MN Travel Mom

Our annual trip to Arizona-- this time we stayed at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix and we hiked Piestewa Peak and Quartz Ridge.  We had an amazing time! Hotel: 5/5 We stayed at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel (Waldorf Astoria). This is a historic hotel that recently underwent a multimillion dollar renovation.  We stayed in one of the Citrus Club Rooms in the Octilla Wing. Our room had two queen beds, a patio overlooking the Octilla pool with firepit and a spacious bathroom. Pools: 4/5 The pools were great, there were small pools by each of the "wings" and then a larger central pool, Paradise pool with 3 waterslides.  The biggest waterslide looked terrifying and my 7 year old was too short to go on it but she enjoyed the smaller ones.  There was pool service at Paradise pool and a bar that was open on the weekend at our smaller Octilla pool.  The hot-tubs were crowded but warm at both. Citrus Club: 5/5 This featured food offerings throughout the day and excelle...

Part 1 Fajardo: We flew into San Juan and rented a car and drove 1.5 hours to El Conquistador Resort. My kids LOVED the resort- the talking parrots in the lobby, the game area with pool tables, the multiple ice cream shops. We stayed in the Marina area where you take a funicular to your room. The rooms were very spacious with beautiful ocean views and balconies. In the Marina area is the water park with a lazy river and waterslides (my daughter was too short to ride- have to be 48") and the boat to the private island. Tip: You need to book the boat to the island ahead of time to ensure you get the time you want. I recommend doing all of this booking at check in. Pool area: very easy to get chairs, there is a fast food area there, and great lazy river and kids splash area so good for small kids Private island: we loved this. It's a 15 minute boat ride and the kids loved sitting on top of the boat and getting splashed. The island has plenty of chairs & umbrellas, a bar, ...

Canadian Rockies Itinerary! We traveled to the Canadian Rockies with 6 and 9 year old kids and my 80 year old parents. I highly recommend! Prior to the trip: 1) Download GyPSy App and purchase the Canadian Rockies Tour-- this will guide you on the entire trip 2) Purchase a park pass-- you want the Discovery Pass https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/voyage-travel/admission 3) I booked restaurant reservations, tea at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, boat tickets for Spirit Island at Maligne Lake, and tour tickets for hiking the Althabasca glacier ( www.icewalks.com ) Day 1: Flew to Calgary and rented a car and drove to Banff. We stayed at the Fairmont Banff club level- great service & club but very small rooms. I think you could definitely do another option if $ is an issue. We did the 5 pin bowling which was super fun (had reservations). Day 2: Banff day- we followed the GyPSy tour that took us to the Cave & Basin (kids loved), Lake Minnewanka, Hoodoos, Vermillion Lakes, Banff Gondola, Bow...

The Loews Portofino is supposedly the "nicest" on-property hotel for Universal Studios Orlando.  We have stayed there twice and enjoyed both of our stays.  It is an Italian-themed hotel built with a central plaza that has the boat (ferry) to Univeral Studios.  We enjoyed the restaurants and pools and convenience. ROOMS: 4/5 The rooms are spacious and feature balconies overlooking the plaza or pool. We were able to get adjoining rooms.  The Italian theming extends to rooms and bathrooms as well.  There are different buildings - the main villa, and east and west wings.  The east wing is closest to the ferry and Bice restaurant and the main villa is closest to the gym/spa/ pool areas & main restaurants. FOOD: 4/5 We enjoyed the daily breakfast buffet.  This was excellent with omlet station, fresh pastries, and hot food items.  We were able to get free breakfast every day through American Express Platinum benefits (see additional post later)....

20 Tips for Universal Studios Orlando 1. Stay at one of the Universal Hotels that offers FREE Express Passes.  - These include Loews Portofino (review in separate post), Loews Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel.  This includes early entry (varies per day, Express pass onto many rides: they are listed separately).  The Hard Rock Hotel is the closest to walk, but there is an incredible boat system that will bring you to all hotels.  You can also walk to each hotel in about 15 minutes. 2. Use Early Entry but arrive 30 minutes BEFORE park opening.  They start letting people in before the official time and lines will form starting 1 hour prior to official opening time. 3. Express pass times are always 1/2 of the posted times so plan accordingly. Your express pass is valid on the day you check into the hotel through the day you check out. 4. Download the app, it will have wait times, maps, etc. 5. Buy park-to-park tickets if you want to ride on the Hogwarts Express (fun t...

 We spent a few days at the Four Seasons Orlando for my birthday this year.  It was truly incredible and I highly recommend! I would even go back without kids too but it was super kid friendly. THE HOTEL 5/5: This is a 5 start hotel located in Walt Disney World.  They have free shuttles to Disney and I believe you can have the benefits of Disney properties (restaurant booking etc). We just stayed at the resort which was beautiful. My kids loved the "scavenger hunt" with the prize being ice cream! THE ROOMS 5/5: We had a beautiful room with balcony that had 2 queen beds.  View from our balcony.  There is a golf course and lake features.  They also have adjoining rooms available.  THE POOLS 5/5: The pools are incredible- multiple pool areas including a lazy river, basket ball/ volleyball area, pool service, hot tub.  There was construction going on at the main pool so we had to move to another area and for our trouble we were given a free round of d...

Good morning mamas! I LOVE to travel.  I will be writing about current trips, past trips, and future trips. My kids are now 7 and 10 but we have been traveling with them since they were babies.   I would love to share tips and itineraries with other families who share my passion for travel. My family is based in MN but hope to add trips for worldwide adventures so please feel free to follow along even if you live outside of the twin cities area. Thanks for joining me on this journey! Ha -- see what I did there :)