brooksari

Can anyone help my parents? They are trying to plan a much-needed trip to Arizona and are looking to stay somewhere luxurious and outdoorsy and gorgeous where they can ride horses, hike and be surrounded by magnificent scenery. Any suggestions? They never go on vacation, and I'm trying to find them somewhere really special.

Any suggestions for particular hotels, resorts or even regions or towns? They'll be traveling in late March/early April and will be flying from NYC, if that matters.

I'm wondering if the Enchantment Resort in Sedona may be right for them. (Hate the name, but it looks like heaven.) They could even do a day trip to the Grand Canyon from there, I understand.

Any tips would be much appreciated.

tia!!

MikePinTucson

Late March / Early April will be pretty cool up north. I would suggest Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson.

http://www.tanqueverderanch.com/

March and April are much warmer in Tucson and Phoenix. Tanque Verde Ranch is on the outskirts of Tucson, but you can be in the center of town in about 30 minutes (not during rush hour). There are tons of things to see and do around Tucson and southern Arizona. Check my online list, which includes clickable links:

http://www.mikepintucson.blogspot.com/

DebitNM

I LOVE Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix; luxury and all the bells and whistles and it is small enough to feel pampered.

The restaurant, spa and grounds are excellent.

http://www.royalpalmshotel.com

DebitNM

I should have included that it is #1 for all hotels in Phoenix on Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...x_Arizona.html

They should be sure to visit Taliesen West, Frank Lloyd Wrights winter home.

agsvelasquez

Brooksari,
You can't really go wrong with Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix/Scottsdale, they do it right. I'd strongly suggest they make the drive up to Sedona/Grand Canyon since it is something one can only see in AZ. Late March and early April is PERFECT weather in Phoenix, very pleasant in Sedona but still cold at Grand Canyon. In Sedona, you might check out Lauberge de Sedona, just renovated and gorgeous location, excellent service and food as well.
Cheers!

brooksari

Thank you so much, everyone. While the Royal Palms looks GORGEOUS, it doesn't feel quite right for this trip. My parents are looking for a hotel smack in the middle of magnificent scenery and landscape. Not just a gorgeous resort -- but a transporting experience with nature, vistas and landscape. Does that make sense? I'm not sure RPR fits the bill.

I didn't realize that Sedona would be chilly that time of year. Hmmm. Tanque Verde Ranch is very interesting, MikePinTucson. I'm looking into it.

Any other ideas? They'll consider New Mexico, Colorado, etc, too.

Thx!

martym

It would be chilly if not cold in Colorado late March-early April. March, on average, is our snowiest month with April not far behind.

gigib

There is a nice hotel in Tucson called the Loews Ventana, It's not a full scale resort, but it has a beautiful location tucked up in the foothills, surrounded by rocky hills and huge saguaro cactus, very natural feel. Tucson is very scenic, lots of nice hiking.

voyager61

If they want good weather and great desert scenery, for that time of year, I'd probably go with the Tanque Verde Ranch near Tucson...sounds like what they are looking for, but there is also plenty to do in Tucson if they get bored at the resort.

paula1470

I like the idea of Tucson, too. Perfect weather that time of year and if there has been any rain during the winter, the desert will be spectacular. Mike lists just about everything there is do in Tucson on his blog. I've stayed at Loews Ventana before and it's nice. Pictures on the Tanque Verde website show the desert when it is lush and green.

brooksari

Thanks, everyone. Can my parents do a day trip to the Grand Canyon from Tucson? Or is there somewhere you would recommend that they could also go to after a few days at the Tanque Verde from where they could do a day trip to the GC? Maybe five days or so at Tanque Verde and then a drive to Sedona for a few days and a stay at the Enchantment Resort? Even if the weather in Sedona won't be perfect, they will already have gotten lots of sun and perfect weather in Tucson.

What do you think? Thx!!!

HappyTrvlr

Tucson is an hour and half south of Phoenix and then Phoenix to Sedona is another two hours, all on good highways. They could stay in Tucson, and then go to Sedona and from there go to the GC. We have stayed at Enchantment Resort and liked it a lot. There is very good hiking adjacent to the resort.This would a nice combination for them, Tanque Verde Guest Ranch, Enchantment Resort and then hopefully they can book a view room on the Grand Canyon's south rim at El Tovar.

paula1470

I think your plan would work fine. A day trip to the Grand Canyon would be miserable. I think it's long even doing it from Phoenix which is at least 1.5 hours closer. They would really enjoy staying in Sedona and it's very different from Tucson.

You could get some rain in Sedona but looking at the average temperature, it says the average high for March is 63 degrees and for April 72 degrees. It does go down into the 30's and 40's in the evening. The Grand Canyon would be cooler with temps at least 10 degrees cooler. They could still see some snow at the Grand Canyon if it got cold enough.