These days, travelers seem overwhelmingly disappointed with air travel, but hotels seemingly are still viewed favorably. Richard P. Carpenter Travel & Trivia recently posted the results of a survey commissioned by hotels.com on what people like about staying in hotels. I went to the hotels.com site to try to find out the breadth, depth and randomness (or not) of those surveyed, but I couldn't find it on their site. Therefore, here are the results from Carpenter's blog:
What people said they looked forward to when spending a night in a hotel:
* 66 percent (tie) -- simply peace and quiet.
* 66 percent (tie) -- having no responsibilities.
* 58 percent -- not having to make the bed or clean up.
* 43 percent -- room service.
* 41 percent -- a full night's sleep.
* 18 percent -- control of the TV and remote.
What people said they would gladly leave behind when heading for a hotel:
* 75 percent -- chores and housework.
* 47 percent -- their jobs.
* 11 percent -- their children.
* 8 percent -- their spouses or significant others.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Backroad to Los Alamos
Jemez Road is a quiet byway for shunpiking Interstate 25
When we drive to and from Albuquerque, we almost always take Interstate 25, and since many of central New Mexico's most interesting events, museums and restaurants are in Santa Fe, we find ourselves on the Albuquerque-Santa Fe stretch of the highway over and over. Someday, I'm going to take the Rail Runner Express train (below, heading south out of Santa Fe), but it didn't happen this trip.
On our most recent trip, we wanted to make a day trip to Los Alamos on a gray, sometimes- rainy Tuesday, so instead to reprising I-25, we followed New Mexico Highway 4, the Jemez Road. Much of it travels through tribal land, where photography is generally discouraged -- if not downright prohibited. Exterior shots of the Jemez Pueblo's Walatowa Visitor Center (below) are permitted, but the small tribal museum is also off-limits for photography.
Most of the roadside pullouts on public land north and east of the pueblo provide fishing access, but one is a bona fide scenic and geologic attractions. The Soda Dam, one of the area hot springs, is right off the road, so of course, we stopped.
So did other travelers, and many of them were wandering around the travertine formation.
Valles Caldera National Preserve was created in 2000 to preserve and protect the 89,000-acre Baca Ranch in a volcanic crater in the Jemez Mountains. The preserve also represents a unique experiment in public land management, combining historic ranch operations with programs and facilities for visitors.
Leaving Valles Caldera, the route passes through the section of Bandelier National Monument burned during the Cerro Grande Fire of May 2000. It started as a prescribed burn that went out of control and ultimately burned about 48,000 acres, destroyed 235 homes and other structures, threatened the towns of Los Alamos and White Rock from which more than 18,000 residents were evacuated and threatened the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Natural revegetation has occurred in the nearly nine-and-a-half years since then, but the Cerro Grande fire remains searned into the consciousness of all who were impacted.
On a previous visit to Los Alamos, we visited the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Ranch School, where the Manattan Project was hatched. My husband loves surplus stores, and this trip had the goal of visiting the Black Hole Sales Company, a legendary surplus store established by the late "Atomic Ed" Grothus. I took a few snapshots (below), but if this interests you, I urge you to click here for photos and text by Dave Bullock, a California programmer, photographer and blogger who is for more competent at conveying the spirit of the place than I am.
I couldn't begin to identify most of the objects in this 19,000-square-foot boneyard for surplus from the nuclear labs.
If you needed some cords to connect this to that, you might just be able to find it here. My husband, a connoisseur of surplus stores, praised the Black Hole for its organization.
I got a kick out of such whimsies as a barrel labeled "Empty" but clearly full of pipe couplings.
My husband remarked that I was "lucky" that the Black Hole was not in Denver, and I suppose I am. His eyes lit up at many of the objects that I couldn't identify, but if it were closer, I suppose I might be living with some of them. The Black Hole is at 4015 Arkansas, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544; 505-662-5053. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturdays (except major holidays).
When we drive to and from Albuquerque, we almost always take Interstate 25, and since many of central New Mexico's most interesting events, museums and restaurants are in Santa Fe, we find ourselves on the Albuquerque-Santa Fe stretch of the highway over and over. Someday, I'm going to take the Rail Runner Express train (below, heading south out of Santa Fe), but it didn't happen this trip.
On our most recent trip, we wanted to make a day trip to Los Alamos on a gray, sometimes- rainy Tuesday, so instead to reprising I-25, we followed New Mexico Highway 4, the Jemez Road. Much of it travels through tribal land, where photography is generally discouraged -- if not downright prohibited. Exterior shots of the Jemez Pueblo's Walatowa Visitor Center (below) are permitted, but the small tribal museum is also off-limits for photography.
The small, artsy Anglo community of Jemez Springs with a handful of galleries, shops, restaurants, accommodations, the Jemez State Monument and several hot springs, makes for a fine quiet getaway from Albuquerque, Santa Fe or Los Alamos, but the monument (ruins of an ancient pueblo) was closed the day we passed through, so we just stopped at the Highway 4 Cafe for coffee and pastry -- both of which were very, very good.
Most of the roadside pullouts on public land north and east of the pueblo provide fishing access, but one is a bona fide scenic and geologic attractions. The Soda Dam, one of the area hot springs, is right off the road, so of course, we stopped.
So did other travelers, and many of them were wandering around the travertine formation.
The highlight is a waterfall that emerges out of the tangled rock layers.
Valles Caldera National Preserve was created in 2000 to preserve and protect the 89,000-acre Baca Ranch in a volcanic crater in the Jemez Mountains. The preserve also represents a unique experiment in public land management, combining historic ranch operations with programs and facilities for visitors.
Leaving Valles Caldera, the route passes through the section of Bandelier National Monument burned during the Cerro Grande Fire of May 2000. It started as a prescribed burn that went out of control and ultimately burned about 48,000 acres, destroyed 235 homes and other structures, threatened the towns of Los Alamos and White Rock from which more than 18,000 residents were evacuated and threatened the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Natural revegetation has occurred in the nearly nine-and-a-half years since then, but the Cerro Grande fire remains searned into the consciousness of all who were impacted.
On a previous visit to Los Alamos, we visited the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Ranch School, where the Manattan Project was hatched. My husband loves surplus stores, and this trip had the goal of visiting the Black Hole Sales Company, a legendary surplus store established by the late "Atomic Ed" Grothus. I took a few snapshots (below), but if this interests you, I urge you to click here for photos and text by Dave Bullock, a California programmer, photographer and blogger who is for more competent at conveying the spirit of the place than I am.
I couldn't begin to identify most of the objects in this 19,000-square-foot boneyard for surplus from the nuclear labs.
If you needed some cords to connect this to that, you might just be able to find it here. My husband, a connoisseur of surplus stores, praised the Black Hole for its organization.
I got a kick out of such whimsies as a barrel labeled "Empty" but clearly full of pipe couplings.
My husband remarked that I was "lucky" that the Black Hole was not in Denver, and I suppose I am. His eyes lit up at many of the objects that I couldn't identify, but if it were closer, I suppose I might be living with some of them. The Black Hole is at 4015 Arkansas, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544; 505-662-5053. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturdays (except major holidays).
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Senator Edward Kennedy's Final Journey
As I write this, the coffin of Senator Edward M. Kennedy is on its final journey to Arlington National Cemetery for interment beside his bothers, John and Robert. A year and a few days ago, he made a short journey half-way around the Pepsi Center to the podium from which he would give a rousing speech in support of candidate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention. He rode in a golf cart, smiling and blowing kisses to admirers, who knew that the end of an era was coming. Kennedy had already been diagnosed with brain cancer, and few had expected him to appear at the convention, let alone speak -- and do so with fervor and eloquence. As they say in show business, the Senator brought down the house. Today, a rainy day in Boston, under the vaulted ceiling of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, a Mass of Resurrection was said for the Senator, the wealthy scion of a Boston political dynasty who fought for social justice and equality for all.President Obama, who was the last to speak, concluded his eulogy to his former colleague with allusions to this last journey. The Senator, said the President, is gone, "leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image — the image of a man on a boat; white mane tousled; smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for what storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon. May God Bless Ted Kennedy, and may he rest in eternal peace."
