WINTER/SPRING 2020
MAGA Z INE
THE
FUTURE of TRAVEL
The Modern Sabbatical An Active Pursuit of Purpose
Traveling More Sustainably A Globetrotter's Guide
Finding Your Roots
An Evolution of the Heritage Trip
Enjoy your down time with a little time
UP
It’s your time to fly with Wheels Up—a total private aviation solution that meets the needs of Inspirato Members across the country. Discover exclusive benefits for you as an Inspirato Member.
wheelsup.com | inspirato@wheelsup.com Wheels Up Partners LLC (“Wheels Up”) does not operate aircraft; FAA licensed and DOT registered air carriers participating in the program exercise full operational control of all flights offered by or arranged through Wheels Up. For on-demand flights and shuttle flights operated as scheduled service, Wheels Up acts solely as an agent for Wheels Up members and guests in arranging these flights on their behalf. For shuttle flights operated as Public Charter service, Wheels Up acts as principal in offering these flights subject to the DOT’s Public Charter rules contained in 14 CFR Part 380. All aircraft owned or leased by Wheels Up are leased to the operating air carrier and are operated exclusively by that air carrier.
Offer is subject to eligibility requirements, including that the Passholder is at least 21 years of age at time of purchase. Offer requires payment of a monthly subscription fee. The subscription fee will be automatically charged to your credit card or other payment system on file with Inspirato each month. All Inspirato® Pass payments are non-refundable. You may add your spouse or life partner to your Inspirato Pass as your “Co-Passholder.” Inspirato Pass reservations may range from two (2) to sixty (60) nights. The number of active Inspirato Pass reservations you may hold at a time is dependent upon the number of Inspirato Passes purchased. Passholders are not responsible for the payment of nightly rates, taxes, or fees. Only Passholders and Co-Passholders may use the Inspirato Pass reservations. You may add sharing to your Inspirato Pass for an additional monthly fee. Anyone who travels on an Inspirato Pass reservation must agree to abide by Inspirato’s Travel Pass Terms and Conditions. Your Inspirato Pass has a mandatory initial term of six (6) months (the “Initial Term”). Beginning on the fifth month of membership, you or Inspirato may terminate your Inspirato Pass by giving the other party 30 days written notice. After the Initial Term, your Inspirato Pass membership is month to month. Notice must be given in writing to your Care team. Availability and benefits may vary by accommodation, date, membership or travel option selected. Travel is subject to acceptance of the Inspirato Pass Rules, terms & conditions, and other eligibility requirements. Offer is subject to change or cancellation at any time. For additional terms, conditions, and restrictions, please visit www.inspiratopass.com.
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Inspirato is owned by Inspirato LLC and operated by its subsidiary Best of 52, LLC, 1544 Wazee Street, Denver, CO 80202, info@inspirato.com, 303-586-7771. Operator is registered as Florida Seller of Travel Registration No. ST38403; Washington Seller of Travel Registration No. UBI 603086598; California Seller of Travel Registration No. CST 2107465. ©2019 Inspirato LLC.
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THE WORLD’S FIRST LUXURY T R AV E L S U B S C R I P T I O N
IN SPIRATOPASS.COM
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( 888) 625-7525 I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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CONT ENTS
FEATURES F E AT U R E
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The Future of Travel
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From overtourism to the rise of artificially intelligent assistants, here’s what the future of travel may have in store.
Into the Wild in Luxury Taking a break from the masses and escaping to more remote areas. BY STEPHANI E PRI NCE AL EXAN D ER
BY J O RIE LARSE N
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A Globetrotter’s Guide to Traveling More Sustainably Offset your environmental impact without totally overhauling your trip. BY M I C H A E L A T R I M B L E
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DEPARTMENTS 10
30 Adventure
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Sabbaticals are no longer defined by the absence of work—in fact, they’re defined by the presence of it.
36 Bespoke How DNA testing has paved the way for a new type of ancestral journey.
40 Faces Sir Nick Faldo provides his insights on golf and travel.
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Travel Tech The latest gadgets you need for your next travel adventure.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Welcome Letter
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Events & Experiences Inspirato members and Passholders experience culinary adventures, cruises, and more.
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In The Moment See what Inspirato members and guests posted about on Instagram and Facebook.
44 Globally Inspired Infuse your home with the style of your favorite vacation destination.
48 Member Recommended Kiawah Island, a Lowcountry treat worth going back to again and again.
136 There I Was A little rain couldn’t wash away one Inspirato family’s Grand Cayman experience.
P O RT F O L I O
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The Inspirato Collection Explore the world’s leading portfolio of luxury vacation homes and hotels located in magnificent locations around the globe.
130 Inspirato Only Luxury experiences and so much more.
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Inspirato Pass A revolutionary way for travelers to experience the world.
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Before You Go What to read and watch before your trip to the Bahamas, Croatia, and Maine.
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WINTER/SPRING 2020
MAGA Z INE
THE
FUTURE of TRAVEL
The Modern Sabbatical An Active Pursuit of Purpose
20 Inspirato Insider
Traveling More Sustainably A Globetrotter's Guide
Inspirato destination experts share tips for memorable trips.
Finding Your Roots
An Evolution of the Heritage Trip
22 Culture A guide to Telluride festival season.
26 Food & Drink Build a deeper connection with a destination through culinary adventures.
ON THE COVER
Lake Lago di Braies in Italy O L E H S LO B O D E N I U K
I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Brent Handler FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brad Handler
David Kallery
FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
PRESIDENT
Jeff Hartman
Melanie Taylor
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PUBLISHER & MANAGING EDITOR
Kristen Baker
C O P Y E D I T O R S & P R O O F R E A D I N G Stephanie Prince Alexander, Cortni Dietz, Abbie Lang, Jorie Larsen
Justin Ewing Kelly Doctor, Morgan Morris, Ashley Thompson
SENIOR DESIGNER & PHOTO EDITOR
INSPIRATO CONTRIBUTORS
C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S & P H O T O G R A P H E R S Kiersten Bridger, Andrea De Leon, Elizabeth Marglin, Drew McGill, Samantha Shankman, Michaela Trimble
PRE-PRESS
Lauren Pesce
N AT I O N A L A D V E RT I S I N G S A L E S
Kristen Baker KBAKER@INSPIRATO.COM
1544 Wazee Street • Denver, CO 80202 Inspirato.com • info@inspirato.com • 303.586.7771
Inspirato® is a private travel membership club that requires a non-refundable Initiation Fee and either an Annual Membership Fee or Monthly Membership Fee, as applicable. Membership is subject to acceptance of terms and conditions and other eligibility requirements. Availability, benefits, and nightly rates and taxes may vary by accommodation, date and membership option selected. See website (inspirato.com) for complete details. Inspirato is owned by Inspirato LLC and operated by its subsidiary Best of 52, LLC, 1544 Wazee Street, Denver, CO 80202, info@inspirato.com, 303-586-7771. Operator is registered as Florida Seller of Travel Registration No. ST38403; Washington Seller of Travel Registration No. UBI 603086598; California Seller of Travel Registration No. CST 2107465. ©2020 Inspirato LLC.
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Utah’s Ultimate Ski Location Summer On The Lake Luxury 40 Acre Homes
OWNERS BENEFITS YOU CAN EXPECT AS A SANCTUARY HOME OWNER • FULL SERVICE CONCIERGE • INSPIRATO MEMBERSHIP / UPGRADES • TOP OF THE LINE RECREATION TOYS
NEW WORLD CLASS PARTNERSHIP
WWW.SANCTUARYUTAH.COM
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W E LC O M E
A NEW DECADE OF TRAVEL
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s we head into a new decade, there is a lot to be excited about at Inspirato and within the travel industry at large. In 2019, we launched Inspirato Pass, the world’s first luxury travel subscription, shaking up the luxury travel landscape and providing affluent travelers with a groundbreaking way to approach travel. If you’re not familiar, Inspirato passholders have access to endless travel for $2,500 a month with no nightly taxes, rates, or fees, and can choose from a list of thousands of trips across the globe, varying in length from two days to two months. In the months since its launch, the trip list has continued to evolve, offering more choices than ever to homes within the Inspirato Collection, Inspirato Only experiences, hundreds of partner hotels, and adventurous partner experiences like safaris and cruises. Launching a truly innovative product like Inspirato Pass and watching it grow has us looking forward to the future of travel with much anticipation. Which is why we’ve dedicated this entire issue to exploring unique and modern ways to travel—both in the present day and looking to the years ahead. Time travel with us (p. 52) into the future where we’ll all be traveling lighter, needing only our faces and fingertips for identification; reach our destinations at record speeds via Hyperloop or selfdriving car; and visit more off-the-beaten path locales in order to avoid overtourism. Read along as we explore a greener future for globetrotters (p. 66), who will be more empowered to make sustainable choices in their destination, mode of transport, and ways to support local economies. Elsewhere, discover how you can propel your career and personal life to new heights by taking a modern sabbatical (p. 30), even though it may sound counterintuitive. We hope you find some inspiration in these pages for where this new decade will take you—enjoy.
BRENT HANDLER
Founder and CEO
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E V E N T S & E X P E R I E N C ES
Member and Passholder
HIGHLIGHTS
LO G A N TAY LO R
Pacific Northwest Culinary Adventure Seattle, Washington A U G U S T
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nspirato members came together in August for a weekend of exclusive culinary experiences in the scenic Pacific Northwest. The weekend kicked off with a welcome reception at the Thompson Hotel Seattle, before members were whisked away to the restaurant Canlis for a four-course meal overlooking the city’s Lake Union. On Friday, the group set off via seaplane for Orcas Island. After a tour of the farm and the Inn at Ship Bay, members enjoyed a six-course, wine-paired, farm-to-table lunch overlooking the ocean—and some members even spotted the islands’ namesake orcas among the waves. Later, the group took part in an exclusive, after-hours cooking class at Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market, featuring crab deconstruction. On Saturday, members learned how to shuck an oyster at Bar Melusine, then the weekend capped off with tastings at area wineries and a private chef-prepared dinner. “It was a fantastic way to see the Pacific Northwest,” said Inspirato Director of Events and Experiences Operations Logan Taylor, who hosted the event. “There’s exceptional farm-to-table experiences that highlight the local fare with some behind-the-scenes access, too.”
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(Top to bottom, left to right) Members relaxing after a farm-to-table lunch at Inn at Ship Bay, overlooking the East Sound of Orcas Island. Crab deconstruction at The Atrium cooking class…an after-hours Pike Place Market experience. Members receive a private oyster shucking demonstration at the open-air brunch spot, Bar Melusine. Seaplanes take members from Seattle to Orcas Island and back for a day of leisure.
DREW MCGILL
4th Annual Inspirato Clambake San Diego, California S E P T E M B E R
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n a sunny San Diego evening in September, Inspirato hosted its fourth annual clambake at the iconic Hotel del Coronado. As the event kicked off with a reception, Inspirato members from California and across the West mingled with sips, bites, and games like volleyball and cornhole as the kids frolicked in the sand. Many members made a weekend of it, staying at the hotel’s Cottages at the Del, or turning it into a staycation if they were from the area. The dinner, featuring clams, lobster, steak, shrimp, and more, was accompanied by a quintessential Californian sunset. And afterward, many stayed for a special beach screening of “The Wizard of Oz,” string lights aglow against the starry sky. The film was chosen for Hotel del Coronado’s special tie to author L. Frank Baum—he traveled to the Coronado frequently, and even wrote some of the “Oz” series while staying there. The evening was a great way to wind down summer, said Caroline Solak, the Inspirato events and experiences specialist who planned the dinner. “This is one of our favorite events because we’re located on such an iconic property and it’s a family-friendly affair,” she said. “It’s a fun, relaxing, and casual evening on the sand.”
(Clockwise from top left) Members being served fresh lobster. Members mingle at a reception with drinks and passed appetizers before enjoying dinner on the beach in front of the iconic Hotel del Coronado. Members and their families enjoying corn hole on Coronado Beach.
CLAIRE MCMANUS
Seine River Cruise Paris and Beyond S E P T E M B E R
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erfect fall weather set the stage for an idyllic cruise down the Seine River with 124 Inspirato members aboard the intimate S.S. Joie de Vivre. A highlight for all was a day spent on the Normandy coast with a curated set of activities from Inspirato Only. As members pulled up to Omaha Beach (the site of the D-Day invasion) in authentic WWII-era military vehicles, an original WWII bomber aircraft happened to be flying overhead and tipped its wing to the Inspirato group—a truly humbling moment, especially for the four veterans in the group. One veteran left a sign of remembrance in the sand where so many soldiers lost their lives; and the entire group was honored when our veterans took park in a ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery. “No matter how incredible the food and wine were—and they truly were—there were such meaningful moments the group shared throughout the trip that transcended all of that,” said Molly Jones, Inspirato’s senior lead, experiences - cruises. We’d be remiss not to mention the pre-cruise program, which included exclusive after-hours access to the Louvre with a private viewing of the Mona Lisa, and a moonlit dinner à la King Louis at the Palace of Versailles.
(Clockwise from top left) The S.S. Joie de Vivre—as seen at sunrise from the banks of the Seine River. After a day of exploring the medieval village of Rouen, members gather in the Lounge of the S.S. Joie de Vivre to swap stories over wine and cocktails. Members take in Monet’s famous waterlilies during a visit to the artist’s private home in Giverny.
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D O M E N I C A C E R AS A R O
Danube Cruise Eastern Europe O C T O B E R
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n October 2019, nearly 200 Inspirato members, passholders, and their guests set sail with Inspirato along the Danube River through central Europe. The all-inclusive, eight-night cruise took place aboard the Uniworld Super Ship S.S. Maria Theresa, known for its regal décor (inspired by the 18th-century Habsburg empress Maria Theresa), ultra-luxurious staterooms, and impeccable service. After embarking in Passau, Germany, passengers sailed through Austria and Slovakia, en route to Budapest—stopping in Old World cities and quaint towns along the way including Salzburg, Dürnstein, Melk, Vienna, and Bratislava. “The differences in scenery, architecture, cuisine, and culture from day to day was pretty spectacular,” said Domenica Cerasaro, senior manager, experiences at Inspirato. Guests also enjoyed wine-tasting in Austria’s scenic Wachau Valley, characterized by the rolling Bohemian Mountains, vineyards, and centuries-old castles. Traveling in mid-October meant bright blue skies, gorgeous weather, and fall foliage on full display along the riverbanks; October is also shoulder season in Europe, which meant fewer crowds in ports of call. Cerasaro, along with Inspirato experiences lead Elizabeth Settambrino and specialist Hayley Oswald, planned magical touches throughout the week, arranging for ballroom dancers to come aboard and teach guests the Viennese Waltz. They also surprised guests with special gifts tailored to each port, including Linzer tortes in Linz, a Viennese music box, and a paprika gift set from Budapest. Cerasaro’s favorite part of the cruise? “The people, always,” she said. “Inspirato members are really special and elevate it from being just a cruise to a true community.”
(Clockwise from top left) Member Sen Sundaram (Boston) sabering a bottle of champagne onboard the S.S. Maria Theresa as we set sail from Germany to Austria. (members in the back: Jack Wilson (left), Gene Sullivan (middle), and Dave Crompton (right)). Melk Abbey in Melk, Austria. Danube River at sunset in Budapest, Hungary. Pipe organ at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau Germany, featuring more than 17,000 pipes. Members observe the ship going through a lock in Austria.
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1 H OT E L C E N T R A L PA R K
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade New York, New York N O V E M B E R
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(Top to bottom, left to right) Individual house-made granola and yogurt parfaits. An elaborate brunch display prepared by Jams restaurant including caramelized apple French toast bites with maple syrup. Jazz duo, Acute Inflections, sing classic holiday songs. The wind didn’t stop the floats or SpongeBob from making an appearance this year.
ore than 3.5 million spectators pour into New York City on Thanksgiving Day to watch the spectacle of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. This past November, 120 Inspirato members and their families enjoyed the time-honored holiday tradition with a luxurious Inspirato twist. From a private second-floor ballroom at 1 Hotel Central Park overlooking the parade route along 6th Avenue, Inspirato guests gathered to watch the larger-than-life balloons, colorful floats, and marching bands go past just outside the window during Inspirato’s Fourth Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade event. The on-site Jams restaurant provided a gourmet breakfast buffet of quiche, caramel apple french toast, Berkshire bacon, pumpkin pancakes, an omelet station, mimosas, bloody marys, and more, while a live jazz band played holiday music and kids enjoyed face-painting and balloon art. “Everything was in its place. Families were laughing and parents enjoyed watching their kids’ eyes light up with excitement when they got their faces painted and saw the giant parade floats,” said Lauren Marroquin, lead of events and experiences at Inspirato, who coordinated the event from start to finish. “It was truly a remarkable event.” This popular Inspirato outing is open to all Inspirato members and passholders across the country. Marroquin said families made the trek from all over the country to celebrate with Inspirato in New York City. Many travelers made a weekend out of it, staying with Inspirato in a room block at 1 Hotel Central Park. The upscale Inspirato Collection hotel is centrally located just one block south of Central Park.
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IN T HE MOMENT
TRAVEL INSPIRATION Wherever you go with Inspirato, we invite you to share your highlights. I N S T A G R A M @inspirato
Give us a moment The season’s best Instagram and Facebook posts shared by Inspirato members from the club’s destinations around the world.
@eveykboutique Vintners Cottage, Blue Rock Vineyard, Sonoma, California
@karayorston Sugarwhite Cottage, Rosemary Beach, Florida
Take me back to a fabulous weekend in Sonoma @bluerockwinery @inspirato laughing our way through the vineyards with these beauties!!
My heart bursts looking at this photo. All of my hear in 1 tiny square
@ourfamilypassport Sunset Point, Lake Tahoe, California
@kennabug33 Villa Mare, Amalfi Coast, Italy
LAKE TAHOE!!!
The ocean water was color inspo for my swimsuit
Michael Dorsi Nayara Hotel, Spa & Gardens, Arenal, Costa Rica
Kelly Robinson Harmony Hill, Montego Bay, Jamaica
Cynthia Lynne Blankenship High Road, Beaver Creek, Colorado
Just returned from Nayara Resort in Costa Rica. Great trip with the kids. Several adventures set up thru resort including Skytek Ziplines, Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna waterfall hike, and Ecothermales Hot springs all were perfect.
We had an absolutely amazing vacation at Harmony Hill in Jamaica!! I almost didn’t post about it because I am tempted to keep it a secret! The house staff were the best! Chef Oral Johnson was fantastic—we won’t eat out at all when we go back!
Highly suggest the High Road property in Arrowhead/ Beaver Creek, Co. We had a fantastic week watching the beautiful Fall foliage turn into a Winter Wonderland with a big first snow of the season. What a great house with local amenities, but you will never want to leave!
Share your Inspirato experience by tagging @INSPIR ATO & #INSPIR ATO
@anais_pauline Esperanza, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur Sunsets | Forever a favorite
F A C E B O O K @inspirato
Lisa Pinson Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico The grounds are stunning. It looks like a movie set. The dedicated concierge and all hotel amenities were wonderful. Lots of great shopping, roof top restaurants, art, history and friendly people. So charming and peaceful.
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Joe Batal Wheels Up private flight en route to Disneyland Recently upgraded our Inspirato membership to Executive, and took advantage of the Wheels Up partnership by surprising the family with a flight on Wheels Up and a trip to Disneyland following a wedding in San Luis Obispo.
$ 2020-22 EARLYBIRD FARES Limited Availability Book Now
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Contact your Inspirato Care Team, call us at 833.333.9346, or visit sceniceclipse.com for more information on reserving your all-inclusive luxury cruise. I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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I N S P I R AT O PA S S
A REVOLUTIONARY NEW WAY TO TRAVEL Since its nationwide launch in July, Inspirato Pass—the world’s first luxury travel subscription—has revolutionized the way travelers experience the world. BY J O R I E L A R S E N
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he premise of Inspirato Pass is incredibly Inspirato Pass has proven popular among simple. For $2,500 per month, passholders Inspirato members. With their membership, they can can choose from thousands of trips around travel on demand throughout the entire Inspirato the world, never paying nightly rates, taxes, or fees. Collection—paying nightly rates as they go—and The day a guest checks out, he or she can book book specific homes, hotels, and experiences on their next adventure. specific dates. By adding Inspirato Pass, members The trip list is updated daily, featuring more than also enjoy the flexibility and value of traveling as 100,000 trips around the globe. Accommodations much they like, choosing from a list of more than include spacious Inspirato homes in destinations 100,000 trips, without paying nightly rates. like Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Tuscany, Passholder Mike Shaw was already an Italy; five-star hotels that guests already know and Inspirato member when he decided to add a love and incredible boutique hotels in hidden gem Pass onto his membership. He’s already taken locales; and custom experiences available solely to multiple trips, to places like Jackson Hole, members, passholders, and their guests, including the British Virgin Islands, and Park City. safaris and cruises. He appreciates the ease with which trips can be Each trip comes with the five-star hospitality that booked through the list, taking out the mental energy Inspirato members are accustomed to, including of coordinating an open-ended trip. access to a dedicated team of travel experts, pre-trip “With the flat fee you don’t have to evaluate planning, on-site concierge service, whether this place is too much or, and more. if you have more people, will that “So far, my experience with Pass be too much for them?” Shaw said. “Inspirato Pass gives has been great. My Care team has “You can just look at what you want affluent travelers the been wonderful helping me plan each to do, where are those days available freedom to book a trip and my trips so far have lived and what’s the most I can get?” wider variety of trips up to the Inspirato standards I have What really sold him in the end: and experiences on a come to expect,” said passholder “What you pay versus what you would more frequent basis at Jason Mayes. be having to pay.” a tremendous value. Inspirato Pass suits all kinds of Inspirato Pass can also be Whether exploring travelers, from couples to families with customized to suit each traveler’s accommodations or young kids to business travelers to specific needs and preferences. They retirees and more. can add sharing privileges to their experiences for work, “Inspirato Pass gives affluent Passes, which allows them to send play, or family, Inspirato travelers the freedom to book a wider family, friends, and colleagues on trips Pass offers something variety of trips and experiences on a more even when the primary passholder for everyone” frequent basis at a tremendous value. isn’t there. BR E N T HAND L ER Whether exploring accommodations And if they want to hold more than or experiences for work, play, or family, one reservation at a time, Inspirato Inspirato Pass offers something for Pass 2 or 3 enables the passholder everyone,” said Brent Handler, founder and CEO to book one or two reservations further out while of Inspirato. using the other reservations to travel more in the Handler worked for years to develop a sustainable, immediate future. subscription-based model that would succeed in the Passholder Mikki Cardoza purchased Inspirato travel industry. “Pass gives hotels a safe way to sell Pass for the option of giving trips as gifts. She saw the inventory without needing to show the whole world Pass as an opportunity to incentivize employees at her the discount. This opacity allows us to create value. real estate firm, treat friends and family, and donate Passholders are the benefactor of that value, and as a trips to nonprofits. She opted for the Pass 2 option result they’re able to travel more than they normally that allows her to have two reservations on the books would,” said Handler. at once, as well as the option to share the Pass. When it comes to spacious Inspirato homes, “When I’m looking at trips [available on Inspirato passholders also find tremendous value, because they Pass], it really appeals to my personality because I can bring along as many guests as a home’s occupancy don’t have to worry about the price and I can just take allows (often ten or more). anything off the plate,” said Cardoza. The company first launched Pass in a pilot She’s been using Pass to travel frequently since. program to Inspirato members in Colorado and She’s gone for a weekend getaway in Carmel Valley, Northern California on June 3, 2019. The response California, and stayed at a Waldorf Astoria for a work was overwhelmingly positive, and the world’s first convention. She’s also gifted trips to her niece. luxury travel subscription launched to the public “So far I love it. I find myself talking about it all the soon thereafter. time,” she said.
T R I P S O N PA S S
100,000+ Available trips updated daily
AV E R A G E N U M B E R O F D E ST I N AT I O N O PT I O N S
160 TOP D E ST I N AT I O N S
New York, New York Vail, Colorado Los Cabos, Mexico Miami/South Beach, Florida Las Vegas, Nevada
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B E F O R E YO U G O
WHAT TO READ & WATCH Before you visit the Bahamas, Croatia, and Maine
Whether you’re planning an upcoming trip or just dreaming of far off places, you’re likely to find some serious wanderlust in our latest round of book and movie recommendations. BY ST E P H A N I E P R I N C E A L E X A N D E R
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BAHAMAS
C R O AT I A
The water really is as crystalline as it looks, and the beaches really are as private as they seem within the coral-based archipelago of The Bahamas. Once you slow down enough to get on island time, there’s so much to explore—from some of the world’s best fishing to deserted island hopping. Get a feel for the sun-drenched utopia that could be yours—just a 35-minute flight from several Florida locales.
The secret is out about Croatia and its endless stretches of coastline, sapphire waters, and architectural wonders. Behind its beautifully charming appearance, though, lies a complex and saga-filled filled past. For that reason, Croatia is a great vacation choice for history buffs, culture cravers, and sun-seekers alike. Get a feel for the unique culture that awaits you with these recommendations.
