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New Lodgings in New Hampshire

Just in time for fall foliage, two new properties are opening in two of the most spectacular locations in New Hampshire. The Glen House will be making its debut in mid-September at the base of Mt. Washington. The 68-room hotel has deep historic roots in New Hampshire, being the fifth iteration of The Glen House to be built since the first hotel was erected in 1852. Adjacent to the Mt. Washington Auto Road, the hotel is also steps away from the hiking, biking and cross-country trails at the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center. Just open this month on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro is the 10-room Pickering House Inn, the first luxury inn of its kind in the state’s Lakes Region. The historic building, built in 1813 and for many decades the residence of prominent businessman Daniel Pickering, was close to being torn down when Wolfeboro residents Peter and Patty Cooke purchased the property.  

 
We’re off to Maine for a week, checking out the refurbished Gorman Chairback Lodge in Maine’s North Woods before heading to the mid-coast to unwind and sea kayak. I’ll be back next Wednesday. 
 

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Unsung Mexican Beach Destinations, Sedona, and Lisbon Hotels in ActiveTravels Feb 2017 Newsletter

We just booked a cruise for a couple headed to Antarctica in January of 2018. That comes on the heels of a safari booking for Botswana in September 2018. You might think that these folks are crazy to book so far in advance. In fact, they’re smart since they want to knock off destinations on their wish list and know that there’s only a limited supply of cruises headed to Antarctica, a small number of safari lodges in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. There’s been such a surge of traffic to well-known destinations of late that Barcelona and Rome are both considering limits this year to the amount of people entering the city each day. And I can’t tell you how many people we could not help last summer when they came calling to find lodging in Iceland at the last minute. The country was essentially sold out. Give us enough advance notice and we can make your dreams a reality, with far better flights and lodging options. 

Having missed connections in Miami, Heathrow, LAX and a slew of other cities, I’m always excited to see new direct flights like the Emirates flight from Newark to Athens that started this month. Delta is now flying direct from Boston to Montego Bay starting on February 25th. Direct flights have opened both coasts of Mexico to a number of new beachfront locales. That’s our main feature in the February newsletter. We also pick our favorite hotels in another popular locale, Lisbon, take a quick escape to Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, and describe how Flightfox can work magic with your airline miles. Have a look! 
 
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The Perfect Day Trip on St. Lucia

Splitting time between the BodyHoliday and Rendezvous resorts on the northern coast of St. Lucia, I wanted to show Lisa the rest of the island, most importantly those majestic twin peaks, the Pitons, that tower over the water near the town of Soufriere. We made the smart decision to go with Joy’s Tours for a six-hour boat tour along the western coast. They picked us up at Rendezvous and made the 10-minute drive to St. James’s Club where we started our cruise on a very fast Boston Whaler-like boat. Soon we were zipping past the cruise ships in port at Castries, the exquisite cove of Marigot Bay, and small seaside villages. We got our first glimpse of the Pitons just past the beach at Anse Chastanet, the classic resort where I stayed on my visit to St. Lucia last year. Just around the bend in Soufriere, we were led into mini-vans to head up the hills for our volcanic mud path and swim under a waterfall. The volcanic mud was gritty as we placed it all over our bodies. When we washed the dirt off in the warm waters, our skin was baby smooth. For lunch, we dined on native fare at Joy’s large home and toured the property to check out his guava, papaya, and banana trees. After lunch, we went back to the boats to snorkel at Sugar Beach resort, smack dab between the Pitons. We spotted a moray eel, numerous blue tangs, and my favorite, a large prehistoric looking sea cucumber. On the return trip, we drank homemade rum punch as we cruised back at high speed. When we told our guide, Johnny, we were staying at Rendezvous, they insisted on dropping us off at the beach directly in front of our cottage. A Class Act! 

 

Club Med Quebec Charlevoix to Open in December

Club Med Quebec Few industries have been impacted more than travel this past year and a half. Navigating through the dizzying array of restrictions and requirements is no easy feat and can leave this eternal optimist exhausted and disheartened. But then I read about a new hotel opening in an area of the globe I’d like to check out and I’m just as excited as I was 30 years ago when I first entered the travel world, writing a story on the hotel Robert Louis Stevenson stayed when visiting Levuka, Fiji in the late 19th century. This pandemic has been a long slog, yet remarkably hotel groups continue to build and invest in the travel industry. That alone gives me a glimmer of hope.

