You and your bestie want to escape life’s struggles: be cocooned in an enclave of lush desert beauty, fill your bodies with yummy food where calories don’t count LOL, shop and stroll luxurious shops, and of course, indulge in a wide variety of spa rituals.
If you want a relaxing “girls weekend” then look no further. The Sanctuary Resort and Spa in Scottsdale Arizona on Camelback Mountain is truly an escape. I just returned from the Sanctuary Resort where Penny Smith and I shared an epic girl’s weekend and I’m excited to divulge all the details.
In the event you’re new here, Penny Smith and I both have professional YouTube channels; (that’s crazy to say/write… meaning we not only support our families but also have employees supported by our channels); where we share skincare products, routines, and different protocols for actually improving your skin at home.
Youtube made us aware of one another and our shared community of skin-loving followers helped us become friends. Because we love skincare, travel, and indulgent experiences, we decided to escape to the Sanctuary.
Below our social media information is everything we did while in Scottsdale, Arizona June 2021.
YOUTUBE (Channel has been Terminated) I am still holding out hope that I get my channel back from YouTube.
PENN.SMITH.SKINCARE YOUTUBE CHANNEL
GROUPS
Penny and I also have private groups where our communities connect with one another on the topics of skincare. My group is an app called Natural Kaos found on Apple and Android. Penny’s skincare community is a private Facebook group and you are welcome in both private groups.
CHIT-CHAT, FOOD, MASSAGES, SHOPPING & MORE CHAT was this trips GOAL…were we successful?
OUR ITINERARY
Before arriving, Penny perused the Sanctuary Spa’s Menu and booked a variety of pampering experiences for us to enjoy.
*Make sure to book these appointments ahead of time as this location does serve a lot of local clientele. Further, they had a restricted spa menu while we were there due to COVID; it’s my understanding that by the end of June 2021 they will be back to full staff providing all offerings.
THURSDAY
We flew into Pheonix Sky Harbor Airport from our perspective locations; I arrived from California and Penny flew in from Portland. Our flights arrived within an hour of one another in different terminals, instead of connecting at a mutual terminal we met at the Sky Harbor Rental Car SIXT location where we picked up our Audi Q7. Once loaded, we headed from the airport over to Trader Joe’s for snacks, since everyone knows girls trips need snack food.
*The less expensive rental car companies had very long pick-up lines whereas SIXT did not, which is important because when you only have a couple of days, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour or more in line.
2:00 pm Pheonix Sky Harbor Airport
2:30 pm SIXT Rental Car
3:00 pm Trader Joe’s
3:30 pm Sanctuary Check-in
**Check-in begins at 4:00 pm and the room we were assigned was still occupied by a guest who had a late checkout. They let us use another room to change so we could head to the pool and get our party started.
4:00 pm Pool drinks & snacks
We ordered 2 sugar-free Red Bulls and a platter of chips and guacamole.
7:00 pm Element Dinner, we ordered:
-Ahi Tuna Crudo (Shared)
-Chef sent us Oyster’s Rockefeller (so yummy, we would order these again)
-Hawaiian Ono (Kim)
-Wagyu Beef Cheek (Penny)
-Chef sent us a dessert platter
***When I booked our room at the Sanctuary I made dinner reservations for their restaurant, Elements. I chose 7:00 pm which is late for me but I wanted to watch the sunset plus it was a travel day and I wanted to ensure we were not rushed.
This worked perfectly.
10:00 pm Pajama Time
We talked forever at dinner and then returned to our room for pajamas and a little Bravo tv:)
FRIDAY
6:00 am We woke up (actually Penny was up before me, I have no idea for how long lol)
6-8:00 am We prepped our Amazon Live
*Prior to our massages we stopped by the Elements restaurant and picked up 2 blueberry muffins. Unfortunately, these were awful! I believe they were old, I could barely take 2 bites, Penny didn’t even eat hers. I found the food overall to be great at Elements so I’m not sure what the deal with the muffins was. But at $9 per muffin I expected my socks to be knocked off and it was quite the opposite.
9:00 am Custom Massage 60 Minutes
11:00 am Amazon LIVE
12:00 pm We drove over to Scottsdale Fashion Square. We started our shopping reconnaissance and had lunch and Chipotle. Who doesn’t enjoy a good dose of Chipotle:)
1:30 pm We returned to the Sanctuary. Penny went to her Acupuncture appointment. The spa only has 1 acupuncturist so we took turns. I went to the pool and enjoyed an umbrella and a sugar-free Redbull. Then around 3:00 pm, I returned to the spa.
2:00 pm Acupuncture 60 Minutes (Penny)
3:15 pm Acupuncture 60 Minutes (Kim)
4:30 pm We returned to Scottsdale Fashion Square
We shopped around, enjoying the freedom of not having to rush. In the end, we bought matching pajamas at Victoria’s Secret and then bought a few summer items at Anthropologie.
In our matching pj’s
7:00 pm Due to COVID, there were shortened hours at the mall. As the stores began to close we decided to go find dinner.
We did not have any plans so we started driving over to downtown Scottsdale.