READ: Islands in the Stream
by Ernest Hemingway Divided into three acts, “Bimini,” “Cuba,” and “At Sea,” the first book of this posthumously published trio of novels introduces painter Thomas Hudson on the tranquil Bahamian isle of Bimini. Hudson’s rigorous work schedule is interrupted when his three sons show up, and plenty of fishing, swimming, and drinking ensues.
READ: An Embarrassment of Mangoes
by Anne Vanderhoof
READ: The
Hired Man
by Aminatta Forna
A haunting tale of Croatia’s war-torn history, The Hired Man is set in a fictional town in the mountainous region between Zagreb and the Dalmatian Coast where hunter and handyman Duro Kolk lives. Opening chapters paint a beautiful picture of the Croatian landscapes, but when Duro comes across an English family who needs help restoring an old farmhouse, memories of the town’s dark past surface.
READ: Chasing a Croatian Girl
by Cody McClain Brown
MAINE If you’re looking to plan ahead for an allAmerican summer vacation, Maine is your ticket. Blueberry picking, swimming in hidden ponds, and eating all the lobster rolls you can manage: That’s a Maine summer in a nutshell. With its wind-swept shoreline, quaint fishing villages, and iconic lighthouses, coastal Maine looks like something out of a storybook. Start picturing your trip to the coast of this New England gem.
READ: One Morning in Maine
by Robert McCloskey
This children’s classic is so quintessentially Maine, it’s well worth the read, especially if you have little ones around. The story gives readers a slice of everyday life in Maine as it follows the author’s two real-life daughters through their morning, which starts off with a loose tooth and ends with ice cream and a boat ride in the bay.
READ: Stern
Men
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Live vicariously through this husband and wife pair as they leave their “type-A lifestyle” and careers behind to chase a Caribbean dream on their 42-foot sailboat. If you’ve ever fantasized about saying goodbye to the rat race and living on a tropical island, this read’s for you. Anne Vanderhoof ’s intimate recount of the beauty—and deliciously exotic food—they find in the Bahamas will have you packing your flipflops and your appetite.
Go beyond the beautiful beaches and ancient ruins of Croatia to find out how its citizens actually live in this memoir by American author Cody McClain Brown who moved to Croatia for a girl he’d later marry. Filled with humor and hard truths, Brown shares his insights on Croatian culture, including the importance of family, coffee, slippers, and an imperious mother-in-law. This light-hearted love story will make you feel like you’ve actually lived in Croatia—or just like you wish you had.
The first novel by Big Magic author Elizabeth Gilbert, Stern Men is set on two fictional islands off the coast of Maine. For generations two groups of fishermen feuded over the fishing rights to the waters that lie between the islands. Having grown up among this dispute, Ruth Thomas returns home from boarding school at 18 determined to join these stern lobstermen on their boats. She forges friendships with eccentric islanders, falls in love, and solves the fishermens’ feud. Stern Men gives a fascinating look into local lobster-fishing culture.
WATCH: Splash A fun throwback featuring a young Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, the 1973 classic Splash was filmed on stunning Castaway Cay located near Abaco. Get swept up in the love story that unfolds between Hanks’ character and a beautiful mermaid played by Hannah, all while enjoying the sun-drenched beaches and crystalclear waters of the Bahamian paradise.
WATCH: Armin Follow the journey of father and son Ibro and Armin as they travel from their village in Bosnia to a movie studio in Croatia where Armin is to audition for a film about the Yugoslav Wars. A commentary on “New Europe,” and an examination of the dynamics between father and son, this Croatian-Bosnian-German film premiered in 2007 at the Berlin Film Festival.
WATCH: Message in a Bottle Though this 1999 romance is set in the Outer Banks of the Carolinas and Virginia, the beach scenes were filmed in Maine—Popham Beach, to be specific. You’ll get a feel for Coastal Maine while enjoying a 90s love story that unfolds when Robin Wright’s character discovers a bottle in the sand with an anonymous love letter and tracks down its author, played by Kevin Costner.
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ASK THE EXPERTS Our local experts weigh in on the most appealing aspects of our destinations.
Most likely to make you cancel your return flight
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Most likely to satisfy your inner foodie
Most likely to get your kids off their devices
A M A L F I C O A ST, I TA LY
C H A R L E ST O N , S O U T H C A R O L I N A
C O STA R I C A
The most storied stretch of coastline in Italy, the Amalfi Coast has enticed visitors for centuries with its pinch-me scenery. Here, colorful villages spill down the cliffs and hug the harbors, and narrow stairways lead down to sandy pebble beaches, where lounge chairs and colorful umbrellas await. Experience la dolce vita while sipping a cappuccino in a breezy oceanfront café or cruising from Positano to Ravello in a boat.
Charleston has undergone a major culinary renaissance in recent years, blossoming into a world-class foodie capital that punches well above its weight. As a port city, it’s the perfect spot to indulge in award-winning seafood—but it’s so much more than that. From downhome Lowcountry comfort fare with a gourmet twist, to a South Carolinian take on barbecue, to Italian, Asian fusion, and more, this Southern city will delight even the harshest of food critics.
Known for its “pura vida” lifestyle, Costa Rica is a natural playground for adventurous kids, teens, and adults alike. From pristine beaches to wildlife-filled jungles, the country’s picturesque scenery alone is enough to make you put your phone down for a week. Plus, the adrenaline opportunities are endless and if surfing, whitewater rafting, ziplining, horseback riding, four-wheeling, and snorkeling won’t get your teen off their device, we’re not sure what will.
“Visiting Positano is a life-changing experience: the sun, the flavors, the color of the Mediterranean Sea, the food, and the kindness of Italian people will change your priorities forever.”
“Charleston is definitely the foodie paradise of the South—combining southern charm with world-class cuisine to create the perfect destination for foodies worldwide.”
“For an adrenaline rush, they’ll love ziplining at Diamente Eco Adventure Park or stirring up some mud on an ATV trail that leads to a beautiful waterfall. Our natural wonders—from volcanoes to hot springs to caves—will keep even teenagers interested!”
SIMONA BRESCIANI
G AY L E ST E I N E R
D I E G O M U R I L LO
Portfolio Experience Manager, Europe
Southeast Destination Manager
Destination Concierge, Costa Rica
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M A G A Z I N E
Most likely to help you reconnect with nature
Most likely to rekindle the romance
Most likely to provide a killer ski day
J A C K S O N H O L E , W YO M I N G
M O U G I N S, F R E N C H R I V I E R A
W H I ST L E R , B R I T I S H C O LU M B I A
The last bastion of the Wild West, Jackson Hole offers an enchanting respite from the modern world. This gateway to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks affords you the opportunity to catch a glimpse of bears, moose, elk, and bison. Whether you opt for a highaltitude hiking adventure, a placid kayak outing on Jenny Lake, or horseback riding through the winding trails of the Wyoming backcountry, you’ll feel at one with nature here.
Tucked into the rolling hills of Southeastern France, the sleepy town of Mougins seems to have been designed with romance in mind— from the lantern-lit cobblestone streets in the walled city of the Old Village to the bounty of intimate, unassuming cafes that just happen to have a Michelin star (or two). Fill your days wine-tasting at local vineyards, lazing on the beaches of nearby Cannes and Nice, and perusing art galleries.
In the nine years since Whistler attracted global attention as the host of the Winter Olympics, the mountain town’s popularity has skyrocketed. Whistler is widely considered one of the world’s greatest ski resorts (also the largest on the continent), with 200 marked runs and 16 alpine bowls to experience prolific winter snowfall. Skiing Whistler’s heavy snow is hard work—luckily there’s a rewarding aprés-ski scene waiting to toast to your epic day on the slopes.
“Jackson Hole is an incredibly unique place. There is an endless array of outdoor activities to keep you busy no matter the season—my personal favorites are mountain biking, hiking, walking my three dogs, skiing, and checking out local hot springs.”
“About 40 minutes from Monaco, Mougins is Monaco’s romantic side. It’ll make you feel like Jacqueline Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis living the dream in the south of France.”
“This world-renowned mountain resort has something for everyone, with unlimited options on and off the slopes or in the picturesque mountainside village. This destination is one that will ignite your senses and leave you wanting more.”
DEVIN DWYER
SIMONA BRESCIANI
A L E X H E T H E R I N G TO N
Destination Concierge, Jackson Hole
Portfolio Experience Manager, Europe
Destination Concierge, Whistler
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HOT FUN IN A SKI TOWN A Telluride Local’s Guide to Festival Season BY K I E R ST I N B R I D G E R
P
erhaps you have been lucky enough to visit our fair town during winter, maybe you caught some fresh tracks or dropped in on one of our high-altitude chutes. What you may not have guessed is how charming Telluride can be when you’re not strapped into ski boots or blowing marshmallow fluff from your steaming hot chocolate. Telluride, Colorado - a little town that turns itself into a big destination in the warmer months. If you’ve never seen a Telluride
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summer sunset, you’ve yet to witness the rush of mountain skies blushing over the cool San Miguel river. It is its own kind of heaven, especially when your favorite band strikes that opening chord at one of our stunning outdoor venues. As a family of skiers, we get to play year-round in this postcard box canyon we call home. I’m happy to share a few insider tips for those who revere our rugged mountain beauty, who endeavor to play hard, and enjoy the high life in this exquisite setting.
2020 FESTIVALS
June
May Telluride Mountainfilm
DATES
Telluride Balloon Festival
22-25
This is the heartbeat of the summer festival season and one of my favorites. Mountainfilm is a documentary film festival that includes interactive talks, free community events, a gallery walk, outdoor programming and presentations by world-class athletes, artists, and thinkers, films from renowned change makers and world leaders. Last year, guest director and writer Cheryl Strayed surprised us with a standing-room-only interview with Oprah Winfrey. This year, Executive Director Sage Martin told me the 2020 Moving Mountain Symposium, which heralds the weekend as a great meeting of the minds, has a perfectly apt theme: “visionaries.”
DATES
5-7
This is one of those festivals that surprises nearly everyone fortunate enough to find themselves standing on the main street of Telluride at dusk with the jaw-dropping Bridal Veil Falls in the background and all of Pacific Avenue lined with towering hot air balloons. The first time I saw them lit and glowing was enchanting. Rise early enough and you’ll spot hot air balloons take off from Town Park and float for at least a mile down the valley. The balloons typically launch at sunrise, weather permitting, and if you have the inclination to help, spectators are often afforded the opportunity to assist with the launch. TELLURIDEBALLOONFESTIVAL.COM
MOUNTAINFILM.ORG
DATES
Telluride Bluegrass
18-21
Unofficially the most action-packed weekend of the summer, Bluegrass is not only a local’s favorite; it’s adored by countless return visitors. Every Summer Solstice, thousands of music lovers converge for four days of bold acoustic music. Since its inception, Telluride Bluegrass has encompassed a varied array of artists including Sam Bush, Mumford & Sons, Brandi Carlile, Norah Jones, Jason Mraz, and Emmylou Harris. Linger on the riverside path leading to the old mine and you can even hear Town Park campground humming and strumming. Last year no one could stop talking about the up-and-coming Lake Street Dive. My daughter was lucky enough to meet the band; even during our biggest bashes, it still feels intimate and accessible. BLUEGRASS.COM/TELLURIDE
July 4th of July
DATES
4th
Nothing like a fighter jet flying over Downtown Telluride to get your juices flowing! Start the day with a run, hike, or crawl from the base of our free gondola to the top of lift 7 during the Rundola, an uphill foot race, followed by our annual Fourth of July Parade on Colorado Avenue (Main Street). The Fireman’s Fourth of July BBQ is next up with kids’ games in the afternoon. After sunset, fireworks dazzle in Town Park. Two pro tips here: 1. Make friends in town and watch from a local’s deck. 2. Time your trip from the village to town wisely. The gondola line can get quite long before and after the fireworks rush. TELLURIDE.COM
August
Ride Festival
DATES
10-12
In between sets is a perfect time to make your way down to the river and float inner tubes with the kids or stand upright on a paddleboard to take in the red cliffs and soaring peaks. The Ride Festival crackles with stellar rock and roll music. Over the course of this extraordinary sonic weekend, rip down the ski hill on your bike in the morning, or hike up the pine-scented path to Bear Creek Falls, enjoy lunch at one of the Sheridan’s sidewalk tables, then take a deep breath and know what follows is a star-studded evening listening to bands like Widespread Panic, Sheryl Crow, and Beck under bright, starry skies. RIDEFESTIVAL.COM
Jazz Festival
DATES
7-9
This festival radiates a mostly laid-back, cool-cat vibe— unless you are strutting down main street in a New Orleans style second line parade, pumping your parasol, and trumpeting your appreciation for jazz culture that is alive and breathing—even at altitude! People plan their weddings around this festival not only for the outstanding destination, but for the entertainment that appeals to a wide range of musical styles. A little secret for even more magic—children think riding the one red gondola car is the golden ticket, but the truth is that any gondola ride where a stranger turns into a friend or an unexpectedly wild conversation ensues, becomes the perfect ride. TELLURIDEJAZZ.ORG
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September Telluride Film Festival
DATES
22-25
Telluride Blues and Brews Festival
DATES
18-20
Telluride Festival of Cars & Colors
DATES
24-27
RON CHEROSKE
Telluride is famous for premiering Oscar winners. The best part about this weekend is meeting and hosting the hot, young filmmakers of tomorrow. Unlike its showier cousins, Cannes and Sundance, which have press crawling over celebrities, we get to have the stars to ourselves. We give people space here, replacing the step and repeat, flashbulb circus with low-key, respectful nods of acknowledgment. Best Picture winners like Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech, Argo, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, Spotlight, Moonlight, The Artist and The Shape of Things all played in Telluride—many of them world premieres. Best Picture nominees Roma and The Favourite were sent straight from Venice to Colorado. TELLURIDEFILMFESTIVAL.ORG
With 56 craft breweries and 170 styles of beer and cider—no wonder my good friend and favorite local realtor Aric Maloy says this is, hands down, his favorite festival. It’s quieter and smaller than Bluegrass with a VIP experience that is unparalleled. Some of the exclusives include: a double-decker viewing platform of main stage with a fireplace, VIP lounge with premium stage views, private grand tasting, gospel brunch with champagne and bloody mary bar, along with a candy bar for kids, shade tents, yard games and fire pits, admission into late night juke joint music venues with early, complimentary on-site professional massage therapists, private glam restrooms with flushable toilets, and priority entrance into the festival each day to avoid getting stuck in line!
Where to eat DATES
2-4
Let’s face it, you will want to do it all! That means picnics as well as pack-and-go noshes for Elks Park while you catch a film panel or midday jazz ensemble. TOP 3 TOTABLE BITES:
Telluride’s newest festival is all about storytelling and relating to our fellow humans. It offers a space to connect on a deeper level and to seek out ways to restore optimal living for all of humanity and our environment, both locally and globally. Where else are you going to confab with filmmakers, foreign investigators, Ultraman World Championship runners, war veterans, deejays, journalists, documentary photographers, innovative designers, and chefs—all in the same day? ORIGINALTHINKERS.COM
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CARSANDCOLORS.COM
TELLURIDEBLUES.COM
October Original Thinkers
There is an urgency this time of year when crisp aspens and cottonwoods sparkle in autumn color and the scrub oak’s leaves transform from glossy green to sepia-washed scrolls. Fall rolls into town along with the arrival of vintage and exotic vehicles. Depending on your idea of a great thrill, this might be our sexiest event of the year. Last year, while my husband, an aviation enthusiast, enjoyed the air show, I marveled at the world’s fastest smart car (300mph) altered and outfitted with jet power! Mianna Wick, Loophole Racing’s female Indy Car driver, was also on hand to inspire a new generation of movers and shakers.
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Over the Moon—curated cheese selections and meat-rich lobster rolls.
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Butcher Baker—baked-to-take black bean and sweet potato breakfast burritos.
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Caravan—savory kebabs with tangy tzaziki. Bonus: The Mediterranean plate might just boast the smoothest hummus in the West.
CIVILIZED SIT-DOWN DINNERS:
Try Sidework lounge—a hidden gem perfect for intimate dinners. You really can’t beat The National—I’m a dedicated carnivore but my vegan bestie loved having multiple options like the smoked sweet corn chowder and grilled vegetable lasagna. The Cosmopolitan—swanky dining with bread baked by angels—seriously light, soft with the perfect amount of salt sprinkled crust. Happy hour warms my heart with its half price sushi—the organic salmon tataki is sublime and served under a smoke-filled glass dome. In search of a little breather, drinks fresh as the air? Tasty mules reign at the historic Last Dollar Saloon. The jaw-dropping rooftop views are gratis!
ABOUT THE WRITER
Kierstin Bridger is a Colorado native who lives in Telluride with her husband, teenage daughter, and Hugo the wonder hiking dog. She is author of All Ember (Urban Farmhouse Press) and Demimonde (Lithic Press). kierstinbridger.com
TELLURIDE’S MOST LUXURIOUS BOUTIQUE RESIDENCES W I T H F I V E - S TA R H OT E L A M E N I T I E S Discover a luxurious side of Telluride when you stay at the award-winning Lumière with Inspirato, nestled at the base of Lift 4 in Mountain Village. Enjoy ski-in, ski-out access before unwinding in our cozy lounge. Our 18 recently remodeled hotel residences make the perfect home base, with ample space, high-end chef’s kitchens and dramatic mountain views. C O N D E N A S T R E A D E R S C H O I C E A W A R D S “ T O P 1 0 C O L O R A D O S K I H O T E L” U S T O D AY “ T O P 6 S K I H O T E L S I N T H E U S A” T R I PA D V I S O R “A W A R D O F E X C E L L E N C E 7 Y E A R S R U N N I N G ”
LUMIEREWITHINSPIRATO.COM | 970.369.0400
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FOOD & DRINK
Building a Sustainable World Through:
CULINARY ADVENTURES When we travel for food, we build a deeper connection with the culture of a destination in ways that truly can change the world. BY S A M A N T H A S H A N K M A N
NOMA IN COPENHAGEN
D I T T E I S AG E R
Taking a Bite of the World
What Is Food Tourism
very destination has a story to tell. The stories are in the snow-peaked mountains that touch Big Sky, the sensual Italian accents we hear as we walk along Florence’s side streets, and the smell of our favorite restaurant in Bombay. But there’s no better way to truly know a destination’s history, culture, and people than through food. See it in how the Italian cheesemakers shape their delectable mozzarella. Hear it in how the vintner explains his process for perfecting a glass of Pinot Noir. Smell it by the wafts of garlic as a chef prepares the perfect chicken roast. Touch it as your hands pick up the smooth skin of small peppers in a local spice market. And, of course, taste the history and heritage behind every bite as we travel around the world. As the world opened itself to the delights of culinary adventure, millions of opportunities arose to give travelers the chance to harvest, cook, and sit down for a meal with locals.
Food is the diverse and dynamic medium through which we share stories, form relationships, and build communities. By allowing visitors to touch, taste, smell and be a part of the land and the abundance that comes from it, food tourism offers travelers the chance to experience the essence of a place while contributing to a more sustainable world. Food tourism is, by definition, any activity in which the traveler has the chance to learn about, appreciate, interact with, and taste food or drink that reflect the local, regional, and national cuisine and culture. It starts with the soil, but does not end in the mouth. Food allows us to break down the boundaries that separate us and build connections that transcend time and place. “Food tourism is the act of traveling for a taste of place in order to get a sense of place,” says Erik Wolf, executive director of the World Food Travel Association. Travelers are seeking more authentic experiences and they’ve found that is possible through food—from learning how their meals are prepared to who produces it and where. A farm-to-table meal or standard tasting at a winery is no longer novel. Travelers are eager to meet the wine grower and walk with their family through the vineyards, to feel the texture of raw grapes on their fingers, to understand how the beer is brewed—and then taste it. While some travelers remain content with hearing about the peculiarities of a specific dish from their waiter, most desire to dive deep in exclusive or one-on-one experiences with chefs, farmers, and makers.
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Building a Global Community Through Food This represents a massive opportunity for major metropolises as well as smaller cities and rural regions that are able to attract new visitors who might not have considered a visit before. As a result, there is a collaborative effort happening inside the best food destinations. Locals are designing experiences specifically for travelers who want to be a part of their food history. The wineries located in the world’s most stunning wine regions, including the Western Cape in South Africa and Northern California, have come together to support and collaborate with one another in crafting experiences that allow travelers to learn, taste, and experience the winemaking process from ground to glass. World-renowned chefs such as Rene Redzepi from the famed Noma in Copenhagen have trained and instilled a sense of community in their chefs who have gone on to open restaurants across the globe that incorporate local producers—and allowed travelers to be a part of that journey. Noma’s new restaurant also has an urban farm and seasonal menu designed to serve just 40 people per night, continuing to inspire more sensory dining experiences around the world.
NOMA IN COPENHAGEN
D I T T E I S AG E R
Food is a highlight of any travel experience, but only recently have travelers started planning travel specifically around what they can eat, drink, cook, or make in a certain place. Four in five consumers seek out local food while on a trip. More than half visit food shops or markets to experience local flavors. And almost half of all recent travelers have “gone on vacation with a food and/or drink related travel experience as the main purpose of the trip,” according to Skift Research. In response, destinations, hotels, and activity providers started creating campaigns and events designed around food and beverage experiences. These travel leaders started telling stories that highlighted their culinary heritage and what it means to be a part of it. Foodies spend more than most other tourists when traveling around the world. Culinary travelers spend approximately 48 percent more per trip than other leisure travelers, according to the WFTA. In the United States, travelers spend more on food than anything else outside of lodging. Domestic and international travelers spent $268 billion on food services, which includes restaurants and drinking places, in the U.S. in 2018. These dining experiences accounted for 25 percent of total traveler spending and do not even include the tours, activities, and events designed as culinary experiences. It’s been estimated that 39 million U.S. leisure travelers select destinations based on the culinary activities and another 35 million look for culinary activities after their destination is decided. Nadia Shamman never considered traveling to Georgia until she had one of the best meals of her life at a Georgian restaurant in New York City. That meal was the inspiration behind a 10-day trip through Georgia with three of her friends. In our everyday lives, we spend less time cooking than ever before. But people are pursuing their interest in food and desire for a connection with nature through their leisure experiences. Food has become a social touchpoint. Reserve founder Greg Hong called dining “the last form of live entertainment.” But travelers now have the chance to be a part of the show. DANIEL MAHON
M E L B O U R N E F O O D & W I N E F E S T I VA L
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English manor whose every flower, cordial, and meal comes directly from its biodynamic-designed farm. There are the restaurants designed by celebrated culinary visionaries such as Dan Barber, where visitors can take a tour of the grounds at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture before sitting down to 30-plus plates at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which sources much of the meal from the center’s fields and pastures. Food tours, cooking classes, and wine tastings were once only possible through a friend in the area but are available today with all kinds of hosts from the best sommeliers to locals who love their city or culture so much that they are compelled to share. These are bookable through all possible platforms and give travelers access to a gastronomic experience through every kind of lens. By tasting the world, we change the way in which we connect on a global level—and there’s nothing more delicious than that.
I N G R I D H O FST R A
The global foodie movement has had a profound impact on local communities and shifted the opportunities available there. As travelers, we contribute to the agriculture and economy by supporting the livelihoods of growers, chefs, processors, restaurateurs, accommodation providers, distributors, government, and industry organizations. We are directly impacting the people in the community who produce and prepare the local food and beverage product. The experiences we have exploring the culinary heritage of a place live beyond our taste buds. With travelers sharing their meals and adventures on social media, others become interested and might even plan a trip around it. Destinations know that and organize their social media to tell more interesting stories around food. Sharing photos across social media is today’s postcard— and the best asset that destinations have in sharing their culinary experiences. Through social media, we’ve also become more aware of what’s possible to see and experience through taste. At least 60 percent of travelers share photos of food when they travel and almost half use Facebook to plan their culinary decisions in a destination.
BLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS
A Tasting Menu on Where To Go
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BLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS
HECKFIELD PL ACE
DANIEL KRIEGER
Traveling well is part of living an inspired life. Through culinary adventures, we are inspired to create lasting memories and relationships by changing the way we experience the world. Our knowledge of what is possible inside the kitchen and on the land changes the way we eat even once we arrive home. It opens our eyes to the stories and history held within each grain and glass of wine. There are countless ways to explore the world through food today that go far beyond a beautiful meal at a restaurant in a foreign land. There are food, wine, and beer festivals organized in every city. Our favorites remain Mistura, one of Latin America’s major gastronomy events which takes place in Peru and is a seeding ground for emerging chefs. Situated along Lima’s coastline, visitors can sit down for multi-course meals from Peruvian icons or browse the hundreds of street vendors with a backdrop of live music performances. We also love the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival where Australia’s abundance is on full view for 10 days. Melbourne turns into a celebration of food with a mix of more than 100 large-scale and intimate events that feature local visionaries, regional produce, and international chefs. Included in the 10-day foodie heaven is the World’s Longest Lunch in which 1600 guests sit down for an outdoor feast in Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens hosted by different culinary legends each year. Across the globe, impeccable accommodations are integrating their landscapes so travelers can watch how their tomatoes grow before tasting them. Babylonstoren in South Africa has one of the most stunning gardens that we’ve ever seen and the details of the tour are only matched by the meal that comes afterward. Heckfield Place is a renovated
HECKFIELD PL ACE
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THE MODERN SABBATICAL What it is, why you should take one, and where to start BY ST E P H A N I E P R I N C E A L E X A N D E R
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s someone who has taken two types of sabbaticals during my career, I can say they were easily the most important learning and growing experiences of my life. Though I didn’t fully realize it then, the time I took away from my career trajectory was actually setting me up to be more successful in life and in work. From going through a work and travel agency that took me to Melbourne, Australia, to taking a contract job with the United States Antarctic Program to live and work at a research base in McMurdo Station, Antarctica, I’ve explored different ways to take career breaks while still honing skills that would serve me in all areas of my life. And now, in the thick of the digital era, more professionals are finding ways to experience nontraditional working and travel experiences. The ability to stay technologically connected at all times is what has led to the rise of the digital nomad concept. On one hand, it allows us the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere in the world or work hours that fall outside the typical 9–5 window in order to fit unique needs. But on the other hand, being constantly connected can lead to an unhealthy lack of boundaries. Responding to emails from your phone while on vacation or not even taking time off in the first place because you’re afraid you might miss something important can quickly lead to burnout. Whether you’re approaching that burnout stage decades into your career and need a big break, or you’re only a few years into your career and want to travel in search of inspiration for the next chapter of your life, or you want time to fully immerse yourself in learning something new, there are endless ways to take a sabbatical. Remote Year, a company that offers five types of work and travel programs, states that, “Sabbaticals are no longer defined by the absence of work—in fact, they are defined by the presence of it. Sabbaticals aren’t just another word for vacation. They’re the new word for an active pursuit of purpose.”
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I S T H E M O D E R N S A B B A T I C A L T H E N E W M B A ?
Dana Hooshmand previously ran the retail division at Lyft headquarters, but left his Silicon Valley lifestyle behind for a year of focused learning abroad. One year has turned into two and he and his partner have now learned nine languages (including Swahili and Egyptian Arabic), tried their hand at distance running in Kenya, and are about to learn salsa dancing in Colombia. He ventures to say that the modern sabbatical is is more valuable and effective than an MBA when it comes to setting yourself apart.
D A N A H O O S H M A N D A N D PA R T N E R J O
Yosemite National Park, California
The Future of the Sabbatical in the Workplace Traditionally, the term “sabbatical” refers to the period of paid leave granted to an individual working in higher education; it was meant to give an employee a chance to step back from their work to focus on personal enrichment and professional development. Outside of academia, sabbaticals historically have been pretty rare in corporate America, however research suggests that workplaces across most industries are slowly beginning to jump on board. An article in the Harvard Business Journal reported that findings from a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management showed the percentage of companies offering sabbaticals (both paid and unpaid) rose to nearly 17% of employers in 2017. The same study showed that not only are sabbaticals good for employees—who reported a decline in stress and an increase in psychological resources and overall well-being upon return from sabbatical—they also benefit organizations, particularly when leaders take leave. When employees are tasked with being interim leaders, they gain qualifications, are exposed to new development opportunities, and end up performing better. Regional White House Fellow Dr. Paul Rand has advised the U.S. Department of Labor, Education, and Defense in strategic policy matters and is a proponent of more workplaces adapting to the digital era by encouraging working or learning sabbaticals.
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“The digital era mandates employers let go of a 150-year-old paradigm on employee management. One simple and effective solution is providing employees with opportunities for learning sabbaticals. Academia has long recognized the importance of sabbaticals every seven years, but the digital era allows companies in all industries to provide these opportunities more readily,” said Rand. He added that moving forward, successful organizations will be ones that help workers hone the skills needed to effectively work remotely and become well-rounded individuals with broad talents. “Younger generations are demonstrating a desire to take deep-dives into travel, meditation, and retreats of escape to promote greater self-understanding, learning of languages, cultural immersion, and so on. Helping these individuals develop skills that improve self-management and productivity will be essential for maximizing employee performance in years to come. I believe companies that embrace this reality will succeed, whereas companies holding on to outdated performance management systems will find it more and more difficult to attract and retain cultured, experienced, and motivated employees,” Rand stated. And it’s not just the younger generations looking to take alternative career breaks or paths, it’s becoming a trend for higher level employees and executives to seek them out. “I’ve come across various people who’ve been in middle-management up to higher executive
“At the end of an MBA, you’re one of many people with the same qualifications fighting for the same pool of jobs, struggling to stand out. Many of the things you can get in an MBA—a great network and set of unique experiences—you can do on your own for much less money and have even more interesting experiences and more fun doing it. I really encourage people to think about what else could they do that would be a challenging experience for them that would make them appealing to the kind of person they want to work with, instead of fitting into a mold they don’t want to fit into,” said Hooshmand. During his sabbatical from a traditional job, Hooshmand has worked intermittently as a consultant and continues to pursue self-development experiences that will keep him employable should he decide to return to a traditional job, though he doesn’t see that happening anytime soon. You can read about his adventures in global learning at discoverdiscomfort.com.
positions who have taken time out and found tremendous benefit in that,” said Alex Trembath who launched the blog and business careergappers. com to help people take life-changing sabbaticals. Rand added, “Executives and employees alike can benefit from a learning sabbatical that provides an opportunity to put a focus on lifework balance. My research demonstrates that productivity is greatly enhanced when employees and leaders take leave from the ‘grindstone’ to learn and grow.” Trembath has found that there are many ways in which people who take extended time away from work to travel can enhance skills relevant to their job and benefit their career. “Through traveling the world, you enhance attributes like confidence, communication, and networking. There’s also the opportunity to learn new skills at every turn as you’re exposed to completely new ways of life,” said Trembath.
There’s More to Life Than Work In my personal experience, taking time away from my established career path to work in other types of jobs abroad expanded my horizons in ways that nothing else could have. I learned to problem-solve on the fly, be incredibly resourceful, communicate with people from very different backgrounds, live with few possessions, budget every penny, and just slow down and enjoy the ride. Ultimately, it made me a more adaptable and grateful person. To that note, Trembath adds, “Taking a step back from work, whether you’re traveling or not, gets you out of your routine and allows you to have a different perspective on your lifestyle and helps you understand your personal motivations and what makes you happy.” Before he and his wife took a year off to travel, they were living a fast-paced lifestyle in London, working long hours, traveling for business often, and dealing with long commutes. After stepping back from that way of life for awhile, they made a lot of changes to live more balanced lives, and now feel much happier. “Sometimes just having things put into perspective for you is all you need. Seeing how people live in under-developed parts of the world, how they have very little possessions but often have a type of happiness we could never imagine, it gives you some perspective that the race you’re in—whatever it is you’re striving to reach for in life—it’s not the only thing,” Trembath reflected. You don’t need to travel to the other side of the world to reap the revitalizing benefits of a work break; the most important thing is detaching from your usual routine. A 2010 study by Tel Aviv University titled “Sabbatical leave: who gains and how much?” compared faculty members at 10 universities in Israel, New Zealand, and the United States who did and did not take a sabbatical leave. Those who took a sabbatical had better self-reported scores for life satisfaction, stress, and other measures of wellbeing than those who did not.
AUTHOR STEPHANIE PRINCE ALEXANDER
McMurdo Station, Antarctica
M E L I S S A C O N N & FA M I LY
Mont Saint-Michel, France
Bring the Family Along People with children and/or spouses who also work may find the idea of a sabbatical to be impractical, but there are many ways to get creative about your family’s responsibilities and schedules. The concept of a family sabbatical is becoming more common as parents around the world decide they want to spend more meaningful time with their kids. Between the pressures of work, school, extracurricular activities, and taking care of a home, families often feel like they are on a hamster wheel, going from one thing to the next on repeat. For some intrepid families, saving up to spend a year traveling or living in another country together is a pipe dream come true that provides the opportunity to connect with each other in a way they never could at home. Melissa Conn and her husband were avid travelers before having kids and had always talked about taking time off to travel long term with their children. When they both came to a crossroads in their careers, it just so happened that their kids were approaching what they felt were the more travel-friendly ages of 3 and 6 years old.
“We were at this moment of transition where we would be leaving our jobs, needing to leave Los Angeles, and we thought, if we don’t do it now, when will we do it?” She and her husband both quit their jobs and took money they had been saving to buy a home and used it to carry them through what ended up being two years of domestic and international travel. Melissa began a blog—thefamilyvoyage. com—that brought in some income and they also leveraged partnerships through the blog to help offset accommodation costs along the way. When asked what she might say to another family considering this type of adventure she heartfully responded, “As most parents realize, your kids grow up so fast and the time you spend with them on a trip like that is not something you can ever reproduce in any other way. You’re all taken out of your routines and out of your comfort zones and you really become a team. Something like that will really leave an indelible mark on our family’s story—the lore and the narrative you create for years to come.” Dawn Nicholson, a high school teacher and mother of three kids (now ages 8, 10, and 12),
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along with her husband, have taken their family on several different types of long-term travel experiences and have lived as expats in places like Nicaragua, Australia, and Malaysia— all of which you can read about on her blog, 5losttogether.com. “We didn’t want to wait until retirement to travel and we wanted to have these experiences with our kids while we’re still young. My husband lost his parents pretty young, so we had that perspective that you could work your whole life and hope to have these experiences later in life, but you might not have that opportunity, Nicholson stated. Right now, Nicholson and her family are living a pretty traditional lifestyle in Toronto. She and her husband are working full time, and her kids are attending public school and heavily involved in extracurricular activities, though they are currently preparing to spend the next year in Panama. “It’s times like this that make me realize that when we take those three months or that year away, we’re doing a good thing, because I just find our pace of life is too busy and monotonous. When we go away, we have much more downtime as family to play board games, to just talk, to be bored, Nicholson stated.
Both families have done a mix of homeschooling, “road-schooling,” and traditional public schooling through their travels depending on what best suited everyone’s needs at the time. From language learning to currency conversions to diving into political, social, and historical issues of different places they visited, educational opportunities always presented themselves. It’s important to realize that an experience like a family gap year is not for everyone. It takes a huge degree of flexibility; you have to be comfortable not knowing what you’re doing every day. That being said, Conn added that most families who take the plunge have no regrets. “I’ve come across dozens of families who’ve done extended travel with their family and out of all those families, I’ve only known one who had a negative experience and had to cut their travels short.” Perhaps the sagest piece of advice about longterm family travel from Conn: Take a lot of time structuring your broader itinerary. “If you haven’t traveled a whole lot outside of the developed world, it’s wise to get your feet wet slowly. If you’ve only traveled Western Europe, it would be a big shift to start your travels in Namibia. Check in with what your current comfort zone is. You have to travel in a way that feels good and nourishing for your family and that is sustainable.”
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Hacienda Yaxcopoil
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Taj Mahal, India
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Sydney, Australia
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The Twelve Apostles, Australia
ALEX TREMBATH
Patagonia, Chile
ALEX TREMBATH
Singapore
ALEX TREMBATH
Cusco, Peru
ALEX TREMBATH
Arequipa, Peru
Start Planning Your Own Sabbatical You may be thinking that all of this sounds great, but how could you ever really make it happen with your life, your career, your family? The first step is getting clear on what you want out of an experience like this and what is realistic for your particular set of circumstances. It’s also important to realize that nothing like this will happen overnight— reconfiguring a professional and personal life can take years of planning and saving. “My wife and I saved and planned for five years to take a career break and we learned a lot of lessons along the way that we continue to research and package into resources that will help people have similar life-changing experiences,” said Trembath in reference to all the helpful and practical information you can find on his website careergappers.com. For individuals at the executive level to those just a few years into their career, the biggest hurdle or perceived fear is usually bringing the subject up to a boss. Judy Nelson, an executive coach based in Southern California, often encounters clients who could use a sabbatical, but don’t think that their board would ever approve it. In an article she wrote for Forbes, she advises, “How do you know until you ask? Assuming you are a top-notch performer and you present your case strategically, the chances are good that your board will be supportive.” For those who aren’t as far along in their career, before you ask your boss, do some digging to find out what kind of policies your company has, have a casual chat with some coworkers or maybe someone in HR to find out if any previous employees have made arrangements like yours. If you haven’t already, spend time building relationships and making yourself valuable at work—the more
respected and valued you are, the more likely they’ll want to accommodate your request. Whether you’re interested in working remotely while you live abroad or maybe you’d like to take a month off to learn a new skill or language—do your research and create a detailed proposal for your boss. Come prepared to address how the situation may impact them, but also how it will make you a better employee and how it will benefit them in the long run. Think about the return on investment from their perspective. For example, if you’re proposing a six-month unpaid leave—that’s six months they don’t have to pay your salary, then at the end, they get a refreshed employee with new energy and ideas to contribute. If you’re planning on quitting your job, you’ll want to give your employer plenty of notice and start thinking about how you can keep yourself employable while you’re away. In what ways will the experience set you apart once you start your job search again? How can you maximize your personal development opportunities, as well? Whatever type of sabbatical you have in mind, don’t lose sight of your vision and goal. It’s worth working for and something that you’ll never regret once you’ve taken the leap. Don’t wait for retirement to invest in the kinds of experiences you know you want to be part of your life story. I know I will always cherish the time I spent in Melbourne and Antarctica doing something completely different from my normal career. Even though those experiences may have set me back a year or so in my overall career trajectory, they advanced my life ahead in other ways, and led me to people, places, and job opportunities that I never would have encountered otherwise and I’m forever grateful I took the leap.
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B ES P O K E
Finding Your Roots:
AN EVOLUTION OF THE HERITAGE TRIP Over the past two decades, technology like DNA testing has changed the way we embark on these ancestral journeys. BY C O R T N I D I E T Z
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he idea that some great answer to oneself lies within our roots isn’t a new phenomenon; that inexplicable pull to explore our heritage has been with us for a long time, whether we’re the descendants of indigenous peoples, early settlers, slaves, or 19th-century immigrants. But with the advent of new technology like DNA testing, our methods of finding the stories of our family histories have evolved in ways that previous generations hadn’t thought possible. When Inspirato member Alan Hackett set out to find his Hungarian relatives 15 years ago, he was armed with two fairly rudimentary tools: European civil records kept through the church and a 2004-era Google search for his family’s small hometown in Ukraine, just over the border from their native Hungary. “I’d been looking into family history because my mom’s parents had come over (to Michigan) as 18-year-olds around the turn of the previous century,” Hackett said. “And I was interested to see if I had cousins over there or anything.” He eventually struck gold by way of an old church aid organization in the birthplace of his grandfather in Syuret, Ukraine. The reverend on duty there sent his mother to the town market, and through sheer luck and word of mouth, managed to track down Hackett’s relatives. “We really were very fortunate. It was just about plugging away. Now there are so many more resources, as with genealogy,” he said, “and it’s just amazing, now that everybody’s putting in not just their DNA, but their family records and everything.” Hackett and his family made the journey over to Hungary, and with help from the reverend, were led to the tiny town where his cousins lived in Kishrat, Ukraine. That led to the discovery of even more cousins—one of whom still lived in the house where Hackett’s grandmother had grown up in Szolanna, Hungary. While visiting the home, Hackett was able to put his mother on the phone with her first cousin, whom she’d never met before.
“I got a little choked up,” he admitted. “When my mother picked up the phone, I couldn’t say anything; that was probably the first time in my life that I truly couldn’t say anything. Luckily, she was able to (figure out what was happening). We all just sat in the backyard and watched as they had this conversation for the first time.”
The Digital Realm of DNA Nowadays, discovering your heritage is a little easier than a wild goose chase involving the small-town reverend of a church in rural Ukraine. This idea of heritage trips spurred by DNA tests from popular companies like 23andMe or AncestryDNA—who launched in 2006 and 2012, respectively—has exploded alongside the prevalence of the testing. According to Airbnb, there’s been a 500 percent increase since 2014 alone in the number of heritage trip accommodations that people are booking through the site. And Inspirato members are taking these new-age heritage trips of their own, too. Whether working with their Care teams or Inspirato’s dedicated team of Bespoke custom travel designers, the club’s played a role in helping its members discover their ancestral roots over the past several years. “With the advent of all these DNA tests, people are finding out so much more about where they came from—some of it already known, some of it not. But we can help create a luxury family trip that revolves around this new discovery,” said Dugald Orr, senior manager of Inspirato’s Bespoke team. “It could be the small village where your grandmother grew up in southern Italy—we can find a local guide and driver to take you there, and they may be able to help you track down that particular piece of history from your family’s past.” Past Inspirato heritage trips have ranged from a member meeting up with a long-lost sister found through DNA testing in Boca Raton, to an exploration of Japan through the lens of a first-generation Japanese-American, to meeting a relative in England who’d also been found through DNA.
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A Surprising Discovery By 2016, the trend of heritage trips sparked by DNA testing was in full swing—and that’s exactly when Dalton Heff ley, 26, began to plan his own journey to discover his ancestral roots. Like plenty of other recent college grads, he’d already been planning a backpacking trip to Europe, specifically hitting Naples, where he’d thought much of his family was from. Upon taking the AncestryDNA test, however, he discovered he was only 4 percent Italian. “From all of this lineage—German and English on my dad’s side and Russian Jewish and Italian on my mom’s—what we had identified with the most and took the most tradition from was Italian,” Heff ley said. “Seeing that 4 percent was like a knife to the heart.” So though he was already planning to hit Germany HEFFLEY IN PIANO on his trip, and had previously lived there for a summer before college, Heff ley saw it with fresh eyes as he made the rounds through Hamburg, Aachen, Patzden, Berlin, and Munich in the fall of 2017. “I felt more at home there now, and more comfortable walking around there by myself. I spent three weeks there alone, and knowing about those familial roots, I just felt more of a connection to the people and the culture and the country,” Heff ley said. “And having taken German in high school, I was able to communicate pretty well at that point.” And although the results of his test weren’t quite what he had expected them to be, Heff ley still spent plenty of time in Italy. His great-great-grandfather’s roots were still there, after all, and to pay homage to him, Heff ley took a job working a farm in Bracciono, Italy, growing rhubarb, summer squash, and ancient apple varieties for three weeks; his great-great-grandfather had been a farmer before immigrating to America. “I felt so humbled to kind of go back to my roots; to be able to stand at the same place where my great-great grandfather had come to America from was awe-inspiring,” Heffley said. “And it made me realize how easy it is to make that journey now versus then…just thinking about all the sacrifices my family had to make to achieve what they wanted to get out of life.”
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“I felt more at home there now, and more comfortable walking around there by myself. I spent three weeks there alone, and knowing about those familial roots, I just felt more of a connection to the people and the culture and the country.” D A LTO N H E F F L E Y D I S O R R E N T O , I T A LY
Well Worth the Effort When Hackett eventually did take a DNA test in 2017, it essentially just confirmed what he’d already known, he said. But he loves the ease with which he can access family records, and how technology has evolved to allow him to easily scan old family photos and share them with those cousins he met back in 2004. He’s been pleased to see that Facebook’s Hungarian-English translations have been getting better over the past few years, too. Although the information wasn’t easy to track down at the time, Hackett is so grateful he put in the work to explore his heritage. And with the advent of DNA testing and all the records available online, it’s now more accessible than ever. “Today it’s DNA. And earlier than that it was just the internet. And earlier than that it was going to these small towns and looking at graves,” Hackett said. “It doesn’t matter what your impetus is, but if you’re interested (in your roots) and want to find out, however you get that information—taking those trips makes it tangible.”
BERLIN, GERMANY
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FA C E S
Get to know:
SIR NICK FALDO BY C O R T N I D I E T Z
The most decorated European golfer of all time, Sir Nick Faldo has enjoyed an incredible career, and we’re so excited to introduce him as our newest Inspirato Golf Ambassador. He’s passionate about the good things in life— travel, wine, food, and golf—just like our members and passholders. We sat down with him to learn more about his famous wins, what he does in his down time, his wine label, and his Weimaraners.
Q+A
Let’s talk travel. You’ve obviously traveled the world, personally and as a successful athlete. What’s your favorite destination and why? Sir Nick Faldo: Well the funny thing is, my favorite destination is coming home. We have a golden rule, when you finish a tournament you just run to get home for a day. So that’s very important. But now I have an opportunity to have real time off. And one of the destinations I love running to is Montana, and back to Europe as well, which is a very different lifestyle. Where do you like to go in Montana? SNF: Way up north of Whitefish. A golf course I designed called The Wilderness is up there—we like to go back and visit that area. And you’re a resident of both Florida and the U.K., right? Are there any places in Florida that you like to sneak off to when you need to get away? SNF: Yeah—we typically sneak off to Ponte Vedra Beach, home of the Players Championship, the Sawgrass area. Lindsay (my lady) and I really like that… When I’m busy, I’m very busy, so it’s nice
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to get away with her, the dogs and a few friends to play some golf—we’re very happy with that. What kind of dogs do you have? SNF: They’re Weimaraners! We have three now: the two eldest are 19 months, brother and sister, and then a little one who’s about 8 months now. They’re all unbelievably different characters— friendly, loving, nutty. We know you’re a wine connoisseur. When did that become a passion of yours? SNF: I wouldn’t say I’m a “connoisseur”—I’ve always enjoyed a bottle of wine with my meal, as simple as that. It’s something I’ve done for a while, and we resurrected it now; it’s called Faldo Selection, specialty wines that I like and can recommend. Helping people discover great wines is really the fun part. It’s really just a fun project for me—and we’ll have some of the Faldo Selection wines at our Inspirato event dinners, too. So which of your wines is your favorite? SNF: I bounce around, but right now I’m really enjoying Barolos.
SPORTINGWINECLUB.COM
W A N T T O L E A R N M O R E A B O U T O U R P A R T N E R S H I P W I T H S I R N I C K ?
Discover how you can wine, dine, and practice your golf game with the legend himself by visiting:
You’ve had quite a golf career. What’s been your most memorable tournament? SNF: Winning at The Open at St Andrews in 1990 was very special, because I went there on a mission to try and win that one—and I did. I was the No. 1 player in the world that year, and I’d already won the Masters, so the entire world expected me to win at St Andrews. With all that pressure, to actually do it was pretty incredible. Outside of winning, what are some of your favorite memories on the course? SNF: Any times we would visit a destination that was not really into golf yet, or the course wasn’t quite done yet. I remember going to the Philippines and driving through a jungle to get to a golf course, and they put us in a room that still had the wires coming out of the walls. That was an adventure! You can really either get frustrated or embrace the excitement. When you finally get to vacation, do you vacation to golf? Or do you steer clear of golf courses? SNF: Well, generally a little bit of both. Golf is very important—my lady Lindsay, she loves golf, so she’s quite happy to go play. There are only a few times I’ve really gone on holiday to totally forget about golf—I used to love going to Thailand, with minimal amounts of practice. But I did still practice. I’m pretty close to golf all the time.
What would you say is your favorite course of all time? SNF: Well, I’ve got three of them: Augusta and St Andrews and Muirfield. The site of all my major championships. Since we’re already on the topic of golf, do you have any tips for amateurs? What’s the most common mistake you see in amateurs’ swings? SNF: A common mistake which is really easy to fix is alignment. Amateurs generally don’t align their bodies correctly, either too far left or too far right. That can be fixed with some work on the range, actually putting the club down and learning to swing with one target in mind, rather than the golf ball being the target—like a flag or a green. That will make a big difference: Aim in the right place and swing at a target. How should amateurs who want to improve their game spend their practice time? Short game or long game? SNF: Short game, absolutely. Just start with a 6-foot putt. If you’re good at holing a 6-foot putt, it really takes the pressures off everything else. If you can hole a putt, there’s less pressure chipping. That’s an easy thing to work on. At home, at the office—just find a stroke that works. Then start learning to chip better. Then go take a bunker lesson. You could be 18 shots better in a round just by having a decent short game.
INSPIRATO.COM/FALDO
That’s what I was going to ask next. What are your best tips for getting out of the bunker? SNF: If you just put a line in the sand, not a golf ball, and you imagine you’re then hitting the line. You’ve got to get the club to hit the line in the sand each time. Once you can put the club into the sand in the same place, you can start hitting the ball consistently. I call it my line drill. We’re excited for your new TV program this spring, “Inspirato Presents: Where’s Faldo?” Could you let us in on some stories you’re planning to share? SNF: Well, the idea of the show is I’ll meet up with different celebrities from different fields to figure out what makes them the GOAT—the greatest of all time. I’ll go ice driving with Ari Vatanen. I’ll interview Kelly Slater. I might interview a very famous golfer—I’ll keep it secret who— and you’ll learn from these people, what they’re made of, and not just the obvious questions. We’re trying to find out the difference that makes the difference with somebody like that. Could be physically, technically, or mentally—but it’s quite interesting.
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T R AV E L T E C H
TRAVEL GADGETS What you need in the new year As travel continues to evolve, so too do the accessories we use to make getting to, navigating, and experiencing a new place a little easier. We’ve compiled a few of our favorite new travel gadgets that aim to mitigate some of the stress of the journey.
