Welcome to the VERANDA Weekend Guides, where we show you how to make the most of 48 hours in our favorite destinations. This time, we’ve tapped luxury travel journalist and founder Dylan Grace Essertier to walk us through a luxe, restorative weekend in Sedona, Arizona.
Sedona is Mother Nature at her best. From the bright-blue skies to the iron-rich red rocks and emerald green junipers, everywhere you look is bold and beautiful. In addition to the dramatic landscapes, Sedona is known for its good vibrations, which attract creatives, spiritual seekers, and healers from around the world. Whether it’s spiritual enlightenment or a delicious prickly pear margarita you're after (or maybe both!) Sedona offers it in spades, which makes it the perfect weekend escape for the thoughtful traveler. Read on to discover where to stay, play, and what not to miss in this unique desert city.
Friday Afternoon
90 minutes from Phoenix Sky International Airport, L’auberge de Sedona is the perfect place to soak up sun, stars, and sprawling landscapes. Nestled on the banks of Oak Creek in Sedona’s Red Rock region, the property features sophisticated guest cottages, a spa, and fine dining restaurant. Inside the recently-refurbished Creekside cottages, the interiors skew more modern, with soothing creams and outdoor cedar showers, while the Vista Cottages offer dark-wood headboards and whirlpool bathtubs for two. As a guest bonus, the property generously offers incredible complimentary activities, from s’mores and stargazing and monthly moon meditations to artist-in-residence talks.
Friday Evening
Just down the road from the L’auberge, perched high on a hillside overlooking rust orange mountain views, is the Latin-inspired Mariposa restaurant. Helmed by local celebrity chef Lisa Dahl, this reservation is one of the most coveted in town—and for good reason. Snag a seat on the patio and order one (or many) Peruvian Palomas lined with Hawaiin sea salt before staying to enjoy Dahl’s take on a Latin “soul food” menu: think homemade empanadas, pulled pork tostadas, and a velvety gaucho skirt steak. The best part? Dahl’s new cookbook A Romance with Food was recently released and features her best tips and tricks for cooking up your own Latin-fusion feast. It’s the perfect souvenir to take home to recreate a little piece of Sedona.
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Saturday Morning
If you want to get a taste of the area’s spectacular panoramas without the frenzy of tourists, Doe Mountain trail is a low-key 90 minute hike with an amazing payoff. Clocking in at 1.5 miles, this manageable hike will lead you to a football-field sized mesa with just the type of take-your-breath-away views that envy-inducing photos are made of. Other popular options include Devil’s Bridge and Cathedral Rock trail.
Saturday Afternoon
After working up a sweat, it’s time for lunch. With the motto “love your body, feed your soul,” Local Juicery is a tiny health-focused shop packed with juices, bowls, tonics, and salads. Signature beverages include Oak Creek Greens (coconut water, spinach, kale, banana, blueberries, spirulina, goji berries, honey) and the Sex in the Desert (almond milk, banana, fresh turmeric root, cinnamon, black pepper, coconut crystals, house made chai spice, maca, almond butter, dates). Top it off with the PB + Cacao featuring gluten-free waffles smothered with peanut butter, cacao nibs, and maple syrup. After lunch, spend time walking around Sedona’s cute downtown area, which is full of restaurants, bars, galleries, and New Age shops. Catch live music as you sit beneath an ancient sycamore tree in Tlaquepaque, a Mexican village filled with covered stucco walls and cobble-stone walkways.
Do you hear the spa beckoning? Us too. For something really special, book a massage at’ L’Apothecary Spa’s private creekside tent and listen to water babbling past as you take your pick from refreshing facials, reparative peels, cleansing body treatments, massages, and integrative therapies, including cranial sacral treatments, holistic massage, and reflexology.
Saturday Evening
Cress on Oak Creek isn’t just dinner—it’s an experience. In good weather, sit on the patio and enjoy views of the creek which sparkles in the sun by day and provides the perfect calming soundtrack by night. As for the menu, it’s seasonal, often changing, and always features ingredients foraged from the surrounding area. On any given night you might be served a salad with local mushrooms, or a duck roasted with goat cheese crumbs and cherry tomatoes. The truffle fries are also a no-brainer.
Sunday Morning
For your final hours in Sedona, it’s only appropriate to make the most of the spectacular surroundings. Pink Adventure Tours off-road journeys across backcountry routes and past Sedona’s natural landmarks double as a way to capture the stunning scenery and the extensive history of the region all at once. Atop high elevations, your vehicle will crawl across bumpy terrain for some of the best desert views available. It’s epic to witness nature on this scale and a magical and humbling way to end your trip (until next time, that is).
