Grand Canyon= Where to stay in AZ

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

I am RCI member and have finally decided on AZ for vacation-- would like to get to the grand canyon as part of the vacation. Which resorts are within driving distance? (I realize none but help a girl out!) And does anyone have a favorite resort?

No golf! But a swimming pool would be nice!

[joycapecod Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close joycapecod]

Having been many times I will tell you that there is a resort in Flagstaff, I think it is Fairfield Flagstaff. There are several in Sedona (stayed there many times and did the drive) there is also Payson, AX, Kohl's Ranch is the resport (longer drive but possible).

None are what I would call close, but I have driven from both Sedona and Flagstaff many, many times. You could also look at Southern Utah. That would be the North Rim instead of the South Rim. There are a few resorts in that area too. St George oir Brian Head wipuld be the cities.

Joy

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Having been many times I will tell you that there is a resort in Flagstaff, I think it is Fairfield Flagstaff. There are several in Sedona (stayed there many times and did the drive) there is also Payson, AX, Kohl's Ranch is the resport (longer drive but possible).

None are what I would call close, but I have driven from both Sedona and Flagstaff many, many times. You could also look at Southern Utah. That would be the North Rim instead of the South Rim. There are a few resorts in that area too. St George oir Brian Head wipuld be the cities.

Joy

I too drove from Sedona....If I remember correctly, it took about 3 1/2 hrs. We stopped once in each direction, tho.

[susieq Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close susieq]

We stayed at Los Abrigados in Sedona a few years back - awesome resort in red rocks country - with beautiful views, wonderful pool & hot tub. No golf, right next to Telaquepaque Market Place, (Spanish market place with lots of shops and a courtyard in the middle), and walking distance uptown. We drove to the town of Williams one day & rode the Grand Canyon Railway. We also drove ourselves later in the week (1 1/2 hrs I think) for a different view. Sedona & Flagstaff are probably the closest, but wherever you stay, you're in for a treat!! Have a Good one!!

[jlwquilter Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlwquilter]

We also have visited Sedona, both rims of the Grand Canyon and added a trip in to Page as well. Awesome trip!

To give you ideas, we flew into PHX, drove to South Rim Grand Canyon that day (LONG day from SE FL!). I had booked us 2 nights at one of the lodges. Pricy but worth it. I called 1 day after the exact 1 year date (I had spaced on calling on the exact day - OMG!) and got the last 2 rooms that had 2 beds each (my dad and DH's mom when along too). It is late for you, if you want to stay inside the park, but call every day, several times, and see if you can catch a cancellation. We walked the rim, saw elk this close at night on the grounds, etc.

When we left, we drove north to Page. On the spur of the moment, we decided to sidetrack to the North Rim - decision was spur of the moment, time committment after decision was about 6 hours!. It is completely different so you are not seeing the same thing twice. Very worth another very long day. I had booked us into one night at a local hotel type place.

Next day in Page we took the flat water float trip that starts at Glen Dam. It's probably one of the best things we've done. It was so relaxing, and a very cool trip. For the afternoon I had booked us a tour of Antelope Canyon - one of the most photographed there is. Just beautiful! the jeep ride inand out of there is like an amusement ride itself. My 65+ MIL laughed and giggled the whole trip... pretty amusing to the rest of us. We left Page in the afternoon and headed south to Sedona.

We made a stop at Horseshoe Bend. We had floated under this bend on the morning float trip so wanted to expereince it from on top of the cliff. You see this shot alot in movies. OMG. It was brutal hot, NO shade, and I thought I was going to die. Seriously. But it sure made a lasting memory for me and my family! We left there and continued to Sedona. We also stopped briefly at the lava flow park area not too far from Sedona. That was pretty neat as we'd never seen anything like it. It was another long day but filled with memories of a lifetime.

We stayed at Arroyo Roble - RCI exchange. It was perfect for my family. We loved being able to walk up the hill and be in the center of town. It's very touristy in town but that's almost part of the charm! Resort had pool, hot tub, grills, park like area, creek, and red rock mountain views out the front door. As I said, perfect for us.

You've picked a great location to travel too! Enjoy!

[dcwojo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dcwojo]

Sedona is your best bet. There is quite a bit to do in the Sedona area and the Grand canyon is just over a three hour drive.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

If it is your first visit to the Grand Canyon, you might want to consider staying one night in the park, if you can get reservations. That will give you more time to explore.

[DaveHenry Member Find all posts View Profile Close DaveHenry]

Wyndham Flagstaff

We stayed at the Wyndham Flagstaff last summer and had a great time. Nice resort! It's about 2 hours to the Grand Canyon, 90 minutes to the Petrified Forest, and 45 minutes from Sedona.
If you're going in the summer, Flagstaff is substantially cooler than Sedona (higher elevation). Last August, Flagstaff was in the mid-80s, while Sedona was in the upper 90's.

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

We stayed at the Wyndham Flagstaff (was Fairfield then) and enjoyed it very much. Even did the sales tour which was at that time very low-keyed. We did not stay in the park, but did spend a night just outside park.

Nancy

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

I would pick Sedona hands down. It is by far the nicest location within driving distance of the Grand Canyon. There are a lot of T/S resorts at Sedona. We stayed at the Los Abrigados resort mentioned in a previous post. On your drive to the Grand Canyon you will drive through Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff. It is well worth seeing. We did a tour of the Grand Canyon from Los Abrigados.

We have traveled all over Arizona and I used to live there. I would save Utah for another trip and then just concentrate on the beautiful National Parks in Utah. We have done all those as well.

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

You guys are the best! I will check out the Wyndham and Los Abrigados and see if they have openings for us!

And jlwquilter-- your little synopsis made me feel like I was there! Thanks for sharing your itenerary!