We’re spending a couple of days in Scottsdale at the Sheraton Desert Oasis. We’re here because we had timeshare points that were going to expire at the end of the year and we needed a few more points on United to make Platinum for next year (I qualified on the flight to Phoenix; Diane will qualify on the flight home). So far, we’ve mostly seen freeways and shopping centers, but that should change tomorrow.
Hertz gave me an upgrade to “President’s Circle” for this trip, which meant I could choose just about any car they had available in Phoenix. There were a lot of them (unlike last year in Maui, when we had to wait forever for any car). I wanted a smallish car, so I took a 2023 Nissan Altima, only to discover it didn’t have Car Play. I took it anyway – and regretted it two minutes after leaving the garage when I realized that I couldn’t really see the map on my phone while I was driving. Oh, well; I’ve made worse decisions!
The resort is pleasant; it’s much more like an apartment complex than any of the Westin timeshares we’ve been to in Hawaii and California. The area is loaded with shopping, housing developments, golf courses, and the like; we had Persian food for lunch at AZ Kabob (recommended) and gelato for dinner at Frost (just as good as the Tucson location we used to visit). I even found new oven gloves at Sur la Table to replace the ones I bought at their San Francisco location a few years ago – now that’s true vacation productivity!
