View looking towards Sedona from Airport Vortex
Sedona Arizona is famous for its Vortex Sites, which are enhanced energy locations that facilitate prayer, meditation, mind/body healing, and exploring your relationship with your soul. There is no better place to begin your exploration than at the Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa.
The Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa offers something for everyone whether it’s romance, adventure or just time for your well-being. Sedona Rouge can plan and offer packages that makes it easy for you. All you have to do is get your plane ticket and they do the rest. It’s a fantastic place to escape. Just tell Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa what you want and they will take care of you like they took care of us.
Friday, May 12
We were on our way to the Los Angeles International Airport to catch a flight to Sedona Arizona, unfortunately, we missed our Horizon plane flight. But the good news was that we waited for our next flight relaxing patiently in their VIP room.
Horizon Airlines is a sister carrier of Alaska Airlines and has a great VIP Lounge avilable for $30 a day
Although disappointed, it really was a nice experience. There were large flat screen televisions, comfortable seating, newspapers, magazines, coffee, lattés, cappuccino, alcoholic beverages, snacks and the best service from their employees.
The only thing that would have made it better, was to have furniture to sleep comfortably for those of us who had to stay quite a long time for our next flight. By the time we got to our flight, we were refreshed and ready to go. Since this trip was a getaway trip for us to be pampered with a facial and a couples massage, we were very anxious to get to Sedona.
Alamo surprised us with a H3 rental which was cool to drive
Finally when we arrived to the Flagstaff airport, grabbing our luggage was quick and easy. A few minutes later we rented our Hummer H3 from Alamo where they have great customer service and offer competitive rates.
The ride to Sedona through the woods was magical and breathtaking. I could feel my stressors leaving me and feel at one with Mother Nature. Travel time 30 minutes.
Sedona Rouge has heavenly beds; comfy robes and coffee/tea
The Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa sits right in front of a beautiful view of the red rocks. The view was so mesmerizing just to be right on the terrace. I was quite impressed with our spacious room decorated in warm earth tones with a balcony to a soothing view. The bathroom has a wonderful walk in shower with two shower heads: a regular shower head and a rain shower head—such bliss. Their soaps are 100 percent lemon, mint and olive soap that invigorate your body and handcrafted by Sedona.
Our hotel room had a spacious bathroom with a desk and refrigerator and wonderful fireplace with flat screen TV
What I liked the most was the gas fire place that added the perfect ambience and warmth. What I loved the most was the heavenly king size with super pillow plush top bed with fluffy chamber pillows and the oh-so comfy mid-weight luxury down comforter & cozy lamb’s wool throw blanket that hugged our bodies. This fantastic bed allowed us to sleep a fabulous 7 hours straight-through like babies. Comfortable beds are so important because after a long day in the sun, you want to rest in a comfortable bed. This was just the beginning of a relaxing weekend that has been long overdue.
Saturday:
We went to the Spa and were greeted by the friendly staff. We were anxious to begin our 90 minute facial. From the moment we laid our heads down we felt a great weight off our shoulders. No phone, no barking, no texting—nothing but complete indulgence.
Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa front desk and boutique shop
The aestheticians started out massaging our hands and arms and then wrapped them in plastic and then a special mitt filled with rocks and pebbles to cover my hands—this was so therapeutic for my carpal tunnel. It also helps to get the body into a deeper state of relaxation. The facial was simply wonderful. The Sedona Spa facials are individually customized, using the Sonya Dakar product lines that embody the best in current, ancient and future technologies. After your aesthetician has analyzed your skin, a professional recommendation will be made to best suit your skin care needs.
Our faces were exfoliated and extracted. Three different masks were used for various parts of the faces followed by warm compresses. Our aesthetician expressed how important it is to rid your face of black heads, use sunscreen and keep your face hydrated. She also suggested a facial every season. In fact clients go every two weeks because they live in the dessert. After the facial we got a fabulous neck and shoulder massage
After the wonderful facial, we relaxed in a quiet room and sipping tea and loving each moment and feeling thankful for everything in our lives.
The locker rooms have showers, steam room, a private outdoor hydro-tub, and a full toiletry area filled with towels and items for women to get beautiful. They also offered robes, slippers, lockers, and a spa retail shop to purchase any items that were used.
Conveniently located next to the hotel was REDS restaurant. It was so good that we didn’t eat anywhere else. REDS was acclaimed Sedona’s Best Restaurant and Lounge, for the best Appetizers and Best Happy Hour by Kudo’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
Reds Restaurant adjacent to Sedona Rouge offers great food and beverages
REDS cuisine is prepared with an American flair and complimented by an extensive wine list comprised of new and old-world wines. REDS serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and features live entertainment Thursday thru Saturday.
I had a wonderful salad with salmon and complimented with a perfectly cooked rare hamburger that most chefs have trouble with. REDS Restaurant offers a delicious variety of in-room dining options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Pink Jeep Tours offers great friendly informative tours
Hold on tight and keep your seat belt on because Pink Jeep Tours to Broken Arrow will provide a wild and turbulent ride to view the beautiful red rocks in Sedona. It’s 100% off road fun! Eyes open wide on this fun-filled adventure that leads you on and over the red rocks while the magnificent canyon walls surround you.
The landscapes are magnificent
So much beauty
Pink Jeep Tours, the premier adventure tour company of Northern Arizona, was founded in 1960 and has its corporate headquarters in Sedona, Arizona. It serves visitors from around the world with a corporate fleet of 65 vehicles and is the only Jeep tour company with guide trainers certified by the National Association for Interpretation on its staff.
Pink Jeep offers thrills as well as a beautiful tour
For more information on Pink Jeep Tours call 800-873-3662 or visit www.pinkjeep.com.
After this adventurous ride, we headed back to our heavenly bed and took a power nap.
