After the graduation celebrations last weekend, we headed out to Winslow, Arizona to spend one night at the La Posada Hotel & Gardens. It is a grand old, railroad hotel that has been refurbished by some very caring and creative individuals. I wish we would have had just one more night there because I didn't get to see everything there was to see.
Winslow, Arizona is a funky little town out in the middle of nowhere made somewhat famous by the Eagles "Take It Easy". It was actually Jackson Browne who wrote the beginnings of that song and it was Glenn Frey who finished it up. If you ever go to Winslow, you can't help but think of the Eagles as you pass through the corner Jackson was talking about in his lyrics.
If it were not for this grand hotel, we would not have stopped in Winslow on this trip. But, I'm so glad we did! When you enter the lobby, you know you have been transported to a peaceful, easy place where you are going to enjoy quiet time. We were not disappointed.
We checked into our room and my son & his wife arrived shortly thereafter to check into theirs. They rented a larger room with a jacuzzi. It had beautiful, old glass doors that opened out to a false balcony right behind the railroad tracks. I noted there were no screens on the windows, allowing fresh air and doves to light on the window sill.
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| Garden area |
The garden area is very peaceful and really out of place for the desert but it's a wonderful area to take your morning coffee.
The hotel is still in renovation. The room our kids stayed in was not there 2 years ago when Justin took Amanda to La Posada to propose marriage to her.
There is an art gallery that blew my mind when I walked through it. I wasn't allowed to take photographs in the art gallery so I can only describe it to you by saying it is full of the most gigantic oil canvasses, painted by artist, Tina Mion. Apparently, Tina lives at La Posada and I would have given just about anything to have met her. Her paintings are fascinating, odd, dark and light ~ all at the same time. I pulled down an example from her website to show you here.
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| by Tina Mion |
After a short nap on Sunday afternoon, we met my son and his wife in the dining room for a fancy dinner. It was lovely and especially wonderful to have a waiter who took great care of us. Although Gene and I are admittedly far more comfortable in a roadside cafe where the waitress chomps on her gum and yells at the cook, dinner at La Posada was a real treat.
Following are a few more photos from our overnight stay. If you are ever in need of a retreat and happen to be in Winslow, Arizona, do yourself a big favor and stay here. If you don't have time or budget to stay, at least ask if you can tour the building. The owners should be very proud that you drove all that way to see what they've done to the place!
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| our room |
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| In one of the large sitting areas |
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| In one of the long hallways |
Justin is a real romantic to go there and propose to Amanda like he did. Then to share the place with his mother and Gene.....what a treat. A special memory you will have now. Congrats to you MOM for a job well done.
ReplyDeleteThat was parts of two days and a night to remember. I love old buildings and especially those with a history. The fact that they were tied to the Railroads was a big plus too. Way too much to see and really the temptation to just relax and settle in one of the garden areas was always there. The haute cuisine that we were treated to for supper was absolutely grand. The folks that they had working all throughout were all of a mind to please at every turn. Quite the experience for sure. Just wish we could have had more time to explore, as I totally missed one entire gallery that I think was a traveling gallery from another artist. Became aware of it's existence just shortly before we had to leave on our way down to Phoenix to pick up a passenger for our trip back to Washington and home. NEXT TIME.!
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