Friday, August 28, 2009
Kansas Pilgrimage Places for "Wizard of Oz" Fans
Two Kansas sites celebrate the movie released 60 years ago
The foodie in me has been focusing on August 15, 2009, as what would have been
Julia Child's 99th birthday, but movie goers note it as the 60th anniversary of the "The Wizard of Oz." According to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz website, "The official premiere [of the movie] was at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on August 15, attended by most of the cast and crew and a number of Hollywood celebrities. Notably absent, however, was Judy Garland — she was on the East Coast with Mickey Rooney, rehearsing a vaudeville act."
Julia Child's 99th birthday, but movie goers note it as the 60th anniversary of the "The Wizard of Oz." According to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz website, "The official premiere [of the movie] was at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on August 15, attended by most of the cast and crew and a number of Hollywood celebrities. Notably absent, however, was Judy Garland — she was on the East Coast with Mickey Rooney, rehearsing a vaudeville act." The magical journey of Dorothy and her dog, Toto, to the Land of Oz began as a fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W.W. Denslow and published in 1900. It was the bestselling children's novel for two years and was produced as stage musical shortly thereafter. Baum died in 1915, but his dream story lives on and on -- nowhere more so than in Kansas where the fictional Dorothy lived. .
Oz Museum
The Oz Museum, a storefront in downtown Wamego, Kansas, nine miles north of Interstate 70, is "dedicated to all things Oz." It lays claim to 2,000 artifacts. The collection includes original Baum books, objects from the 1939 movie and Oz-related merchandise produced over the years. There are also earlier silent films, including one with Oliver Hardy of Laurel and Hardy fame as the Tin Man, and much later adaptations such as "The Wiz" starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. The Oz Museum (511 Lincoln, Wamego; 785-456-8686 or 866-458-TOTO) is open daily except major holidays.
Other Ozian Things to Do Nearby
Immerse yourself in Oz on the weekend of October 3-4 when Wamego celebrates Oztoberfest, a festival complete with vendors and live performances of "The Wizard of Oz" in the town's Columbian Theater. Cyclists can also take part in the Yellow Brick Road Bike Ride, which begins and ends at Wamego High School on Saturday, October 3. Choose from three routes varying from 15 to 50 miles. Fuel up on breakfast served from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. and start pedaling. Net proceeds from the ride help fund the WAM-SAG-MAN Recreational Trail between Wamego and a connection with the St. George and Manhattan Linear Trail.
I suspect that Aunt Em was a teetotaler, but these days, the Oz Winery is operating a few doors from the Oz Museum The tasting room pours samples and sells wines labeled “Witch in a Ditch,” “A Witch Gone Good,” "Lion's Courage," “Run, Toto, Run!” and even "Auntie Em's Prairie Rose." The winery is at Oz Winery 417A Lincoln Avenue, Wamego; 785-456-7417.
Dorothy's House
I think of it as dueling Dorothys. Miles and miles from Wamego in southwestern Kansas, not far from Oklahoma, is the town of Liberal, location of Dorothy's House, built in 1907, donated to the Seward County Historical Society, moved to its present location on the Coronado Museum grounds and furnished to replicate the house shown in the movie "The Wizard of Oz." Former governor John Carlin recognized the house as the official home of Dorothy Gale in 1981.
The museum now includes The Land of Oz attraction, comprising "5,000 square feet of animated entertainment - good and bad witches, the Munchkins, talking trees, winged monkeys, and of course, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto, too." Visitors can wander down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy, Auntie Em or Uncle Henry as their tour guide. The complex is at 567 East Cedar Street, Liberal; 620-624-7624.
The museum also seems to host an OzFest in mid-October, but the most recent information on the website is from 2007, so if you're interested, call to check details before heading out.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Smart Car Promotes Austrian Airlines
Cute-as-a-button mini-car on the streets of New York & Washington
I first spotted Smart Cars in Europe -- maybe even in Vienna -- and was captivated by their adorable fuel-efficient and space-saving qualities. Now, some years later, Smart Cars are not an unusual sight on the streets of Boulder. Smart Cars in Austrian Airlines livery and sporting a little airplane-style tail section are plying the streets of New York and Washington to promote the carrier's business class service. If you spot one and peer inside, you'll see that the driver is dressed like an airline pilot.
The concept behind this whimsical campaign is to position Austrian Airlines business class as providing "the smartest ride to Europe." The cars will be in New York until Labor Day and then for the the following two weeks in Washington, D.C. Adding an extra element of "cool," the uniformed "street team" are handing out free bottles of cold water to passersby.
Business class is appealing to travelers who aren't on a budget, but for those minding their travel dollars, the back of Austrian Airlines' planes fly between Vienna and New York, Washington and Toronto (and other world cities) on the same schedule as the front of the plane -- and economy-class travel really is much more in the Smart Car spirit than business class. In fact, the Austrian Airlines Vacation Center is currently booking air-and-land packages for fall for as little as $999 per person, per week. That's what I call smart!
I first spotted Smart Cars in Europe -- maybe even in Vienna -- and was captivated by their adorable fuel-efficient and space-saving qualities. Now, some years later, Smart Cars are not an unusual sight on the streets of Boulder. Smart Cars in Austrian Airlines livery and sporting a little airplane-style tail section are plying the streets of New York and Washington to promote the carrier's business class service. If you spot one and peer inside, you'll see that the driver is dressed like an airline pilot.
The concept behind this whimsical campaign is to position Austrian Airlines business class as providing "the smartest ride to Europe." The cars will be in New York until Labor Day and then for the the following two weeks in Washington, D.C. Adding an extra element of "cool," the uniformed "street team" are handing out free bottles of cold water to passersby.
Business class is appealing to travelers who aren't on a budget, but for those minding their travel dollars, the back of Austrian Airlines' planes fly between Vienna and New York, Washington and Toronto (and other world cities) on the same schedule as the front of the plane -- and economy-class travel really is much more in the Smart Car spirit than business class. In fact, the Austrian Airlines Vacation Center is currently booking air-and-land packages for fall for as little as $999 per person, per week. That's what I call smart!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Squaw Valley Panel Discussion on World Travel Topics
Tahoe area panel explores "Conscious Travel"
If I were within striking distance of Squaw Valley, California, I would put the Squaw Valley Institute's panel on "Conscious Travel" on my calendar for tomorrow evening, August 26, at 7:00 p.m. Three women on the panel among them are both expert travelers and travel industry experts. Discussion topics will include modernization of the developing world, "the tipping dilemma," picture taking, bargaining, how to dress, the impact of tourism, environmental considerations and giving back to places visited. The panel discussion will be followed by questions and comments from the audience.
Ruth Anne Kocour is a photographer and world trekker based in northern Nevada whose subjects include the culture and landscapes of the American West, Asia and mounaineering expeditions. Julie Conover is co-host, co-producer and writer of the PBS series,"Passport to Adventure." Toni Neubauer, president of Myths and Mountains, a tour operator headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada, which offers cultural immersion tours that balance American-style luxury travel with cultural insight and sensitivity.
The program at the Inn at Squaw Creek is free, but a $10 donation per person is requested. The Squaw Valley Institute's goal is to "enhance the quality of life within the unique mountain environment of Squaw Valley, North Lake Tahoe, Truckee and surrounding communities" through programs and activities "having artistic, cultural, educational and entertainment value..that bring together visitors, residents and friends...[and] foster a sense of community." The Institute is at P.O. Box 3325, Olympic Valley, CA 96146; 530-581-4138.
If I were within striking distance of Squaw Valley, California, I would put the Squaw Valley Institute's panel on "Conscious Travel" on my calendar for tomorrow evening, August 26, at 7:00 p.m. Three women on the panel among them are both expert travelers and travel industry experts. Discussion topics will include modernization of the developing world, "the tipping dilemma," picture taking, bargaining, how to dress, the impact of tourism, environmental considerations and giving back to places visited. The panel discussion will be followed by questions and comments from the audience.
