Looking for sunshine and warm weather. Where
would you go? Have free airline flight so price of hotel is no problem

Your choices are pretty much two: Gulf Coast (including Florida) or Hawaii.

Both will be fairly crowded, but you'll probably miss the spring break crowd.

Paul - Hawaii is not an option at this time. You are right about the spring breakers - I forgot about that. I've been to Florida several times and don't want to spend another week there. Not really interested in beach areas. Considering Arizona at this time.....

Kathy,

Arizona can't be beat in February. I've lived in the Phoenix area my whole life and between October and April, the weather is fantastic. If you are serious about going to Arizona, post what kinds of things your interested in, what you want to do, etcetera and I'd be glad to help you out, as I'm sure would many other people on this forum.

Shannon, I've been to Arizona many times (unfortunately it's usually in August and September when it's hot). I have always stayed at either Phoenician or my all time favorite Boulder's in Carefree. I like Boulder's because of the privacy of the casitas, service,"in the desert" atmosphere, and when in luck get to hear the coyotees on occasion. I'm from PA and we don't have them here. I would be interested in recommendations of other similar places to stay, possibly closer to Scottsdale. It seems we are always headed toward the Camelback area for dinner and the drive is about a half hour. I'm sure in February, the traffic will be heavier with snowbirds.
I have never had the opportunity to see the desert in spring "bloom" Is there a chance of that at the end of February?
I do get Phoenix Magazie to keep up with what's happening and especially the restaurants. Always eat at Mary
Elaine's at the Phoenician and Christoper's when in town.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Kathy,

I'm glad to hear that you are a fan of the Phoenix/Scottsdale area already! A couple of other resorts you might want to consider staying at are the Princess and the Hyatt at Gainey Ranch. Being that I live in the area, I've never stayed at either of them, but they come highly recommended. I have stayed at the Phoenician once and heard wonderful things about the Boulders, so I'm not sure how they will compare, but the Princess is supposed to be fabulous. I will have to think some more on restaurant ideas and get back to you. One place I can recommend right away, if you want a completly casual lunch or dinner is Oregano's. If you enjoy pizza and/or Italian food it is great. Its very casual and pretty inexpensive, but the food is great. There are a couple of them in the city and on in Old Town Scottsdale on Scottsdale Road. As for seeing the desert in full bloom, it usually doesn't really happen until the March/April time of year. You might catch the beginnings of it, though. It is a beautiful thing to see!

What about New Orleans?

I've been to New Orlean's on two other occasions. After reading Shannon's
info about the desert being in bloom at the end of March or beginning of April, I'm leaning toward scheduling the vacation at the end of March. I really would like to get lucky enough to see that.

Kathy: the only place in the same league as Phoenician/Boulders is the Four Seasons Troon North. It won't solve your problem of wanting to be closer to town, but there's nothing else in this class. The Biltmore, Hyatt GR, Royal Palms, etc are all very nice, but clearly a cut below (though I haven't seen a suite at the Royal Palms, and the renovation done there was pretty impressive; but standard rooms still weren't spectacular enough for those wanting the very best).
If you want a change of pace, have you ever considered Tucson? Still nothing quite as nice as the best in PHX, but there are a couple very nice resorts which offer a change of pace from what you've seen. I'm not a huge fan of Tucson as a vacation city, but if you like hiking, it's a great destination.

Have you considered Palm Springs?

Our favorite warm weather getaway for winter is Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Cabo San Lucas. Top rated resort in North America by CN Traveler, and one of Forbes 20 best beach resorts in the world (current ranking). It's more expensive than the Boulders, but the beach is unbelievably pristine, unpopulated and relaxing. Don't care for the local towns much, but for a getaway break during winter it's wonderful tonic. But if you expand your options then Cayman and the other typical Caribbean options come into play as well.

Dan, I appreciate your input. Will check out 4 Seasons to see where it is located and if it has casitas. Also have vacationed in Tuscon and also am not a fan of it for a vacation return.
I have considered Palm Springs, but have not read up on the area yet for any real info. I will also check out Las Ventanas. We are not interested in going to the Caribbean this year. We have explored several islands in the past, but always returning to St. Martin in the past few years because we
enjoy the gourmet food. Thanks for your help

Dan, Looking into Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabaos. Free airline ticket is only good for continental US. Is is possible to fly into San Diego, stay somewhere for a few days, then continue south to Baja?

You say you don't care for the towns much? Do you leave the resort, or just crash there?

What type of accomodation have you tried, and after being there, what would your recommend? Garden view, water view, rooftop?

Kathy:
It is possible to drive to Cabo, but I don't know anyone who would try it during a getaway vacation. It's more than 10 hours, I believe.
We've stayed in two different room types there. Last time we were fortunate enough to get into one of the rooms along the beachfront, with an infinity pool shared with only one other room just 5 feet from our patio. So the view out of our room was nothing but water. The rooftop rooms are nice in that they have broader water and beach views, along with private canopies. We favored the beach front room because it felt like we were the only guests at the resort. Couldn't see anyone or anything else and the pool was not used by anyone else and the walk out the door to the beach was only a few steps. Unfortunately there are only a very few rooms like that one, and I doubt they'll guarantee which room you get in advance, though I'd try to get a committment from them. We also stayed in one so-called ocean view room which was well away from the beach and behind a couple other buildings. We were not pleased there and requested a move prior to actually 'moving in'. I'd avoid a garden view room unless you plan to spend zero time in the room. Our pattern is to go back and forth from beach to pool to room (drinks, fan, nap) and back again throughout the day so we think access to pool and beach is worth the extra dollars. Service there is quite good. The main restaurant was also very good, but very expensive. A selection of wines over $1000 a bottle on the list. We ate breakfast at the next table from Pamela Anderson one morning, and I understand that the resort is popular with Southern California celebs and moguls. As such, you'll find a high level of class and discretion among staff (relative to what I've experienced at other higher end resorts in Mexico).
Can't praise this place enough. It's a gem.
And while we did go into the two towns at least 4 or 5 times, they're not memorable. Food is OK at some places, spectacular that we came across.
Decompressing at the resort is the goal when we go. Not for everyone, but if you're looking to warm up and unwind, it's a great choice.

My pick would be Naples,Fla at either the Ritz Carlton Naples (their top rated Ritz-has huge spa now) or the Registry Resort in Naples--both hotel on Gulf of Mexico-absolutely beautiful-in winter filled with lots of Europeans-restaurant at Registry-5Star as well as the rest. at the Ritz--in addition, the tiny city of Naples has tons of gourmet restaurants-very UPSCALE-with wonderful shopping, and deep sea fishing