Modobag $ 1,495
Most of us have been humbled by the mad airport dash, a total abandonment of shame that comes with a full-on sprint to catch that connecting flight. But would you be more or less self-conscious zipping through the airport on a motorized suitcase? Yes—a suitcase that you quite literally ride through the terminal like a trusty steed. Touting itself as “the carry-on that carries you,” Modobag is the world’s first motorized carry-on—and with a $1,495 price tag, we would hope it books our flights for us, too. So the story goes, inventor Kevin O’Donnell got a spark of inspiration while pulling his children on a suitcase through the airport. If kids can ride along on a suitcase, he thought, why shouldn’t adults be able to do the same? When fully charged, the bag reaches a top speed of about 7 mph and is able to travel 8 miles before needing a recharge. The company also says the bag is compliant with all travel safety regulations, so you needn’t be worried about the Modobag exploding in the overhead compartment.
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JOBY GorillaPod GripTight Action Kit
Tile Pro (2-pack)
$49.95
Lost luggage can really put a damper on the start of an incredible trip. Though there are some GPS trackers on the market that claim to be able to find your bag anywhere around the globe, we couldn’t find any clear standouts with as much positive feedback as Tile. Simply slip the 1.6-inch Tile Pro onto the loop of your luggage tag to send it along with your checked suitcase. For on-the-spot peace of mind, you can ensure that your bag’s made your flight by checking in the app to see if it connects once you’ve boarded. If it does, that means your bag is in the cargo hold where it belongs. And yes, there’s a caveat: Tile can’t show you the exact location of your bag unless you’re within the tile’s 300-foot range. But Tile’s strength lies in its community. If you’re too far outside the range, you can select “Notify When Found” in the Tile app. By doing so, any Tile user who comes within 300 feet of your Tile will trigger an alert with its last known location. And with 10 million Tiles sold so far, there’s a pretty good chance that your bag will ping someone soon enough.
Asking a stranger to take your family photo— or even a photo of yourself that’s not an obvious selfie—is never ideal. What if the photo’s a once-in-a-lifetime shot and the picture comes out blurry, but you’re too uncomfortable to ask them to take another? Or you just hate how you look and want another shot? You can avoid those situations entirely with the JOBY GorillaPod. With this innovative little tripod, you’ll have full control over each shot. And what makes the GorillaPod different from a regular tripod is its flexible legs. They not only let the tripod fold up to be tucked into a bag, but they can also wrap around any structure that’s convenient for the optimum shot angle: a tree branch, a rock, a railing, or even an arm if you’re on the go. Plus, the tripod comes with the company’s Bluetooth Impulse remote to snap pictures without physically touching your phone, which means no more rushing to make the self-timer.
$60
I N T RO D U C I N G the ne w
O N E S N OW M A S S R E S I D E N C E C LU B An innovative way to own ski - in/ski - out in the heart of Snowmass Base Village, Colorado.
Explore Two Ways to Own: Whole Ownership and Residence Club. SnowmassBaseVillage.com/one | 970-924-9100 This does not constitute an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase in any jurisdiction nor made to residents of any jurisdiction, including New York, where registration is required. All information subject to change. Offered by SV Real Estate LLC.
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G LO B A L LY I N S P I R E D
GLOBAL DESIGN
inspiration
Infuse your home with the spirit and style of your favorite vacation destination. BY J O R I E L A R S E N
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1. Desert Layers
($100, minted.com) Layers of hand-painted watercolors evoke a sunset over the shimmering desert sands of the American Southwest.
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($198, dearkeaton.com)
This sunburst-patterned mirror, made of woven rattan and wood, adds a chic midcentury touch.
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2. Emuna Rattan Wall Mirror
3. Oo Lamp (Small)
($2,000, enyleeparker.com) This cactus-inspired ceramic lamp is a statement piece, standing 30 inches tall.
Inspired by Scottsdale, Arizona
4. Ilya Turned Wood Planters ($179, westelm.com)
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Put a midcentury modern twist on classic Southwestern décor with angular lines, geometric patterns, and earthy hues inspired by its desert surroundings.
Geometric earthenware planters put your cacti and succulents on stylish display.
5. Draper Media Console ($279, urbanoutfitters.com) 6
Spin your favorite vinyl on this record player, tucked inside a media console that would look at home on the set of “Mad Men.”
6. Lunas Chair ($650, hwhome.com)
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Rest comfortably in this midcentury-inspired club chair, boasting tapered legs and a subtle wingback shape.
7. Orange Mojave Indoor Outdoor Rug ($920, dearkeaton.com) This flat-weave rug infuses any room with a Southwestern feel, thanks to its bold pattern, desert color palette, and boho-chic fringe detail.
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1. Reclaimed Pine Wood Rectangle Cheese Board (Medium: $109, potterybarn.com) This cheese board looks dreamy whether covered in a charcuterie spread or propped up against your kitchen backsplash.
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2. Chunky Hand-Knit Throw
($499, restorationhardware.com) Throw open the windows and cuddle up beneath this hand-knit throw.
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3. Stone Farmhouse Pitcher ($95, shoppe.amberinteriordesign.com) Use this hand-thrown stoneware pitcher to serve juice at breakfast or hold a bouquet of fresh flowers.
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4. Margot Wood Hurricane ($69, potterybarn.com)
AMERICAN
Enjoy the cozy glow of a flickering candle housed within a mouth-blown glass hurricane sleeve.
FARMHOUSE
Inspired by Sonoma County, California
5. Log Hoops, Black
($195, williams-sonoma.com) Your firewood deserves a stylish spot too— and this sturdy holder, made of hand-welded iron rings, provides just that.
Take a cue from the understated country elegance of Sonoma with muted neutrals, cozy textiles, and simple furnishings that go together like a fullbodied pinot noir and creamy brie. 6
6. Miramar Chair ($2,998, serenaandlily.com) Cozy up with a good book in this elegant, overstuffed armchair that evokes a farmhouse feel with its roll arms and turned-wood legs.
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7. Joshua Coffee Table ($4,200, shoppe.amberinteriordesign.com) Anchor your living room with this rustic plankstyle coffee table made of hand-hewn pine.
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LONDON REGENCY
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Inspired by London, England Capture the essence of the cosmopolitan English city with refined furniture, glamorous accents, and a color palette that’s both dashing and bold.
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1. Sophisticated Sophie Chandelier (Small: $798, shadesof light.com)
This basket chandelier makes for a glam centerpiece, with frosted glass beads and antique gold trim. 3
2. MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check Tea Kettle ($120, williams-sonoma.com)
Start your morning with a fresh cup of tea served in this fancifully patterned teapot. 4
3. Bon Voyage London ($24, rif lepaperco.com) Depicting the marching soldiers of the Queen’s Guard, this illustration would make a playful addition to an office or powder room.
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4. Antique Gold 3 Tiered Stand ($149, potterybarn.com) Afternoon tea wouldn’t be complete without finger sandwiches and pastries, displayed handsomely atop this three-tiered stand.
5. Larkin Bar Cart
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($1,498, serenaandlily.com) Fashion yourself a quintessentially English drink—like a Pimm’s Cup or gin and tonic— at this chic bar cart.
6. Vintage Check Folding Umbrella ($260, burberry.com) Shelter yourself from the drizzle with an iconic Burberry umbrella in this archival vintage check print.
7. Modern Chesterfield Sofa ($1,599, westelm.com) With a modern legs and trendy velvet upholstery, this traditional chesterfield sofa gets a chic update.
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1. Pineapple Bookends ($48, anthropologie.com) These sturdy bookends add a fun and playful pop to any bookcase. 4
2. Tiki Ceramic Drinkware Collection ($24, potterybarn.com)
Inspired by Maui, Hawaii Feel as if you’ve time-traveled to the South Pacific of yesteryear with this vintage-kitschy-meetsmodern-bohemian take on tropical décor.
Serve up mai tais and rum runners in these kitschy ceramic mugs.
3. Koa Wood & Curly Maple Paddle Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Paddling ($200, etsy.com) This outrigger canoe paddle is handcrafted with Koa wood and curly maple wood native to the Hawaiian islands.
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4. Justina Blakeney Peacock Rattan Chair ($899, anthropologie.com) You’ll be the king or queen of your castle when you’re seated atop this stately peacock chair.
5. Justina Blakeney Bora Coffee Table ($598, anthropologie.com)
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Put this cane-and-rattan coffee table in your living room, and it will steal the show—and provide a little extra storage.
6. Tempaper Jungle Wallpaper ($98, crateandbarrel.com) Bring a bit of the tropics into your home with this cheery (and removable!) palm leafpatterned wallpaper.
7. Kentia Palm Tree ($315, plantz.com) This Hawaiian-grown Kentia Palm tree is perfectly suited to life indoors, tolerating low light and needing a watering just once per month.
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M E M B E R R EC O M M E N D E D
KIAWAH ISLAND A Lowcountry Favorite BY E L I Z A B E T H M A R G L I N
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magine a place where doors, cars, and bikes are left unlocked. Neighbors and shopkeepers know your name and wave hello, kids can play outside for hours without any need for worry, and the warm ocean is just five minutes away. Now imagine that you don’t have to merely dream of such a place, but you’ve found it—and can return every summer. That’s what Kiawah Island is for Inspirato members Linda and Jay Bryant, who have been returning to the island with their two sons every summer for five consecutive years. The Bryants stumbled upon Kiawah after spending two summers at another Inspirato property on the Isle of Palms. On this Lowcountry barrier island, with its well-preserved
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maritime forest, picturesque marshland, and stunning stretches of beach, they discovered something they didn’t even realize they were looking for—a landscape and community they could belong to. If you’ve never heard of Kiawah, you’re in good company. A former plantation, Kiawah was essentially uninhabited until 1976, when the Kiawah Island Resort opened. Compared to Hilton Head and other posh island getaways that dot South Carolina’s coast, Kiawah Island remains a hidden gem. A private community with limited public beach access, the only way for non-residents to stay on the island is through rentals or at Kiawah’s five-star oceanfront resort, The Sanctuary.
K I AWA H B E A C H WA L K E R PA R K
B R YA N T ’S T W O S O N S A N D N I E C E
BEACHCOMBER
OSPREY GOLF COURSE
While Kiawah’s claim to fame is the seven championship golf courses found here (Kiawah will host the 2021 PGA Tournament), many people come to the island for a slower pace, unspoiled natural beauty, old-fashioned Southern hospitality, and 10 miles of coastline with sand so compact you can ride your bike on the beach. And despite seeming far away, the amazing thing about Kiawah, says Linda, “is that from where we live in Westchester County, New York, it takes us about the same amount of time it would take to get to the Hamptons in traffic. From door to door, we can get to Kiawah in just a few hours.” The moment they pull up at the house, Inspirato’s Beachcomber, “there’s a big, collective sigh of relief,” says Linda. “Everyone takes a deep breath and we breathe that way for our entire two weeks on the island.” Though Kiawah is meant for unwinding, the island is garnering its fair share of buzz, in part due to its proximity to Charleston, a place that readers of Condé Nast Traveler called the “Best Small City” in the U.S. in 2019. A decade ago, Inspirato had only two or three properties on Kiawah; today we have seven. When Linda shares her love of Kiawah Island, the words she keeps repeating are friendly, welcoming, and safe. Upon arrival, Chris Ashley, Inspirato’s property manager for Kiawah Island, greets them like an old friend. “First thing we do is catch up,” she says. “He fills us in on all the local news, the trendy hot spots, the latest ‘it restaurant’ on the island.” Linda also has high praise for the home with its sleek gourmet kitchen and airy, contemporary furnishings. As opposed to other rentals she’s seen, “there are no slipcovers on the sofa, no sense of intrusion. You never feel like an interloper or that you are in someone else’s house. Everything literally is done to make you feel as if you were staying in your own property.” She especially appreciates the staff’s attention to detail, how their devotion to making them feel special translates into acts of inspired consideration. “For example, they always have a bottle of wine or champagne when we arrive because they know we celebrate our wedding anniversary in early August,” says Linda. “The cleaning staff, who we have known for years, share photos of their kids with us and notice all the ways my kids have grown.” “And because nothing is perfect—things happen in life—when things do go awry, the onsite team always takes immediate steps to fix it,” she says. “This past year there was a minor glitch. When we arrived the concierge immediately alerted us that there was a problem with a piece of furniture, ensuring us that it would be taken care
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of promptly. Typical for Inspirato, they didn’t wait for us to discover the issue; they brought it to our attention. Toward the end of our stay, the concierge printed out a picture I had texted of my sons and their friends at the beach. She put the photo in the nicest Kiawah Island frame, along with a bouquet of flowers and a note of apology. The problem was dealt with within 24 hours, but the effort to make amends was truly appreciated.” It’s not just in the face of mishaps that Inspirato shines. Linda recalls when her family came to Kiawah coinciding with the 2017 solar eclipse. “You couldn’t even buy solar eclipse glasses on Amazon, but somehow our concierge ran around like a lunatic and got us each of us a pair!” In terms of life on the island, relaxing is the main order of the day. The family can easily spend six hours at the beach, boogie boarding, swimming, or biking. “We have found community here, not just with the locals but with a cluster of friends from New York who come here every August. Basically, we meet up at the beach or go on excursions to Charleston, and end up house-hopping in the evenings. At least once we head over to The Sanctuary and often treat ourselves to a spa day—the staff has a knack for remembering my favorite treatments. For my husband, Jay, several trips out on Charleston Harbor with the charismatic Captain Fritz of Adventure Outdoors for shark fishing (catch and release) is a must,” Linda says. The island’s mix of ecosystems means every day offers the potential for wildlife sightings. “The wildlife on the island is phenomenal, from bobcats and alligators to multiple varieties of egrets and herons. They’re the most amazing birds I’ve ever seen in my life,” Linda says. “It’s like our whole family has taken a crash course in ornithology. The alligators come out every evening as the sun sets at Osprey Point Golf Course until, of course, the sprinkler system comes on and they all hop back into the water. It’s a sight to behold and we take houseguests to spot the wildlife every summer.” But the real reason the Bryants keep coming back to Beachcomber year after year goes beyond beauty and pleasure. It connects to something much deeper than a vacation—it’s where they can settle in the best possible way. The Bryant boys learned to ride a bike on Kiawah Island and their oldest son is now learning to drive. “My husband, who grew up in Arkansas, wanted to expose our children to a Southern way of life. It’s a cultural experience, the Lowcountry, with its history of colonists and Gullah folks [African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina],” Linda explains. “It’s diverse but somehow
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familiar. There’s an intrinsic camaraderie that happens when you start to put down roots here. At the Thursday farmer’s market, the local pickle lady welcomes us warmly, eager to share her newest recipe.” In our increasingly polarized political climate, Linda notes the area’s forward-thinking mindset. “We’ve never experienced any kind of racism here,” she says. And the fact that Charleston is in the process of creating an International African American Museum has personal resonance and meaning. “It’s important that my kids understand many years ago this place would not have its arms outstretched to welcome us. It was always this beautiful—but not always so beautiful for us. But now things have changed. There’s goodness in that, a way to look forward,” she says. So much goodness that the Bryants plan to purchase their own house on Kiawah one day. Perhaps they will lease it to Inspirato, coming full circle and allowing more guests to discover this surprising natural paradise that for them has come to feel akin to home.
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F E AT U R E
THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL From overtourism to the rise of artificially intelligent assistants, here’s what the future of travel may have in store.
BY J O R I E L A R S E N
Gone forever are the vacations of yesteryear—loading the entire family into the wood-paneled station wagon and heading to the local beach for one week in August. People are traveling more than ever and to more locations than any other previous generation on this planet. Cheaper flights and accommodations, fewer language barriers, and the ability to work remotely from a hammock in Kauai or your hotel room in Singapore have all fueled this change. For the aff luent in particular—and increasingly the middle class—vacations are no longer a once-a-year
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event. Many now view their travels as an extension of their personal brand, whether that means volunteering in underserved communities on the other side of the world, seeking out spiritual encounters with a culture different from their own, or simply flaunting excellent taste and disposable income. The future is coming, faster than ever. I spoke with nearly a dozen leaders and trends experts in the travel industry to discuss the future of travel in the coming decades: where we’re going, what we’ll do, and how we’ll get there.
WHERE WE ARE GOING If you’ve ever stood among a throng of museumgoers at the Louvre jockeying for position to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa through a sea of selfie sticks or have been swept up by a crush of tourists and jostled shoulder-toshoulder as you try to navigate the winding streets of Venice—you’ve experienced overtourism. Overtourism, defined as the perceived congestion or overcrowding of a place from an excess of tourists, is a global issue negatively impacting popular destinations, the locals who live there, and fragile ecosystems. Cheap flights, the rise of affordable lodging through sites like Airbnb, and massive cruise ships that funnel thousands of tourists into port at one time have all contributed to this phenomenon. Destinations like Dubrovnik, Croatia; Barcelona, Spain; the Great Wall of China; Machu Picchu, Peru; and Cinque Terre, Italy, have all suffered in some way from an onslaught of tourists. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, 1.4 billion tourists jetted around the globe in 2018, which was a 6% increase over the previous year. That number is only expected to rise as the middle class continues to grow— particularly in countries like China—and more people find themselves with more disposable income to spend on travel. What can cities do to combat overtourism and prevent themselves from turning into a theme park-like destination? Responsible tourism ensures that a destination isn’t only pleasant to experience as a tourist; it must also represent a high quality of life for the residents who dwell there. “Where it is not controlled, the local population will either move away—and thus remove the ‘soul’ of the place—or will make life unpleasant for visiting tourists with the consequence that the destination no longer remains attractive,” explained George Morgan-Grenville, CEO and founder of Red Savannah, a hospitality company that specializes in small-group expeditions to remote parts of the world.
TH E BI GGES T TR AV E L MI LES TO N ES OF THIS CENTURY AND THE LAST
A CROWD AROUND THE MONA LISA
TOURISTS IN VENICE
The tourism board of Venice was widely mocked when in May 2018, city officials installed temporary turnstiles at the ends of two major pedestrian routes in an effort to help control pedestrian traffic. If the crowds grew too large, police officers could close the turnstiles and reroute traffic to lesser-congested areas. The gates were removed after local outcry; protestors even sabotaged one of the gates, carrying signs that read: “Venice is not an amusement park.” Venice, in particular, is plagued by the massive cruise ships that release thousands of daytrippers into the city—who all funnel directly into St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal— and displace a huge volume of water that can threaten the city’s already-shaky architectural foundations. In many of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, the story is the same. Amsterdam has switched from “destination promotion” to “destination management,” encouraging tourists to visit other cities in the Netherlands. Beginning in January 2020, the city is banning tours of its red light district, with former city alderman Udo Kock adding that he does not consider it “appropriate for tourists to leer at sex workers.” Officials in Queensland, New Zealand have added a tourist admission tax. At the Taj Mahal, visits are now limited to just three hours. But it’s not only major cities that are inundated with overtourism. Previously under-theradar spots like the Blue Lagoon in Iceland or Scotland’s photogenic Isle of Skye have exploded in popularity in the last decade thanks in part to social media. Conservationists, national parks, and other environmental groups have been quick to institute lottery systems with permits that limit the number of tourists who can traipse through a fragile landscape any given day. Peru’s Inca Trail—a popular overland trekking route that leads to Machu Picchu—is limited to 500 hikers each day. Just 300 permits per day are awarded to hikers and backpackers looking to make
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Wright brothers fly for 12 seconds
Machu Picchu rediscovered I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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the hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. At one of Colorado’s most popular hikes, Hanging Lake off of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, the White River National Forest Service instituted a permit system limiting the scenic route to 615 visitors per day. From May 1 through October 31, visitors cannot park at the trailhead but must instead take a shuttle from a nearby welcome center. One of the simplest antidotes to overtourism is simply going where the masses aren’t. Daniel Levine, travel trends expert, keynote speaker, and director at the Avant-Guide Institute, refers to these as “secondary destinations.” “Everyone’s been to Rome and Paris and New York; they’ve seen the Eiffel Tower…What’s on the rise are places where your neighbor hasn’t been,” said Levine. Many of these so-called secondary locales are looking to make themselves tourist- and social media-friendly, dressing themselves up to look good on camera and attract more tourism dollars. Millennials, in particular, want to be the first in their friend group to experience a place. Avoiding places ravaged by overtourism is another way for in-the-know travelers to set themselves apart from the mainstream. “The sunrise over Angkor Wat next to tens of thousands of people [is going] to put more people off,” explained Joel BrandonBravo, Vice President of Travel at TransPerfect, a global translation company. George Morgan-Grenville agreed that hidden gems will continue to rise in capital, with travelers seeking out experiences like “sailing on a luxury
catamaran or phinisi through the dramatic, unspoilt scenery of undiscovered places like the Mergui Archipelago or Raja Ampat and Spice Islands of Indonesia,” he said. Private reserves are one way to go where the crowds aren’t. Increasingly, philanthropists and entrepreneurs who own private reserves are building luxury lodges and offering abundant, roped-off recreational opportunities to small groups of guests. Usually, these reserves are adjacent to popular national parks and feature many of the same incredible landscapes and biodiversity, minus the jam-packed trails and bumper-to-bumper park traffic. When they neighbor national parks, these private reserves also act as important buffer zones, allowing wildlife to pass through undisturbed. Famed conservationist and media mogul Ted Turner owns four sprawling private reserves in New Mexico, each offering visitors an immersive experience in the storied landscapes of the American Southwest. Guests can soak in geothermal hot springs, enjoy a bird’s-eye sunrise view from a hot air balloon, explore Native American petroglyphs, and observe indigenous wildlife in their native habitats—including the endangered Mexican wolf and the American bison—while hiking, biking, and kayaking. As the company mission states, these private reserves are “committed to restoring, sharing, and safeguarding America’s wild places for future generations, while providing an inspiring guest experience that showcases our planet’s natural treasures.”
P I C S D I D N ’ T
O R I T H A P P E N :
a study in overtourism
Antelope Canyon, a narrow slot canyon at the Arizona-Utah border, is a prime example of what can happen when social media shines a spotlight on a place that’s not prepared for the attention. The canyon’s unique beauty has made it a popular backdrop among the Instagram crowd. But it also sits on sacred Navajo Nation land, open solely to guided tours from companies that are majority Navajo-owned. Today, a trip through the canyon means dodging selfie sticks and crowds of visitors. Based on demand, the tours focus primarily on maximizing photo opportunities rather than tribal or geological history. Vox writer Rebecca Jennings recently visited and described it as “one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and one of the most frustrating.” The damaging effects on the nearby town of Page, Arizona (population: 7,000; annual visitors: about 4 million), include rising rent costs and clashes with locals.
BISON GATHERED ON L ADDER, A TED TURNER RESERVE IN NEW MEXICO
TED TURNER RESERVES INC
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1914
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The Titanic sets sail on its maiden voyage
First commercial jet flight
Arthur Frommer writes his first guidebook
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WHAT WE’LL DO WHEN WE’RE THERE
K A KS L A U T TA N E N . F I
It’s one thing to visit the Amalfi Coast—it’s quite another to be able to charter a fully-staffed mega-yacht to zip around that storied Italian coastline, as only the ultra-wealthy can. Luxury travelers continue to seek out these new and remarkable experiences. “Having experiences is uniquely braggable. When everybody can have the same luxury car in their driveway, there’s nothing to brag about,” said Levine. “But coming home from a unique experience—that gives you cultural capital.” Brag-worthy hotels designed to make you the envy of your social media followers are also growing in popularity as travelers seek out oneof-a-kind accommodations in places their friends haven’t been to yet. Globetrotters carefully select these so-called destination hotels and craft an entire vacation around them. For example, at Manta Resort off the coast of Tanzania’s Pemba Island, you can reserve a stay in a floating, anchored pod 820 feet offshore. The basement doubles as your own real-life aquarium: The entire lower level of the home is an underwater viewing area with large windows for observing schools of reef fish and other marine life. At The Bushcamp Company’s Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia, wild elephants often march right
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through the open-air reception lobby to feast on the fallen mangos that dot the lodge grounds— crafting a remarkable social media moment for any guest who happens to be nearby. At Finland’s Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, guests slumber in glass igloos in the middle of a Scandinavian forest, encouraging late-night stargazing (or even Northern Lights viewing) from the comfort of their warm bed. Overnighters can live like royalty in Ireland’s Dromoland Castle, which has been hosting guests since the 16th century and was once owned by the family of Irish king Brian Boru. And some accommodations attracting travelers are downright bizarre. Stay behind bars at Hostel Celica, a former military
MFUWE LODGE IN ZAMBIA
prison-turned-hostel in Slovenia, where a private cell will set you back just 52 euros per night. Catch a good night’s rest on a parked train in Fairbanks, Alaska; The Aurora-Express features fully renovated historic train cars converted into private suites. Enterprising innkeepers in New Zealand converted abandoned grain silos into individual apartments that have attracted international acclaim for their eco-friendly design. Red Savannah CEO George Morgan-Grenville predicted that luxury travelers will continue to “get away from ubiquitous, cookie-cutter hotels and resorts, avoid the mainstream, and experience the world at its most authentic.” Of course, new apps like Walkli have cropped up to cater to the growing demand for a more local experience in destinations, even when visiting popular sites. “Every other aspect of travel has been disrupted—but to find really cool neighborhoods quickly and easily requires talking to people, research, going to many different sites,” explained Walkli co-founder Chris Abbell. Walkli aims to solve that with an interactive database of neighborhood guides in the more off-the-beatenpath neighborhoods of 320 major metropolises around the world. The maps themselves are curated by local travel bloggers and then edited by Walkli staff to ensure accuracy. In the coming years, hotels are uniquely suited to harness the power of artificial intelligence to create a more personalized guest experience. Soon, the digital in-room assistant may be as familiar to travelers as front desk staff.