Ruth Anne Kocour is a photographer and world trekker based in northern Nevada whose subjects include the culture and landscapes of the American West, Asia and mounaineering expeditions. Julie Conover is co-host, co-producer and writer of the PBS series,"Passport to Adventure." Toni Neubauer, president of Myths and Mountains, a tour operator headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada, which offers cultural immersion tours that balance American-style luxury travel with cultural insight and sensitivity.
The program at the Inn at Squaw Creek is free, but a $10 donation per person is requested. The Squaw Valley Institute's goal is to "enhance the quality of life within the unique mountain environment of Squaw Valley, North Lake Tahoe, Truckee and surrounding communities" through programs and activities "having artistic, cultural, educational and entertainment value..that bring together visitors, residents and friends...[and] foster a sense of community." The Institute is at P.O. Box 3325, Olympic Valley, CA 96146; 530-581-4138.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
2009 Indian Market in Santa Fe
The most renowned market for Native American arts surpasses its billing
Even before I moved out West, I had heard about Indian Market, the place to see the very best of Southwestern art. Since I moved to Colorado in 1988, I've been wanting to attend Indian Market in Santa Fe. New Mexico's historic, beautiful and arts-obsessed capital city has hosted it since 1922. It is famous throughout the Southwest for the quality of art. Winning a ribbon in one of numerous categories in this juried event is a high honor for any artist. My husband and I went with our friends, Dick and Sally Moore, who live in Albuquerque and are Indian Market regulars.
Indian Market now dominates downtown, radiating out from the Plaza to adjacent side streets in all directions. Tens of thousands of visitors, from serious collectors of Native art to casual visitors, are drawn to booths set up by more than 1,200 artists from some 100 tribes. The crowds were too thick for me to photograph with my modest camera and modest stature. Nearby galleries host demonstrations where visitors can watch artists at work. Pottery. Jewelry. Paintings. Photography. Woven works. Wood carvings. Sculpture. Indian Market has it all in glorious abundance. Now that I finally got there, I wonder what took me so long. Here are just a few snapshots of the event.
Miss Indian America, a green-eyed beauty from California, was on hand for Indian Market. She probably had some official functions, but we encountered her window-shopping.
Even before I moved out West, I had heard about Indian Market, the place to see the very best of Southwestern art. Since I moved to Colorado in 1988, I've been wanting to attend Indian Market in Santa Fe. New Mexico's historic, beautiful and arts-obsessed capital city has hosted it since 1922. It is famous throughout the Southwest for the quality of art. Winning a ribbon in one of numerous categories in this juried event is a high honor for any artist. My husband and I went with our friends, Dick and Sally Moore, who live in Albuquerque and are Indian Market regulars.
Indian Market now dominates downtown, radiating out from the Plaza to adjacent side streets in all directions. Tens of thousands of visitors, from serious collectors of Native art to casual visitors, are drawn to booths set up by more than 1,200 artists from some 100 tribes. The crowds were too thick for me to photograph with my modest camera and modest stature. Nearby galleries host demonstrations where visitors can watch artists at work. Pottery. Jewelry. Paintings. Photography. Woven works. Wood carvings. Sculpture. Indian Market has it all in glorious abundance. Now that I finally got there, I wonder what took me so long. Here are just a few snapshots of the event.
Miss Indian America, a green-eyed beauty from California, was on hand for Indian Market. She probably had some official functions, but we encountered her window-shopping.
Several stages scattered around Indian Market enable musicians and dancers to perform their arts too.
Families of potters often start their children young and display their efforts at Indian Market.
...to works of astonishing complexity and sophstication like "Quest," a towering piece by Adrian Nasafotie, a Hopi artist. He displayed the 57-inch tall woodcarving, which he crafted from a single piece of cottonwood, on a turntable so that it could be seen from all sides.
One of many renditions of Koshari, the mischievous clown of Hopi and other Southwest Indian tradition. This piece was made by Joe Cajero, a renowned sculptor working in Placitas, New Mexico.
Tradition meets technology.
Oreland C. Joe of Kirtland, New Mexico, is a multi-talented artist. He is a sculptor, jeweler, musician and songwriter, and he told the story of a frog who nearly died but was revived as a medicine being, with a balance of masculine and feminine meaning he was both a warrior and a protector. Unfortunately, the ambient crowd noise drowned out his story-telling, so I hope I remembered it correctly. Even without being able to understand his words, just watching this brief video will give you an idea of how generously many Indian artists share the stories of their people or talk about their art.
Fortunately, Rocky the bomb-sniffing dog didn't have much work to do. Note his Santa Fe PD badge.
Four hours and change, and I was in overload mode, but I'm hoping to return -- maybe in 2010. Guaranteed that it won't take me another 21 years to get back.
Families of potters often start their children young and display their efforts at Indian Market.
Twelve-year-old Jamie proudly holds a blue ribbon and the pot for which he won it. He is a beginning potter and admits that his parents helped.
Dusty Naranjo of Espanola, New Mexico, uses traditional Santa Clara techniques to render contemporary themes in clay.
This man looked almost like a sculpture as he quietly and stalwartly surveyed the crowd.
Artworks range from simple, like these flat kachinas...
...to works of astonishing complexity and sophstication like "Quest," a towering piece by Adrian Nasafotie, a Hopi artist. He displayed the 57-inch tall woodcarving, which he crafted from a single piece of cottonwood, on a turntable so that it could be seen from all sides.
One of many renditions of Koshari, the mischievous clown of Hopi and other Southwest Indian tradition. This piece was made by Joe Cajero, a renowned sculptor working in Placitas, New Mexico.
Tradition meets technology. 
Oreland C. Joe of Kirtland, New Mexico, is a multi-talented artist. He is a sculptor, jeweler, musician and songwriter, and he told the story of a frog who nearly died but was revived as a medicine being, with a balance of masculine and feminine meaning he was both a warrior and a protector. Unfortunately, the ambient crowd noise drowned out his story-telling, so I hope I remembered it correctly. Even without being able to understand his words, just watching this brief video will give you an idea of how generously many Indian artists share the stories of their people or talk about their art.
Some people just aren't interested in Native art or stories, no matter what -- at least right now. But just give him time...
Fortunately, Rocky the bomb-sniffing dog didn't have much work to do. Note his Santa Fe PD badge.
Four hours and change, and I was in overload mode, but I'm hoping to return -- maybe in 2010. Guaranteed that it won't take me another 21 years to get back.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Krazy About "Kooza"
Cirque de Soleil touring show now dazzling Denver
My name is Claire, and I'm a Cirque-a-holic.
Fortunately, Cirque de Soleil sends a touring show to Denver practically every year, sets up it yellow and gold "Grand Chapiteau" tent in a Pepsi Center parking lot and dazzles Denver audiences. "Kooza" premiered last night for its month-long run, and my husband and I were there. (In the spirit of full disclosure, we have seen every Cirque show that has come to Denver, including "the horse one," and when we were at a convention in Las Vegas a few years ago, seeing three resident Cirque shows was one of the redeeming features about being there).
"Kooza," like other Cirque shows, has a story line -- usually a bewildered wanderer led into a magical world -- but this is a thin thread really links incredible acrobats, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, jugglers, dancers and comedians and allows audiences to relax and breathe between the show's heart-stopping acts. See the trailer by clicking here.
Show after show, act upon act, these are universally performers. Hint: Go to "Kooza," if only for the two amazing men whose act involves a pair of giant "hamster wheels." Take a look at the YouTube video that just hints at the power of this act. Every ride at neighboring Elitch's pales beside the apparatus on which the perform.
Cirque is celebrating its silver anniversary this year. It traces its origins to Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town northeast of Quebec City, where Gilles Ste.-Croix founded a street theater that he called Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers). These gifted street performers played to local and tourist crowds, striding on stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire and playing music. One of the locals who was enchanted by the troupe was Guy Laliberté, who with Ste.-Croix and others founded Cirque du Soleil. Their dream was to take a Quebec-based company around the world.
