Family vacations and staycations are lovely, memory making opportunities that have their place. But all the TikToks we’ve watched about hot mom summers are too true about us being weighed down by coolers, pool toys, snacks, more snacks, and all the gear that comes with summer adventures. Oh, and probably more snacks.
It isn’t exactly a recharge for us moms, right?
Cara and I took back our summer, well, for two nights at least, with a moms only staycay at a quiet, luxury hotel in the East Valley.
We did have a lot of help on the home front to make this happen, read on for our staycation secret for escaping for a few days.
XO,
Amy
Quiet luxury for moms only
As we’ve mentioned, some local properties are lovely and intended for family vacations. The Sheraton Grand Wild Horse Pass, however, offers a quiet luxury that really felt perfect for an adults only getaway.
For starters, Arizona’s only Michelin five-star restaurant in the entire state is on property. To add to the accolades, the on-site spa, Aji Spa, boasts noteworthy treatments inspired by the Native American culture that is proudly inspired throughout the full property. (The full hotel property is on Gila River Indian Community land, and the details and celebration of their rich culture is lovely to experience.)
But, most importantly, to two moms looking for a quiet getaway, we cared most about the hotel rooms. The property recently invested $70 million on guest room renovations and that really got our attention—because it’s $100K per room.
Some of the new in-room renovations that especially had our attention were insulated walls (better for sleeping in, we made it all the way to 7 a.m. before our ‘mom o’clock’ internal clock woke us up); original artwork created by Gila River Community members, and a soaking tub that inspired Cara to actually take a bath (one of her favorite ways to treat herself).
On-property activities
We both found it a little bit eerie how unscheduled we could be without kids. No nap schedules. No meals at a certain time. Honestly, it threw us both for a little bit of a loop, but we quickly adapted and leaned into the loose schedule.
We spent most of the day at the pool sipping on margaritas, snacking on chips and dip and catching up on our summer reading. The pool scene was quiet and serene, just lovely for a relaxing day catching sunshine. The service was excellent and the view from the pool was lovely overlooking the golf course and water features of the property.
The property offers a shuttle to transport you to the local Phoenix Premium Outlets and the casino, both less than ten minutes from the hotel.
We’re more into betting on clothing than cards, so we opted for the outlet mall. Somehow, we still ended up shopping for our kids, but it was so lovely to have uninterrupted shopping time.
Since our stay, the property also announced a daily meet and greet with cowboys and horses from their equestrian center. Other daily activities offered to guests include a complimentary daily toast at the lobby bar at 5:30 p.m. every night where guests can enjoy a guided tasting.
One not-to-miss amenity is the Interpretive Trail, a two mile walking path that features pristine open views and beautiful local flora and fauna, this was a reflective walk that sure beat my usual morning walk around my neighborhood doling out snacks to Maverick at every turn!
Help on the home front
To give us peace of mind at home, we enlisted the real-life Mary Poppins nanny from Trusting Connections, the same service we used before during our family staycation a month ago.
Trusting Connections offers the on-property resort care we used at the Phoenician, but they also offer in-home care, perfect help to make this moms-only staycay a reality.
We booked Miss Jennifer again, who had already met Maverick, which gave me peace of mind knowing there would be some consistency in his care since he isn’t used to non-family childcare.
She came to my home and swooped up Maverick for a fun-filled day of park play, book reading, toys and more. I simply left her instructions for his routine, meals, etc. She handled the rest, and even offered to do any simple house tasks/projects I needed done while he napped.
Just like last time, Miss Jennifer left a ‘report card’ that recapped Maverick’s and her time together, including what time he went to bed, how many dirty diapers he had, what fun activities they did, etc. This is so appreciated so that I didn’t feel like I needed to ask a million questions before she departed.
Trusting Connections puts each nanny through a meticulous 21-point screening process, if you’d like to read more about that and why I feel so comfortable leaving Maverick in Miss Jennifer’s care.
Summer staycation deal
If you want to grab your bestie for a moms only staycation, be sure to book the Sip, Soak and Splash package at Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass with rates starting at $169, plus a $50 daily resort credit to use towards resort amenities including Aji Spa and restaurants now through September 6, 2021.
On-property dining
We stayed on property both nights for dinner and had the sweetest, most endearing server both nights! His name was Alex and he made our dining experience at Ko’Sin.
We enjoyed their patio seating which provided stunning views of the Sierra Estrella Mountain Range, and is there really anything more lovely than a slow dinner over sunset with your bestie, good cocktails and delicious food?
A few menu items worth highlighting were the beet salad, Wagyu Beef bourguignon and the lobby bar’s macaroni and cheese (it’s not on the menu at Ko’Sin, but we asked if they could accommodate, and they did!). Their summer flatbread was also lovely, and don’t pass up the cheddar biscuits they bring you to start—they were lovely!
Our last morning, we ordered room service and literally drug our feet packing up and leaving the property. It was such a nice break from our daily mom-grind—we can’t recommend taking a few days to yourself to refill your cup and cherish your mom friendships!