M F U W E LO D G E
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The first Four Seasons hotel opens
Japan launches bullet train
The first-ever Boeing 747 takes flight I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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B E N E S A KO F
Y02D2 ROBOT
Daniel Levine cautions that while artificially intelligent robots and in-room assistants may seem like the wave of the future now, in a few years, they’ll be commonplace—and thus less desirable. Luxury travelers will become more reliant on real human-provided services. “Human touch is becoming more and more expensive. Computer touch is becoming cheaper,” explained Levine. Artificial intelligence will also help chip away at language barriers—or do away with them altogether. “The first and foremost way to speak to someone is to speak to them in their own language,” said Joel Brandon-Bravo, Vice President at TransPerfect. “Technology is a more cost-effective way to do this.” Brandon-Bravo explained that luxury properties will be in the position to afford the additional staff and training to employ native speakers to meet the demand of travelers from a growing number of countries. But in the mid-market and the more stylish end of the economy market, technology is a smart solution to translate everyday items—like room service menus and welcome booklets—to the native tongue of wherever the traveler is from. With the advent of machine translation and artificial intelligence, the cost of translation is lower than ever. Traditionally, a museum might offer a self-guided audio tour in five languages— but in the future, with a more global travel base, that same museum will have to offer dozens to stay competitive.
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Hotel Jules Founder and CEO Will Hatton explained that these digital assistants will be “particularly helpful for repeat visitors. [They] can assist with in-room dining, controlling the room TV, lighting, temperature, and music, all of which can be set and will be remembered for the next visit. Return visitors won’t need to adjust all their preferences, [as they’ll be] automatically calibrated when they check in.” If you’re staying at YOTEL Boston and you’d like to order a fresh set of towels or request a different pillow, those deliveries are just a quick call (or tap of a button on the hotel app) away. But it’s not a human who will fetch your items. It’s YO2D2, a rolling purple robot who navigates the hotel with ease (he’s programmed with a full map of the property) and talks with the elevators through the hotel’s Wi-Fi. The brainchild of Tokyo robotics company Savioke, robot bellhops like YO2D2 have been placed in 75 hotels worldwide thus far.
Producer and host of the Emmy-winning series “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love”
#1 Travel as a catalyst for personal connection Our daily lives are filled with emails and texts. We’ve also transferred how we communicate with others onto social media which has eroded how we treat one another. Travel is where people will seek out experiences where personal interaction—meeting artists in galleries, learning new skills, hearing local music—is the focus. #2 Biometrics: If you love having your boarding pass on your phone— you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Boarding passes and ID may never need to be taken out of your wallet or shown on your phone again! Facial recognition is the new wave of identification. With one look you’ll be moving seamlessly through security and onto your plane. #3 Farewell to Glossy Travel Instagrams While Instagram photos have sparked intense wanderlust in followers, those solo shots of influencers in front of the Duomo in Florence or the glossy streets of Dubrovnik have grown old and predictable—it’s just unrealistic! Influencers will start to see that their real influence won’t come from curated shots, but how they interact with a city’s culture and forge real human connections.
MULTILINGUAL AUDIO TOUR
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Wheeled suitcase invented
First “Lonely Planet” guidebook published
First scheduled supersonic Concorde flight
M A G A Z I N E
HARDT HYPERLOOP
UBER COPTER
HOW WE WILL GET THERE In the last 100 years, 65 billion people took a flight. The next 65 billion will board in just 15 years. As travel becomes more affordable, and thus accessible to a wider range of people, there will be more travelers in the coming decades than the world has ever before seen. How will we all get where we’re going? Much ado was made about the so-called Hyperloop when tech entrepreneur, Tesla inventor, and Space X frontman Elon Musk first entered the term into the public lexicon in 2012. While Musk himself didn’t invent the Hyperloop (he drew heavily from American aerospace engineer Robert Goddard’s vactrain idea), Musk carried the ball further down the field, introducing his own concept for the rapidtransit system. Essentially, in Musk’s proposed vision, the Hyperloop would be a low-pressure steel tube filled with pods carrying passengers that would travel upward of 600 miles per hour, free of air resistance or friction. He described it in 2013 as “a cross between a Concorde, a railgun, and an air hockey table.” The very first Hyperloop corridor route was proposed in 2013 from Los Angeles to San Francisco, reducing the travel time between the two Californian metropolises (nearly seven hours by car) down to a mere 35 minutes. Proponents of the Hyperloop claim it’s more sustainable than flying and significantly faster than high-speed trains. Detractors point out the
sheer cost of building it—not to mention the cost of acquiring land to build the tube on—and its susceptibility to terrorism and natural disasters make the Hyperloop a science fiction fantasy. Musk’s Hyperloop concept has been “open-sourced,” meaning he’s allowing and encouraging other entrepreneurs and tech visionaries to expand upon his ideas and take them even further. And they have. The torch is now being carried by several global companies itching to be the first to market, such as Virgin Hyperloop One, formerly run by Richard Branson. Other start-ups include U.S.-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and Hardt Hyperloop, located in the Netherlands. Virgin Hyperloop One is spearheading a 75mile route between Mumbai and Pune in India— service is expected to be up and running by 2029. Now imagine instead of hurtling over the landscape in a steel tube, you’re soaring above it. Helicopter blades slice through the air above you, kicking up a wind that blows your hair back: your Uber’s here. What once seemed like
a transportation mode reserved solely for the 1% is now available to anyone with an Uber account in Manhattan. For $200–$225 (one way), Uber Copter whisks passengers from midtown Manhattan to JFK Airport on an eight-minute flight. Uber Copters are offered on weekdays during peak rush hour times only. Competitor Blade (which has been called a “flying taxi startup”) offers service in the Northeast, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, while Voom—an affiliate of aircraft manufacturer Airbus—operates with helipads in Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and San Francisco. And while flying cars are not a thing—yet— self-driving cars are not nearly as far off. In fact, they’re already here. Waymo, the self-driving division of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is currently testing its autonomous vehicles in Los Angeles. Beginning in early October 2019, safety drivers began piloting three self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans to build a detailed 3D map of the city. After that, the cars may begin running in autonomous mode.
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Car companies like General Motors, Ford, and Volvo have been investing hundreds of millions of research-and-development dollars into selfdriving technology, even going so far as to acquire automation companies. Many of these auto giants have promised to release self-driving fleets by 2020 or 2021, but industry experts predict it’s going to be a few years before we have vehicles that are almost completely automated—in other words, a self-driving car that can pilot itself almost entirely without human input, except perhaps in unmapped areas or during severe weather. That’s not the only reason your driver’s license may start to collect dust in your wallet. In the notso-distant future, your face might be the only form of identification you need as you whizz through the security line and onto your plane. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has rolled out a cloud-based facial biometric matching service, and it’s currently being used in departure gates at 17 airports around the country. The agency plans to have the system scan 97% of all outbound travelers by 2021. Biometric screening (typically facial, fingerprint, or iris scans) automate the identity verification process, replacing the need for a security agent to manually match the photo in your ID against your real-life face. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has also partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to see how TSA can also leverage the same biometric technology to reduce matching errors and make security lines more efficient. TSA tested facial scanning technology in HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in 2018 and McCarran International Airport (LAS) in 2019 to further optimize the process.
Passengers enrolled in TSA Pre-Check will be among the first to encounter the biometric screens on a regular basis. Those who apply for TSA Pre-Check for the first time in 2019 will not only enroll with a fingerprint scan, but a face scan as well. Participation in all airports is voluntary as of now—those who wish to go through the standard ID verification process can do so. Of course, the flip side of any technological advancement is the public outcry over loss of freedom and invasion of privacy. U.S. Customs and Border Protection claim no personal identifying information is stored with your photo, and all photos are discarded after 14 days. As travelers become more comfortable with biometric verification (there’s a good chance you already unlock your iPhone with a face scan or your laptop with your fingertip), it will only become more ubiquitous along every leg of the journey. While travel may look different in the coming years, the motivation behind the urge to see what’s over the next hill and what’s beyond your neighborhood will always remain the same. Trends expert Daniel Levine believes that having unique shareable experiences will forever be the driving force that propels vacationers around the world. “Humans are social animals. Travel has always facilitated that. It’s so well-positioned to take advantage of that basic human need on all levels…on all economic levels,” explained Daniel Levine. “[Travel] helps us make connections with other people, with friends and family, with people around the world, and ultimately, with ourselves.”
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Millions of Americans subscribe to their music, television, beauty products, clothing, and even vitamins—why not luxury travel, too? Inspirato Pass, the world’s first luxury travel subscription, does away with nightly rates, taxes, and fees—offering endless travel for $2,500 per month. Passholders choose from a list of thousands of trips to Inspirato luxury homes, five-star hotels, and one-ofa-kind experiences including cruises, safaris, and iconic sporting events. As soon as they check out, passholders can book their next adventure. Launched nationwide in July 2019, Pass has attracted subscribers with its innovative approach to luxury travel. “The conceptualization of Inspirato Pass was a natural step in the evolution of the luxury travel space,” says Brent Handler, founder and CEO of Inspirato. “Pass gives affluent travelers the freedom to book a wider variety of trips and experiences on a more frequent basis, without the burden of nightly rates all at tremendous value. Whether exploring accommodations or experiences for family, play or business, Inspirato Pass offers something for everyone.”
LUXURY
WITH A REFINED EDGE THOMPSON NASHVILLE
THE BEEKMAN, A THOMPSON HOTEL
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Experience luxury boutique hotels that reflect the intrinsic beauty and refined edge of their locations. thompsonhotels.com THOMPSON CHICAGO
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On a crisp and cool morning in July, the stately Silver Muse sidled up to Hubbard Glacier—a sleeping giant measuring more than six miles wide where it meets the ocean. Because it was a clear and sunny day, the captain was able to position the ship closely to the glacier, allowing the Inspirato members on board to take in truly once-in-a-lifetime views. As the glacier calved in the soft morning sun, the sound was otherworldly; a thunderous cracking could be heard from the observation deck as large blocks of ice would plunge into the glassy waters of Disenchantment Bay. To boot, there was an abundance of wildlife in the bay; hundreds of harbor seals popped their heads above water, a bald eagle perched on an iceberg nearby, and two moose were spotted swimming near the glacier, dodging icebergs along their way. Onboard naturalist Natalie Bruce narrated the experience over the intercom, remarking that seeing this much action at the glacier was quite rare and special—Alaska was indeed showing off. As Inspirato member Cy Alizadeh witnessed all of this unfold at the ship’s observation deck, he remembers thinking, “Wow, this is Alaska.”
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P H OTO S BY A N D R E A D E L E O N
America’s Last Frontier graces the bucket lists of many travelers around the world, from young to old. Though it is part of the U.S., Alaska feels like it’s a world apart, which is exactly its draw. Boasting the title of the largest state in the U.S., measuring two and half times the size of Texas, there’s plenty of space to get far, far away and into the wild where the peace and quiet drowns out the noise of our busy lives back home. Because of its sheer size, lack of infrastructure, and remote and unforgiving landscapes, planning an Alaskan adventure can prove intimidating for even the seasoned traveler. Perhaps that’s why Alaskan cruises have become the most popular and approachable way to visit the 49th state, with around one million people cruising the Inside Passage of Southeastern Alaska every summer. But not all Alaskan cruises are created equal. Because so many people want to experience Alaska by sea, it’s important to choose a cruise line and ship that allows you to get away from the masses—whether on board or in port—so you can really witness the state’s raw beauty. If done right, there’s still plenty of opportunity to experience the untouched quiet of Alaska, to be someplace so still and pure that all you might hear is the breath
the best way to witness the alaskan wilderness
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of an orca surfacing beside the boat, or maybe just the sound of your own footsteps on a verdant rainforest trail. Enter Silversea Cruises: an Inspirato Only experience partner that took 550 Inspirato members and their guests through the stunning seascapes of Alaska’s storied Inside Passage on their newest flagship, the Silver Muse in July 2019. Every year Inspirato Only releases five to seven
signature cruises and this was one the grandest voyages in the 2019 portfolio. For those longing to witness the wonders of Alaska while experiencing uncompromised comfort and service, this ultraluxury cruise was just the ticket. Sailing through wildlife-filled fjords, past snowcapped mountains dropping straight into icy waters, and into the quaint port towns of Southeastern Alaska, members happily checked Alaska off their bucket list.
The sun was sparkling on the calm waters of Vancouver Harbor as Inspirato members and their guests breezed through embarkation onto the stately Silver Muse vessel. The ship’s ever-present crew were waiting to greet each passenger with a friendly smile and glass of champagne as they stepped aboard and into the lap of luxury. With a crew to guest ratio of 1:1, this was just a hint at the superior service Inspirato members would experience over the next week. And with around 20 Inspirato staff present on the trip—from Care team personnel to the Vice President of Hospitality Services—members could always find a familiar face to ask questions or share a cocktail with. Excitement was in the air as cruisers found their way to their suites—some stopping along the way to hug familiar faces and delight in spending the weeklong journey together. Fresh flowers and champagne awaited guests in their rooms which fueled the enthusiasm continuing into the “Suite Soiree” where passengers gathered in cabin hallways to meet their neighbors. Laughter and conversation filled the corridors as cheery butlers dutifully filled (and refilled) champagne glasses. There was a feeling of discovery in the air reminiscent of the first day at summer camp, though there would be no “roughing it” on this endeavor. On the Silver Muse, all guests enjoy a completely sophisticated and beautiful voyage with allsuite, water-facing accommodations. One of the wonders of the journey is opening the curtains each morning and stepping into the crisp clean air of your private veranda to see what new scenery
welcome aboard the journey of a lifetime
the journey along the alaskan coast line
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The scenery never disappointed sailing through the Inside Passage of Alaska.
Drew and Mary Clements toasting to the adventure ahead as the ship departs from Vancouver.
Excitement was in the air as passengers gathered on deck to celebrate setting sail.
awaits you. It’s arguably the most accessible way to take in so many of the sights offered by the vast and magnificent state—and you don’t even have to leave the privacy of your room to witness its rugged splendor. In fact, you can even enjoy a morning latte and extravagant breakfast made to order from your own balcony, brought to you by your dedicated butler. With each room receiving personalized butler service around the clock, the sky’s the limit to the kind of pampering experience you can have. “Sometimes people are hesitant to ask their butler for things, but it’s more than okay to say, ‘Please bring me a cocktail at 5 p.m. while I’m putting on my makeup and dressing for the evening.’ And it’s okay to ask your butler to pack and unpack for you, or to shine your shoes,” said Cecilia Blevins, Silversea senior charter sales director, who joined Inspirato on their 2019 voyage.
Inspirato members taking in the views of striking Hubbard Glacier.
“Our butlers are great at anticipating the guests’ needs and putting personal touches in rooms based on what they’ve asked for before. They really get to know they guests,” she said. Another reason Inspirato chose Silversea to charter an Alaskan voyage for its members is the spaciousness that the Silver Muse provides, making it easy and enjoyable to get around the ship— something everyone can appreciate, especially those with limited mobility, or those traveling with children. “Some of our guests who are older—or who are just very discerning travelers—really enjoy Silversea and ships like the Silver Muse because they can maneuver around the ship very easily and not feel overcrowded.” And with eight dining venues, a spa, casino, observation library, fitness center, and many specialized gathered areas, there’s a lot to explore.
AL ASKA SEWARD
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Ask 10 different Inspirato members aboard the Alaskan Cruise 2019 what their favorite part about the week was, and you’ll likely get 10 different answers. For some, it was the adventurous shore excursions, for others it was being with loved ones and making new friends, or maybe it was simply enjoying the amenities of the immaculate Silver Muse. For Inspirato members Kristen and Nick Ruscetta, it was a little bit of everything. “I can’t imagine a better way to see Alaska than this cruise. A highlight for us was going to Davidson Glacier. We took a small boat from the port in Skagway, then canoed right to the base of it. It’s hard to explain the beauty and otherworldliness of the glacier itself. Our guide said we were the first ones to be able to get close enough to touch the glacier in months, so that felt really special. We also loved making connections with other Inspirato members on the cruise and how cruising allows you to be social and interact with others as much or as little as you want to,” the Ruscettas said. For many people on board, like Inspirato member David Loven, the highlight was witnessing the unique beauty the state has to offer and having quiet moments where the scenery seemed to stop time. “One day I was off the back of the boat smoking a cigar and having a scotch and there was a double rainbow on full display, then as if someone cued it up, a whale started jumping in the water nearby. It was so quiet and almost eerie—the sound of the water, the rainbow, the captivating landscape on all sides of me. You kind of have to pinch yourself, because the landscape is so surreal— it’s hard to describe the vastness and beauty,” recounted Loven.
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When asked what had impressed him the most on the cruise, Inspirato member Cy Alizadeh noted, “The food is better than expected and we have just been really well taken care of. Everything is top notch and the cruise has delivered on the price. After this experience, we would consider doing another cruise with Inspirato.” One of Alizadeh’s favorite onshore excursions with his significant other Terrie Barnoski, was a whale-watching adventure where they took a helicopter ride to Taku Glacier outside of Juneau and then experienced the glacier up-close from an airboat tour. Husband and wife Drew and Mary Clements agreed, stating that landing on the glacier was like landing on the moon. “We also loved the Inspirato exclusive outing to the Dove Island Lodge in Sitka where we had an excellent five-course meal with wine pairing,” said Mary Clements. “Another simple highlight Drew and I loved was having our breakfast each morning in our room on the deck. It was so peaceful as the ship glided through the passage. Plus, having our own butler was the best. It was hard for us to come back to the reality of daily living at home.”
(Top to bottom) Inspirato members enjoying a crab feast in Ketchikan. Adventures by kayak gave members a front row seat to Alaska’s epic beauty.
Several shore excursions allowed members to witness bears in their natural habitats. (Right page) Several multi-generational families enjoyed the journey from Vancouver to Anchorage together.
For Inspirato members and staff alike, the cruise offered the chance to put faces to names and get to know one another. “Being on the Silver Muse with our members for an entire week gave us so many great opportunities to interact in really meaningful ways. From enjoying long dinners together at La Terraza to visiting a historic Alaskan fishing lodge in Ketchikan followed by a beautiful boat tour and epic crab feast—there were so many great adventures,” noted Inspirato’s Vice President of Hospitality Services Joey ColbyBegovich. “It’s really valuable for us at Inspirato to connect with our members and get their feedback on things that impact their membership.” There were plenty of chances for members and Inspirato staff to interact on the cruise, from time spent together on shore excursions to chatting at the Inspirato Hospitality Desk conveniently situated within the glamourous Dolce Vita Lounge, a perfect location to hear pianist Aleksandra play, jump in a game of afternoon trivia, or grab a top-shelf drink. “The Inspirato cruise team were very helpful throughout our trip—we loved them! Overall, it was an amazing experience for us and we will
connections at sea
always remember all the other Inspirato members we met and enjoyed spending time with on the excursions,” said the Clements. It was heartwarming to see so many couples, multi-generational families, and individuals making friends along the way. Kids and teenagers could be seen laughing and splashing in the pool or playing table tennis during the days at sea. There was always a lively bunch that turned out for bingo and trivia. And members could be seen mingling in the evenings throughout the ship, enjoying many of the different entertainment options. “Our Care team and the Inspirato leadership on board bent over backwards to make this a successful trip—both on and off the ship. My wife Brooke and I enjoyed all the experiences and made some new friends along the way,” said Loven. The Alaska Cruise 2019 was a grand adventure that allowed Inspirato members to connect with the things and people that matter most and take a break from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives. Whether guests were looking for rest and relaxation or adventure and excitement, the journey from Vancouver to Anchorage was one to remember—perhaps this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of the Last Frontier.
J O I N U S N E X T T I M E
If this piqued your interest, Inspirato is always adding new experiences and cruises to the Inspirato Only portfolio. In 2020, Inspirato will be sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon, Athens to Athens, Rome to Athens, as well as cruising the Rhine River. Go to inspirato.com/travel/experiences to see all of our cruise offerings.
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A Globetrotter’s Guide to Traveling More Sustainably BY M I C H A E L A T R I M B L E
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riginating in grassroots efforts and parlaying into a mainstream movement, sustainable travel has surged in popularity in recent years to reach the Earth’s most far-flung destinations. Though the United Nations declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, there still exists some uncertainty about what sustainable tourism really means—even despite the concept’s ever-growing clout. The World Tourism Organization defines the multifaceted term as: “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.” In the age of melting ice caps, rampant deforestation, and compromised cultures across the globe, experts agree that sustainable travel is more important now than ever. “Tourism can be a force for good in the world when done responsibly―it can create jobs, bring money into the local communities that are visited, help support environmental and sustainability projects, and educate travelers about social and environmental issues affecting communities and destinations around the world,” says Leigh Barnes, chief purpose officer of Intrepid Group. “Traveling sustainably is more important than ever for the simple fact that if we don’t collectively work to mitigate the climate crisis and the practices that could harm our earth, there won’t be much of a world left to explore,” he adds. Although the noble cause may seem like a daunting one at first, there are myriad ways for tourists to implement more responsible practices when traveling domestically and abroad. “It’s not as hard to be a sustainable traveler as one might think,” advises Tanner C. Knorr, program manager at Epler Wood International, a company dedicated to providing market-based solutions to sustainable tourism. From strategically selecting your vacation destination to being mindful when booking accommodations and experiences, it has never been easier to travel sustainably. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when planning your next getaway.
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CHOOSE THE RIGHT DESTINATION
While it may be tempting to visit the iconic sites frequently depicted in travel brochures and plastered across social media platforms, these trendy destinations often fall victim to the negative impacts that come with overtourism. “Venice, Barcelona, Machu Picchu, Galápagos, Santorini, even Mount Everest are among destinations all over the world that are suffering under crowds of tourists,” says Jon Bruno, executive director of The International Ecotourism Society. “In many cases, these tourists aren’t engaging in sustainable practices; they’re not taking care of the places they visit.” Being a more responsible traveler can start with simply choosing the right destination to explore. Costa Rica, for example, has long been lauded as a champion of ecotourism. The country uses 99 percent renewable energy (78 percent from hydroelectric and 18 percent by geothermal efforts) and approximately 30 percent of Costa Rica is protected as national park, wildlife refuge, or private reserve. Here, living in harmony with nature isn’t just a selling point—it’s a way of life practiced by citizens who consider themselves stewards of the land and protectors of the country’s rich biodiversity. Switzerland is another destination celebrated for being a pioneer in sustainability. Known for its picturesque cities and villages set against dramatic backdrops of verdant hills and snowcapped mountains, the Swiss lifestyle is one that prioritizes green initiatives, with an emphasis on public transportation, protecting climate refugees, and implementing world-class recycling and waste management systems. All of these combined efforts have led to Switzerland being named one of the top five countries achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals the fastest. Travelers continue to flock to the Hawaiian Islands in search of its pristine nature, outdoor adventures, and traditional cultural lures. Tourism is the state’s largest private sector industry and marks the most significant contribution to the state’s economy. Last year alone, Hawaii witnessed a record-breaking number of tourists, climbing to nearly 10 million people who spent a total of $17.8 billion. At the heart of Hawaii’s bustling tourism industry is the phrase “Mālama Hawaii,” which simply translates to “care for Hawaii.” The holistic approach is tied not only to preserving the destination’s precious natural resources, but also to protecting the socio-cultural authenticity of its host communities. Local tour operators, green-minded hotels, and recent investments made to Hawaii’s infrastructure all work together to create viable, longterm economic operations that also protect its rich heritage.
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USE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION METHODS
While air travel is more prevalent than ever before, it’s no secret that the airline industry has an immense impact on the environment. Aviation is responsible for more than two percent of all global carbon emissions, and the number of air passengers is expected to double within the next 20 years. To reach many of the greatest destinations around the world, boarding a plane is often the only feasible mode of transportation, but there are ways to ensure your flight creates as few negative effects as possible. “To reduce your carbon footprint, avoiding flying where possible is one of the most significant choices you can make,” says William S. Currie, Ph.D. and professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. “When you do fly, much of the fuel is used to get the aircraft up to its cruising altitude. If you can find direct flights instead of multiple legs and transfers, this will reduce your carbon emissions footprint.” Many of the largest international airlines have recognized their responsibility, enacting policies to help reduce their impact. American Airlines has committed to investing in modern, more efficient aircraft, whether it be in the form of purchasing brand new vessels or upgrading outdated planes in their fleet. Delta Air Lines has made significant contributions to its carbon offset programs, investing $2.5 million in 2017 alone. Additionally, Delta is currently in the process of removing all single-use plastics from their flights, equating to an estimated 300,000 pounds of plastic waste each year. Scandinavian Airlines has also committed to reducing its carbon emissions 25 percent by 2030 through the use of biofuel and eliminating the sale of duty-free items in flight, reducing aircraft weight and resulting in less fuel consumption. Once you arrive at a destination, be sure to seek out the most environmentally sound modes of transportation possible. Tokyo, for example, boasts one of the world’s most efficient and lowcarbon public transportation systems, making traveling around the sprawling metropolis virtually hassle-free. In Europe, cities like London and Paris also offer advanced public transportation options, including frequent bus routes, affordable trains, wellconnected trams, and convenient metro lines that make it simple to navigate around town or venture to nearby destinations without relying on another flight. Alternative modes of ground transportation also continue to rise, with new options springing up around the world. Earlier this summer, Uber launched JUMP (a dockless electric bike-sharing service) in Montreal. Meanwhile in India, Vogo recently debuted as the country’s first automated scooter rental start-up.
