#The Great Hair Product Project of 2012: The Inns at El Rancho Merlita

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Jan Ross

If you wonder why in the world I’m writing about hotel amenities, just read this post and then the review of the amenities at the Inn at Eagle Mountain, at the Hotel Valley Ho, and at the Westin Kierland.

 

I’m going to write a whole post about our stay at this lovely, lovely B & B Inn in Tucson soon but just let me tell you that if you book a stay here you should absolutely read in detail the confirmation letter they send you. Don’t skim it, extract the information that your GPS will not work, then print out directions from Google. Because it specifically says not to do this.

And you will follow those directions and end up in some random neighborhood in Tucson which is not remotely near the Inns at El Rancho Merlita and you will have to call them and beg for directions on how to get there. And you will also have to shamefacedly pull up that letter on your iphone to get the gate code which was also specifically mentioned in that letter because you are too embarrassed to call them and ask for that number.

I’m not saying this happened to me.

I’m just saying.

However. You will be very happy when you arrive at El Rancho Merlita and see what a beautiful oasis in the Sonoran desert it is with a wonderful pool, lovely landscaping and gorgeous, comfortable rooms.

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#The Great Hair Product Project of 2012: The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, Scottsdale, Arizona

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Jan Ross

If you wonder why in the world I’m writing about hotel amenities, just read this post and then the review of the amenities at the Inn at Eagle Mountain, at the Hotel Valley Ho.

 

I was a little disappointed when I saw the amenities on the counter of the bathroom in our deluxe and quite, quite fabulous room at the Westin Kierland (more about our room and the fabulousness that is this place soon) because there was just two small bottles on the sink. Then I looked closer.

And realized this was the first place we had stayed that gave us mouthwash as an amenity. Mouthwash. Is that classy or what?

Mouthwash - how cool is that?

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#The Great Hair Product Project of 2012: The Hotel Valley Ho, Scottsdale, Arizona

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Jan Ross

If you wonder why in the world I’m writing about hotel amenities, just read this post and then the review of the amenities at the Inn at Eagle Mountain.

 

 

We have stepped back in time to approximately 1960 and we adore it. The decorations, the food, the music – it is all totally fabulous. This is the coolest hotel we have ever seen and there is nothing cooler than our cabana room which overlooks the clear sparkling blue water of the pool. I want to tell you every single detail but first I have to tell you all about the amenities. The wonderful, wonderful amenities.

My only regret is that I didn’t put them away the first night so they would be replenished when they cleaned the room and I ended up with only one set.

So sad.

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The Inn at Eagle Mountain, Scottsdale, AZ

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Jan Ross

Check out my review of this location on Examiner.com as well HERE.

I stretched out my legs so my toes could get even closer to the fire in the fireplace which was crackling merrily and busily warming up my frigid toes. As warmth spread through my icy feet, I looked around at the large and spacious suite we had settled in at the beautiful Inn at Eagle Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona and felt very, very happy that we had made the choice to stay here first on our road trip of Arizona.

Warming my toes!

We flew into Phoenix, picked up our rental car – which, incidentally, we traded in the next day for a bigger car. A two-week road trip turned out not to be a good time to be a tightwad. Our two suitcases wouldn’t even fit in the trunk and, since the original car had only two doors, we would have been fighting to get that second suitcase in the backseat for the whole two weeks. No thanks. After picking up our (tiny) car, we turned on our Garmin GPS and headed to the Inn at Eagle Mountain. This was the first time we had traveled with a GPS and we will never take another road trip without one – it has been absolutely invaluable and I recommend either bringing one or getting one from the rental car company.

As soon as we arrived in Phoenix, we began marveling at how incredibly different the landscape was from the green rolling pastures of our native Lexington, Kentucky. Shades of brown, gold and tan sand and rock with eerily unearthly looking cactus and other desert plants create an environment unlike anything we have ever seen. It’s very different but also very beautiful. We headed out of Phoenix towards Scottsdale, through the Sonoran desert, and then up into the community of Fountain Hills, where the Inn is located. It’s only about 40 minutes from the Phoenix airport, so it was an easy drive. We drove up into the lovely desert landscape of the Inn and pulled up in front of the Southwest styled lobby.

You know you have arrived in the Southwest!

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#The Great Hair Product Project of 2012: The Inn at Eagle Mountain, Scottsdale, AZ

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Jan Ross

If you wonder why in the world I’m writing about hotel amenities, just read this post.

I am so IN LOVE with Arizona. The desert, the mountains, the canyons, the saguaro cactus…wait. I must show you a picture I took of a saguaro cactus we saw in Scottsdale.

 

Yipee - ki - yay!

Seriously? Someone was having too much fun with the saguaro cactus.

I’m going to tell you more about the fabulousness that is the great state of Arizona and how every time we get hot, we nudge each other and say “but it’s a dry heat” which, frankly, does not help at all. It’s still hot. Although that has not really been much of a problem since the weather is completely glorious here. I just checked the weather back in Kentucky and they are getting 1-4 inches of snow tomorrow. It’s 73 degrees here in Lake Havasu and not a cloud in the sky. I feel a little sorry for them. Not much. But a little.