Opening December 2021 is Club Med’s first foray in Canada and it’s a beauty. Having written about skiing Le Massif for the Boston Globe, I’ve had the good fortune to witness the exquisite views of the St. Lawrence Seaway from the slopes. Located 90 minutes northeast of Québec City in the Le Massif de Charlevoix region, the four-season all-inclusive mountain resort is spread across 300 acres. The new Club Med offers 302 rooms and a private luxury space featuring 25 suites. All-inclusive dining features the main restaurant, Le Marché, the gourmet lounge, Le Chalet, and the family restaurant, Terroir & Co, where kids and parents will enjoy fondue and raclette, local Québec cheeses and charcuteries, freshly baked cookies, and Québec’s famous maple taffy. Aside from ski-in/ski-out access, guest will enjoy ice skating, dogsledding, and sugar shack visits in the winter; biking, guided hiking tours, and whale watching in the warmer months. Let ActiveTravels know your dates and we’ll check availability and package together with Quebec City.

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Astrotourism, Anyone?

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches

Shortly before I left for Newfoundland in October, my 90-year old mother, an avidly curious New York Times reader, mailed me a clipping (as she has been doing for decades). She noted, "This is a trip I could take!" Given that she doesn’t travel that much anymore, I was intrigued. What the heck is astrotourism? I learned that the term astrotourism has evolved to describe intentional travel to places with dark skies and more visible stars. Sounds great! 
 
ActiveTravels sends many members each year to Hawaii, Mexico, and Grand Cayman; nicely, these locations have developed avenues for visitors to explore the night sky. The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa has three high-powered telescopes on its roof capable of spotting 80 constellations, and there’s also an observatory atop Mauna Kea (a dormant volcano on the Big Island), 13,796 feet above sea level. In Mexico, the Four Seasons Punta Mita has begun offering guided stargazing on its driving range and beach. At the Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort, oceanfront beach cabanas with private fire pits, dinners, and s’more fixings, come with telescopes and night sky maps.
 
Back to my mother. The closest "Dark Sky" site to where she lives in New York would be on Long Island, in Southold at the Custer Institute. Open to the public every Saturday evening from dusk until midnight, volunteers assist with the powerful telescopes. For more information on sites around the country, please visit the International Dark Sky Association website.
 
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La Loma Jungle Lodge, Isla Bastimentos, Panama

I’ve had my fill of snow this winter in Boston. So now I’m dreaming about the warm weather and an upcoming trip to Jamaica. This week, I’ll delve into my favorite eco-resorts in the Caribbean and Costa Rica. The sustainable tourism movement has grown leaps and bounds in the past decade. No longer can you simply throw compost in the back of a Marriott and call it an eco-resort. To be green, destinations have to offer indigenous culture and food, encourage outdoor recreation that highlight the region, curb greenhouse gases that impact the environment, and involve the entire community in the tourism effort. Many resorts even go a step further by helping to support local school systems and food banks. These five lodgings are green in every sense of the word. 

Increasingly, the small eco-retreat design that made such an imprint in Costa Rica has slipped farther south into Panama. On an archipelago in the northwestern part of the country, a short boat ride from the town of Bocas del Toro, is a three-cabana lodge socked in the middle of the verdant jungle and surrounded by a working cocoa plantation.  All of the cabins at the Jungle Lodge were created from fallen trees and inspired by the architecture of the local Ngobe Indians. The employees are also local, including your guide through the rainforest and beach to see sloths, armadillos, small crocs called caimans, and the graceful blue morph butterfly. At dinner, lobster and conch will not be served, as the owners try to use only sustainably harvested fish like yellow jack. Rates are $110 per person a night, including three meals, the boat ride over from Bocas town, and some of the excursions.

 

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Insider Tips on Napa Valley

Guest Post by Kelli Hollingsworth
 
Your romantic getaway to wine country isn’t complete without a comfortable place to stay, top-tier cuisine, and laid-back entertainment. Stay at the property I recommend to family and friends, Solage Calistoga, which offers guests spacious suites, a sybaritic spa, geothermal bathhouse, and two complimentary bikes per room. With a Michelin-starred restaurant and bar on site, a trailhead nearby, and fabulous wineries just down the road, this resort is perfectly situated to savor the region. Nearby is Castello di Amorosa Winery where you can sample exclusive reserve wines paired with tasty appetizers and local cheeses. Unfortunately, you missed the last Calistoga Concerts in the Park, which is held from the end of June to the end of August. But if you visit next summer, be sure to spend your Thursday evenings at these free concerts, enjoying a boxed meal from a local restaurant, while sipping on wine from the featured winery of the week. When the hustle and bustle of everyday life leaves you feeling run down, there’s nowhere better to replenish the well than a getaway to gorgeous Napa Valley. Hope to see you soon!
 
 
 

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