The Phoenician for “Ph”amilies

You may remember I wrote about our family vacation at the Pointe Hilton at Squaw Creek last summer. Well, just recently, a business conference brought my husband back to Phoenix, this time to the famous Phoenician Resort (800/888-8234).

We had so much fun with Alexander, 8, during the last trip, that we convinced my sister-in-law and Brittany, her 9-year-old, from Santa Rosa, to meet us there. Well, the Phoenician is a wonderful place, but it just wasn’t as much fun for the kids as the Hilton had been.

Anyone interested in golf — the course was gorgeous — or their spa — which sounded sooo good — would have loved everything they offered. Unfortunately, our kids wanted to play and be around the pool all day, which was not particularly kid-friendly as there were a lot of other adults around. I thought the kids’ camp looked very interesting and saw them taking nature walks and doing such intelligent, counselor-led activities, but Alexander and his cousin refused to participate. That meant we couldn’t even try the spa!

We did, however, have the best meals. Everything is freshly prepared in a gourmet way. Especially compared to the Hilton, where the food was just fine, I’d say every dining experience, even for the kids, was a real pleasure. By the way, even though the resort is beautifully decorated and the public spaces are so luxurious, our room was no great shakes. Because even double rooms cost over $500 a night, both of our families had their child in the same room, so the kids were up late and were pretty rowdy. For the same money, we had a large suite at the Hilton, which made my life so much easier at bedtime.

We would go back, though… Just without the kids!