June 8, 2005
Not Your Mama's Girls Night Out! Sedona, AZ
Cynthia Stewart READ TIME: 5 MIN.
Calling all girlfriends: every night is ?ladies night? at ?Amara Creekside Resort?! At last, the perfect ?Girls Rule? getaway- in perhaps the most beautiful and inviting of desert settings- on the bank of Oak Creek in the magical town of Sedona, Arizona.
Upscale Amara Creekside Resort is known for providing a 5 star spa experience, and now they have debuted a ?Girls Get Grounded Getaway? package that is sure to enhance the definition of sisterhood for all who partake of it. I know I?ve been . . shall we say . . a very naughty girl, and I can?t wait for my ?grounding!?
If you and your best girlfriend are marriage-minded, Amara also provides the perfect ceremonial backdrop. Additionally, Amara, was recently voted one of the world?s 100 Sexiest Hotels (www.SexiestHotels.com), but is designed to meet the needs and wants of business travelers and conference-goers as well as pampered Princesses.
Girl Power!
Available now through August, ?Girls Get Grounded? packages are extremely popular, so make your reservations ASAP!
Amara Chief Operating Officer Dina Spector-Gomez notes that women are vacationing together more frequently. ?Whether for mother-daughter getaways, bachelorette parties or simply an extended girls? night out, more women seem to be placing a priority on reconnecting with old friends and having a few days of ?girl time.?? So where will Spector-Gomez and her girlfriends go on their next biannual getaway? Amara Creekside Resort of course!
The ?Girls Get Grounded Getaway? package is $629 per Girl during the week, and $729 per Girl on the weekend (based on double occupancy). Here is what you get, girlfriend:
A Sedona Crystal of your choosing upon arrival.
2 nights in a Double Queen Bedded Room with a view of Sedona?s natural red rocks and Zen Courtyard.
A ?Red Rock Spa? Lymphatic Cleansing Massage for 2.
?Spiritual Cleansing? during a ?Red Rock Jeep Tour? for 2.
A ?Dahn Tao Center? Yoga Class for 2.
A ?Gallery on Oak Creek? Wine Tasting with an appetizer of your choice.
A 1-hour ?Sedona Metaphysical Association? Psychic Reading for 2 (at resort).
Complimentary Mercedes SUV transportation to and from each resort experience.
Plus, Amara has a guests-only happy hour every night from 5 to 6 p.m.!
Gustatory Girls
With all the relaxation, rejuvenation, and refreshing you?ll enjoy at Amara, you?ll be ready for five-star food, and plenty of it! Luckily, Amara?s own restaurant, ?The Gallery on the Creek? is known for feasts fit for a Queen. One of the top-rated Sedona restaurants, ?The Gallery? is also (literally) a fine art gallery next to a creek. The buffets, specialties, box lunches, and plated lunch and dinner selections seem endless, but here are some highlights:
?The Sonoran Breakfast? includes a corn tortilla enchilada, scrambled eggs, a steak fajita, and a selection of pastries, cereal, juice, coffee, and tea.
?Boxed Lunch? selections range from Veggie Wraps with pepper-jack cheese, and jalapeno cream, to a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Sandwich with roasted red pepper aioli. The brownies and cookies are made on-site!
?Plated Dinner? entr?e selections range anywhere from Risotto Cakes with Green Beans and Chanterelle Mushrooms to Amara Duet Presentation, featuring a pairing of pan-seared beef tenderloin and grilled swordfish. Desserts include Strawberries Amaretto, Chocolate Ganache (chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache), and Margarita Tart (Jose Cuervo tequila lime on a cocoa shell with fresh lime cream). Oh my!
Amara boasts a nice-sized wine list and offers ?Signature Cocktails? for your imbibing pleasure. Try a Classic Mojito (fresh crushed mint, lime, raw sugar, Premium Westerhall Plantation Rum, and a splash of lemon/lime soda), or a Prickly Pear Margarita (Sauza Tres Generaciones Tequila, fresh key lime mix, and prickly pear syrup).
?Children?s Menu,? ?Meeting Break? (gourmet snack packages for those attending a conference at Amara), and ?Beverage Packages? (cash and hosted bars) are also available.
Serenity Now!
If you?re in the mood for some extra pampering, Amara offers a variety of specialized body treatments. After all, the whole reason we go to spas is for massages and skin treatments!
The Amara Signature Treatments include The Amara Massage, The Hot Stone Massage, Massage for Couples, Prenatal Massage, Aromatherapy Massage, and The Deluxe Cleansing Facial Massage. Amara also features Body Treatments like Salt Glow, Sugar Scrub, Blue Corn Meal Scrub, and Foot Indulgence. With so many options available, girlfriends can mix and match, and compare notes after their treatments!
Sedona Sightseeing
An adaptation of the Spanish word for love, the setting of The Amara Resort- Sedona reflects this name perfectly. After you?ve indulged yourself with everything this luxury boutique-hotel has to offer? the massages, tours, cleansings, yoga, wine tastings, readings, and happy hours? wander your way past the Zen rock gardens, the fire-pit, and the heated salt-water pool, and the courtyard.
To get away while on your getaway, Sedona, Arizona offers a breathtakingly beautiful desert landscape to awe the senses and uplift the spirit. Panoramic views of sheer red cliffs and clear blue skies are inspirational for painters, photographers, hikers, and free spirits. Just far enough away from the stresses of city life (Phoenix is 2 hours away), Sedona is a spiritual oasis in the desert, and ?Amara Resort? is the jewel found within.
Cynthia Stewart is a freelance writer, photographer, and model. She lives on the South Shore and travels frequently.