Fast-forward to 2009, and the dream has come true -- and way more. Twenty resident and touring troupes are electrifying audiences in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Cast and crew are astonishingly international, representing 40 countries. Unsurprisingly, many are from Eastern Europe and China, where circus arts and acrobatics are widely taught and the talent pool is deep.
Show after show, act upon act, these are universally performers. Hint: Go to "Kooza," if only for the two amazing men whose act involves a pair of giant "hamster wheels." Take a look at the YouTube video that just hints at the power of this act. Every ride at neighboring Elitch's pales beside the apparatus on which the perform.
Cirque is celebrating its silver anniversary this year. It traces its origins to Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town northeast of Quebec City, where Gilles Ste.-Croix founded a street theater that he called Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers). These gifted street performers played to local and tourist crowds, striding on stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire and playing music. One of the locals who was enchanted by the troupe was Guy Laliberté, who with Ste.-Croix and others founded Cirque du Soleil. Their dream was to take a Quebec-based company around the world.
Fast-forward to 2009, and the dream has come true -- and way more. Twenty resident and touring troupes are electrifying audiences in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Cast and crew are astonishingly international, representing 40 countries. Unsurprisingly, many are from Eastern Europe and China, where circus arts and acrobatics are widely taught and the talent pool is deep.
"Kooza" will be in Denver through September 20. Tuesday through Friday ticket prices are $60-$130 for adults, $38.50-$87.50 for children to age 12 (slightly higher on weekends). Westword is promoting a 25th-anniversary special at 25 percent off,; I think you have to register to obtain tickets at this discount. The apaper is also running a contest for free "Kooza" tickets. Otherwise, buy on-line or call 800-678-5440.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Fake Reviews, Fake Travel Sites -- For Real
Fakery -- it's not just for Rolex watches anymore
Travelers know about fake Rolex watches, faux Louis Vuitton luggage and other cheap knock-offs, and when we succumb to temptation in a market or from a street vendor, we are not being gullible or delusional. We know what is being sold, and if we are willing to fork over a bit of cash for a look-alike, we know what we are buying. But when two recent posts by two respected travel bloggers on two sides of the Atlantic took up the topic of "fake" elsewhere on the web, I was reminded that fakery a dismaying trend in the travel-sphere, where the stakes are bigger than petty cash for an imitation brand-name product. It even seems that Internet users who would never send earnest money to some orphaned Nigerian princess or London barrister can be fooled by phony-baloney travel sites.
Today, Darren Cronin wrote "The telltale signs of a fake travel website" on UK-based Travel Rants. His advice is particular germane to travelers booking air and lodging separately. Some of his tips sound a bit like airport security boilerplate. Instead of being asked whether you packed your own luggage, have had it under your control and been asked to transport a gift from someone you did not know, Cronin counsels, "Book your accommodation through a personal recommendation or a company that you have used before."
How to Spot a Fake Site
Another tip that seems obvious to me is to be wary of any sites within "poor spelling and grammar within the content on the website and within emails." I have grammar police tendencies, so maybe this comes more naturally to me than to someone surfing for good hotel rates. This blog has been spammed by travel sites from India and Pakistan so often recently that, having tired of deleting irrelevant comments with links to "travel information" sites on the subcontinent, I re
cently and apologetically instituted "blog owner approval."
Cronin also recommended checking out the location of blog owners and how long the blog has been around. He recommended DNS Stuff. Another popular domain name search is WhoIs. One tip that is probably obvious to people more attuned to the intricacies of the Internet but wasn't to me, is "Make sure that the web address starts with https:// and the padlock appears on your browser." I've noticed URLs starting with https but really didn't know what it meant. According to an explanation on Yahoo! Answers, it "was designed by Netscape Communications Corporation to provide authentication and encrypted communication and is widely used on the World Wide Web for security-sensitive communication such as payment transactions and corporate logons."
The Kerfuffle Over Fake Hotel Reviews
As I was musing the issue of fake travel sites created to extract payment for presumably fake travel bookings, I also thought about Christopher Elliott's recent blogs about fake hotel reviews, specifically relating TripAdvisor.com. Just as ballot boxes are sometimes stuffed, hotels have been accused of having friends and employees write glowingly positive reviews of their properties in order to increase bookings. In his most recent post on the topic, "Does TripAdvisor Hotel Manipulation Scandal Render the Site Completely Useless?", he quoted TripAdvisor's April Robb, who wrote, "When a review is suspected to be fraudulent, it is immediately taken down and we have measures to penalize businesses for attempts to game the system. Penalties are handled on a case by case basis."
Then Elliott rhetorically asked, "So should you trust TripAdvisor? Having covered the site since the very start, I think I’m uniquely qualified to answer that question. And my answer is: maybe."
He continued, "Hotels and restaurants are gaming the ratings system, without a doubt. What’s significant about the recent TripAdvisor warnings is that they appear to shift their fraud-detection efforts from an unrealistic, proactive approach to a more reasonable, reactive approach. Which is to say, they do their best to catch bogus reviews as they’re posted, but in the end, they can’t stop them all. "
My post, "Hotel Review Sites: Useful or Misleading," about online veracity in travel reviews, also addressed the topic. Bottom line as many of us have concluded is caveat emptor -- buyer beware, whether it's your credit card number that you are sending out into cyberspace or making a reservation with certain expectations for your vacation or business travel experience.
Travelers know about fake Rolex watches, faux Louis Vuitton luggage and other cheap knock-offs, and when we succumb to temptation in a market or from a street vendor, we are not being gullible or delusional. We know what is being sold, and if we are willing to fork over a bit of cash for a look-alike, we know what we are buying. But when two recent posts by two respected travel bloggers on two sides of the Atlantic took up the topic of "fake" elsewhere on the web, I was reminded that fakery a dismaying trend in the travel-sphere, where the stakes are bigger than petty cash for an imitation brand-name product. It even seems that Internet users who would never send earnest money to some orphaned Nigerian princess or London barrister can be fooled by phony-baloney travel sites.
Today, Darren Cronin wrote "The telltale signs of a fake travel website" on UK-based Travel Rants. His advice is particular germane to travelers booking air and lodging separately. Some of his tips sound a bit like airport security boilerplate. Instead of being asked whether you packed your own luggage, have had it under your control and been asked to transport a gift from someone you did not know, Cronin counsels, "Book your accommodation through a personal recommendation or a company that you have used before."
How to Spot a Fake Site
Another tip that seems obvious to me is to be wary of any sites within "poor spelling and grammar within the content on the website and within emails." I have grammar police tendencies, so maybe this comes more naturally to me than to someone surfing for good hotel rates. This blog has been spammed by travel sites from India and Pakistan so often recently that, having tired of deleting irrelevant comments with links to "travel information" sites on the subcontinent, I re
cently and apologetically instituted "blog owner approval."Cronin also recommended checking out the location of blog owners and how long the blog has been around. He recommended DNS Stuff. Another popular domain name search is WhoIs. One tip that is probably obvious to people more attuned to the intricacies of the Internet but wasn't to me, is "Make sure that the web address starts with https:// and the padlock appears on your browser." I've noticed URLs starting with https but really didn't know what it meant. According to an explanation on Yahoo! Answers, it "was designed by Netscape Communications Corporation to provide authentication and encrypted communication and is widely used on the World Wide Web for security-sensitive communication such as payment transactions and corporate logons."
The Kerfuffle Over Fake Hotel Reviews
As I was musing the issue of fake travel sites created to extract payment for presumably fake travel bookings, I also thought about Christopher Elliott's recent blogs about fake hotel reviews, specifically relating TripAdvisor.com. Just as ballot boxes are sometimes stuffed, hotels have been accused of having friends and employees write glowingly positive reviews of their properties in order to increase bookings. In his most recent post on the topic, "Does TripAdvisor Hotel Manipulation Scandal Render the Site Completely Useless?", he quoted TripAdvisor's April Robb, who wrote, "When a review is suspected to be fraudulent, it is immediately taken down and we have measures to penalize businesses for attempts to game the system. Penalties are handled on a case by case basis."
