The end of 2025 was different than previous years. I normally take a bunch of time off around late December. That was not the case due to some work stuff. January was very busy already and I wanted to get the hell away again. I checked out nearby spots for a small break and saw a new Hilton property in Sedona, Los Abrigados Resort & Spa Sedona. It was in an area that I love so I booked the room to give it a shot.
I started the 30th day of January by getting up and getting the car loaded. I decided to make a bit of a longer day of it. I headed up north first, making a stop in Flagstaff. I wanted to hit a few places there but not do the extended jaunt that I normally do. I got in and hit up Flagstaff Mall first. I do not know why, but I eat lunch there almost every time. There's an Asian place with bourbon chicken. It always sounds great but does not taste great. For some reason, I keep giving it a shot. The results were the same. I hit up Bookman's for a little card and magazine shopping, Home Depot to continue my series of reviews, Target to look for cards, and Walmart for a few staples. With all of that out of my system, I hopped on the 89A and headed south down to Sedona.
The new hotel to try was another Grand Vacations property. The initial assessment was that it would be great. It is centrally located to a ton of restaurants and shops, but offset enough to relax. The main checkin area was great. Checkin was a bit slow, but I got my keys and directions to the room. I headed around the back, parked the car, and brought some of my things upstairs. The overall property looked great and felt cool. I got into the room and it was nice, but very dated. It was spacious and had a big back patio. The room sizing was a bit weird. The bedroom was huge, but mostly unused. The bathroom was very dated. It wasn't unclean, it was just worn down. The kitchen was the same. It was functional, but looked to have been remodeled last about 40 years ago. I got what I brought up settled in the room.
This is where the problems started for me. I went downstairs to look around a bit and grab the rest of my stuff. I walked to the creek and statue garden. I took some pictures as they were both quite nice. I got the last of my things and went to the room. The key did not work. I tried the second key and it did not work. I headed to the front desk. As mentioned earlier, checkin was slow and I had to wait behind everyone else. I get to the counter, they apologize and give me a new set of keys. I walk to the room and neither one works. I walk to the front desk, they give me yet another set of keys and tell me to use them as they will work. They do not. I head to the front desk again, wait again, and explain again. They say that they are new to the Hilton ecosystem. The locks are part of their old system and they have had a lot of issues like this. I am pissed and do not care. They send security over to let me in. I wait outside of the room. About 10 mins in, I think I see the guy but he turns away. I wait 10 more mins. The same guy shows up. He knew that he needed to let me in, walked almost all of the way to the room, then realized he did not grab the tool to unlock the door and had to turn around. I wasted 45 mins dealing with this bullshit. At this point, I was afraid to leave and deal with this further. I had brought some food with me. I had something to eat in the room, had a couple of drinks, read the internet, and called it an early night.
Saturday, I got up after some decent sleep. I did not have any real plans. I decided to drive over to Cottonwood and check out a few shops. I picked up a few things from Dollar Tree, checked out the Walmart clearance, found out how expensive the vintage Silent Hill games are at Game On, and checked out Home Depot. This stop paid big dividends as it solved the issue of my car not having an integrated garage door opener like the other one does. This was a big win and I was happy to have it. I drove back to Sedona and called it a chill afternoon and evening. I walked over to Oak Creek Brewery And Grill to get dinner. This restaurant was one of the reasons that I wanted to try the property out. I got back to the room, just sat around a bit, and got prepped for the early morning departure. After a couple of more cocktails, I called it a night.
Sunday was pretty straightforward. I had slept well and was up at 8:30. The Grand Vacation properties have a 10AM checkout. I got things downstairs and in the car. I headed over to the main desk, checked out, and got on the road.
The property was ok. I did not call all of this out to the front desk. Some things, like remodeling, are capital expenses and not easy fixes. The lock thing, when happening at volume, they seem aware of but I am not sure how serious they are taking it. I'll stay here again in the future, but a few years from now when they have had a chance to get things sorted. All things equal, it is worth it to me to spend about the same money, be 20 mins further away, but stay at the Summit property.
