Girl (Trip) Interrupted
I’ve been on dozens of girl trips and as is the law of probability, there’s going to be one or two that don’t go according to plan. One of our most memorable trips to go awry was our spa getaway to Sedona, the spiritual capital of Arizona. We had reservations to stay at the Enchantment Resort, a gorgeous resort surrounded by the red rock formations of Boynton Canyon, with spa treatments lined up for Saturday morning at the resort’s world-ranked Mii Amo Spa.
We drove up to Sedona from Phoenix on Friday afternoon and didn’t pay much attention to the rain until it became a downpour. After trying our hardest to enjoy some wet weather shopping in town, we decided to head out to the resort. Shopping isn’t very fun when you’re soaked.
For those who’ve never experienced Enchantment Resort it happens to be located at the end of a very long and winding road. With the resort nearly in sight, we reached a low water crossing that was closed due to flooding. A quick call to the resort confirmed that yes, there was no other way to reach the resort until the flooding subsided. Even though we were driving a fairly high clearance SUV, none of us wanted to tempt fate by crossing the water. So we turned around, and instead of staying at the luxurious Enchantment Resort (the #2 ranked destination spa in the world by Travel & Leisure), we stayed at …the Comfort Inn (not ranked on anybody’s “best of” list).
The good news was - the road re-opened the next morning. The bad news was - our scheduled spa appointments had already passed. To put the icing on the cake of our unhappy adventure, the spa had no other openings for the rest of the weekend. While all of us were dejected, my sister was just plan mad. She let the manager know how unhappy she was and got complimentary lunches for us all and vouchers for future stays.
As if that wasn’t enough bad luck for one trip, the rain turned to snow overnight. Looking at the bright side, the sight of the white snow on the red rocks and adobe buildings was beautiful. Unfortunately the sudden drop in temperature also meant it was too cold for outdoor activity.
Clearly the Sedona spirits didn’t want us to have any fun this weekend.
Been on a girls trip where things didn’t quite go as planned? Add a comment and let us know!
June 26th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
In 1999 we had a very interesting hotel experience. Normally, we rent a house (with a pool) but that year we were doing the hotel circuit because there were only six of us on board, plus we were touring San Diego and Mexico.
Our friend, who lived in San Diego at the time, was acting as our tour guide into Mexico since she’d been there dozens of time. She had even chosen a chic hotel for us to stay at.
Problem is, she didn’t make reservations. By the time we pulled into Rosarito, there were no vacancies except for in some dive called the Hotel California.
Well, if this was the Hotel California from the well-known Eagles song, I’ll be damned. It had to be the filthiest dive I’ve ever set foot in. There were mirrors along the walls - at bed level! You could not see yourself in these mirrors unless you were horizontal. That pretty much summed up this hotel’s target clientele. You wouldn’t dare walk around the room barefoot, since you could literally feel the smutty grime seeping into the soles of your feet. We all purchased $10 blankets from the vendors on the beach to avoid direct contact with anything that might be contaminated.
Some of our travelers were pretty disturbed by our accomodations. Others thought of it as an adventure and turned it into a story that would be retold for years to come (that would be me). But I have to say, after we guzzled a gazilion beers over at Papas and got the good times rolling, everybody was pretty content and just happy to be on the Girl Trip.
-MAD Tripper
Girl Trip