2017 was the year of staycations for Aaron and I. We kicked off the summer with international travel to Italy and Spain, and coming back to Arizona we didn’t have the funds or the available paid time off to leave our home state. Also, I was going through some personal struggles having lost my grandma at the beginning of the summer and my grandpa at the end of the summer, so staying close to home was the best thing for us.

Living in Arizona, I often forget just how great of a vacation spot it actually is. Sure, the temperature can get to over 120 degrees during the summer, but there are definitely ways to still enjoy those hot months. From July to September, I found myself at Hotel Palomar in downtown Phoenix three different times. Once for my birthday in August, my husband invited a group of friends to hang out by the pool during the day and then walk to the Diamondbacks night game as they were playing the Chicago Cubs. My girlfriend Ansley was able to secure a suite for our group, which was such a fun way to all enjoy the game together. Then we went to Copper Blues to listen to live music. Another time was in September, I invited two of my best girlfriends to have a relaxing girls getaway. One of my friends has two kids under the age of 6 and the other is a flight attendant who is always on the go. It was so nice to all be together in one place and enjoy each other’s company.

The first staycation of the summer was over the 4th of July weekend and that was with three of my girlfriends who are also bloggers. The photos you see in this post are all from that weekend. I’ve shared a few other blog posts from that weekend as well, so you may already be familiar with our girls night in. We started our day at the pool bright and early before anyone else was there, then we enjoyed lunch at the Breakfast Club, which is practically attached to the hotel. We freshened up for dinner and enjoy the sunset on the patio by the pool with drinks and later a menu tasting at Blue Hound Kitchen and Cocktails, which is the restaurant attached to the hotel. Blue Hound has delicious and inventive southern inspired meals with craft cocktails. I definitely want to go back for a round 2! Honestly, the best part of the girls night in was hanging out, getting to know each other better and laughing till our bellies hurt. We were pretty sleep deprived towards the end, so our conversations got a little interesting – lol! Hotel Palomar was so sweet to provide us with bubbly, a fruit plate and face masks in the room. Their suite had a living area with a separate bedroom and a large bathroom with a soaking tub.

In case you’re not familiar with the property, Hotel Palomar is tucked in downtown Phoenix between Chase Field, where the Arizona Diamondbacks play, and Talking Stick Resort & Casino Arena, where the Phoenix Suns play. Also, there are multiple concerts that take place at both of these locations, so its the perfect place to crash if you don’t want to pay Uber surges after a show or a game. In the same high rise building, there are condos were residents live and those floors are above the hotel floors. There are many restaurants walking distance to the hotel as well as bars and shopping. My favorite restaurants in the area, besides Blue Hound, are the Arrogant Butcher and Bitter & Twisted. Slightly farther down the road is Mother Bunch Brewing and Matt’s Big Breakfast in case you want to try something else besides the Breakfast Club in the morning.

In 2018, Aaron and I did not do enough staycationing. We definitely want to explore a few other local hotels in the spring. Now that we don’t have a pool in our backyard anymore, we’ll need an excuse to relax by the pool. What trips or staycations do you have planned in the new year? If you’re from Arizona, do you brave the heat as we get into those summer months or do you try to get away as much as possible? If you’re thinking about traveling to the desert, please comment below with where you’re staying. I would love to give you some restaurant and recommendations for things to do in the area!

We tried recreating this… #inspo

Be You, Bravely. 
The Foxy Kat

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