I am thinking of Arizona as our destination for our 2nd anniversary. I am still trying to understand all the places. We definately want to see the Grand Canyon. We also want to stay at a 5 star resort with great views and a wonderful pool. The food should be good also, or it should be in a location where we can easily drive into town to eat at good restaurants. We have 7 nights. Should we split our time between places? Where should I look? Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona?? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

It really depends on what you like and when you are coming out here.

Sedona is a magical, romantic place to visit, with wonderful sights, great places to hike, and good sightseeing day trips.

http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/

Although I haven't stayed here, the Enchantment Resort in Sedona seems to be very popular.

http://www.enchantmentresort.com/

Phoenix, obviously, is a large (3.3 million people) metropolitan area with a wide variety of things to do, great night life, and a lot of top class resorts. But someone else will have to give you Phoenix / Scottsdale info. I live in Tucson and just don't seem to get to Phoenix that often.

Oops! I see you are Junebride, so I would guess you will be coming to AZ in June. In that case, unless you want a big sample of the Phoenix nightlife, I would say definitely Sedona. Phoenix in June will be very hot (but dry). Sedona will be at least 10 degrees cooler.

Thank you. What is there to do in Sedona. I searched and found the pink jeep tours. Sounds like fun. Is the Grand Canyon doable from Sedona??

Dear junebride:

Click on this link to a copy of our trip report from last summer:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34655352

The place we stayed was not 5 star, but I have also heard that the Enchantment Resort in Sedona is fabulous. Try to stay at least one, maybe two nights at the GC. Since this is a special trip, try for the El Tovar on the rim at GC.

Good luck,

MY

We actually did a 10 day trip last year, 4 days in Vegas, rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon, stayed one night at El Tovor, then on to Sedona for one nights, then on to Scottsdale where we stayed at the Marriott Camelback Resort for 3 nights. We ended by driving back to Vegas and stayed one night in Laughlin, ND...Great casinos on the Riverway...you get from one to the other by riverboat. The entire trip was wonderful! Sedona is a must see...Red Rock Park and the Chapel in the Red Rocks are gorgeous! Wished I had stayed there for another night.
Stayed at the Hilton in Sedona but we had points. There are better places. It is pricey and touristy, but beautiful. Another great place recommended to us was Jerome - the kalaidescope capital I am told! We never got there, but I sent someone else there based on recommendations and they loved it.
Scottsdale was a nice area to stay in as opposed to Phoenix.
Let me know if I can answer any questions for you...you will love it!

Thank you so much everyone!! I am getting so excited! So it looks like Sedona and GC may be the best bet. What is the norm? Fly into Phoenix (coming from NY) and then drive to Sedona. How much time should we allow there? Then I guess two days at the Grand Canyon and the El Tovar hotel. They how do we get back to Phoenix? Should we stop somewhere else along the way? And by the way the Enchantment Resort looks stunning! Has anyone stayed there? Trip advisor seems to have decent, but not amazing reviews. On the other hand the Phoenican looks incredible.....

Fly into Phoenix. Drive up to Sedona and stay at Enchantment Resort for a few days. Definitely do a spa treatment. Definitely do the Broken Arrow tour from Pink Jeep. I'd do a sunset biplane ride from the Sedona airport. Drive to the Grand Canyon and stay there at least 1 night - maybe two. Book as soon as possible to get a room in the Grand Canyon. Book tonight - get any room you can and try back closer to the visit to get a better room if you want.

If you like Frank Lloyd Wright at all, visit Talesin West in Scottsdale before you fly out of town. The Friday night night tour is wonderful. You may want to end the vacation with a couple of nights at one of the great resort hotels (with amazing pools) in Scottsdale.

So, that could be 3 nights in Sedona, 2 nights at Grand Canyon and 2 nights in Scottsdale.

From Phoenix, it is about 2 hours to Sedona. Lots of sightseeing, great hiking also. In addition to the jeep tours, you can also do mountain bike tours and, I believe, ATV tours. Here is a photo ablum of pictures around Sedona:

http://photobucket.com/albums/c378/M...Sedona%202001/

You do have to go to the chapel in the rocks -- a spiritual place (second picture is a view of it).

Jerome is a fun place, an old mining town on the side of a mountain, now an artists colony:

http://www.azjerome.com/

From there you could also drive to Prescott, Arizona's first capital city.

http://www.eatstayplay.com/html/az/p011.html

You definitely have to spend at least overnight at the grand Canyon. Drive up through Oak Creek Canyon from Sedona, through Flagstaff and on into Grand Canyon Village. It should be around 2 1/2 hours. Definitely stay at El tovar if you can.

If you are flying into and out of Phoenix, try to stay maybe the last couple of nights at one of the several great resorts around there.

I actually just looked up El Tovar and it is sold out for almost the whole month of June!! What is the next best choice?

junebride, you will be lucky to get a room at the Grand Canyon in June. I'd just stay on the reservation line and get whatever you can get (if you CAN get a room). Ask for rim view - but be happy if you get in to the Grand Canyon at all. Expect and enjoy the luxury at Enchantment or elsewhere on the trip. Just get a room at the Grand Canyon.

Take a look at tripadvisor.com if you want to see reviews of lodging options.

I'm serious. Just get a room. you can try later on a regular basis (especially right before the trip) to see if other accomodations (including El Tovar) open up.

Thanks everyone. I am going to book it tonight. These are my two choices that are coming up with availability.

Maswik Lodge
Yavapai Lodge

I've stayed at Yavapai. It's just fine. Tripadvisor has some reviews and photos. It's a hotel room in the park...but IT'S A HOTEL ROOM IN THE PARK!

After you've reserved a room, call the El Tovar and see if they have a waiting list. It's worth a shot - especially if you tell them you will be there for your anniversary.

Don't settle for anything other than rimside, there are plenty of rooms, just keep trying....the Bright Angel/El Tovar operator once told me to just keep trying and if they say no, just arrive at the desk and see if they have room, we've never been disappointed. We always drive Phoenix, where we live, directly to Monument Valley, take the afternoon tour, next a.m. drive to Canyon de Chelly, take the afternoon tour, next a.m. go to Grand Canyon, next a.m. head to Sedona, or start at Sedona and work thru ending at Canyon de Chelly and head back to Phoenix after that, plenty to do in the Phoenix area too. Taliesin West's one hour tour is wonderful and interesting even if you don't like FLWright's architecture that much.

Maswick isn't so great, but it is closer to the rim than Yavapai; actually Maswick is at the rim, but no rim views. If you are really picky about hotel rooms (I know you want 5 stars) neither of these will thrill you.

However, they are at the GC, and that's where you want to be. And as others have said, keep trying for something better.

Kachina Lodge was pretty nice. We had a view and loved it. If you have to settle for Kachina or Thunderbird, you will be fine. Both are at the rim, and the upper floors have views.

But no matter where you stay, if you stay in the park, you will be in the Grand Canyon, and you couldn't be any place better.

I am others have wept at first sight. Having a great room was a bonus, but I would go back and be happy with any room in the park.