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Top 10 Phoenix Summer Getaway Deals

June 26, 2017 / Arizona, Travel

This is not a sponsored post.

Summer is here and it’s the perfect time to travel, especially when you can find a great deal. Right now, there are some amazing summer getaway deals you can grab in the Greater Phoenix area, & save 75 percent or more at landmark properties.
Check out these top 10 Phoenix Summer Getaway Deals:

Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort – Summer Inclusive Package
Save up to 75 percent at the famous Arizona Biltmore now through Sep 10, 2017. This package, starting at $215 per night, includes a luxurious guestroom, 20 percent off a la carte Spa Biltmore services, complimentary self parking and resort charge and entertainment such as family-friendly movies by the pool on every Friday and Saturday night.

Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort – Lather on the SPF: Squaw Peak Fun!
Avoid a boring summer and lather on the SPF with this package, which starts at just $124 per suite, per night, now through Sept. 9, 2017. This 60 percent savings over peak season rates lets guests enjoy the hotel’s four-acre water park for less, including sports pool, tennis courts, miniature golf and lazy river. Free kid’s programming and activities abound at Hole-in-the-Wall’s River Ranch including Saturday Dive-in movies.

JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa – Come to Life this Summer Golf & Spa Packages
Come to life now through Sep 30, 2017 with two great packages where you can save over 100 percent. The Come To Life Golf Package starts at $179 per night and includes: $50 Resort Credit daily, unlimited golf (tee time restrictions apply), free kids meals (12 and under with a paying adult), 20 percent discount off spa treatments at Revive Spa and free resort fee included. The Come To Life Spa Package starts at $199 per night and includes a 50 resort credit daily, one 50-minute Revive Massage, free kids meals (12 and under with a paying adult), 10 percent discount off purchases in retail shops, free resort fee and a 25 percent discount off additional spa services.

Sheraton Wild Horse – “You Stay, We Pay” Package
Starting at $149 per night, this package includes a $50 daily resort credit, representing nearly 75 percent savings now through Sept 5, 2017. Families can retreat from the heat with the new River Boat Adventures, which include options to pedal boat, water bike, kayak or stand up paddle board down their winding river. The resort’s summer holiday waterpark weekends feature large-scale slip and slides, multiple inflatable water slides for kids of all ages, a dunk tank, family-friendly concession stands and much more. Guests can enjoy live poolside music and outdoor lawn games such as bocce, life-sized Jenga and cornhole. Adventurers can enjoy other unique experiences including the Native American culturally themed courses such as; jewelry and dream catcher making courses, gourd painting, canvas & cocktails and much more. Parents can get pampered at the Four-Star Aji Spa or on the links at nearby Troon-managed Whirlwind golf club while the kids take part in the Adventure Club Camp.

Westin Kierland Resort & Spa –The Big Chill Package
Now through Sept. 4, 2017 save up to 60 percent off high-season rates at the Westin with rates starting at $149 per room per night. The package offers a choice between a $50 per room, per night dining credit or two free sessions on the Kierland FlowRider wave simulator (a $70 value). All summer, the Resort’s FUN Team leads chill-seeking adventurers in activities created to beat the heat, suh as Freezin’ Fridays, the Adventure Pool, Lazy River, 110-foot waterslide and more. Kierland FlowRider will stay open until 10 p.m. with a poolside Glow Party with musical entertainment, glow sticks, S’mores, and party games to round out the fun. On Saturdays, guests enjoy wintery poolside games and activities all day including the Polar Plunge (hundreds of pounds of ice are dropped into the pool) and delicious Smokin’ Jack’s BBQ. All weekend long, guests can enjoy cool treats delivered by the Kierland ice cream truck as its makes its way around the Resort. Plus, the Resort’s one-of-a-kind, 3-D PaintScaping Show will be offered every evening through July 4.

The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch – Summer at The Scottsdale
Cool off with weekend rates starting as low as $99 — over 60 percent savings over the high-season rate — now through Sept. 4, 2017. The package at this resort, which recently completed a $10 million renovation which transformed the indoor and outdoor spaces, also includes free entertainment, dive-in movies, games (horse shoes, ping-pong, corn hole, life-size beer pong), adult and kid snow cones and daily drink specials. Guests can have a rockin’ good time by the pool with live music by the Mark Long Band and rock ‘n’ roll-themed movies like ‘The Buddy Holly Story’ and ‘Walk The Line’ after the sun sets on select Friday and Saturday nights.

