After years of city-centered trips, we tackled an Arizona trip spanning Scottsdale, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Flagstaff featuring all the things we love: finding the best restaurants, boutique shopping, and incredible sights, while also tackling new experiences, including hikes and glamping. We went in mid-October, which to us felt perfect, especially for hiking, even though some may think it’s a bit chilly for glamping or the pools (even though we still did both), I’d keep in mind the weather varied from the 40’s-70’s depending on our location. I also highly recommend renting a car out here, we were totally okay in a sedan. Whether you’re a city dweller with an interest a slower paced vacation or looking to pack in a well-rounded stateside trip, read on for the full itinerary, and trip highlights. For a quick round-up of my favorite spots, you can find them on my TikTok.

Scottsdale (Day 1 and 2)

• Flight out of Philadelphia to Phoenix airport (we used points for this trip through our American Airlines card, about 80,000)
• Hotel: DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Paradise Valley – Scottsdale (3/5)
  • Reasonable and close to downtown, but was under construction and a bit challenging to navigate. We love Hilton for it’s Honor’s program, and the rooms are usually very clean and accommodations are solid.

Day 1:

• Lunch: Pizzeria Bianco (Rating: 7.6, you can find all my food ratings on Beli)
  • Favorite Dish: Handmade Mozzarella with Local Market Vegetables
• Dinner: Los Olivios Mexican Patio (Rating: 6.8)
  • Favorite dish: everything was good, but no standouts for us here (we had the enchiladas and cheese crips (recommended on The Infatuation)
• Dessert: Salt and Straw Ice Cream (Rating: 9)
  • Favorite scoop: Malted Cookie Dough
• Experience: Desert Botanical Garden ($39.95 a ticket)

Day 2:

• Brunch: Berdena’s (Rating: 9)
  • Favorite Dish: Breakfast burrito (get this!!)
• Dinner: Uchi (Rating: 8.2)
  • Favorite Dish: Brussel Sprouts
• Shopping: Old Town Scottsdale
  • Favorite shops: The Mercantile, Vintage by Misty, Rooster Bus, Neutral, Bobbles and Lace
• Day 3: checkout day
  • Brunch: Breakfast Club Scottsdale (Rating 4.9/10)
    • Notes: Gives elevated Denny’s vibes

Sedona (Day 3-6)

Hotel(s):

• Day 3/4: Hyatt Vacation Club at Pinon Pointe, Sedona (2/5)
  • In-short, because this could be a lengthy review (always happy to answer directly if anyone is interested), but for a 4-star hotel, our experience was less than ideal. We discovered roaches our first night, had a broken toilet, and their large hot tub was broken. The customer service was good, not great, and for all of the other hotels in the area, I’d recommend somewhere else.
• Day 5/6: Amara Resort and Spa (4.5/5)
  • This hotel and spa was so, so lovely and their customer service was impeccable. From the valet to the macaroons on my birthday to the stunning rooms, amenities and a pool looking right onto a mountain, we loved it here. The only slight downside was it was quite loud, we could hear people in the halls outside of our room and a delivery truck outside one morning.

Day 3:

• Dinner: Elote Cafe (Rating: 9/10)
  • Favorite Dishes: Elote, Tamale, and Mexican Chocolate Pie
    • Our favorite restaurant all trip. We couldn’t snag a reservation, but arrived at 4:40pm and were able to get a seat. Bar seating is also first come, first serve.
• Shopping: Downtown Sedona
  • Favorite shops: Belle and Star. There’s also a ton of touristy, old school shops including a fudge, ice cream parlor, and crystal stores.

Day 4:

• Breakfast: We had breakfast at our experience for the day, the Verde Canyon Railroad, it was $19 a person for pretty rough cafeteria style food. I would skip paying extra for this, and eat locally instead beforehand.
• Dinner: Costa by Madrid (3.6/10)
  • Notes: While the service at this restaurant was really great, and they’ve also had the biggest wine glasses I think in existence, the food was overly complicated, very salty, and fatty as a whole.
• Shopping: Cottonwood has a really cute downtown if you have time to go. We purchased a toy from Pawz On Main for our dog, Philippe.
• Experience: Verde Canyon Railroad (7/10)
  • Cost: $139 pp, $19 for food voucher (skip this, they give you a free charcuterie and champagne board on the train and you can purchase snacks/drinks as well if you need more!)
  • Notes: The ride is four hours and is about 35-40 minutes outside of Sedona, and a great way to see the mountains if you’re not accustomed to hiking. The customer service was top notch, but we felt like four hours was a big time investment and we could see a lot of the same sights near where we stayed and on hikes.

