Good time to go with the wife?

Must dos?

Probably perfect time, weather wise. There are several other Sedona threads in this Forum.

Great restaurants, great spas, hiking in and around the town, good shopping as well. We did a day trip up to GCNP when we went last time, it was a pretty drive!

Happy to answer any questions / help if needed.

Plan some time in Flagstaff as well…It's only about a 25 to 30 minute drive north but it'll be about 20 degrees cooler than Sedona…Nice downtown area.

Get reservations and eat at Mariposa.

2nd the rec on Mariposa. Also, the Rascal's Modern American Diner has some fantastic ahi tuna nachos.

We were just in Sedona on Saturday (live in AZ). It's easier to get around the town on weekdays than weekends - the tourist traffic is quite a bit higher on weekends.

Plenty of great hikes in the overall area, if you are interested in that. But most of the trailhead parking lots fill up very quickly. The town has a free shuttle bus that runs all day that will take you to the various trailheads, which is a better choice, unless you can get to the one you want by about 7 a.m.

Also live in Arizona and second the comment about visiting during the week if you can. Much less hassle.

Prolly not a must do but if you find yourself with a little extra time after dinner one day, vino di Sedona on a karaoke night. It's a hole in the wall but a bunch of locals were there jamming out and we had a blast.

Here's a good suggestion if by chance you are flying into the area via Phoenix. DO NOT plan on going from Sedona back to Phoenix on Sunday. Unless of course you like sitting in traffic that is essentially a 99 mile long automotive glacier. Half of the population of Phoenix heads up to Sedona/Flagstaff/Grand Canyon on Friday, and then head back south on Sunday afternoon. We found out about this the hard way. Believe me - we won't be doing that again.

Better to just stay away from Sedona on the weekends, as already noted.

If you do fly into Phoenix and find yourself in need of a quick bite while on your way north to Sedona, just wait until you get to the Carefree Highway exit. There is a shopping center on the east side of the highway that has a lot of different places to eat, including an In-N-Out. It is very easy to get on and off the highway there.

There's a lot of roadway construction in the Phoenix metro area. AZ has a website where you can check for closures and restrictions. It is AZ511.com. I would highly recommend you check this website out before you do any driving through the Phoenix area. Again, if you are flying into Phoenix.

C

Going to be in Sedona with the wife for 4 nights (Thu-Mon) first week of June. Any recommendations for places to stay?

Mostly there for the scenery, probably some morning hikes and try a few good restaurants. Maybe hang at the pool in the afternoon. Not into golf. May do a day trip up to Flagstaff / Grand Canyon but not sure.

Amara
Ambiente
Mii Amo
Eagle Dancer

Kreg17 said:

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Amara
Ambiente
Mii Amo
Eagle Dancer

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Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately Mii Amo and Eagle Dancer are unavailable for those dates (didn't see their rates), Ambiente a bit more than I'm wanting to spend on this trip (least expensive I saw was going to be $6,800 for 4 nights). Amara is a possibility. Anymore in the $500/night range that you know of?

- L'Auberge is a nice option but closer to $600/night
- Hotel El Portal looks nice, it has 1 Michelin Key but I'm not too familiar with it
- I've stayed at the Hyatt Vacation Club there before and we enjoyed it.

We went last year in April for my wife's 40th birthday. I'd recommend staying at Amara. It's convenient to the main shopping area, and the restaurant and bar has really good margaritas. Shorebird was a good restaurant as well. Mariposa was highly recommended, but we couldn't get a reservation.

I'll also second the GCNP suggestion. It's a nice day trip, and the views on the north side of Sedona are great. For hiking, the shuttles are much more convenient than trying to park at the trailheads. If you're doing one of the more popular hikes like Devil's Bridge, expect crowds. We waited 30 minutes at the top for a photo on the bridge.

Get reservations and eat at Mariposa.

I've got nothing for lodging because we make it a day trip and come home. Sedona is one of those special places that doesn't seem real.

As JJ and others said go to Mariposa. I also suggest reservations for an outside table at the Hudson for a great sunset view.

I was in Sedona a couple of months ago.

I went with a high-end Airbnb. The resorts/hotels didn't have anything to offer beyond what AirBnb had. But we didn't do golf/spa stuff and it was wintery so no pools. we had a hot tub that we used several times a day with views of the rocks and it was cheaper per night than Lauberge, enchantment, ambiente, among others.

Here's where we ate (I would go back to all of them):

Freeform coffee - excellent coffee and pastries

Mariposa - good but not excellent - maybe its what we ordered food (i got the fish of the day, she got some steak dish). drinks were excellent though. too late for reservations

Shorebird - dinner - we ate lighter here but was good.
The Hudson - lunch - excellent patio views, large menu.
Hideaway House - great comfort food for lunch
Elote Cafe - dinner- my favorite of the trip and it was also my most anticipated, too late for reservations
Pisa Lisa - dinner - good pizza. self explanatory.

Places that were on our list but didn't make it to:
The Vault
Dellepiane
Layla's coffee and pastries

Thanks for all the recommendations on restaurants.

I actually was able to make a reservation for Mariposa on our first night there - Thur, Jun 4.

This is a thread from a while back that had some good suggestions - including mine for the Airbnb where we stayed.

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3445105

Got reservations at Elote Cafe as well - for Friday night.

Kreg 17 - thanks for recommendations. I was able to use Chase Travel points for 4 nights at Hyatt Vacation Club.