In celebration of our nation’s independence, Scenic Escapes Travel spent a relaxing Independence Day holiday in Scottsdale, Arizona at Omni Montelucia Scottsdale Resort & Spa. We also took a day trip to tour the Grand Canyon. The resort was impressive and the Grand Canyon was breathtaking.
Omni Montelucia is nestled at the base of the Camelback Mountain in Scottdale, Arizona. The exclusive and romantic destination allows you to leave your passport at home and enjoy the joy and wonder of the American desert.
Dining
The resort has a casual atmosphere eatery with indoor/outdoor dining spaces known as Taqueria Centro. Centro is known for its authentic Mexican cuisine using ingredients supplied by farms across Arizona. We arrived early at the resort prior to check-in time and enjoyed lunch and cold beverages at Centro while we waited for our room.
Crave Café is a gourmet food market with great on-the-go options and travel essentials. We had an early morning pick-up time for our Grand Canyon tour. Crave provided great breakfast and travel-friendly snack options for our trip
The food at the resort restaurant Prado was phenomenal. We originally had plans to leave the resort for dinner, but because the ambience was amazing and the food was so appetizing, we ate multiple meals (breakfast and dinner) at or from Prado.
The Mbar lounge area next to Prado was a cozy relaxing area for happy hour or after dinner drinks. Mbar also serves a selection of Andalusian-inspired tapas with live music from local artists.
Accommodations
We were provided accommodations in a poolside suite with Andalusian themed décor.
The suite was ample with a furnished balcony overlooking the pool, sitting area, minibar, Keurig machine and spacious bathroom.
The bathroom was equipped with marble sinks with plenty of cabinet space, jacuzzi tub, and shower with dual shower heads.
We are not normally the room service type of person, but the accommodations were so relaxing that we enjoyed room service multiple times.
My favorite part of the resort was the Joya Scottsdale Spa and Wellness. Joya Spa is a two-story structure located in the heart of the grounds. The spa boasts 20 soothing treatment rooms, a hair and nail salon, a boutique, two relaxation lounges, a rooftop spa pool, and access to the resort pool complete with cabanas and healthy Moroccan-inspired poolside treats.
In addition to Joya’s unbelievable facility, the spa offers a unique Hammam ritualistic experience with the Joy of Discovery designed to prepare guests for their spa treatment and include a Moroccan scrub stone, crystal ball pedestal lit by an overhead representation of the starlight in Granada, Spain and a hot steam followed by a balancing cold deluge just to name a few.
It was easily the best spa experience I ever had. I hope to make a return visit soon. If traveling to Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia, I highly recommend a day at Joya Spa.
On this trip, Donald finally was able to experience the Grand Canyon. Our journey began with a.m. early morning pickup from our resort. Our tour consisted of a small group of 13 participants allowing for a more intimate experience of the natural beauty in Arizona. Our expert guide handled all the driving (by custom, luxury, air-conditioned van) and logistics leaving us free to soak in the incredible scenery and relax on our drive through the Sonora Desert, en route to some of the American Southwest’s most beautiful highlights.
Our drive brought us through the expansive Sonoran Desert filled with native saguaro cactus. The scenery began to change as we increased in elevation and views of the cactus began to fade into pine trees. As we continued further into Northern Arizona, travelling the outskirts of the Route 66 town of Flagstaff, from the highway we could see the San Francisco Peaks among the seemingly endless Ponderosa Pine Forest, one of the largest contiguous forests of ponderosa pines in the world.
Williams, Arizona was our first stop along the tour. Williams on the routes of Interstate 40 and Route 66, the iconic American highway steeped in rich tradition. Known as the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon", Williams was the last city on historic Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40. The community, bypassed on October 13, 1984, continues to thrive on tourism
The Historic Downtown District covers six square blocks and boasts a rich heritage that features the Old West and Route 66, coupled with tourism trends today and the city's heyday years of the '50s and '60s.
Once we reached the Grand Canyon National Park, we explored one of the “Seven Wonders of the World” for about three hours.
First protected in 1893, the Grand Canyon was proclaimed a national park in 1919. The main cause of the erosion that formed the Grand Canyon was water; most scientists agree that it formed when the Colorado River started carving through layers of volcanic rock and sediment between five million and six million years ago.
The first human artifacts found in Grand Canyon National Park date back 12,000 years, though the Colorado River started carving the Grand Canyon long before that.
To date, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep. The South Rim is open year-round, the North Rim is open seasonally; we toured the South Rim.
While at the Grand Canyon National Park, we enjoyed multiple lookout viewpoints including Mather Point and toured the Lookout Studio, the Kolb Studio, the Bright Angel Lodge, Desert View Watchtower, Buckey O’Neill Cabin, the Bright Angel Trail, and El Tovar Hotel.
When visiting the Grand Canyon, plan a few days to visit all the areas of interest in Grand Canyon Village, multiple scenic lookout points, and have time to shop, go for a walk, grab lunch and visit cultural exhibits along the rim.
Arizona is a wonderful destination where you can spend a well-deserved vacation, no passport needed.
Allow yourself to play and enjoy the little yet exquisite moments that make life worth living. Contact Scenic Escapes Travel for your travel needs.
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