Recommendations for a January family reunion in Arizona?

[mominjune]

I'm planning a small (10 people) family reunion for my Mom's 60th birthday and would really love some recommendations. We will have 3 kids ages 4 and under, and are coming from colder places such as Seattle and Maryland, so anyplace in the 50-60's will seem warm. :)

We are thinking "Arizona" at the moment but not sure where. We've heard good things about Sedona, but also heard winter is probably not the time to go as there is a chance of snow. We would not go to the Grand Canyon as we've been there before and it's colder.

It would be lovely if the kids could go swimming outdoors, but that is probably unrealistic, so anyplace fairly warm with a mix of activities for children would be great. Reviews for places you've stayed at or seen would be wonderful. Resort-like accommodations sounds nice for for meals and lounging. We don't golf, spas are not the priority, and we won't be doing much hiking with young kids.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, this board is awesome!

Jen
DD 6-04

[almostamom]

Off the top of my head I thought of The Pointe at South Mountain. Here's a link: http://www.pointesouthmtn.com/ I must run and clean my house (we're having many, many guests this weekend), but please feel free to email or pm me through the boards. I live in Phx. and am happy to help you out. BTW, you might want to consider staying in Phx and doing a day trip to Sedona - it's only a 2 hour ride and it is a truly beautiful place on this earth!

Linda

[pb&j]

There is a chance of snow in Jan in Sedona, but I imagine it's even more gorgeous with snow! There's a large Hilton resort in Sedona that's supposed to be pretty nice. The Enchantment resort is really fantastic. Both have nice pools, and probably both have some kind of kids' activities.

-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, 01/05/06

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[cdlamis]

I have lived in AZ all my life. I used to babysit at all the resorts in the area and I am pretty familiar with the family friendly ones.
I would recommend either the Arizona Biltmore (great for kids!) or Pointe South Mountain. Not sure of your budget, but my hands down favorite is the Four Seasons in Scottsdale.
www.arizonabiltmore.com
www.pointesouthmtn.com
www.fourseasons.com/scottsdale

At the Biltmore, they have dive in movies in the pool (not sure if its heated), a campfire on their main lawn with a cowboy serving smores, a lifesize chess board on the main lawn, a large covered playground and more that I can't think of right now.

When are you planning this visit? Sedona doesn't have much snow in the winter months (Nov and Dec). We were there last December and there was no snow on the ground. One of the best activities to do in Sedona around Christmas is the Red Rock Fantasy. It goes from mid-November to Jan 1.
www.redrockfantasy.com

I don't have any recommendations on where to stay though- we always just stay in a cheap good hotel on the main strip. We are going to Sedona tomorrow and will be staying here for the first time.
www.radisson.com/sedonaaz
If you want, email me and I can let you know how we liked it.

You could always stay in the Phx area and do a day trip to Sedona which is about 2-3 hrs away.
Feel free to email me with any questions. Have fun!

*Edited to mention that I just noticed that I repeated a lot of what Linda said. At least now you know we are giving good advice! :)

Daniella
Mom to Julia 6/02
and Bella 12/04

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[mominjune]

Thanks for all the great specific advice and links so far and the offers to email/PM directly. I may just take you guys up on that as I get going more on the research. :) I love that Daniella and Linda gave some of the same suggestions.

We will be there 3rd weekend of January. It does sound like Sedona is definitely too pretty to pass up, and probably more so with snow as Ry said. Maybe some of the places will have indoor pools, then they can still go swimming even if it does snow. :)

Any comments on Scottsdale on Tucson? They were the other cities that came up on my brief research so far.


Jen
DD 6-04

[cdlamis]

>Any comments on Scottsdale on Tucson? They were the other
>cities that came up on my brief research so far.

Scottsdale has a lot of activities to offer- the train park, great shopping, it's near the Phx Zoo (maybe 10 minutes away), etc.
www.therailroadpark.com
www.kierlandcommons.com for great shopping and an overall fun place to walk around.

The AZ Biltmore Resort is in the heart of Scottsdale. It also has good shopping, restaraunts nearby. Fun to walk around as well.
www.shopbiltmore.com

SCottsdale is a great pick- it is a beautiful city with a lot to offer any member of the family. The only thing it lacks is that it is not surrounded by the natural desert environment like the other parts of the Phoenix area are. Does that make sense? Like the Point South Mountain Resort area and the Four Seasons area- the surrounding area is more deserty and scenic. You are still close to downtown Scottsdale/Phoenix though- maybe 15 minutes away.

Here is a map of the Phx area so you can se where everything is:
www.arizona-leisure.com/scottsdale-area-map.html

Everything here is relatively close to one another. I live between Chandler and Queen Creek (you can see it on the map) and I can still get to downtown Scottsdale in 30 minutes.

Hope this helps~

Daniella
Mom to Julia 6/02
and Bella 12/04

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[kransden]

I just moved to Phoenix, and live about 10-15 minutes from Point at South Mountain. I can't say anything good or bad about the resort because I have been too busy to try it, but you are < 5 mins from AZ Mills Mall and I-10. So you can get to anyplace easily. The IKEA is just a few minutes away. It has a nice play place, and cheap but decent food. The kids must be potty trained though. Nothing like dropping the kids off and having 10 minutes of peace.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[Zansu]

There are a number of good choices in Tucson, but if you're set on Sedona, Tucson's not the best choice.

If you decide Sedona's optional, I'd be glad to give you the info on Tucson.