paula1470

tburke99-I looked at your old posts and saw that you went to Sedona for the first time and didn't enjoy your trip. I am sorry that Sedona didn't turn out to be what you thought but people on this forum don't make a secret that it has its touristy areas.

Most people on this forum are seasoned travelers and know to stay away from the tourist shops, etc. And I have been to Sedona many times and never felt like I had to get involved in the new age babble you talk about.

There are plenty of places to stay in Sedona that aren't in town and unless you want to eat at one of the restaurants there you don't need to see all the tourists. You can go hiking, relax at your hotel and just enjoy the beauty as Mike said.

I also like Tucson and agree there is a alot to do there but Sedona is much more romantic.

emd

I don't think anyone needs to try to disavow tburke of his views on Sedona. I was one of the ones who answered one of his first posts when he was taking his former-girlfriend there and wanted info. When he got back and first posted about how much he didn't like it, I was surprised too, and wondered (and even posted) asking if he had looked around outside while he was there. But he just doesn't like it and had a bad experience there. I'm not sure what tburke was expecting, but it didn't meet his expectations.

The OP will read all the posts and what everyone says overall and weigh it and decide.

LindainOhio

We visited Sedona in Feb. 2004 and stayed at the Enchantment Resort. The setting of the resort is spectacular--right in Boynton Canyon. We stayed in a studio casita--living area with Murphy bed, fireplace, sitting area, very well eqipped kitchen and dining area, large bathroom with granite countertops, large patio with built in grill. The drive out Dry Creek Rd is spectacular--the sunset we saw while driving this road was beautiful.

We enjoyed eating at the casual restaurant onsite--during the day we could eat on the patio surrounded by the canyon. We also enjoyed eating at Dahl and DeLucas and Roberts Creekside Cafe (great peach cobbler.

We loved hiking there ---great views from Brins Mesa and Doe Mountain. If you enjoy hiking, I would think you would love visiting Sedona. It was a wonderful change of scenery vacation for us since we had never travelled to Red Rock country.

We ended up spending an extra 2 nights in Sedona when a snowstorm blocked the roads to the Grand Canyon so we did a lot more hiking than we planned--lots of area hikes are listed on www.hikearizona.com.

We have not visited Tucson but must say we enjoyed Sedona and the Enchantment. We only went into town to join the jeep tour. People rave about the jeep tour but since we had hiked so much, we weren't as awed by the experience as the couple with us who had only driven around the area. Hiking alone with my husband in the spectacular canyons was a great experience.

We found the Enchantment Resort to be an extremely romantic spot and found the staff to be helpful and friendly.

The whole town was excited about the snowstorm--they hadn't had a "good" storm in 2 years--we were less than excited--nothing like cacti covered in snow.

mvs1

Some really great suggestions for places to stay...just as I get things figured out..more choices pop up
I am really looking forward Sedona. Have the flights booked..now just the B&B/hotel/ resort and car reservations await...
Thank you all! You've been most helpful!

tucsonartist

I'm with tburke99 - Sedona is overrated. The area is gorgeous but it just doesn't do a lot for me.

emd

Are you following the current thread on the single woman going to Sedona? Good advice on that thread re how you need to give yourself a l-o-n-g time to drive from Sedona back to Phoenix and return the rent car before you catch your plane.

tburke99

MikePinTucson,

Sorry for mis-spelling the name of your fine city. I guess I rely too heavily on spell-check.

I hope you were not as offended as your post seems to indicate.

MikePinTucson

Oh, no, not offended at all. Happens all the time, probably because the airport code for Tucson is TUS (and not TUC). I guess I should have put a smiley face after my comment so you would know it was just tongue in cheek. Sorry you thought I was offended.

emd

tburke, I have been wondering something. If you didn't like Sedona the time you went and stayed at Enchantment, how come you went back the second time when you stayed at L'Auberge? Were you giving it a second try to see if it was better? Or did the girlfriend want to go? I just wonder why you would go back when it was not to your liking. I went to Vegas once and just really didn't like it ( I know, everyone else seems to like it) but I just haven't gone back....

emd

ttt

tburke99

I wanted to give it a second chance. The first trip was business (not bad as business trips go) and I had read (and otherwise heard so much) about Sedona, I thought it was worth trying again.

