Better late than never! Hahah only a few months post our getaway to share some of our favorites in AZ. The hubs and I have been to Arizona once together and unfortunately, it wasn’t during the easiest time in our lives due to my Dad’s illness and Kevin ending up with the Flu. We have both been there on separate occasions since that first visit and we wanted to go back together and make new, better memories than our first visit together because we loved the area so much.
Our first time there we stayed at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia with the Camelback views and that was a beautiful resort! The Spa, was like a chef’s kiss. The views from the private spa rooftop pool were stunning, our room was perfect. If you get a chance I recommend it 100%. We thought about going back but the more we thought about it, we wanted to try somewhere new. We wanted a fun but, chill vibe hotel and we found it at Hotel Valley Ho! When we checked in and were chatting with one of the ladies at the front desk, and her words exactly were “it’s like Palm Springs meets Las Vegas”. We did go during Cinco De Mayo/Kentucky Derby weekend which I highly suggest, it was just so fun everyday. They typically have DJ’s at the pool Saturdays & Sundays, but since it was a busy weekend they added a DJ for Friday too. The hotel is at one end of Main Street, so a 10 minute walk up to all the cute shops and restaurants on Main St. and from the Riverwalk with even more shops and some even better restaurants. It truly is a little hidden gem in Scottsdale.
Day 1
We got there nice and early on Thursday. Our room wasn’t ready yet and we were starving, so we walked up Main St to a place called RnR Gastropub to watch the Cubs game while we devoured everything. It was a cool vibe during the day, at night this place gets rowdy! While we were there, I panicked not being able to find my wallet. Luckily, I just threw it in my weekender bag before going thru security. #Dummy! Our room was ready by the time we got back, we changed and headed STRAIGHT to the pool. The pool was very chill the first day because there was no DJ and not overly busy. *Random, I finally tried the Fresca Mixed – SO GOOD! If you love Fresca like I do, you’ll love.* We hung out there for a few hours then went to dinner a few doors down from our hotel at a delicious place called Pizzeria Virtu. I wanted pizza, Kev wanted pasta – so we got both! Hahah we ordered a bottle of Primitivo, the pesca salad, the milano pizza, n’duja arrabbiata pasta, this nuttela whipped mouse dessert & a cappuccino. SO FREAKING GOOD! The ambiance was so cute – we sat out on their little patio, the service was spot on. We wanted a chill night because early the next morning we had something fun planned.
Day 2
We kicked off our morning by grabbing a quiet bite downstairs at the restaurant and then getting picked up at like 8am by one of the staff members Alicia from Desert Monster Tours. Kev told me he really wanted to do these UTV tours but I was super hesitant. I am more of sit poolside/beachside to drink and eat everything all day kind of girl on vacation hahaha. I gave in and signed us up and I’m so happy I did! I even drove during our climb up to the peak. Only tip I’ll give is do not be the last one in the group otherwise you’ll be eating everyone’s dust … literally! Megan was our tour guide she was amazing, the whole staff is so nice, they make sure you feel safe the whole time and know what you’re doing. Next time, we’re doing the sunset tour.
After the tour, we went back to our hotel got showered (and luckily our room we got upgraded to had a washer & dryer in it and we were able to wash our extremely dusty clothes), then headed down and got lunch at the hotel restaurant and went to the pool to hang out. We had dinner reservations at The Mission (which was SOOO freaking good and highly recommend) then met up with some Canadians we befriended to end the night at a bar which we all felt like we were back at a college party because it was so packed, we had to wait in line to get to and everyone was bumping into everyone spilling drinks. It was a hot mess, but the live music was fun and we got to dance a little bit.
Day 3
Unfortunately, we woke up to news that our daughter started not feeling well Friday night and my Mom had to take her to the Urgent Aid to find out she had a high fever with Strep. Cue the Mom guilt! I had a hard time with not being there for her and trying to enjoy myself. The kids had my Mom and sister there so they were in great hands but man it was hard on me. Saturday, we grabbed breakfast at Jojo Cofeehouse – I highly recommend checking it out. We had an iced coffee flight, fruit, omelette and a scramble bowl. It was so good and the cutest vibes!! After we walked around Downtown Scottsdale, did some shopping and had some drinks and ended our day at the pool. Saturday night was the only night we didn’t have dinner planned we were wiped so we hung out at the hotel for the rest of the night.
Day 4
Sunday, we had booked a cabana the day we got in for a little Sunday Funday. I was having a rough day due to that Mom guilt so we just grabbed a light breakfast at the hotel restaurant and went to the pool at 11. We had a pretty chill afternoon just being in the pool, I spent so much of the afternoon on the phone with my Mom and checking on Maddy but my Mom and husband finally convinced me just relax and enjoy our last day. We stayed at the pool most of the day but had dinner reservations at Maple & Ash, so we went back to the room packed and got ready for dinner! Maple & Ash was SO good! Random fact, we have a Maple & Ash here in Chicago but we’ve never been and my brother even worked there for a little while hahah! So random but the staff was so amazing. We were greeted with a welcome cocktail, had an amazing waitress, got to meet the GM, our waitress brought us shots once they found out my brother worked at the Chicago location, the food was outstanding and definitely made for a fun night which was 100% what I needed after being stressed out.
Overall, it was definitely a completely different vibe from the first time we were in Scottsdale together and we hopefully will make it back sooner rather than later. It’s not too far of a plane ride for us, the hotel was such a fun party vibe but at the same time if you wanted to be low key they had a smaller pool to relax at and other spots in the hotel that weren’t a party. We didn’t check out the spa this vacation (which is very unlike us, because we love a good couples spa day!) but it looked awesome from the website. There is so much to do in Scottsdale and something for everyone. The food and drinks are always spot on and they always have something going on around town to check out. If you get a chance check out Hotel Valley Ho and Downtown Scottsdale.
