Stop #14: Pleasant Harbor RV Resort, Peoria, AZ

Following our week long stay in Tucson, we made a three day stop in the suburbs of Phoenix to visit friends. We chose to stay at Pleasant Harbor RV Resort and Marina, due to it's proximity to Anthem, where our friends live. This resort is huge. Maybe since it's part of the marina it seems much larger than it is but within the resort you will find not only plenty of spacious RV sites with full hookups, but also dry camping sites for those that choose to do so. On-site amenities are in good shape, and include a nice pool, hot tub, playground, basketball court, club house, and laundry facilities. For the size of it, I would've expected more (a gym for example), but I guess the marina, in and of itself, is a big attraction. While we didn't take advantage of these amenities, the marina has a restaurant and bar, offers boat and personal watercraft (including kayaks and paddle board) rentals to enjoy on Lake Pleasant, and last but not least has what they call the H2-Whoa! water slides for the more adventurous ones.

Our site was spacious but the ground was dirt which we don't particularly love, but I guess it's very common for Arizona. We had a picnic table but honestly we didn't really sit outside much as it was very hot during the day and chilly at night and we don't travel with a portable fire pit. This was a short stay so we didn't do much setting up besides unhitching the RV and organizing the bare minimum indoors to get us through to our next travel day.

Our site at Pleasant Harbor RV Resort

Once we set up, we took a drive down to see the marina. While the lake itself isn't very clear (reason why I wasn't lured into experiencing the slide), the views from the dock are truly gorgeous as there are mountains surrounding it which make it look like we were somewhere exotic, Hawaii perhaps. lol But that's where our love for this place ends. While we didn't feel crammed in our site, we didn't feel at home. Might have been the dirt, the heat, or the chain link fence surrounding us, but the environment was lacking. The campground was good enough for our three days there, but we would probably explore a different option if returning to Phoenix. However, if you own a boat, or enjoy water sports, this is most certainly a good option. Maybe enjoying those amenities might have steered us towards loving it more.

We visited Anthem a couple of times and while we intended to make it to Phoenix, it didn't pan out. There are decent restaurant options in Anthem and Peoria, with Harumi Sushi and Sake being our favorite. This restaurant is famous for its use of purple rice, aka 'forbidden rice', which is high in antioxidants and is said to offer numerous health benefits. It's called forbidden rice because it was once reserved for the Chinese emperor to ensure his well being and hence everyone else was forbidden to have it. So lucky us to eat like emperors - lol! The rolls we ordered were both beautiful and delicious. Check them out if you love sushi, it won't disappoint.

Harumi Sushi and Sake in Peoria, AZ

That was it for our stay in Peoria. Would've been nice to explore Phoenix and Scottsdale a bit, but it will shall be next time!