With my blog debuting in December of 2019, and Coronavirus hitting the world in early 2020, you may not know that this blog has a travel portion! A quality I love about Justin is his urge to see the world, and not be confined by our hometown. So in addition to fashion, beauty, and home, I enjoy sharing my everyday lifestyle, which includes adventures! As with many of you, a lot of our 2020 travels were cancelled due to the pandemic. But with states, businesses, and airlines opening back up, we’re snagging any opportunity we can to get out of Idaho in 2021!
This past week we were in Scottsdale, AZ to enjoy some much needed vitamin D and 70+ degree weather. We shopped, ate, golfed, ate, shopped, ate, went to the zoo, ate, ate some more, shopped some more, and oh yeah, ate. We stayed at the cutest, trendiest boutique hotel in the heart of Scottsdale, and had such a wonderful few days soaking up the sun.
While a quick Google search for “the best _____ in *insert location* ” is easy enough, I tend to look towards friends, family, bloggers, or influencers for their favorite spots while on vacation. In addition to a few photos, I aim to share my genuine thoughts on where we stayed, food we ate, places we shopped, and things we saw for your benefit; a mini travel guide of sorts! Let’s get started:
THE SCOTT RESORT & SPA
We had planned to stay at The Scott last May, but things turned for the worst with COVID. Luckily, we were able to move our travel plans to this past week and get to experience the prettiest boutique hotel I’ve ever seen.
We stayed in a Courtyard Guestroom and it was the perfect size for 2. Although we never asked, we came to the conclusion that the hotel has been there for years, but someone recently came in to revamp the place. The room ceilings were quite low, and the walls had seen better days, but overall we were really happy with our stay. Because The Scott is a resort, all of the guest rooms are dispersed along the edge of the grounds, while the lobby, restaurant, pools and sitting areas are within the inside. An oasis-type feel, for sure.
The resort was booked at 20% max due to COVID, so it never felt crowded or busy — something I wish we could get even after the pandemic is behind us! The less people, the better… am I right? LOL. But in all seriousness, we felt very safe and at-ease not only during our stay at The Scott, but even within the city of Scottsdale.
LET’S EAT
Let’s break this down as easy as possible… no one wants to hear me ramble for days on every place we ate, so I’ll try to keep it sweet and to-the-point.
The Baked Bear | A killer cookie ice cream sandwich place! A fun business idea, but I’ve had better ice cream sandwiches. Don’t get your own sandwich at this place, definitely share!
Berdenas | Cute, quaint coffee/pastry shop. Chocolate croissants? To die for. Iced oat milk latte? Only ‘meh.’ Their coffee almost tasted sour?
The Breakfast Club | A chain in AZ, and seemed very average to me. Basically just like every other breakfast joint in the world. Good food, but nothing to write home about.
The Canal Club (inside The Scott resort) | We loved getting our morning coffees here. Their breakfast menu is small, but pretty good if you’re wanting to stay at the resort.
Culinary Dropout | Another chain within AZ, we went here on night one of our trip. Very dark and loud.. am I getting old? Their iceberg wedge salad (add steak) was great, I will say. We went to their Old Town Scottsdale location, but we wish we would have went to the Scottsdale Quarter location, instead.
Dominick’s Steakhouse | Be ready to burn a hole in your wallet, but it’s worth it. Ask to sit upstairs by the pool — you won’t regret it.
The Drunk Munk | A fun tiki bar with a BOMB happy hour (everyday from 4-7, can’t beat that) and a nice patio.
The Greene House | Probably my fave restaurant we ate at. It’s within an outdoor shopping area, has an incredible patio, fun drinks, and I 10/10 recommend their melted brie from their appetizers menu.
The Montauk | An incredibly trendy, Beverly Hills vibe place. We went there for drinks and their burrata.
Social Tap | A restaurant we’ve been to before, and great for lunch and watching sports. We love their patio!
Sugar Bowl | An old school diner feel. Sundaes, milkshakes, malts, cones, bowls… all the goods. Fun experience? Sure. Would I go again? Probably not.
SHOPPING
As I previously shared on IG, shopping is what I seek out on every vacation. We did a lot of shopping this trip, and to keep up with the theme of simplicity, I’ll only share the spots that stood out to me the most!
Kierland Commons | If you’re a local Idahoan, this shopping area reminded me of a bigger Village. Lots of shops, and yummy food. (This is where The Greene House restaurant is located)
Phoenix Premium Outlets | As much as I love the real deal, there’s nothing wrong with outlet shopping here and there. This was a good one!
Scottsdale Fashion Square | Basically the main shopping mall in all of Scottsdale. Everything from Forever 21 to YSL. We actually took 2 trips here!
Scottsdale Quarter | Another Village-type shopping center. Outdoors, lots of eateries, and a handful of stores. Definitely a fun place to check out!
OTHER ACTIVITES
Besides the obligatory eating and shopping, we went to the Phoenix Zoo, golfed at McCormick Ranch Golf Club, and explored different cities near Scottsdale. I don’t know about you, but Justin and I enjoy simply driving around different cities; seeing what their homes and neighborhoods look like. We (secretly) would love to live in Scottsdale some day, so scouting out a future home was fun for us!
I wish I would have snapped more pics from the entire trip, but I was able to get A TON of our resort that I’ll leave more of below! I hope 2021 will allow for more of these travel posts, but this is a start! Feeling grateful and thankful for this mini vacay.
Thanks for reading — Xx, E
