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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 access 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.

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.