Then Elliott rhetorically asked, "So should you trust TripAdvisor? Having covered the site since the very start, I think I’m uniquely qualified to answer that question. And my answer is: maybe."
He continued, "Hotels and restaurants are gaming the ratings system, without a doubt. What’s significant about the recent TripAdvisor warnings is that they appear to shift their fraud-detection efforts from an unrealistic, proactive approach to a more reasonable, reactive approach. Which is to say, they do their best to catch bogus reviews as they’re posted, but in the end, they can’t stop them all. "
My post, "Hotel Review Sites: Useful or Misleading," about online veracity in travel reviews, also addressed the topic. Bottom line as many of us have concluded is caveat emptor -- buyer beware, whether it's your credit card number that you are sending out into cyberspace or making a reservation with certain expectations for your vacation or business travel experience.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Travel Apps for Cell Phones
Free and cheap iPhone applications for travelers
I think I have the most basic cell phone and service plan on earth. With my simple Nokia phone and pay-in-advance T-mobile plan, I prepay $100 for 1,000 minutes. The last recharge lasted me over 11 months. However, if I did spring for a more sophisticated communication device (like an iPhone), I'd install one of the applications for making travel information easier to obtain anywhere, anytime. USA Weekend made five suggestions for iPhone apps that it likes for travelers -- and by the way, they're accesible online too for mobile-phone Luddites like me:
I think I have the most basic cell phone and service plan on earth. With my simple Nokia phone and pay-in-advance T-mobile plan, I prepay $100 for 1,000 minutes. The last recharge lasted me over 11 months. However, if I did spring for a more sophisticated communication device (like an iPhone), I'd install one of the applications for making travel information easier to obtain anywhere, anytime. USA Weekend made five suggestions for iPhone apps that it likes for travelers -- and by the way, they're accesible online too for mobile-phone Luddites like me:
- AroundMe - Free app with localized happenings and resources.
- Yelp - Also free and also localized info on restaurants, shops, events and more.
- WorldMate - Free travel planner, including flight alert, maps, weather and much more.
- Packing - There's all sorts of free packing information on the web, but for some reason, USA Weekend likes this 99-cent app.
- FlightTrack (right) - Again, there are lots of free flight-trackers services out there, but USA Weekend picked this $4.99 version, which offers real-time status for flights from around the world, live weather radar updates, route maps and other information.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Times Reports Changes in Travel to Airports
Travelers' habits tilt toward frugality; join the club
I've noticed a real irony when urban travelers (OK, especially New Yorkers) who searched relentlessly for the cheapest air fares, hop in a cab to get to and from the airport once they have secured a low-cost airline ticket. I worship at the altar of frugality and especially watch my travel dollars, so I've been taking public transportation to and from airports for years. I'd rather splurge on a great meal and a nicer place to stay than spend money on a taxi that might be stuck in traffic while the meter ticks away.
In a New York Times business story, "More Fliers Skipping the Cab," reporter Jane L. Levere confined herself to reporting about transportation alternatives to New York's three airports (LaGuardia The Dreadful, Newark Across The Bay and JFK The Distant) and London's Heathrow and Gatwick. I've happily taken public transportation directly to/from terminals at all five of those airports.
I have also used public transportation to/from other airports and almost always use it to Denver International Airport. Occasionally, I travel by SuperShuttle van, but more often than not, I use RTD's SkyRide, the public bus between downtown Boulder or the Table Mesa Park & Ride. The one-way fare is $12 (exact change). The bus goes every hour from Boulder. Youngsters 15 and under ride free, and age 65-plus is half price. From closer-in stops and/or other routes, the regular fare is as low as $8 and as frequent as every 15 minutes.
I've noticed a real irony when urban travelers (OK, especially New Yorkers) who searched relentlessly for the cheapest air fares, hop in a cab to get to and from the airport once they have secured a low-cost airline ticket. I worship at the altar of frugality and especially watch my travel dollars, so I've been taking public transportation to and from airports for years. I'd rather splurge on a great meal and a nicer place to stay than spend money on a taxi that might be stuck in traffic while the meter ticks away.
In a New York Times business story, "More Fliers Skipping the Cab," reporter Jane L. Levere confined herself to reporting about transportation alternatives to New York's three airports (LaGuardia The Dreadful, Newark Across The Bay and JFK The Distant) and London's Heathrow and Gatwick. I've happily taken public transportation directly to/from terminals at all five of those airports.
I have also used public transportation to/from other airports and almost always use it to Denver International Airport. Occasionally, I travel by SuperShuttle van, but more often than not, I use RTD's SkyRide, the public bus between downtown Boulder or the Table Mesa Park & Ride. The one-way fare is $12 (exact change). The bus goes every hour from Boulder. Youngsters 15 and under ride free, and age 65-plus is half price. From closer-in stops and/or other routes, the regular fare is as low as $8 and as frequent as every 15 minutes.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Comment Moderation
Sorry, real visitors, that I have now enabled comment moderation. "Julie," "Christine," Rozydesouza" and other robotic or robot-like humans on the subcontinent have been spamming Travel Babel relentlessly. I am tired of deleting these annoying and irrelevant comments one at a time. As far as you legitimate visitors are concerned, I hate to spoil the instant gratification of seeing your comments immediately. But that's the way it goes. Please bear with me -- and do comment. I'll approve as quickly as I can, and after a while, I hope that I can disable moderation again without annoying consequences.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Iceland Lures Visitors with Cheap Off-Season Packages
Iceland calls. I've been there, except that airports don't count
A lifetime ago, Icelandic Airlines had a $135 off-season roundtrip youth fare to Luxembourg, with a mandatory stopover at Rekjavik's Keflavik Airport, where sleepy passengers stumbled into the terminal, wrote postcards en route to Europe and bought woolen garments and canned fish on the way home. Beyond that, the great thing was that Icelandic considered you a youth until you were 30. I was living and working in New York and would fly to Europe for long weekends. For very little money, I felt like a jetsetter.
If I still lived back East, I could practically replicate those long-ago prices -- even so many years later. Icelandair, as the carrier is now called, is marketing a getaway package starting at $469 per person that includes airfare from New York or Boston, two nights' lodging in three star FossHotels in the historic center of the capital city of Reykjavik and huge Scandinavian-style breakfasts both mornings. The same package in October is only $90 more. September travel is somewhat higher, the cost is still generally 20 to 30 percent lower than peak season rates. Plus taxes, service charges, etc.
With such a short time there, I'd probably never get out of Rekjavik, so I'd jump on the city's Welcome Card for discounts at some of the capital's restaurants, shops and tours, plus free admission to museums and thermal pools. Available for 24-, 48- or 72-hours, the Welcome Card reportedly starts at about $11.
Even though the days would be getting shorter and colder then, I could finally get to see a bit of Iceland, which fascinates me from afar. These days, I wouldn't go just because of the bargain price, but rather to see some of the unique culture, dramatic landscapes and outdoor actvitivies that I've heard so much about -- and maybe whet my appetite for more.
If I still lived back East, I could practically replicate those long-ago prices -- even so many years later. Icelandair, as the carrier is now called, is marketing a getaway package starting at $469 per person that includes airfare from New York or Boston, two nights' lodging in three star FossHotels in the historic center of the capital city of Reykjavik and huge Scandinavian-style breakfasts both mornings. The same package in October is only $90 more. September travel is somewhat higher, the cost is still generally 20 to 30 percent lower than peak season rates. Plus taxes, service charges, etc.
With such a short time there, I'd probably never get out of Rekjavik, so I'd jump on the city's Welcome Card for discounts at some of the capital's restaurants, shops and tours, plus free admission to museums and thermal pools. Available for 24-, 48- or 72-hours, the Welcome Card reportedly starts at about $11.
