We visited the gorgeous Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch for a fun blogger retreat weekend! Check out the beautiful grounds, comfortable rooms, and the delicious eats to be found at their onsite restaurant, Kitchen West.
In these hard times, you gotta have friends, right? Recently, a group of us Phoenix-area bloggers decided to band together and form a tribe. Our goal was to share information, resources, and help one another to succeed at our blogs and businesses. We do most of our communication online, but we loved the idea of getting together for a weekend so we could have some concentrated time to work together…okay, and to relax!
We were so thrilled to be hosted for the weekend by The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch (in Scottsdale, Arizona, in case you couldn’t figure that one out!). They provided us with our accommodations, several hosted meals, and outstanding, friendly service throughout our whole stay.
Most. Comfortable. Robes. EVER!
We met up on a late Friday afternoon and enjoyed checking out our rooms and the grounds. I love to travel with my family, but I also love traveling alone! With our 6-person family, let’s just say I don’t get a lot of alone time! Having my room to relax in, turn the temperature down (because I like it cool, baby!), and watch something not animated was such a delight.
The hotel staff dropped off some chocolates and a booklet about the hotel’s history.
That night we had a blogger PJ party! I have always wanted to have a blogger PJ party, no joke. Dreams do come true.
Liz made her Arizona Sunset Party Punch, as Taryn is showing off in the photo below:
It was so delicious, and we had fun chatting and getting to know one another better. Here’s me with my punch (which didn’t last long):
Tastes like dreams coming true.
Soon it was time for bed or, in my case, staying up much too late, working on my blog.
The next morning we met in Wendy’s room for a working breakfast, and afterward, we headed off to LockDown Escape Rooms for a fun, hosted adventure! I love escape rooms, and this was the best one I’ve done so far.
We escaped!
Back at the resort, we got changed and met up at the pool! We had our own cabana, where we ordered lunch.
I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip! We relaxed in the sun (and shade!), ate some fantastic food, and then got in the pool. The hotel staff was awesome- making sure we had everything we needed and recommending fun, fruity drinks.
This is a Lava Flow- one of The Scottsdale Resort’s signature drinks, a mix of a pina colada and strawberry margarita. And yes it was as yummy as it looks!
After drying off in the sun and getting beautified, we met at the front of the hotel where Kate took new headshots of all of us! We also got to see some more of the grounds and had fun finding pretty places to shoot.
And we got a group shot!
Then it was time for dinner at Kitchen West, the Scottsdale Resort’s onsite restaurant. We spent about two hours enjoying a spread of their best dishes. We decided to share a huge sampler of their best appetizers, and after our individual entrees, we got about 5 or 6 different desserts brought to share!
Everything was delicious. I am not a fancy eater by any stretch of the imagination, which is why I loved Kitchen West. The restaurant itself was gorgeous, and the food was unique and creative while still being accessible to a non-adventurous eater!
And then, you guys…ANOTHER BLOGGER PJ PARTY! Could the weekend get any better?
The following morning it was back to Kitchen West to try out their breakfast options. I just loved their cute mugs and milk bottles!
And the food was just perfect. I got eggs, sausage, and potatoes, with a bagel on the side, and I ate just about everything!
Blogging is serious, yo.
Our wonderful weekend had to wrap up at some point, so after breakfast we packed up and checked out. Our experience at The Scottsdale Resort was everything we had hoped for and more. I can’t wait to bring my family back for another stay soon!