Day 5:

• Breakfast/Lunch: we kept to granola/protein bars and trail mixes as we hiked this day
• Dinner: Broome & Orchard (6.9/10)
  • Favorite Dishes: Spinach and Artichoke Dip
• Experience 1: Devil’s Bridge Hike (10/10)
  • We accessed this hike via a shuttle, which is free and was only about a 10 min drive from our hotel, you can find the details here. As a non-hiker, we were a bit nervous about navigating this moderate hike. I used the app AllTrails and Reddit to do research on best hikes, and this one felt like the perfect length for us at 4.6 miles. We are fairly active, and will say it is fairly challenging in terms of endurance and elevation if you don’t do standard physical activity. We brought tons of water and trail mix. We were okay on this hike in gym sneakers, but would recommend hiking shoes if you plan to do more than one hike. Also bring sneakers you don’t mind getting covered in the red dirt from the mountain! The wait to take a photo on the actual bridge was about 45 minutes, so definitely bake in time if you want a photo. The scenery on this hike was absolutely breathtaking as an East Coaster who sees more skyscrapers than mountains.
• Experience 2: Amara Spa (9/10)
  • Right after our hike, we checked into the Amara and I booked it on over to a facial and scrub (seriously, make sure to leave some time or book another day, I cut it close!) I had the most incredible esthetician do both treatments. I started with the Prickly Pear Scrub, which was lovely, but as someone who likes a lot of pressure, I’d skip this for a massage if you’re the same. The facial was delightful, and I would recommend this and my esthetician was very knowledgeable. The spa itself has a sauna, showers, robes, and a relaxation room. We really indulged here as it was my birthday gift for the week!
    • Cost (20% gratuity included in cost, each were 60 min):
      • Prickly Pear Scrub Scrub: $215
      • Eminence Organics Custom Facial + Gua Sha Sculpting Massage: $225

Day 6:

• Breakfast/Lunch: Pump House Station (6.8/10)
  • Favorite Dishes: Chilaquiles, Burrito, and house-made coffee
• Dinner: SaltRock Kitchen (7.1/10)
  • Favorite Dishes: Tuna Tostadas and Salmon
• Shopping: Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, this is super cute to walk around in and features a ton of crafty shops.
  • Favorite shops: The Artist’s Kitchen Shop and BowWow Pet Boutique, where Philippe got another toy.
• Experience 1: Amara Spa
  • I was really itching for a massage, and booked one last minute and was so glad I did. It was the best massage I’ve ever had with luxe oils and amazing pressure. If I could only do one treatment, I would pick this one in a heartbeat. My husband also got a Men’s Facial which I put below for cost.
    • Cost (20% gratuity included in cost, each were 60 min):
      • Monsoon Rain Dance Massage $215
      • Men’s Facial: $195
• Experience 2: Airport Mesa (10/10)
  • Cost: $3 for parking
  • We went to Airport Mesa for Golden Hour (fun fact, my About photo was taken here!) and it had the most picturesque views (I took most of my favorite mountain photos here) I’d recommend arriving about 30-40 minutes before true Golden Hour/sunset to get a prime viewing spot. The parking lot had some food stands and water, but we skipped as we had dinner plans after.

Sedona/Grand Canyon (Day 7/8)

Day 7:

Hotels/Stays: Under Canvas Grand Canyon (9/10), see review below as this is lengthier than the others to reflect our first glamping/camping experience.

Morning/Afternoon in Sedona before Grand Canyon stay check-in

• Breakfast/Lunch: Freeform Coffee Roasters (9/10), we also hit-up the only turquoise blue McDonald’s for some fries for the road, very cool to get a photo at.
• Shopping: Poppy and Crow (great for both workout and regular pieces with items from Free People, DayDreamer, etc.)
• Experience: Chapel of the Holy Cross (6/10)
  • This church is built in the side of the mountain which was really interesting to look at (yes, you did have to walk up a bit of a mountain to get here, although they did have some golf carts coming up and down to the parking). If you get to this on your trip it’s cool to see, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-do unless you really love to visit different churches and/or their architecture.

