I am so grateful to all those who helped me plan our recent four-night trip to AZ. It was fabulous and all four of us including children (12 and 14) agree.

We decided to stay at the Intercontinental Montelucia. It's fabulous, but not grand in the same way that the Biltmore and the Phoenician seem to be. No golf course or tennis, but it feels rather intimate and hip. We were upgraded to a king suite that had a nice patio and convenient pool access. It was great to be near the action and even though the resort was sold out we never felt like things were crowded.

Day One --
The concierge was right on top of things and understood what we wanted. The first night we went to Posh, a restaurant without a menu. This was a truly memorable food experience! After giving the server vague guidelines on what we liked/disliked to eat, we were bought course after course of delectable and creative dishes. Wow! I cant say enough about the food and the service at this place. There are certain bites -- like the foie gras "creme brulee" and the buttermilk panna cotta with berry salsa that will be hard to top. If you are a foodie, this is not to be missed.

We got back to the resort late and were dismayed to find that there had been no turn down service, a problem when you have a pull out bed for one of the kids. But, they did make up for it in other ways. Oh yeah, we decided to pay the $25 to get blu-ray installed. However, my husband balked at the additional $7 for a movie rental. So, we cancelled it. It turned out to be a good thing anyway, since we're all pretty avid readers.

To be continued ..

Thanks for posting a trip report on your vacation to Scottsdale. We are going to be staying at the Montelucia next week so I am really looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Three weeks ago we had another snow storm so I decided to go to Fodors to get ideas on a trip to some place warm. I saw your thread and that is how we decided to go to Scottsdale. So, thanks for that too!

I am so glad the thread helped. And so sorry that I did not see this in time to answer any questions.

Day 2 -- Ate the breakfast buffet and then spent a few hours by the pool. Even though the resort was "fully committed" it never felt crowded.

Hubs and son had a golf lesson at the Biltmore so the concierge was a great help in outlining a mother/daughter plan. We went to the waterfront area (really just a canal) took the free trolley around and browsed in a few little shops. We're not big shoppers, but this was lots of fun.

Oops gotta go, To be continued.

Thanks for taking time to file a trip report. It's a big help to others who are thinking about a similar trip and gives feedback to those who responded to your pre-trip posts. Thanks!

Awesome misha!
I just booked 2 nights at the Montelucia for $99 with free breakfast and upgrade in July..
Posh sounds sublime.
Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks to all of you for your help.

Cont...

We went back and picked up the "boys" from the Biltmore, walked through the hotel to enjoy the architecture and then gawked at the stunning homes in the complex. By this time we were starved. We ended up near Old Town Scottsdale at the Tortilla Factory, at Hubs request. I thought it would be cheesy, but it was surprisingly good. We sat outside by the fountain with small heaters taking the chill off, eating hot fabulously spiced tortillas with herbed butter, Portions were huge so we only needed an appetizer two entrees and a dessert to feel stuffed.

To be continued:

Had a light breakfast of "AM penadas" at the resort cafe. Then we started the drive to Sedona. The first views of those Red Rocks are stunning. In fact, we have loads of time to admire the views since we got stuck in traffic. It was a welcome relief to arrive at the Enchantment Resort. Yaavapi restaurant had excellent service and stunning views. The food was appealing in every way. We spent most of the time talking about what faces we saw on the side of the mountain.

To be continued...