to look at whether in bloom or not; we caught the tail end of blooming season, so we were extra lucky. The garden is beautifully landscaped, with several trails to explore. We saw lizards, hummingbirds, hares, and butterflies, and got a small peek at the beauty of the Sonoran desert. We went back in the evening to watch the sunset and see the garden lit up after dark. There was a music concert, so we also got to listen in; it made it a truly magical night.

I apologize in advance for the avalanche of photos to come:

We did not end up doing any hikes, as planned, because my husband wasn’t feeling it – or, specifically, was feeling the pool more. Next time, I will find a way to drag him up Camelback mountain (located right behind our resort) and maybe even on a day trip to Sedona. Can’t wait!

The sightseeing

We were pretty set on spending a good chunk of time pool-side, so we didn’t end up doing very much touristy stuff. We did go to check out the street art on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix proper, which was fun.

We stopped in for a donut and ice cream at Short Leash Hotdogs and Rollover Donuts, and ended up staying for a bit to play a hotly contested Uno tournament. It was one of those serendipitous moments that are truly the stuff vacation memories are made of. Since my kids’ favourite things include hotdogs, donuts and Uno, we will definitely be back.

We also explored Old Town Scottsdale a couple of evenings. Oddly, it reminded me a lot of the Byward market area in Ottawa. We loved checking out the little boutiques and sampling some of the food on offer – it did not disappoint.

Speaking of which, my husband and I both love food but we are not fancy restaurant people. The places we ate while in Scottsdale — Hula’s, Malee’s Thai Bistro, Sakana, Sugar Bowl, Cafe Zuppa — were definitely not fancy, but the food was great and reasonably priced. There were a ton of options to explore within easily drivable distance of our resort, which was awesome.

The Shopping

I was originally not planning to do any thrifting in Scottsdale, and was only going to stop at the Nordstrom Last Chance (the only one in N. America). We did that (twice) but I also ended up checking out a couple of Goodwills. Ok, it was more like 4 or 5. In my defence, unlike Houston, the thrift stores in the Phoenix area are close together. And they were really good! I’ll write about what I bought in another post, so stay tuned.

All in all, this was one of our favourite trips. Everyone we met was incredibly friendly, perhaps even more so than in California (which we like to joke is our American spiritual home). I cannot wait to go back and see (and do) much more.