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SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMIES
When you travel, think of every dollar you spend as casting a vote. With each purchase, you can decide exactly where your money is going and who will reap the benefits. By spending mindfully, you can have an immediate and positive impact by supporting the local economy versus juggernaut global brands. It’s not only an ethically responsible decision, but it also leads to more fulfilling experiences. Last year, an estimated two million travelers descended upon Buenos Aires, Argentina’s effervescent capital city, in search of dazzling tango performances, enchanting architecture, and culinary delights. But the city offers so much more beyond its most celebrated exports. A new class of inventive chefs add contemporary spins to time-honored Argentine recipes in secret closed-door eateries, eclectic designers churn out cutting-edge fashions, and passionate local guides develop immersive itineraries that seamlessly marry exploration with sustainability. By investing in locally sourced meals or handmade souvenirs from Argentina’s creative set, you have the opportunity to support the vibrant
communities that make the city so fantastically unique. The quintessential Bali escape often entails a lavish stay in thatch-roofed bungalows perched over turquoise-tinted waters. But instead of staying at an international chain, seek out locally owned boutique properties. Look for tour operators employing local experts who can deliver authentic ecotourism experiences unmatched by outside companies. Snowbirds, on the other hand, might be more inclined to plan a heart-racing stay in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. With its breathtaking national parks and action-packed itineraries, there’s no better way to discover the region than by living like a local. For a once-ina-lifetime experience, holidaymakers can schedule an adrenalinefueled dog sledding expedition through Bridger-Teton National Forest with locally owned Jackson Hole Iditarod Sled Dog Tours. Animal lovers can also get an intimate look at the region’s famed wildlife (including elk, moose, and wolves) during an afternoon with Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures. The company donates a portion of every tour sold, which goes directly to protecting the wildlife and natural wonders of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
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CONSERVE RESOURCES
Although many people abide by the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mentality at home, they tend to forget these practices when traveling. We are well aware of the importance of using our limited resources responsibly and that shouldn’t change simply because somebody is on vacation. Get into the habit of refusing plastic water bottles at hotels and pack a reusable bottle or canteen instead. Skip single-use plastics by carrying reusable straws and utensils. You can also bring reusable canvas totes to replace plastic bags when shopping. When waste is inevitable, ensure that your trash is disposed of correctly and recycle whatever materials possible. Food waste is another major issue across the globe. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide for human consumption goes to waste. Help prevent this by being mindful when ordering in restaurants, bringing leftovers back to your hotel to minimize waste, and seek out locally owned establishments that have food donation programs in place. There are even restaurants (like SPILL in Malmö, Sweden) that build ever-changing menus from salvaged ingredients that would have otherwise wound up in landfills. Globetrotters should also be conscious about energy consumption when traveling. Selecting eco-friendly accommodations and curbing your electricity usage will help reduce your carbon footprint. Avoid taking excessively long showers and baths, reuse towels more than once, and deny housekeeping services whenever possible to conserve resources. These tiny actions may only seem like a drop in the bucket, but they add up quickly.
LEAVE A PLACE BETTER
Last but not least, always try to leave a destination better than you found it. There are countless ways to accomplish this all-encompassing philosophy, but one of the most rewarding is to pay it forward. Find out if the destination you’re visiting offers any “voluntourism” opportunities, allowing visitors to volunteer their time to a specific cause. Examples of this growing trend can be found all over and are often catered to local communities. Services like Volunteer Forever offer a hub for travelers to sift through worthwhile, ethical causes in sectors ranging from wildlife conservation to community restoration projects. For example, visitors to Spain can assist marine conservation efforts by participating in underwater clean-ups. In Queensland, Australia, tourists can spend the day lending a hand on a local organic farm. Travelers in Borneo can also help protect the environment and preserve the nation’s biodiversity by joining a tree-planting mission with Kaya Responsible Travel. At the end of the day, each effort counts, and every traveler has the power to leave behind a positive impact―no matter where their travels take them.
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Amalfi Coast................................74
Dublin, Ireland............................89
Nantucket, Massachusetts.........104
San Francisco, California..........118
Amsterdam, Netherlands............74
Florence, Italy..............................90
Napa Valley, California.............105
Anguilla, British West Indies.......75
Fort Lauderdale, Florida.............91
Nashville, Tennessee..................105
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.......................................118
Aspen, Colorado..........................76
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands...........................91
Nassau, Bahamas.......................106
Grenada, West Indies..................92
New York, New York ............... 107
Austin/Lake Travis, Texas..........77 Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico...........77 Barbados, West Indies.................78 Barcelona, Spain..........................78 Beaver Creek, Colorado..............79 Big Sky, Montana........................79 Big Sur, California.......................80 Boca Raton, Florida....................80 Bordeaux, France........................81 Boston, Massachusetts.................81 Breckenridge, Colorado..............82 Cacique Peninsula, Costa Rica...83 Cape Cod, Massachusetts...........84 Carmel Valley, California............84 Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic...................85 Charleston, South Carolina.........86 Chicago, Illinois...........................86 Coastal Maine, Maine.................87 Dalmation Coast, Croatia...........87 Deer Valley, Utah.........................88 Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico........89
Hamilton, Bermuda....................92
New Orleans, Louisiana............106
Santa Barbara, California.........119 Santorini, Greece.......................120 Scottsdale, Arizona....................120
Newport Coast, California........107
Sedona, Arizona........................121
Jackson Hole, Wyoming..............93
Northstar, Lake Tahoe, California.................................. 108
Sonoma County, California......122
Kiawah Island, South Carolina...94
Ojai Valley, California...............108
St. Barts, French West Indies.....123
Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii.......................95
Palm Beach, California.............109
St. Kitts and Nevis, French West Indies....................123
Koloa, Kauai, Hawii...................96
Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina.110
Hilton Head, South Carolina......93
Laamu, Maldives ....................... 96 Lake Como, Italy ....................... 97 Lake Tahoe, California................98 Las Vegas, Nevada.......................98 London, England.........................99 Los Angeles, California...............99 Los Cabos, Mexico....................100
Palm Springs, Florida................109 Paris, France...............................111 Park City, Utah .........................112 Provence, France........................112 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.................113 Punta de Mita, Mexico..............114
Snowmass Village, Colorado.....121
St. Lucia, West Indies................124 St. Michaels, Maryland.............124 St. Thomas, Virgin Islands........125 Sydney, Australia........................125 Telluride, Colorado...................126 The Hamptons..........................127 Tortola, British Virgin Islands...127 Turks and Caicos, British West Indies.....................128
Madrid, Spain............................101
Rancho Palos Verdes, California...................................114
Miami/South Beach, Florida....101
Real del Mar, Mexico................115
Montego Bay, Jamaica ..............102
Riviera Maya, Mexico...............116
Montreal, Canada.....................102
Rome, Italy................................116
Venice, Italy...............................131
Mougins, France........................103
Rosemary Beach/ WaterColor, Florida...................117
Inspirato Only Experiences.......132
Mykonos, Greece.......................103
Tuscany, Italy.............................129 Vail, Colorado............................130 Wailea, Maui, Hawaii................131
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Amalfi Coast I TA LY
South of Rome, discover Inspirato accommodations along the famed Amalfi Coast, where a string of colorful, sundrenched villages cling to the cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea. Enjoy quintessential Amalfi Coast living at Villa Mare, a fivebedroom retreat nestled a short walk from Positano and its beaches. Further east in lush Ravello, the fivestar Palazzo Avino offers rooms and suites, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and complimentary shuttle service to the hotel’s exclusive beach club. And on the scenic island of Capri, the Hotel Caesar Augustus boasts panoramic views of the Bay of Naples.
Superior Junior Suite Sea View, Palazzo Avino | 1br - 1ba
Amsterdam T HE NET HERLANDS
The capital of the Netherlands and one of the most visited cities in all of Europe, Amsterdam beckons travelers from all over the world with its blend of storied canals, bicycle-friendly streets, art museums, and coffee shops. Inspirato offers rooms and suites at the Conservatorium Hotel, a former musical hall dating back to the 19th century and located in the city’s famed Museum Quarter. The hotel’s central location is just steps from the tree-lined Vondelpark, across from the Van Gogh Museum and close to the Jordaan neighborhood.
Conservatorium Hotel, Deluxe Guest Room | 1br - 1ba 74
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Anguilla B R I T I S H W E ST I N D I E S Discover a stunning Inspirato Collection hotel, Belmond Cap Juluca, when you visit Anguilla. The iconic beachfront resort recently reopened with a fresh and sophisticated aesthetic, elevated Caribbean cuisine, and the same legendary service it’s always cultivated. The most exclusive hotel on Anguilla, Belmond Cap overlooks tranquil Maundays Bay. Included with each stay are complimentary chaise lounges reserved daily on the beach, as well as extra-large umbrellas and chaise-side food-and-beverage service.
Malliouhana, an Auberge Resort, Ocean View Deluxe Room | 1br - 1ba
To the north in Long Bay Village sits Malliouhana, an Auberge Resort. Pairing modern Caribbean charm with laidback sophistication, this bright and historical retreat offers three dining venues, a full-service salon, and access to plenty of water sports and equipment. Plus, Inspirato members get special benefits and amenities for Inspirato members.
Belmond Cap Juluca, Premium Beachfront Guestroom | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Aspen C O LO R A D O
Peregrine | 4br - 5.5ba
In the posh mountain town of Aspen, choose from ten Inspirato homes and two centrally located hotels. Ski in to slopeside Steinway or enjoy access to The Ritz-Carlton amenities while staying at Roaring Fork or Maroon Creek; all three homes are located near the base of Aspen Highlands. Four-bedroom Redstone is walking distance to the Aspen Mountain chairlifts. One of our larger Aspen homes, Bear Paw, offers a secluded feel just a few blocks from downtown. Modern White River is ideally situated just a six-minute walk to downtown restaurants and shops. The five-bedroom Firelight features a unique residential wine room, and duplex-style Peregrine is steps from Aspen Highlands Ski Resort. Select Aspen homes come with a Cadillac for use throughout your stay.
Firelight | 5br - 5.5ba 76
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Limelight Aspen, Cathedral Suite | 1br - 1ba
Austin/Lake Travis T EXAS
Enjoy a prime location overlooking Lake Travis from Inspirato’s sprawling standalone home. Waterstone Lodge channels a rustic lodge, situated on two acres of lakefront property with its own private boat dock, pool, and abundant outdoor living space including a kitchen, fireplace, and fire pit. Inside, an open living and dining area features vaulted ceilings and a stone fireplace. Closer to downtown Austin, Archer Austin offers rooms and suites within walking distance of the shopping, dining, and entertainment district of northwest Austin.
Archer Austin, Archer King Suite with Balcony | 1br - 1ba
Bahia Beach P U E RT O R I C O
With a beachfront location neighboring a rainforest preserve, Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club is a natural oasis on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. Inspirato offers three homes in the luxury resort community. Aleli and Pasiflora, duplex-style three-bedroom villas, are as beachfront as it gets; they also come with their own private plunge pools. Ceiba, a third-floor home, is a two-minute walk from sandy beaches. All our Bahia Beach homes offer access to resort amenities including pools, golf courses, tennis courts, and more. Complimentary golf carts make getting around the resort a breeze.
Aleli | 3br - 4ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Barbados W E ST I N D I E S
Inspirato offers three accommodation options at Sandy Lane—a Forbes Five-Star awardwinning hotel on the west side of Barbados. You won’t have to look far for activities the whole family can enjoy while staying at this intimate and lively Caribbean haven, with three golf courses, a beach club, an enormous spa and pool, nine tennis courts, four restaurants, and more. Barbados offers a bustling nightlife scene, famous soft-sand beaches, and water so clear and turquoise you have to see it to believe it.
Sandy Lane, Luxury Ocean Room | 1br - 1ba
Barcelona S PA I N
Inspirato offers three apartment-style homes at Majestic Residences, as well as suites across the road at the Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona. Both are nestled along the Passeig de Gràcia, one of Barcelona’s main thoroughfares, lined with shops, restaurants, and unique and celebrated architecture. Whether staying in a home or hotel suite, enjoy access to the Majestic Hotel’s open-air rooftop pool, plus its restaurants, spa, solarium, and fitness center.
Majestic Hotel & Spa, Penthouse | 1br - 1ba 78
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Beaver Creek C O LO R A D O
A luxury mountain town 20 minutes west of Vail, Beaver Creek offers a handful of Inspirato homes and one hotel. Our most luxe Beaver Creek home, the six-bedroom High Road, is just a short walk from ski access, with a private hot tub and heated driveway. Legacy is a three-bedroom luxury penthouse that’s part of The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, offering ski-in, ski-out access and Ritz-Carlton amenities, including a pool, hot tubs, and spa services. The mountain lodge-style Alpine Overlook is our largest Beaver Creek home, encompassing more than 10,000 square feet and accommodating up to 16 guests. And nestled in the town of Avon, discover The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa.
Alpine Overlook | 6br - 7.5ba
Big Sky M O N TA N A
Choose from four Inspirato homes near Big Sky Resort, the second-largest ski resort in the U.S. Lone Peak Lodge and Gallatin each come with a hot tub and private deck with sweeping mountain views; they’re a short walk from Moonlight Basin ski access. Nearby, enjoy the secluded Woodroose home surrounded by a mature pine forest, offering ski-in, ski-out access. You can also enjoy easy ski access while staying at Morningstar, a luxury townhome with its own hot tub. Closer to the town of Big Sky, four-bedroom Flatiron is a contemporary mountain home nestled in the Spanish Peaks neighborhood, a short drive from skiing, golfing, and the community clubhouse.
Woodrose | 6br - 5.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Big Sur CALIFORNIA
Explore California’s rugged, scenic central coast with your choice of two luxe-but-rustic hotels. The wellness-focused, adults-only Ventana Big Sur is nestled within old-growth forests, boasting a host of eco-friendly initiatives and features. Take a dip in two heated, outdoor pools or the infinity-edge hot tub, and enjoy a meal at Sur House restaurant, featuring Pacificsourced seafood and local produce. Closer to the coast, sleep among the trees with a unique stay at Post Ranch Inn. Its Tree House suite is a romantic bungalow for two tucked into the treetops, complete with minibar, woodburning fireplace, and a private deck with views of the Santa Lucia mountains.
Ventana Big Sur, Big Sur Suite | 1br - 1ba
Boca Raton F LO R I D A
Unwind in Southern Florida sunshine with a relaxing retreat to Boca Raton. Two Waldorf Astoria sister properties in the Inspirato Collection offer a plethora of amenities, including private beach access, three swimming pools and four dining options. At Boca Raton Resort & Club, improve your swing at the Kellie Stenzel Golf Academy or relax at the on-site spa, voted #1 in the world by Condé Nast Traveler and modeled after the Alhambra palace in Spain. Across Lake Boca Raton at the smaller Boca Beach Club, hit the waves with a lesson at the resort’s Surf School. Enjoy access to the amenities of both properties via a complimentary shuttle.
Boca Raton Resort & Club, Waterfront Balcony King Junior Suite | 1br - 1ba 80
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Bordeaux F RANC E
Discover Bordeaux with Inspirato at Maison de L’Amiral, a stately 18th-century villa. Sip and savor the region’s lauded wines while admiring a sunset from the home’s large terrace, which overlooks the Dordogne River. A self-contained apartment within the home adds another layer of guest privacy. It’s located steps from the shops and restaurants of the historic town of Castillon la Bataille in southwest France. Enjoy a bit more seclusion when you stay at Maison Pierre, a grand French country estate nestled on 8.5 acres. The historic main chateau comes with a separate guest cottage, saltwater pool, and private orangerie that’s been converted into a sunlit dining room.
Maison Pierre | 6br - 6ba
Boston M A S SAC H U S E T T S
Take in all the history and a dose of New England charm in Boston with three Inspirato partner hotels in central locations around the city. The Lenox, a boutique hotel that’s been serving political dignitaries and celebrities since its inception in the early 20th century, is steeped in both history and luxury in Boston’s coveted Back Bay neighborhood. To the east, The Ritz-Carlton, Boston, is nestled within the heart of the city, right across from Boston Commons; enjoy exclusive access to the 114,000-suare-foot Equinox Sports Club and Spa. And at the XV Beacon Hotel, just steps from historic Beacon Hill neighborhood, take in sweeping skyline views from the rooftop.
The Lenox Hotel, Penthouse Suite | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Breckenridge C O LO R A D O
Cimarron | 4br - 4.5ba
Three of Inspirato’s most stunning mountain homes are nestled in Breckenridge, a laid-back Rocky Mountain town renowned for its skiing. Swift Landing, one of the biggest homes in the Inspirato Collection, offers accommodations for up to 21 guests across seven bedrooms, with ski-in, skiout access on Peak 8. Swift Landing makes it easy to enjoy the alpine surroundings, with an outdoor hot tub, alfresco kitchen, and a covered, heated dining area. Four-bedroom Cimarron and five-bedroom Pioneer are located close to the gondola, each with a chef ’s kitchen, private deck, and hot tub for an après-ski soak. And tucked into the prestigious Shock Hill neighborhood, Quandary offers quick access to biking, hiking, and Nordic trails right from its backyard, all a five-minute walk from the gondola.
Quandary | 5br - 5.5ba 82
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Swift Landing | 7br - 7ba
Cacique Peninsula C O STA R I C A
Choose from eight ocean-view Inspirato homes on the Cacique Peninsula, nestled in Costa Rica’s rolling hills close to quaint beach towns. For the best views in the area, stay in Cumbre del Rey, a luxurious home just a short drive from Playa Hermosa or Villa Madera, a secluded and private hideaway. Villa Vientos sits atop a lush bluff with an infinityedge pool that stretches toward the horizon, while the stately Villa Altamira and the modern Serena offer abundant outdoor living space.
Villa Madera | 3br - 3ba
Tucked in a private gated development, the five-bedroom Villa Paloma has its own swim-up bar, while four-bedroom Villa Lantana features a great room that spills out onto the patio. Monte del Mar has a stunning, private infinityedge pool, two master bedrooms, and sweeping ocean views.
Serena | 3br - 3.5ba
Cumbre del Rey | 6br - 7ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Cape Cod M A S SAC H U S E T T S
Enjoy quintessential New England charm while staying on Cape Cod with Inspirato. Our partner hotel, Chatham Bars Inn, features refined rooms and suites overlooking a quartermile of private beach near Chatham Harbor, on what’s known as the Lower Cape. Relax on the beach in a private cabana and enjoy foodand-beverage service from the inn. Elsewhere on the inn’s property, our-bedroom homes Claflin House and Kettle Drum House give you the space and privacy of a standalone residence as well as access to the amenities of the stately Chatham Bars Inn, including restaurants, an oceanfront pool, and a spa.
Octagon House | 4br - 5.5ba
Carmel Valley CALIFORNIA
Inspirato offers two hotels in Carmel Valley, a quiet community tucked amid the rolling hills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, 15 miles inland from the Pacific Coast. Carmel Valley Ranch offers an upscale ranch experience ideal for nature lovers, with mountaintop yoga, a Pete Dye-designed golf course, and gourmet dining. Guests will be just a 20-minute drive from the oceanfront town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The eco-friendly Bernardus Lodge & Spa, nestled amid wine country, is perfect for epicurean travelers, with an award-winning restaurant and an extensive wine list.
Carmel Valley Ranch, Hilltop Garland Suite | 1br - 1ba 84
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Casa de Campo DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
On the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, outside the resort town of La Romana, Inspirato has four standalone homes in the sprawling and upscale Casa de Campo Resort and Villas community. Villa Pasarela, Casa Encantada, Villa los Altos, and Villa Lozano feature private swimming pools and abundant outdoor living space. Each also comes with a dedicated housekeeper and butler who will help prepare daily breakfast and snacks.
Casa Encantada | 6br - 7ba
Guests staying at these homes will have full access to the amenities of Casa de Campo Resort and Villas, including multiple resort pools, three Pete Dye-designed golf courses, restaurants, a spa, and more.
Villa Lozano | 5br - 5.5ba
Villa Pasarela | 6br - 6.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Charleston S O U T H C A RO L I N A
Take in the beauty of the Old South with a stay at two Inspirato accommodations within this charming seaside city. Unwind in the elegant Belmond Charleston Place after a day of taking in the sights of the city, all within easy walking distance of the hotel. Charleston’s reputation as a culinary haven continues to grow. Closer to the waterfront lies Zero George, named Best New Food Hotel by Condé Nast Traveler. This boutique hotel features 16 fully renovated guest rooms that were once historic carriage houses. Try your hand at the Zero George Cooking School, or let someone else do the cooking at the on-site restaurant.
Premier King Room | 1br - 1ba
Chicago ILLINOIS
Discover the Windy City while staying in chic downtown Inspirato accommodations. Enjoy views of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan from the aptly named Lakeview, our twobedroom spacious suite in trendy River North. Near the lake, in Chicago’s posh Gold Coast neighborhood, choose from The Peninsula Chicago and Thompson Chicago, both within walking distance of the city’s premier attractions including the shops along the Magnificent Mile, Oak Street Beach, and Lincoln Park. The Langham Chicago is closest to the Loop, just a short walk from the Bean and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Langham Chicago, River View Suite | 1br - 1.5ba 86
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Coastal Maine MAINE
Inspirato’s first standalone home in Maine, Anchor Landing, offers a quintessential New England vacation for groups of up to 14. The clapboard-style house overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, a short walk from Long Sands Beach and Nubble Lighthouse. A few miles north lies our partner hotel, Cliff House—an iconic oceanfront resort that dates back to 1872. With 226 guest rooms and suites, Cliff House is known for its elegant guest rooms and suites and its prime location just minutes from the sandy beaches of Ogunquit.
Cliff House, Weare Cottage | 3br - 3.5ba
Dalmation Coast C R O AT I A
Explore Croatia’s picturesque Dalmatian Coast from three spacious Inspirato homes nestled right along the coastline in the exclusive Golden Rays development. The contemporary, four-bedroom Vedrina and three-bedroom Nikola each feature an indoor pool surrounded by retractable glass walls. Three-bedroom Lorena offers sweeping views of the Adriatic Sea from the home’s indooroutdoor pool and floor-to-ceiling windows. Plus, you can dip directly into the ocean from the home’s sea-access ladder.
Lorena | 3br - 3.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Deer Valley U TA H
Wasatch | 5br - 5.5ba
A posh ski-only resort just outside Park City, Deer Valley is home to more than a dozen Inspirato homes and suites. Stay with us at Royal Lookout or Deer Crest, large duplexstyle homes along the resort’s Dial-a-Ride route providing quick access to the slopes. At the Stein Eriksen Lodge, choose from one- or two-bedroom suites as well as spacious three-, four-, and five-bedroom residences, all with access to the lodge’s amenities including pools, restaurants, ski lockers, and fitness center. You’ll be just steps from the Silver Strike lift when you stay at one of our four rustic-inspired homes within Silver Strike Lodge.
Ski Haven | 3br - 3.5ba 88
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Stein Eriksen Lodge
Dorado Beach P U E RT O R I C O
Dorado Beach’s five Inspirato accommodations offer full access to the amenities of Dorado Beach Resort, home to a private golden beach, three golf courses, high-end spa, and more. The standalone estate La Vivelisse comes with a private pool and two golf carts to make it easy to explore Dorado Beach Resort and select amenities at Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Swim in the private infinity-edge plunge pool at Picaflor, a three-bedroom ground-floor villa with abundant outdoor space that opens onto the golf course. Nearby, Pomarrosa—a threebedroom corner condo—offers a spacious living area that spills onto a private terrace, situated just a five-minute golf cart ride from the beach.
La Vivelisse | 5br - 4.5ba
Dublin IRELAND
Choose from two Inspirato hotels when you visit the capital city of the Republic of Ireland. Located in the heart of historic Dublin, The Westbury features rooms and suites with modern décor and subtle 1930s-era touches. Our other hotel, The K Club, is a sprawling luxury resort 30 minutes outside the city in County Kildare. The River Liffey meanders through the scenic property, which features resort activities for guests including falconry, golf, fishing, and horseback riding.
The Westbury Hotel | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Florence I TA LY
Relais Santa Croce, Da Verrazzano Royal Suite | 4br - 4.5ba
Discover Italy’s dreamiest city while staying in one of Inspirato’s Florence accomodations. La Limonaia is situated within walking distance of the Duomo and Accademia and features a private yard with its own pool. Lusso Moderno is our largest Florentine villa, an urban oasis with eclectic and modern interior design. For a taste of Old World charm, stay in Foresteria Florentine, a three-bedroom penthouse boasting a private library, historic courtyard, and rooftop terrace with views of the nearby Arno River. Our two hotels, Portrait Firenze and Relais Santa Croce, are walking distance to banner Florence attractions.
