Archive for the Category »ski trip «

Dec
07th		   Hotel of the Week: This Year’s Best Ski Hotel
Leave a Comment Category: CO, ski trip, sports travel, Travel Tags: , ,

From Vail.com

Conde Nast Traveler has it’s list of the top 50 ski hotels out – and the hotel ranked number one is… drum roll…the Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa at Beaver Creek Mountain in Avon, Colorado.

From Weddingmapper.com

The results are from a magazine poll of its readers, and each hotel was rated on criteria such as Terrain and Conditions, Apres Ski Activities, Overall Design, Location, Rooms, etc.

From ski.com

What I find particularly great is that the hotel offers direct access to Beaver Creek skiing – you can take a gondola to the slopes right out the hotel’s back door – or take a  shuttle that comes to the hotel. When you return, there is a ski valet to store your equipment and warm up your boots for the next day on the slopes!

Vail, CO from concierge.com

After shooshing it up on the mountain, you might want to visit the 27,000 square foot spa…. and then go into charming nearby Vail village (about 14 miles away) which has plenty of shopping and dining to wow you, in a stylish European way that is still not over the top. Beaver Creek is even closer and full of activities too – including an outdoor ice rink.

Westin Riverfront Suite, from Beavercreek.com

For families, there are all sorts of accommodations – from traditional rooms to one, two,a nd three bedroom suites.  Skiing is a lot of work when you bring kids, so if you can afford to be more comfortable in your room, that is a luxury.

The hotel is offering some specials right now – stay two nights get the third one free….www.westinriverfrontbeavercreek.com

But first, let’s pray for a good snow season. I remember when I lived in San Francisco, I would never get sad when it rained, because it meant snow in nearby Tahoe for a weekend trip. Let’s hope there is more snow than last year in all of our resorts!

 
Jan
10th		   Travel Tip Tuesday: Don’t Get Snowed on a Ski Trip, Here’s How to Save $$
Leave a Comment Category: Aspen, Family Travel, frugal traveling, ski trip, sports travel, Travel Tags:

Let’s face it – as heavenly as those mountain vacations are, skiing/snowboarding are expensive sports…the gear, lift tickets, travel expenses. Wouldn’t it be nice to reduce the cost?

Here are some tips to help you have a nice trip, and not break the bank.

1) Consider your parking situation at the mountain. Check with the ski resort – some charge less for parking on week days… and charge less for high occupancy vehicles. Translation: carpool. It can save you $10 a day in some places.

2) If you have children, buy their equipment on Ebay. I have bought every new set of kids’ skis on the auction website, and hand each pair down to the next child. If you only have one child, it may not be worth it to buy skis and boots since kids he or she grow out of them. Also, skis = extra baggage charges on planes,  so see if there are special package deals for rentals if you put your child in a lesson.

3) Consider flying Jet Blue or Southwest to your ski destination if possible – they still allow a second free checked bag. Otherwise, make your boots your carry on so you can put all the skis together in one bag.

4) If you own a credit card linked to an airline, check to see if that gets you any benefits when it comes to checking skis or extra baggage.

5) Instead of renting a car online, call the local rental car agencies directly- especially if you are renting last minute.  I have found they sometimes have cars that the online websites don’t list – for a better price!

Now all we need is more SNOW! Have a great season!

 
Jan
04th		   Little Snow in Aspen – But Plenty To Do
Leave a Comment Category: Aspen, Family Travel, ski trip, Travel Tags: , ,

Happy Happy New Year! I genuinely hope 2012 brings all good things.
…and that includes some snow in some of America’s greatest ski resorts!

Buttermilk at Aspen, CO

I know of a few bare mountains – I experienced Aspen, CO first hand this winter break. Locals were saying there hasn’t been this little snow since something like 1950 ( fact checker?) And there is no snow in the forecast until next week.


But don’t let that stop you from visiting! We had enough snow as a family to ski – and to be honest, the low snow fall kept the crowds away. It wasn’t powder, but it wasn’t all slush and ice either. The sun was shining, it was a great way to start the new year, and there were some young guys who definitely took advantage of the atypical temps…

There are a few resorts to ski in Aspen – each with their own personality. Snow Mass is most family-oriented, and word is there is enough the most snow there, but it is the farthest from town.

I skied Highlands and Buttermilk this trip – now that Buttermilk’s Tiehack Express lift is open, there is enhanced (and faster) access to more intermediate and advanced runs, but still many runs for the kids.

If you don’t get any snow while you are there, the great thing about Aspen is that there is still plenty to do.

Aspen Rec Center with multiple families!

For instance, the public rec center is a gem. With a daily admission fee of: kids: $15, and adults $17, but free if just supervise, you have access to:

Rock climbing

Ice Skating

and an amazing floating river pool, with water slides. The kids love it. There is a snack bar inside too, so you can spend many hours here.

The shopping and dining are upscale – Architecture is that of old snow/minming town, but don’t let the exterior fool you: Aspen’s stores are tres chic and expensive. The restaurants are a little more varied – Annies is casual and good.

For other snow activities, the legendary Little Nell Resort and Residences can organize everything from snow-cat led tours, dog sledding, and snow shoeing to name a few. Oh – and while you are there, stop by the bar for a drink. It is the most happening “apres-ski” scene I’ve experienced. It was packed on New Year’s Eve day.

