We had another few hours drive up north to Moab. This is the place to be for access to Canyonlands and Arches, both National Parks.

 

I had booked the Holiday Inn Express in Moab via IHG.com for 2 nights in a Luxury King bed room. As a Platinum Ambassador member, this would give me over 7000 points for our stay. Breakfast is always included in the room rate at HIE, and one of the reasons for choosing the HIE was the onsite self-laundry facilities which are always useful for a longer trip.

The hotel was at the very north end of Moab, which was a surprisingly large, long and busy place. It appeared very new, and had a pool, hot tub, and a gym but no dining facilities.

Through IHG I had logged my room preferences of ‘high floor, away from lifts’. However, this was not recorded for Moab, where we were allocated first floor (of three) and right next to lift and stairs. On asking for a room change, was told not possible as the hotel was full, and in any case the room type (of which there were only 2) were both the best in house, and both situated next to lift and stairs . You would think guests paying for the best room should expect them to be in the best location in the building! Nevertheless, we had a very large and comfortable room,with all amenities including microwave.

Check in staff were very pleasant , helped negotiate the laundry process (got 2 loads of washing done and dried!) and advised on restaurants in Moab. I can fully recommend The Broken Oar and PastaJay’s

Canyonlands and Arches were magnificent, as was Dead Horse State Park. It was here that the final scene of Thelma and Louise driving over the edge was filmed.

The sheer scale, geography, geology were amazing , helped by glorious weather.