Da Verrazzano Royal Suite Relais Santa Croce | 1br - 1ba 90
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Portrait Firenze, Family Suite | 1br - 1ba
Fort Lauderdale F LO R I D A
Stay with Inspirato on the southeastern coast of Florida in Fort Lauderdale, famous for its sunny weather and abundance of boating canals. Just minutes from the beach, Inspirato’s Grand Canal, an elegant 16th-floor residence at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, provides access to five-star amenities and stunning views. Inspirato’s two oceanfront penthouse residences—Cypress and Cobia—are just across the street from white-sand beaches and each boasts an expansive terrace with ocean and Intercoastal Waterway views.
Cypress | 4br - 4.5ba
Grand Cayman C AY M A N I S L A N D
All of Inspirato’s nine Grand Cayman accommodations are along Seven Mile Beach, the most pristine beach in all of Grand Cayman. At the northern end lies Cousteau, an oceanfront penthouse apartment offering a bit of seclusion. In the center of Seven Mile Beach, enjoy Ritz-Carlton amenities such as restaurants and pools when you stay at one of our six Ritz-Carlton residences. On the southern tip of Seven Mile Beach sit Villa Cielo and Villa Notte, two four-bedroom properties close to the coastline as well as the restaurants and shops of George Town.
Starlet | 4br - 4.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Grenada W E ST I N D I E S
Discover spacious rooms and suites while staying in Grenada with Inspirato. Near Grand Anse Beach, visit the only AAA Five-Diamond award-winning resort on Grenada: Spice Island Beach Resort. The resort overlooks one of the island’s calmest and most picturesque beaches. Located on the southern side of the peninsula, discover a romantic paradise at Calabash Grenada Hotel & Spa, nestled along the whitesand beaches of Prickly Bay.
Calabash Grenada Hotel & Spa, One Bedroom Pool Suite | 1br - 1ba
Hamilton B E R M U DA
Explore Bermuda with Inspirato while staying at Rosewood Bermuda, an exclusive oceanfront resort overlooking the island’s largest private pink-sand beach. There’s no shortage of things to do at the resort, whether you want to tee off at Tucker’s Point—the premier golf course on the island—rent kayaks and snorkeling gear, enjoy spa treatments, or choose from four resort swimming pools, two of which are beachfront.
Rosewood Bermuda| 1br - 1.5ba 92
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Hilton Head S O U T H C A RO L I N A
Nestled in South Carolina’s charming Lowcountry, Hilton Head island is a hub of family-friendly recreation. Here Inspirato’s homes come with private heated pools and access to Palmetto Dunes’ championship golf courses, tennis, beach club, and more. Hightide is a beachfront home with expansive ocean views, infinity-edge pool and private path offering direct access to the beach. Seven-bedroom Golfshore, one block from the beach, backs up to the signature hole of the Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort golf course. Our partner hotel, Inn & Club at Harbour Town, sits on the southwestern side of the island, overlooking the scenic harbor.
Sandpiper | 6br - 7ba
Jackson Hole W YO M I N G
Choose from three Inspirato homes in Teton Village, less than 20 miles from Grand Teton National Park. Five-bedroom Bison Ridge is a favorite among members for its creekside outdoor hot tub and prime location. Saratoga, a luxury ski condo inside the Crystal Springs Lodge at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain, is just a three-minute walk from the gondola—and next door to our partner Hotel Terra. Admire southern views of the Teton Range at Moose Creek, a rustic lodge-style duplex. For the closest Inspirato accommodations to the lively town of Jackson itself, stay in an elegant suite at Amangani.
Amangani Suite | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Kiawah Island S O U T H C A RO L I N A
Osprey | 6br - 6.5ba
About 30 miles southwest of Charleston, Kiawah Island is a renowned Lowcountry barrier island famous for golf and family-friendly outdoor recreation. Inspirato offers eight homes and a hotel in the heart of it all. Laurel, Driftwood Dunes, and Osprey offer the best beach access, while nearby AAA Five-Diamond Award-winner Sanctuary Hotel offers luxury rooms and five championship golf courses, including the world-famous Ocean Course. Five-bedroom Verbena is the closest standalone home to The Ocean Course, boasting a private pool and screened-in porch overlooking marshlands. Monarch, Beachcomber, and Azalea are all a quick bike ride away from the beach. Sabal is located within the Vanderhorst Plantation, less than a half-mile to Kiawah Island center.
Beachcomber | 5br - 4.5ba 94
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Oceanview Guestroom, The Sanctuary Hotel | 1br - 1ba
Kohala Coast, Big Island H AWA I I
Kohala Coast—along the northwest side of the Big Island of Hawaii—is known for its seaside resort communities and award-winning golf courses. Tucked amid the prestigious Hualalai Golf Course, the Inspirato vacation homes feature lush golf course views and private pools.
Hale Kealoha | 5br - 5.5ba
Farther north, stay in one of our Balinese pod-style homes, Hale Elua or Hale Elima, ideal for families with older children or couples traveling together. Hale Kealoha offers the best beach access in Kohala Coast; it’s just a 20-foot walk across lava rock from your backyard to reach the sand. Spacious Keliana, Nanea, Luana, and Ohi’a residences are located within the Mauna Lani’s exclusive Laule’a community and each feature private pools, resort access, and stunning ocean, mountain, or golf course views.
Keliana | 4br - 4.5ba
Fairmont Orchid, Oceanfront King | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Koloa, Kauai H AWA I I
Choose from two Inspirato Collection hotels on the lush isle of Kauai. Explore standalone bungalows, cottages, and villas at The Lodge at Kukui’ula, a sprawling and secluded resort community nestled on Kauai’s sunny southern shores. The upscale resort boasts an organic farm, saltwater lagoon-style pool, 18-hole golf course, and full spa. Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa offers spacious rooms and suites spread out on the hotel’s sprawling oceanfront campus. Discover 10 restaurants and lounges, a championship golf course, freshwater outdoor pools, and a 1.5-acre saltwater swimming lagoon.
The Lodge at Kukui’ula, Four Bedroom Villa Ocean View | 4br - 4.5ba
Laamu M A L D I V ES
Stay in Inspirato’s most unique tropical accommodations at Six Senses Laamu, a luxury Maldives resort. Choose from two overwater villas that hover on stilts above the crystal-clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Laamu is partially encircled by a coral reef, which creates a calm lagoon ideal for water sports and swimming. Hailed as a popular honeymoon destination, this eco-friendly resort boasts award-winning spa treatments, gourmet cuisine, and complimentary water sports equipment rentals.
Laamu Water Villa, Six Senses Laamu | 1br - 1ba 96
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Lake Como I TA LY
The Inspirato Collection offers two standalone lakefront homes and one upscale resort in northern Italy’s posh destination: Lake Como. The Mediterranean-style Vista Lago features a private pool, terraces, and outdoor dining loggia and lakefront views. Directly across the lake, the magnificent Villa Pliniana has welcomed guests like Napoleon Bonaparte. This grand, 16th-century lakefront palazzo sits on 18 sprawling acres with its own private pool, on-site spa, dedicated butler service, and custom-built boat and dock.
Il Sereno | 1br - 1ba
Enjoy a quiet stretch of private lakefront at Il Sereno, a partner hotel with a one-of-a-kind feature: its heated, infinity-edge pool hovers just above the waters of Lake Como.
Palazzo del Vice Re, L’Isola Comacina | 2br - 2ba
Villa Pliniana | 10br - 9ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Lake Tahoe CALIFORNIA
Stay with Inspirato on the northern shores of Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America. Our five-bedroom home, Sunset Point, is nestled within a grove of pine trees overlooking Brockway Point, just one mile from Kings Beach and a half-mile from the casinos and restaurants on the Nevada side. In the warmer months, enjoy fresh mountain air from the home’s furnished deck, featuring a gas fire pit, hot tub, and outdoor shower. When it’s colder, enjoy a prime ski location just 20 minutes from Northstar Ski Resort and 30–40 minutes from Squaw Valley Ski Resort.
Sunset Point | 5br - 3.5ba
Las Vegas N E VA D A
Experience Las Vegas the Inspirato way. Stay a short walk from the Strip in our pair of two-bedroom corner suites, All In and High Stakes, located in the non-gambling, nonsmoking Vdara Hotel & Spa. Both suites offer dramatic city views. From your window at All In, watch the famous Fountains of Bellagio dance. Or opt to stay high above the bustling Strip in the swanky Waldorf Astoria, where you can stay in an elegant one-bedroom suite with dramatic city views.
All In | 2br - 2.5ba 98
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London ENGLAND
Inspirato offers two spacious flats and an array of luxury rooms and suites at seven hotels across London. Choose from two-bedroom flats, Mayfair and Middleton, at Metropolitan by COMO, London hotel, situated across from Hyde Park and walking distance to Buckingham Palace. Baglioni Hotel London overlooks Kensington Gardens, a short walk from Harrods. Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites & Residences is close to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben, while Rosewood London in the West End is a fantastic option for business travelers. Shangri-La Hotel, at The Shard, London, is the tallest five-star hotel in the city, offering sweeping skyline views.
Shangri-La Hotel, Iconic City View Room | 1br - 1ba
Los Angeles CALIFORNIA
Discover seven incredible hotels when you visit sunny Los Angeles, California with Inspirato. Stay close to the beach in the heart of Santa Monica at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, or opt for a location near Runyon Canyon and West Hollywood with a stay at the trendy 1 Hotel West Hollywood or London West Hollywood along the Sunset Strip. Or, visit Beverly Hills to stroll through Los Angeles’s most famous ZIP code. The Peninsula Beverly Hills, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Montage Beverly Hills, and Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills are a short walk from the highend shops of Rodeo Drive.
1 Hotel West Hollywood, Panoramic One Bedroom Suite | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Los Cabos MEXICO
Casa Cabrilla | 5br - 6.5ba
With the largest beach portfolio in the entire Inspirato Collection, Los Cabos features 44 Inspirato accommodations across three exclusive enclaves and four award-winning hotels. From the luxurious standalone villas within Palmilla to the knockout seaside homes of Punta Ballena Resort Community, Los Cabos is home to some of Inspirato’s most stunning properties. Casa Cabrilla features seamless indoor/outdoor living with a private inifinity-edge pool just steps from the beach. Oceanfront Joya del Mar, our biggest and most luxurious Cabo home, is one of our members’ favorites. Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa overlooks a private beach close to shopping, restaurants, and nightlife.
One&Only Palmilla, Grand Suite | 1br - 1.5ba 100
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Casa Ola | 6br - 6.5ba
Madrid S PA I N
Explore Spain’s regal capital city when you stay with Inspirato at URSO Hotel & Spa. The award-winning hotel is housed in a historic, circa-1913 building, featuring original touches including a neoclassical façade and wroughtiron elevator. The updated contemporary space boasts a full-service spa and hammam steam bath and multiple restaurants. URSO Hotel & Spa is centrally located in Madrid, close to the tree-lined Parque de El Retiro and Museo Nacional del Prado, one of Europe’s most famous art museums.
URSO Hotel & Spa, Urso Suite | 1br - 1ba
Miami/South Beach F LO R I D A
Inspirato offers nearly a dozen rooms, suites, and homes at two trendy hotels overlooking the bustling white sands of Miami Beach. 1 Hotel South Beach, a luxury hotel, offers the most options, including one-, two-, and threebedroom suites, as well as two ocean view resort residences: Azure and Samba. Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, farther north, offers quieter surroundings and a spa and wellness center ideal for pampering, tranquil getaways.
1 Hotel South Beach, Samba | 3br - 3ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Montego Bay JA M A I C A
Warmly referred to as MoBay, Montego Bay is a favored island destination in the Caribbean. Soft sand beaches, lush rolling hills, and historic plantations comprise Jamaica’s second largest city. Discover four Inspirato homes and an upscale resort partner in Montego Bay, spread out across Jamaica’s northern coast. Seven-bedroom Harmony Hill and three-bedroom Pinnacle Villa are spacious estates surrounded by lush gardens that offer full access to the amenities of the Tryall Club, including championship golf and a private beach. Coverley sits behind the gates of the award-winning Round Hill Resort, boasting spectacular Caribbean views from its private pool.
Harmony Hill | 7br - 7.5ba
Montreal C A N A DA
Stay with Inspirato in Old Montréal at the award-winning Hôtel Gault, a boutique property with a 19th-century façade built out of Montréal greystone. Boasting just 30 spacious suites, the hotel offers an intimate stay with contemporary décor, refined service, and an elegant on-site restaurant. The surrounding neighborhood of Old Montréal (also known as Vieux-Montréal is known for its ornate, centuries-old buildings, as well as its proximity to major city attractions including Victoria Square and the waterfront along the St. Lawrence River.
Hôtel Gault, Junior Suite | 1br - 1ba 102
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Mougins F RANC E RIVIERA
Discover 10 Inspirato accommodations along the charming French Riviera in Mougins. Choose from villas, apartment-style homes, and spacious suites, all located within the historic walled city known as the Old Village. Six-bedroom Villa L’ancienne Poste Telegraphe and five-bedroom Villa Grain d’Orge both offer spectacular views of the Alps, as well as a private pool, all just steps from the Old Village. All accommodations are a quick drive from iconic French Riviera towns, including Nice and Cannes.
Villa Grain d’Orge | 5br - 6ba
Mykonos G R E EC E
Explore the lively island of Mykonos with a visit to Katikies Mykonos with Inspirato. The luxury, minimalist property sits on the island’s tranquil southwest coast, overlooking the sunsoaked beach of Agios Ioannis. Designed to mimic an open-air amphitheater, the hotel puts gorgeous sea views on full display. Mykonos is known for its buzzy nightlife, beach parties, and turquoise waters, with quaint fishing villages are home to exquisite restaurants and charming shops. Katikies Mykonos puts you walking distance from some of the island’s best restaurants.
Katikies Mykonos, Master Suite with Private Pool | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Nantucket M A S SAC H U S E T T S
Sconset Bluff | 5br - 5.5ba
Inspirato’s Nantucket homes dot the island, offering a quintessential all-American experience no matter where you go. Sconset Bluff can comfortably accommodate up to 14 guests. This classic home sits oceanside along the picturesque “Sconset Bluff’ Walk and famed Billionaire’s Row. Stay in Whitesail, Wayfarer, Quarterboard, or Shearwater, all quaint homes walking distance from Nantucket Historic District’s quaint shops and restaurants. Choose the secluded three-acre estate Nautilus for its outdoor living space, which encompasses a private pool, hot tub, and spacious lawn. The impressive eight-bedroom Hidden Harbor and seven-bedroom Mainsail both feature chic, coastal interiors, private pools and hot tubs, separate guest houses, and room for up to 16-18 guests.
Quarterboard | 3br - 4.5ba 104
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Mainsail | 7br - 7.5ba
Napa Valley CALIFORNIA
Take your pick of six upscale hotels when you stay with Inspirato in Napa Valley. Carneros Resort and Spa offers a sophisticated countryside retreat, surrounded by 28 acres of rolling hills. Archer Napa sits in the heart of downtown Napa, walking distance to the Napa River and the town’s award-winning restaurants. In Yountville, stay at Bardessono, a contemporary retreat situated on its own vineyard. Classic Meadowood Napa Valley— which occupies a 250-acre countryside estate— and the Mediterranean-style Auberge du Soleil surround St. Helena. Solage, an Auberge Resort is nestled just outside Calistoga, offering a rusticyet-elegant wine country oasis.
Deluxe Valley View Suite, Auberge du Soleil | 1br - 1.5ba
Nashville T E N N ES S E
Inspirato offers rooms and suites within three luxury hotels in Nashville. Located near the famed Music Row are the Hutton Hotel and Thompson Nashville. The Hutton Hotel in the West End neighborhood is a Forbes 4-star rated hotel and provides special benefits for Inspirato members, including room upgrades. Between Music Row and the downtown honky tonks, the Thompson Nashville provides on-site dining options by James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur, John Besh. In the heart of downtown is The Hermitage Hotel Nashville, just steps from the Country Music Hall of Fame and State Capitol.
Thompson Nashville, One King Corner | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Nassau BAHAMAS
Discover Inspirato’s two luxury resort partners in Nassau, a bustling port city on New Providence Island. The Rosewood Baha Mar, is nestled along 3,000 feet of the Cable Beach coastline featuring the finest in wellness amenities and exquisite cuisine among a design reminiscent of a historic Bahamian plantation. The Cove Atlantis is located on Paradise Island, directly connected to Nassau by two bridges. It provides unlimited access to the amenities at the Atlantis resort, including four stunning beaches, a championship golf course and a 141acre waterpark. Snorkel enthusiasts can explore 20,000 tropical fish and aquatic animal species in the lagoons surrounding the resort.
Rosewood Baha Mar, Balcony Ocean View One Bedroom Suite | 1br - 1ba
New Orleans LO U I S I A N A
Experience sophisticated Southern charm in the Big Easy with Inspirato. On the edge of the French Quarter is the The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, where you’ll find legendary jazz musician Jeremy Davenport playing live in the Davenport Lounge. Home to the largest spa in the city, the Ritz also boasts farm-to-table fare at M Bistro. Nearby, in the Central Business District, is the Windsor Court Hotel, a European-style hotel offering Old World charm. Experience a traditional afternoon tea service or explore the Shops at Canal Place and Mississippi River— both just a short walk away.
Windsor Court Hotel, Club Premium Suite | 1br - 1ba 106
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New York N E W YO R K
Inspirato offers 10 hotels to choose from in the Big Apple, with locations across the city. Choose from historic hotels such as The Beekman and The NoMad Hotel, enjoy trendier accommodations at 1 Hotel Central Park, or opt for a refined stay at The Surrey Hotel. The Dominick is the only AAA Five-Diamond property in the SoHo. Its Penthouse 3303 is located on the 33rd floor and offers stunning views of lower Manhattan and the Hudson River. The Towers at Lotte NY Palace offers an incredible Midtown location, close to Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and the Museum of Modern Art.
The Towers at Lotte New York Palace, Towers Two Bedroom Corner Suite | 2br - 2.5ba
Newport Coast CALIFORNIA
Choose from four spacious, two-bedrooms villas at The Resort at Pelican Hill: Saltgrass, Tidepool, Lotus, and Vista Balboa. The villas— just a five-minute drive from the beach—offer exclusive access to a private clubhouse with two dining options, as well as a heated pool, hot tub, and dedicated cabanas. Inspirato also offers rooms and suites at The Resort at Pelican Hill. Enjoy access to five-star resort amenities throughout your stay, including six restaurants, a golf course, a full-service spa, three pools, and more.
Coastal Sage | 3br - 3.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Northstar, Lake Tahoe CALIFORNIA
A luxury ski village close to Tahoe’s north shore, Northstar offers seven Inspirato accommodations. Enjoy incredible gondola access when you stay at Polaris and Sierra, three-bedroom residences housed on the fifth floor of One Village Place—where the Big Springs Express Gondola departs directly out of the building. Farther up the mountain is The Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, where you can choose from five homes, ranging in size from two to four bedrooms. Enjoy ski-in, ski-out access and resort amenities including a 17,000-square-foot spa and a bustling après-ski scene.
Polaris | 3br - 3ba
Ojai Valley CALIFORNIA
Famous for its sunsets and laid-back ambiance, Ojai Valley is home to one of Inspirato’s most impressive estates. With over 10,000 square feet of living space, a private pool, and expansive outdoor living areas, Casa Elar strikes the perfect balance of seclusion and access to award-winning resort amenities. Within the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, you’ll find a championship golf course, an expansive spa, several on-site restaurants, kids’ programming, and more.
Casa Elar | 5br - 5.5ba 108
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Palm Beach F LO R I D A
Discover the upscale boutiques, galleries, and restaurants of Palm Beach while staying at one of Inspirato’s beachfront accommodations— each AAA Five-Diamond Award recipients. Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa is an intimate ocean retreat situated on a private beach. Enjoy a leisurely bike ride around the scenic Palm Beach Island or take a dip at one of the oceanfront pools. Just north is The Breakers Palm Beach, an Italian-style grand hotel known for its classic American glamour. Sitting on 140 acres on the Atlantic, the Breakers boasts its own private beach, two golf courses, four ocean-view pools, and a 20,000-square-foot spa.
The Breakers Palm Beach, Atlantic Guest Room Oceanfront King | 1br - 1ba
Palm Springs CALIFORNIA
The artsy enclave of Palm Springs and the surrounding Sonoran Desert offer a unique mix of resort-style leisure, striking valley landscapes, and a vintage Hollywood-era personality. With more than 350 days of sunshine and 115 golf courses, Palm Springs is a perfect destination for avid golfers. Inspirato’s Vista San Jacinto is a modern ranch-style estate surrounded by mountains, just minutes from the Indian Canyons golf course. With a private pool, hot tub, tennis and basketball courts, as well as ample outdoor living space, this is a perfect Palm Springs retreat.
Desert Lily | 3br - 3.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Palmetto Bluff S O U T H C A RO L I N A
Coronet Cottage | 4br - 4ba
Slip into the laid-back Lowcountry way of life in Palmetto Bluff, home to three standalone Inspirato homes: Coronet Cottage, Antebellum, and Live Oak. Each comes with spacious living areas, four bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens, and screened-in porches. All three also offer access to Montage Palmetto Bluff resort amenities, including two pools, two fitness centers, and complimentary use of canoes, kayaks, and fishing gear. Encircled by ribbons of rivers, with streams trickling through marsh to a pristine Lowcountry landscape, Palmetto Bluff retreats from the modern world into its own peaceful splendor.
Antebellum | 4br - 4ba 110
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Paris F RANC E
Inspirato offers Paris accommodations near the City of Lights’ most famed attractions. Stay a short walk from the Eiffel Tower, just across the Seine, in our private luxury apartments: the two-bedroom Maison Madeline and the three-bedroom Maison Cherie.
Hotel Vernet, Prestige Suite | 1br - 1ba
The impressive Peninsula Paris is close to the Arc de Triomphe as well as the shops lining the Champs-Élysées. The classically styled Hotel Regina offers our closest accommodations to the Louvre museum and Notre-Dame cathedral. And the eclectically modern Hotel Fauchon is just a short walk from the Champs-Élysées.
Hotel Regina, Eiffel Suite | 1br - 1ba
Fauchon l’Hotel Paris, Prestige Suite | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Park City U TA H
Inspirato’s signature Park City home, Summit on Main, is a chic two-story penthouse with a private deck overlooking the town’s Main Street and an easy walk to restaurants, shops, and galleries, as well as the Egyptian Theatre, which hosts the Sundance Film Festival. Beyond downtown, Inspirato offers rooms and suites at the Waldorf Astoria Park City, a luxurious lodge in Canyons Village at Park City Resort. A paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, Park City offers easy access to hiking and mountain biking in the warmer months as well as skiing at nearby Deer Valley Resort, one of the last ski-only mountains in the U.S.
Waldorf Astoria Park City, Three Bedroom Bi-Level Suite | 3br - 3ba
Provence F RANC E
Stay in the charming countryside of Provence, where we offer two Inspirato homes and one hotel partner. Château Lavande, an elegant manor in the Luberon Valley, brims with historic antiques and original paintings. Swim in the private pool, explore the grounds, and cook in the gourmet kitchen. Maison du Calavon is an expansive property near quaint villages, vineyards, lavender fields, and French cafes, with views of rolling hills. At La Villa Gallici, take your pick from two hotel suites and enjoy a gourmet restaurant serving seasonal Provençal cuisine.
Maison du Calavon | 6br - 6.5ba 112
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Punta Cana DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The four standalone homes at Puntacana Resort & Club include Villa Tortuga, Casa Caribe, Corales Cove, and Villa Cayena. Each of these stately four-, five-, or sevenbedroom villas includes a private pool and a golf cart for quick trips to the beach, spa, restaurants, and more. Our largest home in Punta Cana, Corales Cove overlooks the 18th hole of Corales Golf Course.
Villa Cayena | 5br - 5.5ba
Further south at Cap Cana Resort, each of our three stunning Inspirato homes—Villa Ana, Villa Bagua, and Villa Caona—come with a private pool, fantastic service, and sweeping ocean views just outside your door. At these three villas, enjoy daily breakfast prepared by your butler for the cost of groceries.
Corales Cove | 7br - 7.5ba
Eden Roc, Beachfront Two Bedroom Suite | 2br - 2ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Punta de Mita MEXICO
Enjoy close proximity to secluded, familyfriendly beaches and a prime location near Punta Mita and the amenities of Puerto Vallarta while staying in Inspirato accommodations at Los Veneros Resort. Each of our homes comes with a private pool and daily in-home prepared breakfast. Los Jardines, Casa Emilia, Villa Piedras, and Casa Tierra are ground-floor units near the resort’s main pool. Our four-bedroom penthouse units, Las Terrazas and Las Brisas, provide panoramic ocean views. Punta Vista offers the most space as a corner penthouse unit with a two-story great room close to the beach.
