We were ready for a relaxing break in warm climate this winter. We were only able to leave for an extended weekend. Our criteria were a comfortable place with an outdoor hot tub and pool. We looked into both Phoneix and Scottsdale.

We ended up in Scottsdale just north of Phoenix. Rabbi Ariel Shoshan and the community of Ahavas Torah was warm and welcoming. They offer a lot of helpful visitor information on their website: https://www.ahavastorah.org/visitor-information.html We stayed in an excellent VRBO and really enjoyed it: https://www.vrbo.com/2967268

There is a full kosher infrastructure set up; Kosher groceries and restaurants. We ate at Kitchen 18 and the LaBella Pizzeria.

The weather was mild and warm. There are cacti and fruit trees all over town and beautiful mountains framing the horizon. There aren’t so many great places to visit in the area since it is a desert after all but we did find things to do. We took a day trip up to Sedona and enjoyed it immensely. Many visitors drive to the Grand Canyon which is less than 4 hours away. We decided to leave that for another trip when we have better weather and more time.

We really enjoyed our trip to Scottsdale. Just what we needed: relaxing and pleasant.