Utah Welcomes Skiers With Multiple Personalities…Part IV

Posted by Staff in Budget Thursdays, Utah

The fourth Utah personality….

THE FAMILY ON A BUDGET:

Wolf Creek is a family paradise.  Where else can you rent a brand new luxurious 7 bedroom home, with 3 family rooms, home theater and a gourmet kitchen, that sleeps 16 for only $575 per night…that boils down to only $35 per person for five star luxury. For those with smaller families, Wolf Creek also has condos starting at $125 per night.

The budget conscious yet spacious digs is not the only reason I deem this the ultimate family playground…the ski resort has family written all over it.  The tone is set by the base lodge, which is housed in a vintage dairy barn, instantly giving it a non-intimidating family feel.  The mountain has tons of beginner terrain and even a kid’s ski school set in a Yurt…with lift tickets only costing $32, everyone in the family can join in on the fun.

If your kids are the next Picabo Street or Flying Tomato, then more challenging terrain is not far, with Snowbasin just a short ride away. Owned by the Sun Valley Resort, this super posh mountain has some of Utah’s longest downhill runs.  With no lodging offered, lift ticket prices are still moderate ($63) considering the vast terrain. For more info visit www.wolfcreekutah.com, www.snowbasin.com

Check out Part III by clicking here

Check out Part II by clicking here

Check out Part I by clicking here

Dreaming in Bangkok

Posted by Staff in Budget Thursdays, Thailand

Naming a hotel Dream can be a risky endeavor, as you are setting your guest’s expectations high from the get go. But a hotel in Bangkok has successfully tackled this feat, Dream Bangkok.

The hotel’s goal is to make you feel as though you are sleeping on a cloud…this effect is accomplished by super soft bedding and blue lights penetrating from under the bed.  Other features in the room include large plasma TVs, preloaded iPod players, plush bathrobes and free bottled water (a must after the grueling long flight to Bangkok).

Set in the heart of the city and close to the Skytrain, the hotel is easy to navigate to and from.  The chic modern interior has been used for many music videos and is popular amongst Asian glitterati. 

The best part is that this hotel offers all the amenities you would expect of a five star hotel but at super low prices with rooms starting at $75 per night. dreambkk.com

Retro chic podding

Posted by Staff in Budget Thursdays, New York

Obviously travelers have become less concerned about space and more concerned about money…since writing about The Pod Hotel last week, I was told about another podesque hotel opening in New York, The Jane…and although I have not seen this one first hand, it is owned by one of my favorite LA restauranteurs, Sean MacPherson…creator of LA’s hippest restaurants including Swingers, Jones, and El Carmen. MacPherson partnered with Eric Goode and is now in the process of restoring the defunct Riverview Hotel and transforming it into the new and improved Jane Hotel. 

“In the ‘80s you would find both character and characters in these eccentric hotels like the Chelsea or the old Windsor Arms,” MacPherson says. “So many young people have a romanticized notion of bohemia New York, but have trouble finding it these days. Virtually all-new Manhattan hotels seem to be versions of each other, high-end design palaces. By restoring the landmark hotel, rather than renovating it, we hope to resurrect an authentic slice of idiosyncratic New York, bathrooms down the hall and all.”

Redrum skiing

Posted by Staff in Budget Thursdays, New Mexico

There is so much that goes into a ski trip…clothing, equipment, lift tickets, accommodations…it is no wonder that you are broke by the time the trip is over. Although areas like Vail have given the sport notoriety for being only for the wealthy…there are still places that make the sport accessible to the masses…one such place is Red River, just 36 miles from Taos.  

When you first arrive in this miniscule town, you will feel as though you walked on the set of a John Wayne film.  The whole town has a western feel and up until recently the center of town featured a hitching post, left over from when the town boomed due to the gold rush.

Accommodations in this town hover around basic, at best…but for the price you can’t really complain. I ended up at The Lodge at Red River…at first it was a little too mountain rustic for me…built in the 1940s, this old lodge invoked images of Jack Nicholson’s face busting through the door and screaming “redrum, redrum”…but in the end the place turned out to be quite fabulous for only $69 a night. The Lodge is set in the center of town and is home to the most popular restaurant in Red River, Texas Reds Steakhouse.  Once the image of Jack Nicholson’s face wore away I had the most comfortable nights sleep I had in a long time in the remarkably comfortable bed.

Now on to the mountain…visiting Red River Ski Area is like going back in time.  This mountain has old-school style lifts and even a mining town replica on a beginner slope to entertain the kiddies.  The mountain has 57 runs and is almost equally divided between expert, intermediate and beginner terrain…so as is the case with Ski Santa Fe, there is something for everyone…and with multi day lift tickets costing $51 per day, you get a lot of mountain for the low price.