Trip Motivation
In September 2019, we looked into taking a quick vacation somewhere fun. We still had Southwest companion passes and had recently seen a friend post pictures from Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. Using other people’s vacations to brainstorm ideas is one of our favorite ways to decide where to go on vacation. Read more about our flight to phoenix and drive here and more about our stay in Page, AZ here.
Sedona, AZ Hotel
We stayed at the Hyatt Residence Club Sedona. After our stay in Page, we spent 2 nights here. We used a free certificate (1 free night every year with the Hyatt Card $95 fee) and 15k points for the other night. This was a great use of points and the free night since this was a pretty upscale timeshare property. They had arts and crafts activities, a beautiful pool with great views, a dedicated kids room (with babysitters!) and everyone was really nice and helpful. The studio room had a pull-out couch that makes sleeping with kids easier and there were also larger options with large dining areas and multiple bedrooms. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here.
Timeshare tour
(Skip if you don’t care about timeshares): We didn’t have plans for Sedona except enjoying the hotel so we decided we could spend 2 hours at a timeshare presentation. The kids watched TV and colored while 3 different sales people tried to sell us things. One person in particular got on my nerves when his spiel said girls love luxury and the men who can provide it to them. 🤮 I know from following lots of travel blogs that it can be really tricky trying to tell the pushy salespeople no but I was genuinely interested in hearing about the timeshares and I think that made it a lot harder to disentangle from the sales tactics. Maybe in the future, we might look into it. I do really like Hyatt properties and paying for vacations in a lump sum now with smaller annual fees will make it harder for Ben to say we don’t have money for vacations (jk that doesn’t stop me)
Pink Jeep Tour
We went on a Pink Jeep tour that we got for free since we did the timeshare tour. It was cool being in a jeep going up and down the mountain and the kids thought it was super fun yelling while bouncing. The driver was great and talked to us about some history and described the plants. The kids got bored about an hour in (about 2 hour tour). I think the trolley tour around town would have been better for our kids although they might have been bored with that too… The grown-ups enjoyed the ride and the gorgeous views.
Other Activities
We spent a lot of time hanging out by the pool and enjoying board games and crafts in the large recreation building.
We also went on a brief sunset hike on the Sedona View Trail (1.2 miles) with excellent views. There are a tons of hikes in this area that we didn’t get to experience including Bell Rock. West Fork, Fay Canyon and more.
On our last morning, we went to a neighborhood playground and played at the splash park while Ben ran around on a mountain like a crazy person who relaxes differently than other humans.
Food and Drinks
When we arrived in town, we stopped at the grocery store for pool snacks and some breakfast items. For dinners we enjoyed Mexican food at 89Agave and wood fired pizza at Pisa Lisa. There was a spot to watch them throw the pizzas and make them so that was great to watch with the kids. Plus they had gelato. Always a hit with the kids and grown-ups.
Final Thoughts
Now that the kids are a little older and more stable on their feet, this would be a great trip to do again with more hikes and an excellent relaxing hotel.