It was Friday night at 7:00 pm, I didn’t have high expectations as parking lots were packed. Luckily, we found a spot, parked, and began walking around.
Soon we stumbled across FnB, a farm-to-table restaurant that features seasonal menus.
Obviously, we did not have reservations, however, they were able to accommodate us at the bar. We chatted with the bartender and he suggested we order the swiss chard stems that are battered and served with the best Green Goddes Dressing ever. Seriously, now I want to go back just for this appetizer.
9:00 pm We walked across the street to Pussycat Gelato and I had the fresh strawberry and cream variety. I can’t remember which flavor Penny chose but needless to say, we both devoured our ice cream.
9:30 pm We returned to the Sanctuary, put on our new matching pj’s, and went to bed.
SATURDAY
6:30 am Penny woke up every day before me, and I have to tell you I loved this about her. Other friends I’ve traveled with are not accustomed to rising early. Sometimes this makes me feel awkward because I’m not sure if I should wake them or let them sleep. Our sleep cycles appear to be in sync and that only added to the perfection of this girl’s trip at the Sanctuary.
9:30 am Signature Coconut Sumatra Body Scrub 60 Minutes
*Our 2 services this day were less than an hour apart. Instead of leaving the spa, we headed into the steam room together for more chit-chat before our Reflexology appointments.
11:30 am Reflexology 60 Minutes
1:00 pm We returned to Fashion Square to explore the other side where Nordstrom’s is located. This mall spans multiple streets and is connected by sky bridges but because we were shopping in timed windows we isolated our shopping blocks to regions of the mall.
**Valet over on the Nordstrom side of the mall is fantastic! Everywhere should do valet with text. It’s easy to request your car and pay all via the text message the attendant sends when they take your car.
While at Nordstrom, I bought a denim-fitted jumpsuit and the Tom Ford Balm Frost.
I have a little blog post on this balm frost along with 3 other summer favorites, here
Penny bought a pair of Rag and Bone jeans in boyfriend style, they looked really cute. We looked high and low for new sunglasses (one of my favorite accessories to buy), but nothing really grabbed my or Penny’s full attention.
I purchased a fitted denim jumpsuit from Good American that I’m super excited to wear this coming week in Mexico. It’s currently being hemmed at the tailors, rarely anything off the rack is the correct length for me because I am 5’2″.
There was a Chloe Marcie mini satchel bag in Peach Bloom that was calling my name.
Attempting to avoid being too impulsive in front of a new friend, lol, I controlled myself.
While shopping around Nordstrom we had lunch upstairs at the Nordstrom Cafe. We both had the shrimp pasta and a Nordstrom bar for dessert.
Later, downstairs at the Nordstrom drink station, Penny had an iced coffee and I got one of my favorite summer drinks, a Raspberry Italian soda with cream:)
5:00 pm We returned to the Sanctuary for our last few hours of relaxation. We headed straight to the pool where we ordered our favorite Oysters Rockefeller’s and Asian green beans.
The evenings at the Sanctuary are gorgeous! The pool is set up to take advantage of the Camelback Mountain sunsets.
As the sun descends the temperature decreases… not incredibly low… but to the point that hanging out on the deck in your suit feels perfect, no chill and no sweat, simply a perfect summer evening. In the full video on Youtube, I capture this evening more fully with all of the night lights and fire pits.
8:30 pm We returned to our room. We did our evening skincare routines and of course, continued our non-stop talk fest. Then we watched a true-crime show:)
10:00 pm We went to sleep.
SUNDAY
8:00 am We walked down to the main building for breakfast before we needed to pack up and check out.
I had the lemon ricotta pancakes with pine nut butter and raspberries.
Penny enjoyed the eggs benedict.
9:00 am We returned to our room and packed up. Prior to check-out, we took time organizing our items for travel and getting dressed.
11:00 am We checked out, headed to SIXT to return our rental car, took the shuttle together to Penny’s terminal, and then said our goodbyes.
THOUGHTS
We had the best girl’s trip together at The Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain Spa. In fact, in case you didn’t know, this was the first time Penny and I ever met one another in person. Many of you might find it odd that Penny and I would embark on such an intimate getaway together being that we are new friends.
However, keep in mind that she and I have been talking frequently about YouTube and the different aspects of our businesses that we share and or have in common. These similarities brought us very close as very few people can relate and commiserate on the odd challenges we face. Plus, we each have so many videos online that we knew one another very well before we ever embraced.
This was a perfect girl’s trip getaway weekend and we couldn’t have asked for a better place to enjoy getting to know one another in person. Truth is that we never felt like this was our first encounter, it was like we had always been friends.
Were we successful at having a girl’s trip full of great food, spa experiences, shopping, and chit-chat? I believe we exceeded even our own expectations, and I can affirm that yes our girl trip goals were achieved!!!
SHOP ALL OUR FINDS HERE as well as other featured items in this blog post. Some of these linked products are affiliate links which means I am compensated for sharing when you choose to purchase using these links. Thank you for your support.
Thank you for your interest in this video and our time together at The Sanctuary. This trip was not sponsored by this location nor any of the brands shared.
Have a great day, Kim