Five Day Trip to Arizona (Including Grand Canyon)

We flew in to Phoenix, and rented a car right off the bat. Our plan was to drive up to the Grand Canyon that day, and spend the night in the Bright Angel Lodge. The drive was gorgeous. We made a pit stop in an outlet mall just north of Phoenix, drove by Flagstaff, and got to the Grand Canyon approximately 4 hours later. In our opinion, one night at the Grand Canyon, if you aren't doing any hiking, is enough. We stayed right on the rim, took pictures, had dinner at the Lodge, and went to sleep. My husband got up to check out the sunrise, but I like sleep too much. He got some good pictures.

We drove back to Phoenix the next day, and drove through the Red Rock/Sedona area. It is absolutely beautiful and I am so glad we did it. When we come back to Phoenix, we will be staying a couple nights there.

Once we were back in Phoenix, we checked into JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa. LOVE THIS HOTEL!!! See the review for details. Here, we didn't do a whole lot in Phoenix. We went out to eat, visited the Scottsdale area, and saw a movie. We also visited the outdoor mall across the street, which had misters to keep you cool. This trip was very relaxing, and we most definitely will be back.

Quick Tips:

If you are doing any sort of driving in Arizona, don't drive anything that is less powerful than a V6.

If you are staying the night at the Grand Canyon, not all rooms have private bathrooms. That may or may not be important to you, but it was to us. Just beware of that.

Arizona is cheaper to visit during the summer, but if you plan it right, you can get on beginning or tail-end of the summer deals and get very good pricing.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around is by car. As my suggestion indicated, get a car with at least a V6 if you are traveling outside of Phoenix.

If I could live here, I would. The resort is wonderfully situated across from a high-end mall, several restaurants (including one of our favorites, Rock Bottom), and a movie theater. It is also right off the highway. The resort itself is fabulous. Its landscape is breath-taking, its staff attentive, and the rooms very comfortable. Parking is free and there weren't any hidden charges.

The number one highlight of the trip was by far the lazy river at the resort. It was great for the first two days (no kids), but once Labor Day weekend hit, the kids were just too much, so we opted to spend some time at the mall across the street. Typically, lazy rivers at hotels are not very long (500 feet), but this lazy river is approximately half a mile long. They don't charge for inner tubes to float on.

All in all, this is one of the best resorts I have stayed at, and I'd have to say that I'm quite picky.

There are a small number of choices for lodging at the Grand Canyon, and one cannot be picky. Luckily, I prepped myself pretty well before coming here. This hotel is somewhat charming, featuring that log cabin look. But, this lodge is run by the National Park Department and is lacking in comforts. The bed was hard, the walls are paper-thin, and the bathrooms are small. However, we were educated beforehand, and were fortunate enough to have a private bath; not all rooms are that lucky. We paid extra for a (small) private bath.

Anyway, you don't visit the Grand Canyon to get pampered. You visit it because you are interested in seeing one of the seven wonders of the world. This hotel is marvelously situated for this purpose. You step out of the hotel and you are right on the rim.

We would stay here again, as the options are few, and all run by the same people.

I have been to a fair share of outlet malls, and this is one ranks average. It's got the typical Gap, Ann Taylor, and Nine West stores, plus a food court. For a complete list of stores, see http://www.outletsonline.com/swoaaz.htm.

We really only stopped here, because we were on our way to the Grand Canyon, and wanted to stop somewhere for food with a lot of choices (i.e. food court). I had Burger King and my husband had Subway.

So, I wouldn't make a trip to this outlet mall again. Just go to an outlet mall closer to you. Travel costs are less, and it's easier to bring home your shopping purchases.

Being across the street from our resort, Desert Ridge Marketplace was conveniently located and a pleasure to visit. My husband and I go to this mall for a couple meals and one movie. This mall has most of your regular shops, but overall it's on the high end. The mall is newer and outdoors but has misters to keep people cool. Parking is little ugly, as I can't say that this mall was designed to have efficient traffic movement, but the restaurants were worth it. We ate breakfast at a Starbucks here and also had dinner and beer at Rock Bottom.

I would overall recommend staying at the resort and visiting this mall. These two items are well put together and bring ease to the overall vacation in finding dining options and things to do if you have a few hours to spare.