At 9 p.m. we were still tired, but hungry so we went back to REDS. We had delicious taco scallops for an appetizer. Our main course was silky soft sea bass lightly flavored with yellow tomato sauce. This entrée was just enough for the both of us and while we could have eaten more, we wanted to save room for their delicious banana creped filled with crème that was so yummy, we wanted to lick the plate.
Sunday
We woke up to the birds singing to us. We slept so good that we missed the morning yoga class. To make up for it we did our own yoga on the balcony for an hour just enjoying the beautiful morning. It’s amazing when you’re in the presence of Mother Nature you become so clear minded.
Beautiful views around Sedona Rouge and a spacious workout room
We then went off to the workout room to get in our cardio. They have towels, Nautilus treadmills and bikes, dumbbells and mats for stretching. The workout room is surrounded by glass so you can have a soothing view while working out. After the workout we went for a nice dip in the hot tub and felt our muscled melt into relaxation.
At the top of the Airport Vortex with lots to do in Sedona
We had about two hours before our massage so we returned to REDS Restaurant and had their wonderful eggs Benedict with potatoes. Following we went for a glorious hike to the Airport Vortex. The Airport Vortex is where you have both energies which are known as upflow and inflow. The Airport Vortex has two major epicenters, an instep pyramid and a red rock mound formation, where the energy is the most intense opposite the ravine. You’ll see people looking like ants on an anthill as you approach the mound, but it’s a very short walk to the top and not as difficult as it looks. Don’t forget your camera because the view is breathtaking. By the time we returned, we were ready for our couples' massage.
The Massage
Roberta and Nancy performed our couples’ massage that was amazing. They took good care to ensure that the pressure was just right for us. While working on our sore muscles, they provided aromatherapy and lovely tranquil music to make complete. Massage therapy relaxes muscles, easing and soothing aches and pains.
Sedona Rouge Spa and our couples massage therapists: Roberta (R) and Nancy (L)
The benefits of massage is to loosen those stubborn knots that keep your muscles tied up and tense. A massage will relax muscles, stimulate circulation, and increase metabolism. They performed deep tissue followed by wonderful Sedona Stone Therapy in which they use hot smooth basalt stones as tools to enhance your massage. The stones are applied with oil and glide across the skin, warming and loosening the underlying tissues. This is a deeply relaxing and therapeutic massage.
The Spa at the Sedona Rouge has certified massage therapists that are exceptionally trained in many different modalities such as Ayurvedic services, Thai Massage, Cranial Sacral Reflexology, Breath Therapy, Chakra Yoga, Stone Therapy, Cupping Massage and Conscious Nutrition.
After the massage we took a soothing bath that melted our bodies into a calmer state of relaxation. Our joints and muscles from the hike the day before were a bit stiff so the massage and bath was a complete joy for our bodies. We were rejuvenated and our bodies were restored to balance making us better for all the things life throws our way. We were so relaxed we went back to the room for a nap before our next event.
The Spa at Sedona Rouge offers world-renowned health and wellness therapies and programs such as Deepak Chopra’s SynchroDestinyTM Retreat, and Lifestyle Center of America’sTM lifestyle programs. The Spa features daily Joyoga presented by acclaimed Iala, a certified Yoga & fitness instructor and guide for Sedona Red Rock Tours. Wally Reule, a personal fitness trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise, offers personal training onsite or at Sedona Fit, just minutes from the Sedona Rouge.
Sedona Taste Festival
The 14th annual Sedona Taste, bringing together 19 award-winning eateries from around the Verde Valley and four wineries
The fourteen annual Sedona Taste signature event of the year. A celebration of fine wine and savory cuisine sponsored by Pink Jeep Tours and navigated by Sedona Trolley.
This gastronomic wine and food extravaganza is not only Sedona’s signature event, but perhaps the event of the year for Sedona and the Verde Valley. Women and children wear their snazziest summer outfit from head to toe and gentlemen wear their smartest casual summer wear.
The 14th annual Sedona Taste, bringing together 19 award-winning eateries from around the Verde Valley and four wineries. Auction benefit was held all proceeds from Sedona Taste go to Boys & Girls Club of Northern Arizona and will be used for summer camp scholarships and club equipment.
We enjoyed a celebration on a perfect afternoon near the flowing creekside at Los Abrigados Resort and Spa, located off Highway 89A at 160 Portal Lane. We tasted flavorful cuisine from award-winning restaurants in the Verde Valley as well as sampled the best wines available from local vineyards.
Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa is graciously sponsoring the Arizona Cardinal Cheerleaders' appearance at Sedona Taste weekend
The Arizona Cardnials Cheerleaders volunteered their time to help out The Boys & Girls Culb of Northern Arizona
The food and wine lovers also had the opportunity to participate in an auction where all proceeds from Sedona Taste benefit the scholarship fund for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northern Arizona.
Monday
Today is checkout day so we finalized our visit with a steam shower that cleansed and relaxed the whole body followed by a cool shower. One more visit at Reds to fill out tummy then it was time to go home. This is the way the end this fantastic weekend.
Our visit at Sedona was wonderful and relaxing, with a bit of adventure. Whatever your desire is the Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa will make it happen for you.
View looking away from Sedona from Airport Vortex
Sedona, Arizona is a magical place on this universe and being there will bring you to a serenity that is lost in our day to day lives. Sedona has many mystical vortexes and is one of the best places in North America to gain clarity, awareness, insight, expansion, spiritual growth and enlightenment. Experience the magic and mystery of the Sedona Vortexes.
Sedona Rouge is a great place to lay your head and enjoy your visit and the serenity. I am recommending this to all my friends and would definitely stay here again.
http://www.sedonarouge.com
To learn more about Horizon Airlines see our article here.
Photos by Lawrence Davis