The Wigwam – SummerScapes Package Escape to The Wigwam
Now through Sept. 7, 2017 and get a fantastic weekday rate of $139 and weekend rate of $159 (25 percent savings), including a free summer camp for kids and a $50 resort credit per night per room that’s good for food, beverage, spa, golf, or tennis. The Wigwam currently spans more than 440 acres on an estate-like setting and features 331 casita-style guest rooms, including 72 suites, crafted from distinctive adobe architecture. The resort offers 54 holes of championship golf, The Red Door Salon & Spa, three pools with two twisting water slides, and five restaurants and bars. The hotel also offers Camp Wigwam, a complimentary summer program that focuses on activities for children up to age 12.

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa – Splash Into Summer
Save 25 percent on the first room and 50 percent on the second room with this package, which starts at $149 per night and runs through Sept. 9, 2017. The package includes a $50 resort credit and complimentary self parking. Guests can enjoy the resort’s 2.5 acre water playground, beachside fun zone with games, dive-in movies every weekend, nightly entertainment, sandcastle competitions, a welcome summer “sipper” on check-in and much more.

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess – Summer Splash Birthday Bash Package
The package starts from $169 per night — up to 75 percent off the high-season rate — plus a $50 daily resort credit now through Sept. 4, 2017. The $30 resort fee includes complimentary half-day admission to the Trailblazers Kids Club for up to three children ages 5-12. In addition to the substantial savings at this luxury resort, guests can take advantage of the action-packed summer schedule of activities, such as fireworks every Saturday all summer long, concerts on the Lagoon Lawn and Float Fit paddleboard yoga at the rooftop pool. Guests can also enjoy Techno Glo pool parties with fog, lasers, LED hula hoops and DJ Splash, and the new interactive Techno-Bot siblings, Beta and Blast. Trailblazers Kids Club and Recreation Center will offer a new BEAM interactive floor playground and virtual reality adventures. Guests can ride on a roller coaster or glide above the clouds in an immersive, virtual reality 3D simulator, which are complimentary at the Kids Club. Classic games, billiards, ping-pong, shuffle board and arts and crafts are also available in this family-friendly fun zone on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North – Summer Rates
Make this a summer to remember with savings up to 25 percent now through August 31, 2017, with weekday rates beginning at $189 per night. The luxury resort offers easy access to sunrise hikes to adjacent Pinnacle Peak Park, dining al fresco under a blanket of stars and poolside pampering at the sparkling, two-tiered pool complex. The entire family can head to the pool for complimentary “Dive-In” movies, running every Saturday night throughout the summer.

To book the above packages or find even more summer deals, check out Visit Phoenix’s packages page here.

Some images are property of Visit Phoenix.

Getting Ready to Go ON THE ROAD for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference!

July 16, 2014 / Arizona, Disney, Lifestyle, Social Media Conferences, Travel

The day I got an email in my inbox inviting me to attend the Disney Social Media Moms on the Road Conference in Arizona was a Magical One!

I’d connected with so many other Disney-loving moms online who are also in the social media world and this was finally going to be my chance to connect with many of them in person! I was also excited about the location of the conference, The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort! The property looked like it had so much to offer when I checked out the website. Emi was excited for the pools and Sonoran Splash, which are the watersides. I just couldn’t wait for all of it!

As the conference date neared, I started to plan out which necessities I’d need. I made a list of road trip necessities, in-room necessities, and conference necessities! Since Emi was going to be traveling with me to Arizona, although she wouldn’t be attending the actual conference, I wanted to get some extra special things for our trip to maximize our dual Disney Side.

First of all, let’s talk EARS! I love wearing ears. I wear ears when I’m in the parks. I sometimes wear ears when I’m teaching. I wear ears when I’m cleaning the house, unless I’m already wearing a tiara to clean! I will find any excuse to wear ears. Emi and I both already have black and red ears but I was in search of new ones for this special occasion. I came across an adorable local (to me) shop on Facebook called Popsikle Shop. She makes custom ears, so I decided to order a pair for both emi and I, matching of course!

Next we went shopping for warm weather necessities. Wait, I didn’t mean warm weather, I meant HOT weather! (Have you ever been to Arizona at the end of June?) Emi wanted to find some items that were matching and Disney-ish. We really lucked at Walmart! Their Juniors section had a ton of really cute bathing suits and swim shorts. Hot pink with white polka dots was VERY “Minnie”

So adorable, don’t you agree?

Do you like our hot pink visors, too?

We also found matching polka dotted coverups at Walmart that we wore as sundresses!

Walmart had everything we needed for our trip. We found sunglasses, water shoes, some other summer clothes, sunblock, and even snacks for the road trip! Not only did they have everything we needed, but it was also very affordable!

