After visiting Tucson back in April, we headed up to Phoenix for a few day while we waited for Shae’s mom and stepdad to fly in to join us for a week near Sedona.
We liked the hotel we stayed at in Phoenix so much, we decided to return there the next month after visiting Tucson again to get our second COVID shots. Shae and I then flew back to Virginia for a wedding and stayed another couple of nights in Phoenix after that as we both had to work.
Here’s a quick roundup of what we got up to while in Phoenix.
Where We Stayed
All three times we stayed at the Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North (here’s our review). We booked our second and third stays there partly out of convenience due to its proximity to the airport, but mainly because we loved it so much.
All the rooms at that property are suites with separate bedrooms and living rooms, so it was more like an Embassy Suites. We loved having that extra space, plus the property felt more like a resort than a hotel airport.
What We Did
Despite spending a total of 14 nights in Phoenix, we didn’t do a huge amount while we were there. Our first stay was for four nights while we waited for Shae’s mom and stepdad to arrive and we did a couple of things then.
The second stay was for a week, but I was still exhausted from our second COVID shots. I wasn’t having any side effects by that point, but my sleeping pattern had gotten messed up as a result. I was therefore having to nap during the day and so wouldn’t be tired until very late at night.
Our third stay was for two nights, but we both had to work those two days which meant we didn’t get a chance to explore then either. As a result, we only did a few things.
Dobbin’s Lookout
Something we did a couple of times (once by ourselves, then with Shae’s mom and stepdad) was to head up to Dobbin’s Lookout at South Mountain Park & Preserve. This gives you great views out over Phoenix and it’s somewhere you can drive all the way up to. That was helpful because even in mid-April it was too hot for my liking to hike up there.
To escape the heat, you can find some shade in a stone building at the top of the mountain.
With windows all around the building, you can get a nice breeze blowing through which had the added benefit of making Truffles’s ears look like she was ready for takeoff.
Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center
Shae’s aunt had gotten us all tickets for the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center for Christmas. They’re a wildlife refuge that rescues and rehabilitates animals that have been injured, displaced or orphaned. Their aim is to then return the animals to the wild.
To help fund their operations, they offer guided tours to see the animals and learn more about their efforts. I didn’t manage to get any good photos during the tour as the animals were a little too far away to get any decent shots. However, there was a tortoise who’s allowed to wander free, so Shae managed to get a great selfie with him.
Pioneer Living History Museum
One afternoon while I was either working or resting, Shae went to visit the Pioneer Living History Museum. She’s been too busy to be able to write a separate post about it, but it’s apparently very interesting and worth checking out if you’ll be visiting Phoenix.
Flights
Our second and third stays in Phoenix bookended our trip back to Virginia as Shae’s dad was getting remarried. These were our first flights in almost two years, so it was good to take to the skies again, albeit a little strange feeling. The timing of the wedding worked perfectly as it was exactly two weeks after we’d received our second COVID shots and so we felt much more comfortable about the experience.
It would’ve cost us about $400 to fly Truffles with us ($250 for the flights, $75 for the pet fee at our hotel in Virginia and ~$75 for a pet carrier for the flights), so we decided to find somewhere for her to stay in Phoenix by booking a pet-sitter on Rover.com. The lady we booked had lots of great reviews and Truffles seemed to have a good time, although she was a little disappointed that she didn’t get to come with us.
Where We Ate
We ate out a few times while in Phoenix.
Burger Theory
We got burgers from Burger Theory which is a restaurant attached to the hotel we were staying at. These were good, although probably overpriced by a few bucks.
Carlsbad Tavern
Following a recommendation from a reader, we went for lunch at Carlsbad Tavern (here’s my review), a restaurant serving New Mexican food. We both enjoyed our meals, so it’s worth having lunch or dinner there on a visit to Phoenix.
Hilal Grill
During our first stay we ordered dinner from Hilal Grill as I had Uber Eats credits to use up. We got Tikka Masala Fries, White Rice, Gyro Plate, Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandoori Chilli Naan and Tandoori Garlic Naan. All of it was so good that I meant to order dinner from them again when we returned to Phoenix the next month, but unfortunately I completely forgot.
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