Even though the days would be getting shorter and colder then, I could finally get to see a bit of Iceland, which fascinates me from afar. These days, I wouldn't go just because of the bargain price, but rather to see some of the unique culture, dramatic landscapes and outdoor actvitivies that I've heard so much about -- and maybe whet my appetite for more.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Ski Train MIGHT Be Back on Track
San Luis & Rio Grande operator reportedly considering operating Ski Train
Mountain bikers heading for the Winter Park-Fraser area trail system have missed summer operations of the Ski Train from Denver this year, and skiers were already mourning its disappearance after 69 years of operations when owner Phil Anschutz sold the rolling stock to a Canadian operator a few months ago. Now, the Denver Post reports, there is a glimmer of hope on the Ski Train horizon.
In a piece called "Colorado Ski Train Revival Gathers Steam," reporter Jeffrey Leib reported that the Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC, which owns southern Colorado's Alamosa-based San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad and Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, could take over the route. Although it is "premature" to hope this might happen, Edwin Ellis, Iowa Pacific president, did indicate to authoritiex that his company "can provide all services necessary for the Winter Park train, [including] railcars and locomotives, onboard services, reservations and ticketing, sales and marketing, and administration."
In his front-page story in the Post's business section, Leib wrote, "Any new operator of the Denver-to-Winter Park route will have to get permission from Union Pacific, which owns the track and operates freight trains in the corridor. UP has an office that coordinates with Amtrak and other passenger-rail ventures that want to use its track, yet that office 'has not been contacted regarding the re-establishment of the train,' Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said Tuesday. Doing so 'is the key to beginning the process of seeing if it is even feasible to re-establish the Ski Train,' Davis said."
I rode the Ski Train near the end of last ski season and mourned the news of its demise just a few weeks later. Count me as one of those hoping that the Ski Train will be back on track for the 2009-10 season.
Mountain bikers heading for the Winter Park-Fraser area trail system have missed summer operations of the Ski Train from Denver this year, and skiers were already mourning its disappearance after 69 years of operations when owner Phil Anschutz sold the rolling stock to a Canadian operator a few months ago. Now, the Denver Post reports, there is a glimmer of hope on the Ski Train horizon.
In a piece called "Colorado Ski Train Revival Gathers Steam," reporter Jeffrey Leib reported that the Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC, which owns southern Colorado's Alamosa-based San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad and Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, could take over the route. Although it is "premature" to hope this might happen, Edwin Ellis, Iowa Pacific president, did indicate to authoritiex that his company "can provide all services necessary for the Winter Park train, [including] railcars and locomotives, onboard services, reservations and ticketing, sales and marketing, and administration."
In his front-page story in the Post's business section, Leib wrote, "Any new operator of the Denver-to-Winter Park route will have to get permission from Union Pacific, which owns the track and operates freight trains in the corridor. UP has an office that coordinates with Amtrak and other passenger-rail ventures that want to use its track, yet that office 'has not been contacted regarding the re-establishment of the train,' Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said Tuesday. Doing so 'is the key to beginning the process of seeing if it is even feasible to re-establish the Ski Train,' Davis said."
I rode the Ski Train near the end of last ski season and mourned the news of its demise just a few weeks later. Count me as one of those hoping that the Ski Train will be back on track for the 2009-10 season.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Four Styles at Four RockResorts Hotels in Colorado
Checking in on The Osprey, Arrabelle, the Lodge at Vail and the Jerome
In 1956, Laurance Rockefeller (yes, those Rockefellers) began developing (and later purchasing) resort properties that combined luxury and what, more than half a century ago, reflected a concern for the environment. The best known of those properties, which soon became known as RockResorts, were Caneel Bay and Little Dix Bay in the Virgin Islands and Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mountain properties included the Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake Lodges in Wyoming and Vermont's Woodstock Inn. Over the years, ownership has changed (Vail Resorts Inc. now owns the entire group), and individual hotels have dropped out of or joined the RockResorts family.
Today's RockResorts are a worthy heir to Laurance Rockefeller's original concept of combining luxury with sound environmental practices, and we all know a great deal more about sound environmental practices than was common knowledge back then. I recently was invited to visit four of RockResorts' Colorado properties -- three in the Vail Valley and one in Aspen. In one fashion or another, I was familiar with most of them (I had stayed at all except the new Arrabelle, and I'd even popped in to look at that when I last skied at Vail). In addition to the impressive environmental commitment, RockResorts maintains a high level of service across the board. What is dramatically different is the range of sizes and styles, from modest and low-key to over-the-top grandeur. How fine for guests to have such a choice among some of Colorado's most luxurious resort lodgings.
Below are the four properties I visited in reverse chronological order, from the newest to the oldest.
The Osprey at Beaver Creek
The Inn at Beaver Creek, which I stayed at many years ago, had a fortuitous location right next to the Strawberry Park chairlift. And the location is what I remember about it. It was a perfectly nice and perfectly comfortable, but "distinctive" is not an adjective that comes to mine. Last December, the old Inn at Beaver Creek was reborn as The Osprey at Beaver Creek, a stylish, contemporary lodge. The $7 million makeover did not alter the footprint or expand rooms and bathrooms. The Osprey isn't bigger than the old Inn at Beaver Creek, but it's a whole lot better.
The 45-room Osprey is now a boutique hotel worthy of Beaver Creek's high standards. Still, nothing was overdone. The changes were cosmetic-plus, not an expansion of the property but an enhancement with a dramatic and guest-friendly facilities, furnish and fixtures. The Osprey Lounge offers tapas and a good wine list and custom cocktails that assure conviviality.
The Osprey at Beaver Creek, 10 Elk Track Lane, Beaver Creek, CO 81620; 866-621-ROCK or 970-754-7400.
Arrabelle at Vail Square
Vail Associates developed LionsHead in 1969 using a concept for a modern, functional satellite village that would contrast to Alpine-style Vail Village. Vail Associates is now Vail Resorts Inc., and LionsHead is now Lionshead, and other changes are more significant to visitors. The second village center didn't age quite as gracefully as the original, and recent redevelopment has taken on a warmer, more opulent style.
Opened for the 2008-09 ski season, Arrabelle at Vail Square is big, bold and luxurious. It has just 62 oversize hotel rooms and suites and 25 huge "residences," which is what upscale resorts call condominiums, spread over three (or is it four?) interconnected buildings around several courtyards and lanes that help bring this large development down to human scale.
The lobby/lounge/bar/ dining area similarly is a series of smaller spaces that flow into each other rather than one overwhelming one. Centre V is a French-style restaurant that really echoes the ambiance of a fine Parisian brasserie. Everything has been planned and executed with care and quality, and the spa is a lovely, tranquil retreat.
The rooms and bathrooms are oversize, and in addition to the regulation doormen, bellmen, front desk people, concierge, waitstaff and housekeepers, Arrabelle guests are assigned a personal butler to attend to whatever other needs or wants thy might have.
The Arrabelle at Vail Square, 675 Lionshead Place, Vail, CO 81657; : 866-662-ROCK or 970-754-7777.
The Lodge at Vail
In the context of Vail, one of the older of the Colorado Rockies' "new" resorts, the Lodge at Vail is venerable. When Vail Mountain opened on December 15, 1962 with one gondola, two chairlifts, eight ski instructors and a $5 lift ticket, the U.S. Forest Service had stipulated at least one lodge with a minimum of 30 sleeping rooms. The Lodge at Vail, which had been open for just one month, was that property.
Boasting an enviable heart-of-Vail Village location, it now has grown 165 rooms and suites styled in the manner of a fine European chalet. It is a place of understated elegance, charm and warmth. The exterior displays Vail Village's original Alpine chalet style. The Wildflower Restaurant is one of Vail's fine-dining meccas and the more casual Cucina Rustica serve three meals a day during high season to lucky Lodge guests and outside guests as well. There is now also a spa, which seems to be required of every luxury resort hotel these days.
