the rodeway inn and the turquoise room at la posada hotel in winslow, arizona
sorry for the delay on updating the blog, but we have been super busy running around since before the regional burn. for those non-burner types, we are burners, which means that once a year, we congregate with our awesome artist and performer friends somewhere in the desert, dance, party and burn our art. it is all very fun and very cathartic and somewhat exhausting. usually, i require 2 weeks to recover from just that one week of extreme camping, but this year, we have not stopped. right after the burn, we heard about a party at the gateway ranch. i had not been to the ranch since 2009 and my husband had not been back since 2010 or so, and he was still wanting a good dance, as he was disappointed in the burn dj’s musical offerings, so he convinced me to take a late night trip out into the desert mountain night... and we had a great time. we met the moontribe, saw some friends we wanted to hang out with, made valuable contacts among the hippie children of flagstaff, and both gave and received gifts. needless to say, i was exhausted by the end of the morning, so instead of driving all the way home, we decided to stop off in winslow.
having little in the way of excess funds, we decided to try the rodeway inn since they advertised a 39 dollar room. stopping in, we had to push the button for service. a woman emerged speaking broken english, but she soon deferred to the owner when he appeared and he was the one who helped us. after an inordinate amount of paperwork, he charged half my room fee to my card and gave us our keys for the smoking room we requested. my husband has yet to quit and he smokes while sleep walking, so it is just a safer bet. they had just finished cleaning the rooms, as it was only 12;30 or so in the afternoon, so upon arrival, the room was very clean. it was sparsely decorated and my only complaints might be that there was no trash bin in the bathroom and also, no conditioner. however, for 43 dollars or so, with tax, one can hardly complain about a lack of amenities. there was a mini fridge, a large tv, a big table, heat and ac, and even windows that slid open for fresh air. there was a continental style breakfast offered, though we did not take advantage of it, it looked somewhat sparse from what i could tell. i saw some bread for toast, some cereals, possibly a fruit or two. again, you cannot beat the price, and if you are strapped and need a cheap, clean room, this place is pretty good. i have stayed in much worse and paid much more money for the privilege. the staff were nice enough, though more like business polite, which is good enough for me... and for arizona, they were downright nice in general, because sometimes, people can be pretty grumpy out in the country, but not in winslow... winslow people seem like happy people.
the next morning, we awoke starving, so the internet suggested the turquoise room at la posada hotel. we pulled up to the hotel thinking we were in the wrong parking lot, or that the restaurant was in the lot hidden somewhere. a quick walk of the lot proved that there was nothing but the beautiful statues and quaint facade of the la posada hotel. that was when i suggested we enter to see if the restaurant was a part of the hotel, which it is... so we entered in, noting that they take the time each day to note all the notable things that happened on that day in history... and we knew we were in for a treat. all of the reviews had been favorable, so we had a good feeling, but a scan of the menu confirmed that it needed further examination at the very least, so we took a seat. the husband ordered a root beer and i got a water to begin, while we both admired the decorations and platter trays, even the soda serving ewer was adorable. our server was so sweet to look at, i cannot recall her name at this moment... maybe susan, i am not sure, but she was made of kindness and we immediately loved her. the husband ordered the only breakfast burrito on the menu, which is of the southwestern flavor, filled with peppers and chiles and covered in corn salsa and red chile sauce. the burrito was massive and he ended up only being able to eat half of it, plus he had gotten a small cinnamon roll as his bread. i had wanted a burrito, but unfortunately, i cannot eat half of the mentioned ingredients, so i went with the maryjane’s omelet instead, which is a spinach, mushroom and cheese omelet that comes with a side of cheesy green chile potatoes and my choice of bread, which was an english muffin. the service was prompt and sweet and swift; the food was amazing. my food had looked small compared to the gargantuan burrito, but it was just the perfect amount of food to fill me without making me too ill, while my husband had to bring half his burrito home. we were so enchanted with the place that we are determined to go back there and stay at the hotel. after we tipped our wonderful waitress well, we took a soothing stroll through the hotel and decided that we totally love it, and while we have no idea when we will be in winslow again, we think it might be on purpose... just a lovely place, lovely food, lovely people, lovely art, cool breezeways and lounge areas... highly recommended. one of the best restaurant experiences we have ever had in arizona.