Grand Canyon/Valle

• Under Canvas experience: this our first time ever camping in any capacity, and we were pretty skeptical of how we’d like it. I am not afraid to say we like the comforts of a nicer hotel, but with limited options near the Grand Canyon, Under Canvas felt like the perfect opportunity for us to try something new. Under Canvas is a true glamping experience: the tents are furnished with West Elm beds, optional upgrades for a toilet/shower (we opted to do this), and an in room furnace to burn firewood. They also have an onsite communal spot with indoor and outdoor seating where they serve breakfast, snacks, and dinner (not included), and do community events like s’mores, bookmark making, and live music and this tent is also stocked with games. This area is fueled by fire pits and kept very cozy. We really loved that we stepped out of our comfort zone to book this. The staff was stellar and helped bring our bags to the tent in golf carts and had great recommendations for hikes at the Canyon (they also very sweetly hung a Happy Birthday banner in our tent). Additionally, we wound up eating most of our meals here, as food near the Canyon is mostly fast food and taverns. The food was really solid overall, and you can also purchase pre-made drinks and wine/beer. To look at the stars alone in the open space was incredibly breathtaking, and the sense of community here was really amazing. We chatted with people all over the world both nights, and bonded over our love of travel (and also received some amazing future travel tips!). As anticipated, it was really cold at night, so definitely bring lots of layers and warm socks. I’ve never experienced anything close to this, and it was so memorable. We were about a 35 minute drive to the Grand Canyon. I think this experience is worth trying, but would recommend about two nights (the shower is a pull down lever to keep the water on, but this was fine for the two days we stayed).
• Grand Canyon experience: We headed to the Grand Canyon the 2nd day, and decided to do the the South Kaibab Trail, which is about 3 miles in total. The Grand Canyon itself is more expansive than one can put into words, but an absolute must see if you can. While we decided to hike, there are plenty of options to take shuttles around the park to different view points without hiking. The trail we took was recommended by a staff member at Under Canvas, and then I used the AllTrails app to track our progress. If you do this trail, I’d say it is one step more challenging than Devil’s Bridge was, and the trail is fairly narrow so if you get spooked by heights, I’d steer clear. I do wish we’d had hiking boots for this one, as I did start to get nervous the lower we got as the sand got more slippery. We did wind-up bailing with about 0.4 miles to go between the elevation, stamina, and my general unease at how narrow the path was getting. The views though were absolutely worth the trek, but I think you can still appreciate the Canyon on shorter trails or from the viewpoints.

Flagstaff (Day 9)

• Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Flagstaff (3/5)
  • This hotel was exactly what we needed after the glamping experience, but it was just a very straightforward, no frills Hilton. The location was kind of meh, I’d probably look to stay somewhere a bit closer to where the shops are if it’s in budget.
• Breakfast/Lunch: Flagstaff Baking Company (8/10)
  • Notes: we did pastries and coffee here, and it was super French inspired from the food to the music. We also hit In and Out for my husband’s first time, I like their Animal Fries best, and he thought the burgers were better than most fast food (I am a pescatarian so I didn’t have any, but the grilled cheese is solid)
• Dinner: Shift Bar and Kitchen (8.4/10)
  • Favorite dishes: Pickled Fries and house-made gelato
  • Notes: Our second favorite restaurant of the trip, this spot feels truly home-grown with the owner greeting customers and an open kitchen.
• Shopping: Downtown Flagstaff
  • Favorite shops: Bright Side Bookshop, Shoes & Such, Northend Consignment and Old Town Shops (there was also another Rooster Bus for men’s clothing)

Wrap-up

• All-in cost estimation: $5k (this would be monetary, but we used credit card points for our flights and for the Amara which was the priciest hotel)
• Favorite Spots Overall: Sedona and Flagstaff
• Things we’d do differently: do one night in Scottsdale (was more modern, college vibes overall, but we did love the downtown and shopping). Check out some of the towns outside of Sedona to mix up the food choices a bit, and also would have done three nights at the Amara to enjoy more of the pool/amenities if it was in budget.

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