The Lodge at Vail, 174 East Gore Creek Drive, Vail, CO 81657; 877-LAV-ROCK or 970-476-5011.
Hotel Jerome, Aspen
The final stop on this whirlwind itinerary was the venerable Hotel Jerome in Aspen. As frenetic as Aspen can be in the lofty heights of ski season, a visit to the Jerome puts things back into balance. After all, this brick beauty on Main Street across town from the Silver Queen gondola has seen it all: the mining boom, the mining bust, the second boom, the second bust, the Depression, World War II, the post-war era referred to locally as "the quiet years," the start of skiing, the growth of skiing and the jet-setting and glamorizing of skiing, including its centennial celebration in 1989.
The hotel, which has gone through many owners and was twice bought for back taxes (once by a bartender), and might again be on fragile financial footing. According to a report last week in the Aspen Daily News, the assets of LCP Elysian Aspen Owner LLC, which has owned the Jerome since 2007, might be on the verge of being auctioned off. Stay tuned.
But like every great hotel staffed mostly by unflappable individuals, no problems are loaded onto the guests. The lobby, still in original form from 120 decades ago, is warm and welcoming, and in fact, sink-into chairs and sofas are considerably more comfortable that true Victorian originals. The public spaces are an artful combination of original pieces and quality period reproductions, and each of the 94 guest rooms had different wallpaper, and all are impeccably furnished with harmonious but not identical from room to room.
No matter what bankers, lawyers and even auctioneers might be negotiating behind closed doors, the hotel's services from doorman to restaurant waitstaff doesn't miss a beat. The cedar cabinet beside the outdoor swimming pool is stocked with heated towels. A cloth bag containing the New York Times is hung on the doorknob early every morning. The hotel balances the needs of meeting groups with social guests.
Hotel Jerome, 330 East Main Street, Aspen, CO 81611; 877-412-ROCK or 970-920-1000.
FromRockResorts : There was an erroneous ad placed in the Aspen paper about the Hotel Jerome being for sale. RockResorts corporate has issued the following statement. "The Hotel Jerome is not for sale. Hotel ownership remains committed to RockResorts management and to the Hotel Jerome,” said David Pisor, CEO of Elysian Worldwide LLC.
From the Aspen Times, September 27, 2009: "An unpaid loan balance of $36.3 million has put the historic Hotel Jerome on the auction block.The 92-bedroom Main Street hotel, built in 1889, is scheduled go to a foreclosure auction sale on Jan. 27, Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said Monday.The Pitkin County Treasurer's Office opened up foreclosure proceedings for the 92-bedroom Main Street property Thursday, when it filed a “notice of election and demand for sale.” The notice says that LCP-Elysian Aspen Owner LLC has an unpaid balance of $36,292,781 to Jerome Property LLC, which holds the deed of trust on the property. . . .Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said the hotel owners can take steps to stave off foreclosure by filing an intent to cure. No such notice had been filed as of Monday, she said." The read the entire story, click here.
In 1956, Laurance Rockefeller (yes, those Rockefellers) began developing (and later purchasing) resort properties that combined luxury and what, more than half a century ago, reflected a concern for the environment. The best known of those properties, which soon became known as RockResorts, were Caneel Bay and Little Dix Bay in the Virgin Islands and Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mountain properties included the Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake Lodges in Wyoming and Vermont's Woodstock Inn. Over the years, ownership has changed (Vail Resorts Inc. now owns the entire group), and individual hotels have dropped out of or joined the RockResorts family.
Today's RockResorts are a worthy heir to Laurance Rockefeller's original concept of combining luxury with sound environmental practices, and we all know a great deal more about sound environmental practices than was common knowledge back then. I recently was invited to visit four of RockResorts' Colorado properties -- three in the Vail Valley and one in Aspen. In one fashion or another, I was familiar with most of them (I had stayed at all except the new Arrabelle, and I'd even popped in to look at that when I last skied at Vail). In addition to the impressive environmental commitment, RockResorts maintains a high level of service across the board. What is dramatically different is the range of sizes and styles, from modest and low-key to over-the-top grandeur. How fine for guests to have such a choice among some of Colorado's most luxurious resort lodgings.
Below are the four properties I visited in reverse chronological order, from the newest to the oldest.
The Osprey at Beaver Creek
The Inn at Beaver Creek, which I stayed at many years ago, had a fortuitous location right next to the Strawberry Park chairlift. And the location is what I remember about it. It was a perfectly nice and perfectly comfortable, but "distinctive" is not an adjective that comes to mine. Last December, the old Inn at Beaver Creek was reborn as The Osprey at Beaver Creek, a stylish, contemporary lodge. The $7 million makeover did not alter the footprint or expand rooms and bathrooms. The Osprey isn't bigger than the old Inn at Beaver Creek, but it's a whole lot better.The 45-room Osprey is now a boutique hotel worthy of Beaver Creek's high standards. Still, nothing was overdone. The changes were cosmetic-plus, not an expansion of the property but an enhancement with a dramatic and guest-friendly facilities, furnish and fixtures. The Osprey Lounge offers tapas and a good wine list and custom cocktails that assure conviviality.
The Osprey at Beaver Creek, 10 Elk Track Lane, Beaver Creek, CO 81620; 866-621-ROCK or 970-754-7400.
Arrabelle at Vail Square
Vail Associates developed LionsHead in 1969 using a concept for a modern, functional satellite village that would contrast to Alpine-style Vail Village. Vail Associates is now Vail Resorts Inc., and LionsHead is now Lionshead, and other changes are more significant to visitors. The second village center didn't age quite as gracefully as the original, and recent redevelopment has taken on a warmer, more opulent style.Opened for the 2008-09 ski season, Arrabelle at Vail Square is big, bold and luxurious. It has just 62 oversize hotel rooms and suites and 25 huge "residences," which is what upscale resorts call condominiums, spread over three (or is it four?) interconnected buildings around several courtyards and lanes that help bring this large development down to human scale.
The lobby/lounge/bar/ dining area similarly is a series of smaller spaces that flow into each other rather than one overwhelming one. Centre V is a French-style restaurant that really echoes the ambiance of a fine Parisian brasserie. Everything has been planned and executed with care and quality, and the spa is a lovely, tranquil retreat.
The rooms and bathrooms are oversize, and in addition to the regulation doormen, bellmen, front desk people, concierge, waitstaff and housekeepers, Arrabelle guests are assigned a personal butler to attend to whatever other needs or wants thy might have.
The Arrabelle at Vail Square, 675 Lionshead Place, Vail, CO 81657; : 866-662-ROCK or 970-754-7777.
The Lodge at Vail
In the context of Vail, one of the older of the Colorado Rockies' "new" resorts, the Lodge at Vail is venerable. When Vail Mountain opened on December 15, 1962 with one gondola, two chairlifts, eight ski instructors and a $5 lift ticket, the U.S. Forest Service had stipulated at least one lodge with a minimum of 30 sleeping rooms. The Lodge at Vail, which had been open for just one month, was that property.Boasting an enviable heart-of-Vail Village location, it now has grown 165 rooms and suites styled in the manner of a fine European chalet. It is a place of understated elegance, charm and warmth. The exterior displays Vail Village's original Alpine chalet style. The Wildflower Restaurant is one of Vail's fine-dining meccas and the more casual Cucina Rustica serve three meals a day during high season to lucky Lodge guests and outside guests as well. There is now also a spa, which seems to be required of every luxury resort hotel these days.
The Lodge at Vail, 174 East Gore Creek Drive, Vail, CO 81657; 877-LAV-ROCK or 970-476-5011.