Villa Piedras | 3br - 3ba
Rancho Palos Verdes CALIFORNIA
The five Inspirato homes in Rancho Palos Verdes sit along the coastal bluffs of the upscale Terranea Resort. Catalina, Songbird, and Sunflower feature hot tubs and spacious patios, while Avalon and Starling boast ocean views and second-story patios with outdoor fireplaces. Enjoy access to multiple pools, golf course, spa, and fitness center. Take a day trip to Abalone Cove Shoreline Park to explore miles of trails, an ecological reserve, and two beaches, or head into Los Angeles— just 20 miles away—for a night on the town.
Sunflower | 3br - 3ba 114
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Real del Mar MEXICO
Located just north of Puerto Vallarta, Real del Mar is a peaceful gated resort that includes a private beach club, multiple pools, and a world-class spa. Inspirato’s four homes here—Casa Mariposa, Casa Vela, Casa Puente, and Casa de las Hamacas—each includes a private infinity-edge pool, hot tub, and an abundance of outdoor space.
Casa Puente | 4br - 5.5ba
The largest, Casa Mariposa, is a sprawling cliffside villa with unique, hacienda-inspired architecture. This includes a 1,000-square-foot, top-floor master suite with a large private deck and hot tub, along with a detached casita with its own kitchenette.
Casa Mariposa | 6br - 7.5ba
Casa de las Hamacas | 4br - 6.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Riviera Maya MEXICO
The culturally rich Riviera Maya offers endless stretches of white-sand beaches and the secondlargest coral reef in the world. Inspirato’s accommodations run along the coast from Cancún to Tulum. Farthest North, NIZUC Resort & Spa offers access to the bustling nightlife of Cancún. In the quieter area of Mayakoba, choose from three residences and one suite at Rosewood Mayakoba, as well as six villas at Banyan Tree Mayakoba, close to the beach. For a private escape, Hotel Esencia offers four suites in the former private home of an Italian duchess.
Nizuc Resort & Spa, Private Pool “Villa” | 1br - 1ba
Rome I TA LY
Stay with Inspirato in the Eternal City near Rome’s most famed attractions. Located near the Spanish Steps you’ll find the intimate boutique hotel Portrait Roma, as well as the lavish Weston Excelsior, Rome; the historic Hotel de Russie; and elegant Baglioni Hotel Regina. Located in the heart of ancient Rome, The Palazzo Manfredi provides unobstructed views of the Colosseum from an on-site Michelinstarred restaurant with open-air terrace. Heading northwest, art aficionados will love Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Resort boasting the only three-star Michelin in Rome.
Baglioni Hotel Regina, Family Suite | 2br - 1ba 116
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Rosemary Beach/ WaterColor F LO R I D A
Along the family-friendly Florida panhandle corridor known as Scenic Highway 30A, Inspirato offers five classic beach homes. You’ll find four homes close to the charming town of Seaside in the master-planned WaterColor Resort: Cobalt Cottage, Magnolia, Emerald Cottage, and Sunset Cottage.
Sunset Cottage | 4br - 4.5ba
A few miles east, the colonial-inspired town of Rosemary Beach is home to Sugarwhite Cottage, which is steps from the beach, and three-bedroom Treetops Cottage, featuring a private plunge pool. Both communities include access to the beach club, pools, restaurants, tennis, and more.
Treetops | 3br - 2.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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San Francisco CALIFORNIA
Inspirato offerings in San Francisco include the elegant and historic Fairmont San Francisco, located on iconic Nob Hill, close to Chinatown and the city’s cable car lines. Hotel Drisco offers boutique accommodations in charming Pacific Heights. Loews Regency San Francisco is centrally located a few blocks from the Financial District, making it an excellent choice for business travelers. Two apartments at the Fairmont Heritage Plaza Ghirardelli Square—named Ganache and Cocoa—offer views of the Russian Hill neighborhood and include complimentary breakfast, a fireplace, kitchen, and soundproof windows.
Hotel Drisco, City View Suite | 2br - 2ba
San Miguel de Allende MEXICO
San Miguel de Allende is a vibrant, historic city that is known for its colonial architecture, authentic cuisine, and art galleries. Stay in the heart of the city at the regal Casa Fuentes and enjoy an indoor-outdoor floor plan and panoramic city views from a rooftop deck. The Rosewood San Miguel de Allende—named the “#1 Hotel in Mexico” by Condé Nast Traveler—is an upscale, Spanish colonial−inspired hotel surrounded by lush gardens.
Casa Fuentes | 4br - 4.5ba 118
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Santa Barbara CALIFORNIA
Visit the American Riveria at five luxury Inspirato accommodations. Just outside of Montecito is the storybook English-style cottage Lilac, situated on one acre of tranquil gardens offering its own pool and outdoor fireplace. Nearby, the Rosewood Miramar Beach stretches along the pristine Pacific coastline offering an idyllic beachside retreat. Sitting on 500 acres of Southern California wine country is San Ysidro Ranch, a secluded getaway offering 17 miles of trails to explore.
Lilac | 5br - 4.5ba
To the west, The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara provides a peaceful and luxurious experience with a Mediterranean feel on 78 acres of oceanfront property. The intimate Belmond Ecanto—the only Forbes 5-star resort in Santa Barbara—is nestled high in the hills, less than two miles from downtown.
Belmond El Encanto, Garden Bungalow | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Santorini G R E EC E
Inspirato offers rooms and suites at two of Santorini’s finest hotels, both recipients of the AAA Five-Diamond Award. With three infinityedge pools and stunning sea views, the Katikies Hotel earned a nod as the “#1 Resort Hotel in Greece” by Travel + Leisure magazine. Meanwhile, many of the accommodations at the Chromata Hotel offer private pools, hot tubs, and terraces with sweeping views. From either location, you can stroll the cobblestoned streets of Pyrgos, a well-preserved medieval-era village, sample local food and wine, or simply lounge on the beach beside the cool waters of the Aegean Sea.
Katikies Hotel, Honeymoon Suite | 1br - 1ba
Scottsdale A R I ZO N A
Discover seven Inspirato homes in Scottsdale, all located within The Rocks Luxury Residence Club, an upscale resort community nestled in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains. Each of these three- or four-bedroom stand alone homes include custom furnishings, its own hot tub/plunge pool, and ample outdoor space for soaking up the Arizona sun. Golfers can enjoy easy access to nine courses in the immediate vicinity with abundant sunshine all year round. Other attractions include miles of hiking trails that wind through the striking desert landscape, and a historic downtown lined with shops, galleries, and restaurants.
Sonora | 4br - 4ba 120
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Sedona A R I ZO N A
Known for its unique sandstone formations, Sedona is a spiritual hub that has attracted travelers from all over the world in search of outdoor recreation, artistic inspiration, and self-discovery. Sedona is home to dozens of spas, many of which feature Native Americaninspired treatments that incorporate red rock clay and local fauna. Stay with Inspirato at the L’Auberge de Sedona, located right in idyllic downtown Sedona. Visitors will love the modern cottage accommodations, relaxing spa, and awardwinning restaurant situated on a lush, wooded property.
L’Auberge de Sedona, Vista Suite Cottage | 1br - 1ba
Snowmass Village C O LO R A D O
Snowmass Village, an undiscovered gem near Aspen, boasts world-class outdoor recreation and fewer crowds. With Inspirato, discover two standalone homes. Base Camp is a five-bedroom home with ski-in, ski-out access, and private hot tub. At High Alpine Lodge, enjoy over 5,000 square feet of living space with sweeping views. One Snowmass with Inspirato, a luxury residence property located at the new Base Village, is less than 5 minutes away from world-class skiing. Choose from two-bedroom residence Grey Wolf and three-bedroom residences Coyote Hollow and Wildcat, all boasting incredible valley views. Members can also stay at the Limelight Hotel in the heart of Snowmass Village.
High Alpine Lodge | 5br - 5.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Sonoma County CALIFORNIA
Zin Estate | 4br - 4.5ba
Inspirato offers more than a dozen Sonoma County homes, all ideally located for a wine country vacation. Villa Vigneto, just two miles outside Sonoma, provides the easiest access to the town’s quaint shops and restaurants. Villa Della Luna is a gated five-acre estate with sweeping views of the rolling Sonoma hills, while the modern Winner’s Circle sits just five minutes from the renowned vineyards of the Russian River Valley. Further north, Vintner’s Cottage offers a one-of-a-kind, immersive experience on the property of an active winery; catch a glimpse of the winemaking process while staying in a private French-style cottage. We have five homes at Wheelman House Healdsburg less than a block from Healdsburg Plaza, providing incredible access to restaurants, wineries, and tasting rooms.
Farmhouse Inn, King Deluxe | 1br - 1ba 122
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St. Barts F R E N C H W E ST I N D I E S
White-sand beaches, high-end boutiques, and fine French cuisine all come together on St. Barts, where members can relax and unwind at Le Sereno, named the “#1 Top Resort in the Caribbean” in the 2016 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The sprawling Le Sereno Villa includes a private pool, three master suites, and plenty of outdoor living spaces with sweeping ocean views. Couples or solo travelers can choose from three types of rooms and suites with luxury furnishings and full access to Le Sereno Hotel amenities.
Hotel Manapany, Beach Prestige Room | 1br - 1ba
St. Kitts and Nevis F R E N C H W E ST I N D I E S
When you’re really looking to get away from it all, the tiny islands of St. Kitts and Nevis offer the perfect escape. The Park Hyatt St. Kitts offers four spacious rooms and suites where members can find three signature on-site restaurants, two pools—one for families and one reserved for adults—and a luxurious spa. The Park Executive Suite includes a private plunge pool and sweeping sea views. Nearby on the island of Nevis, members can choose from three- and four-bedroom villas or a two-bedroom beach house at the secluded Paradise Beach Nevis. Each property on the resort offers a private pool and complimentary beachfront breakfast.
Paradise Beach Nevis, Four Bedroom Garden Villa | 4br - 4ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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St. Lucia W E ST I N D I E S
St. Lucia is famous for its lush hills that plunge into the azure waters of the Caribbean. Enjoy this scenery at Marigot Bay Resort, overlooking a large marina, where you can charter a yacht, shop, or enjoy the resort’s open-air spa and dining. Farther south, members can stay in spacious suites at the beachfront Viceroy Sugar Beach. This modern, award-winning resort is nestled on 100 acres of lush, tropical rainforest between the Pitons, a pair of volcanic plugs and a symbol of the island.
Viceroy Sugar Beach, Beachfront Collection | 4br - 4ba
St. Michaels M A RY L A N D
Set beside the historic Chesapeake Bay, St. Michaels, Maryland, is home to Inspirato’s Chesapeake Estate, a quintessential waterfront residence with a private pier, sprawling yard, and large, heated swimming pool. With its large, open great room and gourmet kitchen, your whole family can enjoy time relaxing together after days filled with activities such as fishing the bay, swimming, and yard games. For couples or individuals, the Inn at Perry Cabin by Belmond offers elegant, classically furnished accommodations set in a colonialstyle, 19th-century manor house.
Chesapeake Estate | 4br - 5.5ba 124
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St. Thomas U. S . V I RG I N I S L A N D S
The most cosmopolitan isle of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas offers pristine white-sand beaches, a lush mountain interior, and bustling ports. Visit the charming harbor town of Charlotte Amalie to shop for designer clothing and one-of-a-kind artwork. Stay with Inspirato at Estate Canaan—a 1.3acre Caribbean estate perched high above Magens Bay, one of the world’s top beaches. Take in sweeping ocean and lush forest views from multiple outdoor terraces and balconies, as well as the infinity-edge pool and hot tub. Each of the five bedrooms lives like a master suite, with en suite bathrooms and ample room to unwind.
Estate Canaan | 5br - 5.5ba
Sydney A U ST R A L I A
Ideally located in the Rocks District near Sydney Opera House, The Langham Sydney offers luxuriously furnished rooms and suites for Inspirato travelers. The hotel’s elegant, midcentury aesthetic and bright, sunlit interiors offer a serene refuge within this bustling city. The most spacious accommodation, The Residence, includes a kitchen and formal dining room, along with picture windows offering views of the Western Harbour and Sydney. After a day touring this vibrant city, relax in the hotel’s spa, sauna, or indoor swimming pool.
The Langham Sydney, Executive Harbor King | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Telluride C O LO R A D O
Lumiere with Inspirato, Five Bedroom Penthouse | 5br - 5ba
Tucked snugly at the end of a scenic box canyon, Telluride offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the American West, encircled by the jagged, 14,000-foot peaks of the San Juan Mountains. All eight of Inspirato’s Telluride homes share one thing in common: incredible mountain views. Enjoy ski-in, ski-out access in the standalone five-bedroom Gold Hill, boasting rustic lodge-style décor and a private hot tub. Meadowlark—a grand five-bedroom, ski-in, ski-out estate—includes a private hot tub, indoor sauna, and a wraparound balcony. Stay in one-, two-, three-, four-, or five-bedroom residences at Lumière with Inspirato, a luxury residence property nestled in Telluride’s Mountain Village.
Gold Hill | 5br - 5ba 126
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Meadowlark | 5br - 4.5ba
The Hamptons N E W YO R K
Explore New York’s most legendary beach retreat with Inspirato. Stay at Bluebird, a quintessential Hamptons home with modern coastal decor and abundant outdoor space including a heated pool, fire pit, and dining area. Bluebird is just a 5-minute drive from Bridgehampton and 10 minutes from the beach. White Fences Inn is a chic bed and breakfast located on the east end of the Hamptons, offering a bountiful and locally-sourced breakfast prepared by chef and co-owner Liz Brodar. On the northern end of the Hamptons, Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa lies on a 2,000foot stretch of private beach, providing dramatic Atlantic Ocean views from every room.
White Fences Inn, Corwith | 1br - 1ba
Tortola B R I T I S H V I RG I N I S L A N DS
The scenic British Virgin Islands are known for their postcard-worthy Caribbean beaches, and Tortola—the largest island in BVI—is no exception. Discover uncrowded beaches that stretch for miles, laid-back beach towns, and some of the best sailing in the world. Make your home base in Tortola the sixbedroom Tamarind Cove, a stately beachfront villa overlooking the most picturesque beaches on the isle. Panoramic, 180-degree ocean views abound from every bedroom and the infinityedge pool and hot tub. The master bedroom has its own private plunge pool.
Tamarind Cove | 6br - 6.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Turks and Caicos B R I T I S H W E ST I N D I E S
Caya Hico | 4br - 4.5ba
Turks and Caicos has the largest Caribbean portfolio in the Inspirato Collection, with 15 accommodation options that include a mix of standalone beachfront villas and renowned resorts. Stay at Villa Helios, steps from sandy Long Bay Beach, or lounge near your private, beachfront pool at secluded Caya Hico. The Somerset on Grace Bay resort includes three boutique resort homes and access to Grace Bay, the best beach on the island. Wymara Resort and Villas is known for its sleek design and sophisticated oceanfront villas. COMO Parrot Bay is a luxury private island resort with a mile-long beach and award-winning spa. Amanyara is a luxury retreat nestled among the preserved Northwest Point Marine National Park.
Villa Hyperion | 5br - 5.5ba 128
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Wymara Resort and Villas, Four Bedroom Villa + Den | 4br - 4.5ba
Tuscany I TA LY
Added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2004, the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany was designed in Renaissance times to be one of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing and untouched landscapes.Tuscany offers the most accommodations of any Inspirato destination in Europe, with eight standalone villas and four hotels. Stay in a restored farmhouse surrounded by olive groves and vineyards at Villa Dante or Villa Azzurri, just outside Florence.
La Galleria | 6br - 6.5ba
Or, choose from a trio of 11th-century luxury estates—Villa Collina, Villa Bellezza, and La Villetta—near Siena. The historic estates in Val d’Orcia offer the most scenic views; Villa San Bartolomeo is a standout, with a private pool overlooking the rolling Tuscan countryside.
Il Camponille | 9br - 9.5ba
Monticelli | 6br - 6.5ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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Vail C O LO R A D O
Grand View | 4br - 4.5ba
Vail is the largest mountain destination in the Inspirato Collection, with 35 accommodations. Stay steps from the gondola in the heart of Vail at one of our 25 luxury condos at Solaris, ranging in size from two to six bedrooms. The Bavarian-style Sonnenalp hotel offers cozy suites in the heart of the village, as well as a European spa and on-site dining. Bell Tower—a five-bedroom condo—is Inspirato’s most centrally located home in Vail, just a two-minute walk along a heated walkway to the gondola. For sweeping valley views, stay in a modern duplex like Grand View atop a mountain ridge. Nearly all homes come with one or two parking spots in the village.
Blue Sky | 3br - 3.5ba 130
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Sonnenalp, Blue Spruce Suite | 1br - 1ba
Venice I TA LY
Discover the floating city of Venice at three distinct Inspirato accommodations. Aman Venice is an opulent boutique hotel overlooking the Grand Canal where you’ll find museumquality treasures at every turn. Step back in time to Old World Venice at the Baglioni Hotel Luna right in the heart of Venice near to Mark’s square. The main building of Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice dates back to the 14th century and has been described as one of the most beautiful hotels in the world.
Aman Venice, Maddalena Stanza | 1br - 1ba
Wailea, Maui H AWA I I
Stay along Maui’s most prestigious coast, Wailea, in one of 17 Inspirato accommodations. Choose from garden-view Maluhia or oceanfront Makana and Nalu at Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, an upscale hotel with access to four infinity-edge pools, restaurants, spa, and more. Farther south, at Ho’olei at Grand Wailea, enjoy full access to Grand Wailea amenities when you stay at one of our three-bedroom homes here. At the southern end of Wailea, you’ll be just steps from the beach in one of our four villas at the Fairmont Kea Lani: Hoku, Makai, Hale Kauno’o, and Maile, each boasting its own private plunge pool.
Fairmont Kea Lani, Deluxe Ocean View Suite #2 | 1br - 1ba I N S P I R A T O . C O M
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These members- and passholders-only experiences include cruises, tours, weekend getaways, and access to high-profile sporting and cultural events, all with premium accommodations and itineraries carefully designed by our team of travel experts.
BARCELONA TO LISBON CRUISE 2020 J U N E 18 – 25, 20 20
Sail in the height of luxury aboard the newly renovated Silver Spirit with a varied itinerary that hits the coastal cosmopolitan centers of Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. Cruise from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, hitting three countries, two continents, and several charming ports. Indulge in Barcelona’s tapas, Lisbon’s port wine, Mallorca’s paella, and Casablanca’s savory tajine on a cruise as rich in culinary highlights as it is in culture and history.
RIDE AND WATCH TOUR DE FRANCE 2020 J U N E 24-29, 2020
Set off on a once-in-a-lifetime experience riding along the French Riviera and through the Maritime Alps in the wheel tracks of legendary cycling coach Chris Carmichael, and top 10 Tour de France finisher Cristophe Lemevel—then watch as the pros conquer the same twists, turns, climbs, and descents two days later during Stage 1 of the Tour de France. 132
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ROME TO ATHENS CRUISE 2020 J U LY 10–18, 2020
Sail through ancient waters once ruled by emperors as you make your way from Rome to Athens. After exploring Rome’s ancient history and Sicily’s cultural crossroads, meander on to Malta and discover “the gentleman’s city” at your leisure. See the charming island towns of Argostoli on Kefalonia and Adamas on Milos—two of Greece’s best-kept secrets. You’ll also discover the hidden beaches of Kefalonia and the nightlife of Mykonos.
EAST AFRICAN WILDLIFE SAFARI 2020 J U LY 19– 27, 2020 O R A U G U ST 4 –12 , 20 20
Embark on daily game drives in Nairobi National Park while staying in Lewa Safari Camp. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is home to an incredibly diverse crop of wildlife, including lions, leopards, elephants, and rhinoceroses. Although wildlife migration patterns are difficult to predict, we’ve done our best to time this safari to coincide with the great wildebeest migration, an annual pilgrimage of more than 2 million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles.
ATHENS TO ATHENS CRUISE 2020 J U LY 18 – 26 , 20 20
Renowned for their idyllic seaside villages and bright blue waters, the famed Greek Islands offer endless coastline, culture, and charm. Island-hop these picturesque jewels dotting the Aegean Sea—beginning and ending your voyage in one of the world’s oldest cities. Explore ancient sites such as the Acropolis, follow in the footsteps of classical scholars, and take in the gorgeous Grecian island views from your private deck aboard the sophisticated Silver Shadow.
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RHINE RIVER CRUISE 2020 S E P T E M B E R 13 - 24 , 20 20
Explore Europe’s rich history on an incredible Rhine River Valley cruise through the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland, diving deep into the region’s culture, natural wonders, traditions, and historical significance. Delve into the region’s world-renowned museums in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Cologne, Basel, and Arnhem. Along the way, indulge in central Europe’s delicious cuisine—Dutch cheese and fries, Alsatian choux-croute, Kölsch beer, unique wine vinegar aperitifs, and Germany’s famous white wines.
F1 US GRAND PRIX 2020 O C TO B E R 23-26, 2020
Enjoy unparalleled luxury hospitality during the greatest racing spectacle: the Formula 1® United States Grand Prix 2020. From your perch above the team garages in the famed Formula 1 Paddock Club™, take in unfiltered views overlooking the start/finish line and into the pit lane as you sample gourmet food and sip beer, wine, champagne, and soft drinks from the open bar. Insider access grants you entry to the Formula 1 Paddock Club™ as well as pit lane walks and daily driver appearances.
HOLIDAY IN AUSTRALIA 2020 D E C E M B E R 24 , 20 20– J A N U A RY 3, 20 21
Spend the holiday season sightseeing Down Under on this family-friendly adventure. Begin in the scenic Blue Mountains, where you’ll participate in a la carte activities like horseback riding or guided nature walks. Then, fly north to Port Douglas, a jumping-off point for the Great Barrier Reef. Cap off your trip with a visit to Sydney, where you’ll cruise the harbor, learn to surf at Bondi Beach, and ring in the New Year with a Sydney Harbour fireworks show.
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EXPERIENCE IT Experience the timeless charm and elegance of a real Italian experience at Baglioni Hotels & Resorts. The unforgettable Italian touch.
V EN I CE – RO M E – FLO RENC E – PUNTA A LA , TUSCA NY – MILA N - UNITE D KINGDOM – MALDIVES – FRANCE
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T H E R E I WA S
THOUGHTFUL TOUCHES From a surprise birthday party to a scavenger hunt for the kids, we didn’t let the rain slow down this family. BY E L I Z A B E T H M A R G L I N
(Clockwise from left) Garrett and his son; Surprise birthday cake for the Miller’s son; Rainy day games and activities; Jenn and her daughters.
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hen Inspirato members Garrett and Jenn Miller booked a week-long stay at Sea Star, a sixth-floor luxury condo at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman on worldrenowned Seven Mile Beach for late August, they knew it was rainy season. But they thought that meant intermittent showers—not a deluge. When the family of five got stuck with non-stop rain the day after they arrived, to say they were disappointed is an understatement. There’s nothing like bad weather and three young kids (ages 8, 4, and 2) to make one start to feel antsy. But, Garrett says, “thanks to the amenities and services at The Ritz-Carlton and the attention and care from the Inspirato East Team of Ashley and Sarah, the situation was redeemed. We had a fantastic time.” The Inspirato team first took care of the most pressing details: rescheduling the family’s planned outdoor activities for later in the week when the forecast proved more promising. And then the team stepped it up to elevate service into saving grace. “The staff provided us with extra games and activities for the kids,” he says. “Then they most generously arranged for our two oldest kids 136
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to spend two of the rainy days attending morning camps at The Ritz-Carlton kids’ club, which we sincerely appreciated and the girls absolutely loved. They couldn’t have cared less about the rain as long as they were doing that. Sarah was also staying in touch with us, made extra trips to the grocery store (and wine shop!) to get us through the rainier weather.” But what really got both parents was that the staff surprised the family with a birthday party for their youngest son (who had just turned two) in their condominium after their plans to go to an outdoor-only restaurant were canceled. “This trip was really a lesson for our children in many things, particularly kindness and generosity,” she says. “Sarah turned us onto a scavenger hunt the kids could do, designed for them to meet Ritz staffers that hail from many different countries, each of whom were exceptionally considerate. We were also able to teach them about things not always working out as planned but still find ways to enjoy our time as a family.” With help from the team, the Millers quickly adjusted to the shift in plans and could see the weather through an appreciative lens—as the
ultimate justification to do nothing. “We ended up having some great times playing board games together and just relaxing in the condominium. It’s so easy to want to load up on activities and excursions on vacations, but really, the slowing down felt the most nourishing. “We were surprised by how much we enjoyed ourselves,” Garrett says. By the time the sun began to shine, the family had done some serious bonding and were primed to take full advantage of the outdoors. “Our last four days on island were perfect,” he says. The Millers we happy to discover that even if you can’t depend on the weather, you can depend on Inspirato to bring together the necessary ingredients to make a vacation magical. “Inspirato truly does care about making your vacation a relaxing and memorable experience and they most definitely succeeded at that. It is why we are members. We could stay anywhere, but to have that level of attention, service and genuine care for our family on our vacation is what defines Inspirato,” Garrett says. “They really do get to know you and your family and all of our likes, dislikes and quirks. Inspirato is unmatched in their ability to always get the details just right.”
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