A short Note:  I will have to attach my albums slowly as I haven’t found a great upload yet and the NextGen is slow on my computer, but I will try to do it eventually so you can have the pictures I say I will post.  And if anyone knows of a better gallery tool, by all means let me know!  I did it here they are!

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So I could have posted my Phoenix report this winter when you were dying to get somewhere warm, but then the prices were outrageous.  Right now you can get a pretty good deal for a Phoenix vacation in January at some of the nicest resorts and you can put in that vacation leave form way too far in advance for anyone to say no.

For people who know me really well, I am very particular about nice hotels.  If I am paying a premium to stay somewhere I have a high level of expectation.  There have been many a Leading Hotel of the World that I will not be returning to.  In particular I am very sensitive to noise.  Poor Hubby will attest that I am not an easy sleeper with a lot of noise, and me not sleeping means I am quite grumpy.

Hubby scored major bonus points in Phoenix though as he picked a hotel that is now one of my all time favorites.  Hubby and I stayed at the Royal Palm.  I really love the Royal Palm for many reasons including the following:

• Great Spa (see it’s own post the Alvadora Spa) which is even open late
• Large guest rooms at even the basic level
• The hotel restaurant T. Cooks is really good (the mediteranean breakfast burrito and their roast chicken are really good)
• They have a beautiful heated pool
• Large very nicely appointed bathrooms with tubs
• Wonderful level of personal service
• Many small private areas for relaxing or having private dinners
• Beautiful gardens, terraces and water features
• You can use the sauna and steam room for free

Here are some pictures for just a small taste of the resort.

Hubby and I enjoyed quite a number of great activities while in Phoenix- we hiked Camelback Mountain (link has wonderful pictures, maps and guides), we visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West which was really neat and had some really beautiful details and art, we visited the Desert Botanical Garden which was hosting a Chihuly exhibit that you can see in the gallery below and we also went to see Frank Lloyd Wright designed hotel the Biltmore, and of course we spent time napping by the pool, swimming and enjoying the spa at the Royal Palms.

Hubby and I also enjoyed some great meals, besides T. Cooks, we also loved Matt’s Big Breakfast- the waffles were amazing made with sweet cream they were soft and full of flavor also the ham they use is freshly baked off the bone ham not those gross cubes of ham you normally see and they have wonderful hashbrowns that are crispy and flavorful.

Los Dos Molinos a reccomendation from the brother filled our craving for excellent green and red chille sauce.  It was hot and it was satisfying.  The margaritas were good, the chimichangas great and the owner was talking to us and was as nice as could be.  This isn’t an upscale fancy smancy place, but it was one our favorites.  They have multiple locations we went to the central location which was a bit like an open bar in a good way.

I also have to admit that we enjoyed a couple Blue Corn Burritos in the airport on the way home Sunday afternoon, they are much better than anything you get here, even in the airport (sad but true).

While for us Phoenix isn’t really a weekend getaway, it is an extended weekend getaway.  I even kind of liked going to the cheesy downtown area and wandering.  It is a little dissapointing that so many of the art galleries have closed in this economy, but it was still a great weekend with a lot of outdoor activities, culture and adventure to soak up.  My last tip is make sure you rent a car as everything is really spread out and you wouldn’t enjoy the area near as much if you were limited to cabs.

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