Hotel Jerome, Aspen
The final stop on this whirlwind itinerary was the venerable Hotel Jerome in Aspen. As frenetic as Aspen can be in the lofty heights of ski season, a visit to the Jerome puts things back into balance. After all, this brick beauty on Main Street across town from the Silver Queen gondola has seen it all: the mining boom, the mining bust, the second boom, the second bust, the Depression, World War II, the post-war era referred to locally as "the quiet years," the start of skiing, the growth of skiing and the jet-setting and glamorizing of skiing, including its centennial celebration in 1989.The hotel, which has gone through many owners and was twice bought for back taxes (once by a bartender), and might again be on fragile financial footing. According to a report last week in the Aspen Daily News, the assets of LCP Elysian Aspen Owner LLC, which has owned the Jerome since 2007, might be on the verge of being auctioned off. Stay tuned.
But like every great hotel staffed mostly by unflappable individuals, no problems are loaded onto the guests. The lobby, still in original form from 120 decades ago, is warm and welcoming, and in fact, sink-into chairs and sofas are considerably more comfortable that true Victorian originals. The public spaces are an artful combination of original pieces and quality period reproductions, and each of the 94 guest rooms had different wallpaper, and all are impeccably furnished with harmonious but not identical from room to room.
No matter what bankers, lawyers and even auctioneers might be negotiating behind closed doors, the hotel's services from doorman to restaurant waitstaff doesn't miss a beat. The cedar cabinet beside the outdoor swimming pool is stocked with heated towels. A cloth bag containing the New York Times is hung on the doorknob early every morning. The hotel balances the needs of meeting groups with social guests.
Hotel Jerome, 330 East Main Street, Aspen, CO 81611; 877-412-ROCK or 970-920-1000.
FromRockResorts : There was an erroneous ad placed in the Aspen paper about the Hotel Jerome being for sale. RockResorts corporate has issued the following statement. "The Hotel Jerome is not for sale. Hotel ownership remains committed to RockResorts management and to the Hotel Jerome,” said David Pisor, CEO of Elysian Worldwide LLC.
From the Aspen Times, September 27, 2009: "An unpaid loan balance of $36.3 million has put the historic Hotel Jerome on the auction block.The 92-bedroom Main Street hotel, built in 1889, is scheduled go to a foreclosure auction sale on Jan. 27, Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said Monday.The Pitkin County Treasurer's Office opened up foreclosure proceedings for the 92-bedroom Main Street property Thursday, when it filed a “notice of election and demand for sale.” The notice says that LCP-Elysian Aspen Owner LLC has an unpaid balance of $36,292,781 to Jerome Property LLC, which holds the deed of trust on the property. . . .Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said the hotel owners can take steps to stave off foreclosure by filing an intent to cure. No such notice had been filed as of Monday, she said." The read the entire story, click here.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
My New Favorite Trail Map Series
Easy-to-use trail maps loaded with info for hikers, mountain bikers and winter users
We have every Trails Illustrated map of Colorado and beyond -- in many cases, several increasingly comprehensive editions both before and after National Geographic took over publication. When I was putting things together for a trip that started in Steamboat Springs where I planned to go for at least one hike, I forgot to grab any of them. I neglected to bring a trail guidebook either. My friend, Reed, and I wanted to find an inetresting trail somewhere in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness, which is north of Steamboat Springs. She hadn't brought a map or book either. We picked up some basic US Forest Service trail info sheets to help us decide where to go. She read trail descriptions as I drove, and we both thought that the Three Island Lake Trail sounded really good.
We made a pit stop at the Clark Store, a small general store/post office/video rental center/bakery about 20 miles up Routt County Road 129. There I bought a Steamboat-Mt. Zirkel map put out by Sky Terrain Trail Maps. Like other maps in the series, it is printed on sturdy, waterproof and rip-proof material. It includes 16 US Geographical Survey quadrangles, which is a huge area roughly from near the Wyoming border on the north to Rabbit Ears Pass on the south and east and Sleeping Giant/Steamboat Lake State Park to the west.
These detailed, shaded topographic maps are 1:50,000 scale with 80-foot contour lines. They clearly show hiking trails, singletrack mountain biking trails, ATV routes, winter trails for motorized and non-motorized use, campgrounds, campsites, fishing ac
cess and wildlife management areas. Mileage and elevation information is clearly shown, and the maps are feature UTM grids for easy use with GPS units, which I don't use by my husband does.
Sky Terrain maps also feature brief descriptions of selected trails and their highlights. The map and also the USFS information sheet describe the Three Island Lake Trail as "popular"and imply that it tends to get crowded. When we reached the parking pullout off FS 433, three vehicles were parked there. We got a late start, and as we were on our way up, we saw all three parties who were on their way down: four people and two dogs, two people and two dogs, and one person and one dog. That was it for the "crowd."
The lovely lake at 9,878 feet is nestled in a high basin. We sat on a log, broke out cheese and crackers and fresh fruit and enjoyed the wunny, wind-still afternoon. For those of us hike in the Front Range, such wilderness solitude is rare -- and virtually non-existent for a "popular" backcountry route.
We have every Trails Illustrated map of Colorado and beyond -- in many cases, several increasingly comprehensive editions both before and after National Geographic took over publication. When I was putting things together for a trip that started in Steamboat Springs where I planned to go for at least one hike, I forgot to grab any of them. I neglected to bring a trail guidebook either. My friend, Reed, and I wanted to find an inetresting trail somewhere in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness, which is north of Steamboat Springs. She hadn't brought a map or book either. We picked up some basic US Forest Service trail info sheets to help us decide where to go. She read trail descriptions as I drove, and we both thought that the Three Island Lake Trail sounded really good.We made a pit stop at the Clark Store, a small general store/post office/video rental center/bakery about 20 miles up Routt County Road 129. There I bought a Steamboat-Mt. Zirkel map put out by Sky Terrain Trail Maps. Like other maps in the series, it is printed on sturdy, waterproof and rip-proof material. It includes 16 US Geographical Survey quadrangles, which is a huge area roughly from near the Wyoming border on the north to Rabbit Ears Pass on the south and east and Sleeping Giant/Steamboat Lake State Park to the west.
These detailed, shaded topographic maps are 1:50,000 scale with 80-foot contour lines. They clearly show hiking trails, singletrack mountain biking trails, ATV routes, winter trails for motorized and non-motorized use, campgrounds, campsites, fishing ac
cess and wildlife management areas. Mileage and elevation information is clearly shown, and the maps are feature UTM grids for easy use with GPS units, which I don't use by my husband does.Sky Terrain maps also feature brief descriptions of selected trails and their highlights. The map and also the USFS information sheet describe the Three Island Lake Trail as "popular"and imply that it tends to get crowded. When we reached the parking pullout off FS 433, three vehicles were parked there. We got a late start, and as we were on our way up, we saw all three parties who were on their way down: four people and two dogs, two people and two dogs, and one person and one dog. That was it for the "crowd."
The lovely lake at 9,878 feet is nestled in a high basin. We sat on a log, broke out cheese and crackers and fresh fruit and enjoyed the wunny, wind-still afternoon. For those of us hike in the Front Range, such wilderness solitude is rare -- and virtually non-existent for a "popular" backcountry route.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Europeans CuttingBack on Vacations
Americans are not the only ones cutting back on their travels
Comment dit-on, Staycation en francais? How do you say "Staycation" in French or German or Italian? I don't know if there's a word for it, but Europeans -- like Americans -- are doing it. According to a USA Today news report, "Europen Vacations are Downsized,"
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) reported that international tourism in Europe is down about 10 percent the first half of this year compared to 2008, but of course, that includes most of the ski season but just the leading edge of summer. When all is said and done, visitation is probably going totake a 7 to 9 percent hit, according to some sources, and those people who are traveling will do so closer to home and will most likeky spend less.
Comment dit-on, Staycation en francais? How do you say "Staycation" in French or German or Italian? I don't know if there's a word for it, but Europeans -- like Americans -- are doing it. According to a USA Today news report, "Europen Vacations are Downsized,"
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) reported that international tourism in Europe is down about 10 percent the first half of this year compared to 2008, but of course, that includes most of the ski season but just the leading edge of summer. When all is said and done, visitation is probably going totake a 7 to 9 percent hit, according to some sources, and those people who are traveling will do so closer to home and will most likeky spend less.
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