I agree with you about Vegas, though I've come to be able to tolerate it. (I've almost convinced myself to try Sedona again.)

emd

I am starting to understand why you really disliked the trip at L'Auberge...If you do go back, I have a suggestion. You might try staying up in Oak Creek Canyon, about 15 min. up 89A in the canyon at Junipine (but not in summer as there is no AC in the "creekhouses", which are nicely furnished townhome type places w/huge stone fireplaces, some w/hot tubs under the most incredible stars because there is almost no ambient light up in Oak Creek canyon). Oak Creek is stocked w/trout in spring and runs right through Junipine resort. You can drop your line in w/a piece of corn on it and catch many trout and use the kitchen in the unit to cook it. I have a feeling that staying outside Sedona and just going in to hike or go to a spa or a nice dinner reservation might be a better approach for you rather than being subjected to the things you don't like about the town, which I understand to be he tourists and the tacky shops (which are mostly clustered right in uptown area- I totally avoid that area). When you stayed at L'Auberge you placed yourself right in the middle of the heaviest tourist area, plus Auberge can be pretentious. I think that might be why you liked Enchantment better and had a better experience there - it is further out and away from the tourist area. The atmpsohere at Junipine is much more relaxed and quiet. And there are some hiking trails right there in the canyon- one is a switchback trail that starts right on Junipine's property, and one is West Fork, famous and very good trail that crosses Oak Creek (althought it is not deep, you can rick hop it usually) several times- there are sheer rock walls on both sides of you at the end of the hike, just beautiful. And the drive down into Sedona from Junipine is just lovely as you come down from the canyon to the red rocks (and just look straight ahead and drive right on through uptown Sedona to get where you are going to hike or dinner or whatever.)
I never stay anywhere near uptown Sedona. Much prefer either the Village of Oak Creek if I am on a budget, or Junipine up in the canyon, or way out in West Sedona if we are renting a house for a week. I can't stand uptown either.

emd

Oh, and from Junipine it is a hop yo the canyon and 89A to Flagstaff, where you can visit Lowell Observatory where Pluto was discovered. They open some of their biggest telescopes to the public at night once a month, which is a very cool thing to do. And Flag has the San Fransisco mountains.

sparksals

I got married last year in Sedona and it is absolutely gorgeous. It is surrounded by beautiful red rock mountains and Oak Creek Canyon is awesome (although I hate driving down that road!).

It's hard to compare Tucson and Sedona because they are completely different. Sedona is sort of artsy fartsy and it will be busy that time of year. If I remember correctly, October is the start of their high season. It will be crowded.

Depending on how long you plan to go, you can rent a car and drive to Flastaff (about 30 minutes away on the Oak Creek Canyon road or one hour by I 17) and then to the Grand Canyon which is another 1-1.5 hours from Flag.

We got married at The El Portal in Sedona. The food is fantastic, it has a beautiful courtyard and each room is a different theme. The woman who runs it can be a bit abrasive and pushy, but she runs a tight ship.

mvs1

emd - can't find the report you mentioned about driving from Phoenix to Sedona. Thanks.

mvs1

EMD - Found the thread and all those driving stories are quite freaky!!! Gosh...it sounds like I'll be lucky to reach the airport and even luckier if I catch my flight. Thanks for the tip off!
And for others - we decided to go all out and go to Enchantment... the only thing we are a bit wary of is the "formal" dining at one of the restaurants...we are "blue jeans" people and typically don't carry formals including Khakhi pants with us on vacation. Anyway, based on all the feedback sounds like I have many options beyond the resort so wont have to eat there each day.