Another happening place to hang out and wait for snow is Cloud Nine at top of the Highlands ski resort.

It is known for its fun environment – close seating with loud music, and dancing on the table tops. Yes, in ski boots. The fondue, as well as a reservation, is a must.

Or… just grab the kids and have an old fashioned snow ball fight, or build a snowman. You don’t need 5 feet of snow to do that, and it is great being in the fresh outdoors. It may be the only thing in pricey Aspen that is free!

While I was there, I saw one of my favorite musicians on the mountain – Seal. Funny… because it was almost the new year, one of his songs came to mind…. ” A Change is Gonna Come.” New Years always represents change for me… hopefully for Aspen that means snow!

Look, listen, be inspired.

 
Jan
19th		   Tuesday Travel Tip: Making Skiing With Kids Easier
Leave a Comment Category: Family Travel, ski trip, sports travel, Travel Tags: ,

Taking kids skiing means dealing with all the equipment…. renting gets expensive trip after trip, especially if you go more than once a year. And owning – well, they grow out of the boots and skis so darn fast.

Here’s a novel idea that can save you the time, trouble, and expense of replacing boots… Roces Junior Idea Ski Boots are adjustable to grow with your children.

The boot features a “6-in-1” technology that allows you to adjust the length and the height of the ski boot as your child’s foot, leg, and ankle grow. This boot accommodates US shoe sizes 4.5  7.5 (men’s sizes). You can find them listed for $135.00 on Amazon.

So before you give the sport the “boot” because of the hassle factor, you may want to explore this equipment – it may grow on you. (ugh – I know bad bad bad.)

 
Jan
11th		   Tuesday Travel Tip: Has a winter storm ever interrupted your travel? Here’s technology to help.
Leave a Comment Category: Family Travel, road trip, ski trip, Travel, Travel Websites Tags: , , , ,

We’ve seen a few winter storms crippling regions this season – the latest moving from the south to the northwest today. Weather can easily disrupt travel plans – remember all the stranded passengers over Christmas trying to get in and out of Europe? So what can you do?

Here are some great websites and apps to help:

1)Next Flight app, available in the App store.

A friend of mine was supposed to go to London for Christmas break, but was delayed, and almost had to cancel, because she had problems rebooking her trip. One time her cell phone buzzed at 1 AM – yes AM – it was her airline canceling yet another flight due to weather. She immediately tried to rebook, but was on hold until 3AM, and finally gave up. Crazy, right?

This app can help you beat others to book the next flight: It brings you all available flights from all carriers and airports worldwide.

Once you provide your origin, destination & departure date, the application lists all the available flights for the selected day from all airline carriers including their departure and arrival timings.
It also shows you terminal & gate info so you need not hunt for information monitors at the airport.

2) Wunderground.com – a great tool for any upcoming ski trips. Click on “The Road Trip Planner,” enter your departure city, the route you are driving, and the estimated times you will be arriving at each stop. I tested this and typed in that I want to leave from Los Angeles and drive to Lake Tahoe. A map with driving directions appeared, with informative notations on the weather to help me plan. For example, when I hit the I5 freeway, there was “a chance of rain”. In other areas it warned me “drop below freezing” “chance of snow” or “snow”.

Another helpful tool on this site is the “Trip Planner”. (Different from the “Road Trip Planner.”) You enter the start and end dates of your trip, and the site accesses its database of historical weather conditions in your desired destinations. That’ll help with the packing!

3) Flight Track Pro – Tracks your flight in real time. Like Next Flight, it will help you find alternate flights. It has terminal maps for departing and entering. And my favroite feature, it will alert you for flight delays. I can’t tell you how many times I am alerted by the airlines of a five hour delay when I am half-way to the airport. $9.99 at App store.

4) If you are delayed, here are some educational apps to keep the kids entertained and enriched.

–Bookworkm: A bunch of word games… the app also keeps track of your kids’ history, their longest words, etc. $4.99 at APP store.

–NASA APP HD – This app provides thousands of images from NASA IOTD, APOD and NASAImages.org, on demand NASA Videos from around the agency,
Current NASA Mission Information, and other informative content. Free at the APP store.

–Wurdle – If you love the word game boggle, you will like Wurdle. It is a version of Boggle that you can download on your iphone. It is $1.99 at App store.

–Spell Bound – This $2.99 app really makes you think by challenging you with word/spelling problems. For example it will give you a variety of goals like:
• Spell 8 words of 6 or more letters.
• Use these letters in 4+ letter words: ABCDEFGHIJKLM.
• Spell 5 words of 3 or more letters starting with “BL”.

Race against the clock or play a casual, untimed game. Available at the App store.

–Pop Math – PopMath is a fun game for kids of all ages to practice basic math.

Pairs of bubbles float on the screen and your goal is to pop each pair. For example, one bubble says “7″ and another says “3+4″. Simply touch one bubble and then the other to pop them both.

At any time, you can choose different operators: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Once you’ve popped all pairs on a level, you see your time for that level and can move on to the next level, or keep practicing that level.

.99 at the App store.

Happy and safe, no-delayed travels to you.