OP, you want to stay in one of the many luxury Scottsdale resorts if you want to "make it worth it" as you say. I have my eye on the Grand Hyatt Scottdale (newly remodeled) but haven't stayed there yet.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks so much. For those familiar with the metro area, what's Mesa like? Asking because it's closer to where DH will be coming from.

It's very suburban and not much to do there. I'd compare it to Ashburn in the DC Area. Very residential.

OP here, thanks so much. For those familiar with the metro area, what's Mesa like? Asking because it's closer to where DH will be coming from.

^Scottsdale hotels are in a more suburban not urban area

I live in Phoenix. February is a fantastic time of year even for just a short weekend. Do not connect and it's easily doable. It's 4 hours in the air here and about 3 1/2 back so not horrible.

There are tons of nice places to stay. I'd look at:

Scottsdale-these are further out and in more residental/urban areas. They have more of the water park features beyond regular pools
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Mariott Desert Ridge
Westin Kierland

Phoenix-these are closer to central Phoenix and Old Town Scottsdale
The Biltmore
The Phoenician
Mountain Shadows Resort
Mariott Scottsdale Camelback Inn

The last two are basically at the base of Camelback Mountain. The last four are a short drive to many restaurants and shopping.

You can basically find a hiking trail within miles of all of these resorts. It just depends on what kind and how hard of a hike you want. I wouldn't recommend taking young kids up Camelback or Piestewa Peak. Those are pretty hard and usually pretty crowded. They're both about 2,000+ ft of elevation in about a mile. So basically straight up and scrambling over rocks at points. You can find a hike from super flat to straight uphill and anything in between very easily. Spring training will be here at the end of February if your kids like baseball. There are games all over the Valley pretty much every day of the week. It's fun even if you're not a baseball fan. https://cactusleague.com/schedule.php

Anonymous wrote:I'm debating whether to take my kids and join DH for a long weekend in Phoenix in February at the end of a business trip. Are there any good hotels or ranches that would be worth the flight from the east coast for 3 days? I love the southwest and we're all good travelers, but if we can't find a good place to stay for such a short trip we probably won't do it. We'd fly into Phoenix and land midday on a Thursday and fly home on Sunday, so I'm looking for a place we could enjoy some hiking, nature, etc and ideally get most of our food onsite. DH will have a car but wouldn't be able to pick us up from the airport, so an easy taxi ride from the airport is necessary.

Try the Marriott Desert Ridge. Great amenities. Phoenix has two great hikes in the heart of the city. Camelback Mountain is very hard with great views, and Piestewa Peak has a few different trails that can probably be hiked from moderate to hard.

That said, landing on Thursday and leaving on Sunday sounds like it would go by really fast.

I'm debating whether to take my kids and join DH for a long weekend in Phoenix in February at the end of a business trip. Are there any good hotels or ranches that would be worth the flight from the east coast for 3 days? I love the southwest and we're all good travelers, but if we can't find a good place to stay for such a short trip we probably won't do it. We'd fly into Phoenix and land midday on a Thursday and fly home on Sunday, so I'm looking for a place we could enjoy some hiking, nature, etc and ideally get most of our food onsite. DH will have a car but wouldn't be able to pick us up from the airport, so an easy taxi ride from the airport is necessary.