We also packed the personalized t-shirts we had made for Disney24 to wear in the room as part of our pajamas. I think this was the first trip we’d gone on where we had almost exact matching wardrobes. It was pretty cute!

I knew I needed to find something special to bring to this conference and hand out with my business cards. I racked my brain for something that I could make, but I truly had no extra time to really make anything by hand. Then I came across a post from a friend of mine, Xenia, who had recently hosted a Disney Junior Familia Party. It was on that post that I discovered alfajores! I KNEW immediately that they where what I needed to bring to the conference. Melo made me some AMAZING Mickey-shaped alfajores in both pink and white animal-cookie flavor and churro flavor! She was sweet enough to wrap them individually for me to pass out to friends. Needless to say, they were a hit!

Emi and I picked out a road trippin’ buddy to take with us. It only seemed appropriate that we chose Minnie Mouse. She sure loved to take pictures with us on our trip.

We even went to Michael’s to buy some chalk paint pens and the night before we left, we wrote on our car windows! We had to be the most prepared car driving through the desert! Emi even wrote “Honk if you love Disney” on my rear window!

I DO think it’s weird that not one person honked though!

Oh well, more Disney for us, right?

The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess: A Review of the Arizona Resort by Over the Top Kid

June 29, 2014 / Arizona, Disney, Over the Top Kid, Social Media Conferences, Travel

This is a guest post by Over the Top Kid! (aka Emily, age 9)

I love summer! I love not having homework, I love getting to sleep in later, and I LOVE getting to go on little vacations! Last week I got to go to Arizona with my mom. She was going for The Disney Social Media Moms on the Road conference and I got to travel with her. When my mom told me she made our reservations at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess , I looked online to see what kind of things they had for kids like me to do. That’s when I got even more excited about the trip! Wow, it looked cool! After staying there for 2 nights and 3 days I was not ready to go back home. Let me tell you about just a few of the things I liked most about this hotel and my stay there.

1. It’s actually on Princess Drive I thought it was really cool that the resort was located on Princess Drive! Obviously that’s why it’s called the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, right? My mom and I LOVE princesses, especially Disney princesses!

2. A cowboy helps you with your luggage

When my mom pulled up in the valet area, a cowboy came up to the car to help us! He was wearing a cowboy hat and real cowboy boots and was super polite. He unloaded all of our things onto the bell cart. We had kind of a lot of stuff and he didn’t even laugh at us!

3. They have golf carts to take you everywhere After my mom checked in and got our room (which was actually a casita), we got to take a golf cart to our room! It wasn’t just a regular golf cart, it was a super long one with a ton of seats. Our driver told us that we could call any time that we needed a ride someplace at the resort. I think I drove my mom nuts when I kept asking her if we could take lots of extra golf cart rides!

4. You can order s’mores in a cup One of the many restaurants at the Fairmont Scottsdale is called The Ironwood American Kitchen. I think my mom would want me to write about how great the food was there, but I honestly can’t stop thinking about the s’mores in a cup that I got there! I really want to go back and have another one. This restaurant is really yummy though. They also have cool things for kids to play with while they’re waiting and not just a kids menu.

5. Our casita was awesome! When we first went into our casita I was so excited! It had 2 beds, a living room, a desk and a TV, all in one room! There was also a fireplace inside and a patio outside the door. In the bathroom there were 2 sinks, a giant tub, a shower and a cool walk-in closet! I always like to organize my things in a hotel closet, as soon as I get there. There were also robes for both of us and some great bath products that I took home for souvenirs. I told my mom that I could live in the casita forever. It was so nice. Also, there was a Keurig in the room and I got to make my own hot chocolate since my mom brought some hot chocolate K-cups with us.

6. *****Sonoran Splash *******my favorite thing about the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess This was the BEST part of the resort for kids! Sonoran Splash has 2 different waterslides that you can go down. You have to climb up the stairs and pick what side you want to go down. They move you pretty fast and it dumps you into a pool at the bottom! It seemed like I rode each of them about 100 times. I even got my mom to go with me a ton of times. I think this was definitely my favorite part of the whole trip! The Fairmont Princess Scottsdale has a lot more activities for kids to do, we just didn’t get a chance to do them. I saw a kids club online, called the Trailblazers Club, that looked really fun. On the weekends they have zip lining, fishing, fireworks and even Dive In movies that you can watch while you’re in the pool. I am begging my mom to take me back really soon so I can do all of the other things that I didn’t get a chance to do. If you were wondering if YOU should take YOUR kid(s) to the Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale, I’d say “YES you should!” Follow the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess on Facebook here, on Twitter here, and on Instagram here.