Sedona: Staying at Amara Resort & Spa!

Aug 22

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last weekend, we headed to Sedona for the first time! we had our SF besties in town {Tamryn and her husband Jonny}, and it was a blast getting to explore a new part of Arizona together! in fact, it was Tamryn's first time to Arizona period. i'm not sure her or Jonny had ever seen the beauty of red rocks before {like those of Vegas, St. George, etc.} and it was so fun seeing their reactions. Sedona is absolutely stunning and we loved visiting! Robbie and i definitely plan to head back during cooler months. it's only a two hour drive north. such an easy weekend get away spot!all four of us stayed at the relaxing Amara Resort and Spa. it's located right off bustling Main Street, but it's tucked in and as soon as you arrive you instantly feel relaxed. it's right on the creek too, so between the soothing sound of water and the sway of trees, you really feel like you're in your own little nature oasis! as soon as we arrived, we changed and started taking lots of fun photos. every corner of Amara is picturesque and the incredible red rock backdrop doesn't hurt, either! our first night we ate at the delicious SaltRock Southwest Kitchen restaurant on property... and basically i had to be rolled out, haha! i swear between us four we ordered 80% of the menu and everything was so yummy. we ate a la fresco beneath the twinkle lights and stars. it really cools off at night and it was such a great way to end our first evening! be sure to order the blueberry and lime verrine dessert!

the next morning, we woke up bright and early to shoot at Amara's infinity pool while it was empty. it's such a pretty view of the red rocks, and since we were there right smack during the hottest time of the year, that's where most guests seem to hang out. there's cabanas and chairs and a bar to order drinks! what more do you need?! we then ordered a delicious and huge room service breakfast spread before heading down to Amara Spa for our treatments. i got an hour long prenatal massage... and definitely fell asleep a few times! it was so relaxing. robbie got a facial and looked so dewey post-treatment. our besties also got treatments and by the time we were all done, we didn't want to leave the spa EVER!

since this was our first time in Sedona, i definitely wanted to do some "site-seeing," especially since so many of you had great recommendations for photo spots! i pretty much drug everyone out of our little relaxing hideaway at Amara to go do a Pink Jeep Tour. since i'm pregnant, the only tour we could do was the Scenic Sedona Tour on all paved roads, but it was still fun! it was definitely hot, but we got to see a few places on my list like the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the Airport Mesa lookout point, and views from the Red Rock Loop Road. next time i want to do an off-roading tour! and yes, i matched the Jeep ;]

that night, we were all so hot and tired from our tour that we took a dip in the pool at dusk, watched the sunset, and then just ordered in room service. we slept in and headed home the next morning! it was a perfect weekend getaway with our best friends, and Amara Resort and Spa was just the relaxation spot we all needed. we can't wait to come back and explore more of Sedona with little Baby Tripp in the future!i thought i'd share a few recommendations, and a lot of these came from all of you {thank you!!!}.where to eat:Elote CafeMariposabrunch at Etch Kitchen {we ate here our last morning and it was delicious! right on the creek, too!}Hideaway HousePicazzosThe Hudsonthings to do:Pink Jeep ToursSlide Rockhot air balloon {on my list for next time!}horseback ridingdrive through Oak Creek CanyonChapel of the Holy Cross {incredible views!}Airport Mesa at sunset {you can see the inspo for the Matterhorn at Disneyland here!}