Choices for Accommodations

My wife and I were planning on spending a week in Sedona however, it would appear that there are no resorts available with Interval International for the end of September. We did confirm that there are several opportunites in and around Phoenix. All of our choices appear to be getting good reviews, but we are wondering which resort would be best for our needs/desires:

1. A resort that will satisfy a couple in their late 30%26#39;s looking to spend quality time away from their children for the 1st time in 7 years.

2. Shopping and Spa facilities for the wife

3. Golf for myself (looking for the best bang for your buck and beauty in a championship course).

4. A place to relax and enjoy the sun.

Our choices are:

Cibola Vista resort and Spa in Peoria

Marriott%26#39;s Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge in Phoenix

Sheraton Desert Oasis in Scottsdale or

Westin Kierlan Villas in Scottsdale

Any and all thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Choices for Accommodations

The only one I don%26#39;t know much about is Cibola, but I would think the shopping would be ramked 4th compared to the other 3 choices just based on geography.

Westin Kierland and Marriot are both nice choices, close to major shopping and with great golf courses.

The Desert Oasis is situated near the TPC golf courses, so you can play where the FBR open was played. If golf is your priority, that might be the deciding factor. Also close to many shopping clusters and nice places to eat.

All seem to have lots of kids activities, so I would check TA reviews to ask how many families were there during those times. End of September is a month into school here, so there might not be many kids at any resort if other parts of the country are on the same school schedule.

Choices for Accommodations

I can%26#39;t speak for Peoria either, but the other three locations you mentioned are pretty close to each other, and there is world-class golfing at many locations. The above poster mentioned the TPC, which has the stadium course you see at the FBR Open as well as a newly-renovated Desert Course. There are many, many other nearby courses ranging from drop-dead gorgeous (and expensive) to ';dang, this is pretty nice.'; Not a dog in the bunch.

With all due respect to Peoria, the shopping in Scottsdale is vastly superior. Keirland Commons, Old Town Scottsdale, Fashion Square, etc. Take a sturdy credit card.

Thank you for your responses. It would appear that none of these places would have been a bad choice as they all look wonderful. We had a feeling about the area around Peoria for shopping and golf, so we were glad to narrow our choices down to 3. After taking everything into consideration we pretty well ended up flipping a coin....and Kierland Villas it was. As we had to book through Interval International we ended up getting a room that was a little less desirable for location within the resort. My wife is a stay at home mom who is running a day home for 6 children (including our 2) for the past 6 years. This will be her first opportunity to be away from children (in those 6 years) and she is looking forward to a quiet and relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, the room we got (2202) appears to be located outside of the children%26#39;s pool. Anyways, it would appear that once our reservation is confirmed (through Interval) in a few days the resort mentioned that they would or could move our room. In the meantime, we are definitely looking forward to 1 week in the desert at the end of September, especially since it was -25 in Calgary last week.

Our family stayed at the Kierland Villas last August. If you want to avoid the children, use the adult pool. I believe both the Villas and the hotel have adult only pools. We used them daily.

This was a nice resort and I think you and your wife will enjoy it. The restaurants at the Kierland shopping area seemed more for adults as well as the choice of stores.

Have a great time!

I visit Phoenix/Scottsdale area every year to see daughter. Staying a Sheraton Desert Oasis in Oct. on a timeshare swap. That area is very upscale with much local shopping. About 20 min from Old Town Scottsdale...interesting shops and galleries.

Sedona is a solid 2-3 hour drive on the moon. Not much to see after 30 min. Sedona is nice but after one afternoon there the thrill is gone! Rock cutouts north of Sedona are fascinating. Train trip at Verde Valley interesting.

You should not have a kid problem in late Sept. Just one more reason that I travel in Oct too. I prefer the non-smoking, non-kid sections.