So, Arizona. All about that later because right now I have to tell you about the amenities at the Inn at Eagle Mountain so I can begin the Great Hair Product Project of 2012. I am going to tell you all about the Inn eventually as well because it was wonderful in every way. Let me give you a visual. Picture us arriving cold and tired into the paradise-like suite that was our home at the Inn. Then there was this.

Warming my toes in front of our fireplace.

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In Which I Prove Myself to be a Bold and Intrepid Traveler

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Jan Ross

The last time we went on a trip, I unpacked my suitcase and lifted out the very large baggie stuffed with my shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion and said no more. This is ridiculous.

Because I’m normally traveling for a good chunk of days, I need a large container of shampoo, etc. and those piddly little travel sizes just don’t do it. Plus, I’m just a teensy bit of a prima donna when it comes to my hair. I have what you might call not naturally blonde hair.

OK, I guess that’s precisely what you would call it.

Although a few years ago, one of my friends was at my house for the first time and spotted an old picture of me with my daughter when she was very young. There we were, her perched on my lap, and both of us with long, dark hair. “Oh!”, she exclaimed. “I thought you had naturally blonde hair.”

Do I even need to say that I love this woman?

So I guess my hair looks pretty good blonde and I’m determined to keep it that way. I wash it carefully with shampoo formulated for blonde hair and, up to this point, packed that large, unwieldy and heavy bottle in my suitcase along with conditioner and bath and lotion from Bath and Body Works because I love me some pretty smells and don’t even get me started on how many bottles of bath gel I have in my shower.

And then every single hotel, resort and B & B we visited always has shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion. Which, up to this point, I just pushed to one side and used my own stuff.

But the time has come. I am rebelling. I am becoming a wild, impetuous and perhaps mildly crazy woman. Especially if my hair does not cooperate in this project.

I am only going to use the provided amenities on this trip to Arizona.

The shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion are going to stay right on the shower rack at home this time.

My suitcase will be 2 pounds lighter.

And The Great Hair Product Project of 2012 has begun.

I’m going to use the provided products in every single place we stay. And then I’m going to Tweet about it. I’m even going to create a hash tag for it. What’s that you say? That this project sounds just the smallest bit self-involved?

Do you know me at all?

Have you noticed the fact that spa visits are accounting for roughly 80% of the time we spend in Arizona? Does this not give you a hint that I am, indeed, self-involved?

Back. Off.

And hand me that hotel shampoo.

Let the Great Hair Product Project begin.

 

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Tiny Luxembourg = Big Vacation

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Jan Ross

Palace of the Grand Dukes in Luxembourg

I was a little amused by the fact that the capital of Luxembourg was also named Luxembourg – who does that? – until my husband gently reminded me of New York, New York. Oh. OK. Not that strange after all. Luxembourg is truly a lovely little country and I don’t use the word “little” lightly. Driving from Germany to France, you can almost miss this friendly and beautiful place if you are not careful.

Luxembourg, or technically “the duchy of Luxembourg” has an area of only 998 square miles or 2,586 square kilometers, with a population of barely half a million people. We spent a day in the beautiful city of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg last year and found it to be a very interesting and historical location filled with some of the friendliest people we met in Europe.

Read the rest of this post on Alpharooms HERE.

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Westward Ho! Arizona, Here We Come!

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Jan Ross

I feel like a juggler, balancing all those plates in the air – and then he starts adding items until he is just a whirl of motion keeping everything going.

I also understand now why Gary Arndt has an assistant because planning a two-week trip with innumerable stays, tours, and restaurant visits to a place that is relatively unknown to you is hard, y’all.

I say relatively unknown because we have technically been to Arizona before – twice. The first time was our visit to the Grand Canyon when we flew over the Canyon in a helicopter which had to be one of the coolest things we have ever done in our lives and the other time was when we walked across Hoover Dam and stood in Arizona for, like two minutes. Not the most productive visit.

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River Inn at Harbor Town in Memphis, Tennessee

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Jan Ross

The River Inn at Harbor Town

Overlooking the lazy Mississippi River and with a quiet air of sophistication, the River Inn at Harbor Town on Mud Island is the perfect place to stay when you visit Memphis, Tennessee. Just a few minutes from downtown across a connecting bridge, but far enough away from the wonderful craziness of Beale Street to be ideal, the River Inn not only has marvelously luxurious rooms, but they also include a full, hot, and quite delicious breakfast at Paulette’s Restaurant in your room rate.

Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com HERE.

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Road Trip! South Walton Girlfriends Getaway

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Jan Ross

Bemused, I gazed at my bright pink, freshly pedicured toes. The pedicure was lovely but what was truly, truly lovely was the view I had over my toes, resting on the end of a lounge chair on a blindingly white sand beach in South Walton, Florida.

Clear water shading from dark turquoise to the clear lime green of that true southern specialty, key lime pie, stretched to the horizon of the blue, blue sky decorated with just a few wispy white clouds. It was January back home and snow warnings were predicted for that evening but that seemed far away on this gorgeous day. Far, far away.

I stretched, relishing the feel of the golden sun on my legs and glanced over at two of my favorite traveling companions, my sister and sister-in-law.

Read the rest of this article on Girlsgetaway.com HERE.

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