April 5, 2025 • 53 mins
The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif discuss this week's travel news and Hot Deals!
In this episode of our podcast, we delve into the latest travel trend where adventurers are seeking unique and selective experiences over the typical "bright-lights-big-city" destinations. Discover how travelers are gravitating towards off-the-beaten-path locations without sacrificing meaningful conveniences. Join us as we kick off our newest series, "How Luxury Comes Together," featuring in-depth discussions on luxurious yet secluded accommodations such as Ambiente Hotel, Origins Bed & Breakfast, and Adobe Grand Villas in Sedona, Acadia Hotel in Bar Harbor, Old Monterey Inn in California, and Wolfboro Inn in New Hampshire.
In this episode of our podcast, we delve into the latest travel trend where adventurers are seeking unique and selective experiences over the typical "bright-lights-big-city" destinations. Discover how travelers are gravitating towards off-the-beaten-path locations without sacrificing meaningful conveniences. Join us as we kick off our newest series, "How Luxury Comes Together," featuring in-depth discussions on luxurious yet secluded accommodations such as Ambiente Hotel, Origins Bed & Breakfast, and Adobe Grand Villas in Sedona, Acadia Hotel in Bar Harbor, Old Monterey Inn in California, and Wolfboro Inn in New Hampshire.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel show and
podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well two forty
three f Avenue in harsemerg and online at the wishing
Well dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:20):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean and say hello. I love Saturdays,
and so do I. I get to see you, Chris.
It's nice, nice just to be able to have an
hour to sit and talk about travel. It is talk
about how we can make our life more enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
It's so funny because when I talk to people who
tell me they listen to this show, which, by the way,
thank you so very much. We're so pleased that you're
joining us this morning. They talk to me about sitting
down with a cup of coffee in their kitchens or
their living rooms and have the show on and they
dream with us. And I love that. Saturdays then are
for dreaming.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I love that. I know I do too, Harry. Do
you dream much?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Do I dream? I do dream? I dream about creating
great memories. How's that fit?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Harry? Right from the wishing Well, it's good to see
you as well this morning.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yes, sir, same to you.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
So we didn't talk to each other last week, did we?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
We did not know.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
So we've got a couple of weeks get caught up
on what's happened in the world of travel. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Absolutely, And I want to get started right away with
something that I know everybody has been talking about, and
that is just wanted to give you a heads up
the real ID deadline about a month away. What to
know about that travel requirement? Well, in order to avoid
a potential travel delay come this time next month, the
Transportation Security Administration has confirmed to everybody travel industry exactly
(01:49):
that they have plans to enforce this identification requirement for
every adult traveler starting Wednesday, May the seventh. So that's
why I'm mentioning this today is because we're about a
month away from that, and the TSA said in a
statement that if you do not have a real idea
by May seventh, your air travel may be delayed, So
I just want to let people know again, just a pleasant,
(02:12):
friendly reminder that you do need to get that or
passport or a passport. Passport card is also okay, got.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
To be valid passport if I want to get that
star put on my ID. What kind of turnaround time?
Can I walk into the DMV.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And you can as long as you have the proper
documentation with you that they're asking for, then yes, you
can turn it around all in a day.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
No perfect usually yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, And an old driver's license is not the proper documentation.
It requires something that's an official sell birth document, like
like a stamped or sealed birth certificate.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
And then like utility builds or something.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Too exactly to establish your home residence.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Yes, it was easy. I did it a couple of
years ago and it was no problem.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, So just a friendly reminder about that, folks. If
you don't have it yet, you might want to get
busy now. Next, we've got something from the State Department
that is issuing a warning for US travelers about their
visits to the Bahamas. This one kind of surprised me
a little bit. The State Department warning travelers about violent
crime and other potential risks in a popular destination for
(03:17):
crewis passengers and other tourists that are going to the Bahamas.
They're not discouraging travel to the Bahamas. They wanted to
be very clear about that in this news break, but
it's urging caution.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
They say.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Violent crimes like armed robberies, burglaries, sexual assaults can occur
in the Bahamas and most of these crimes are occurring
in Nassau and Freeport on New Providence and Grand Bahama Islands.
The advisory also encourages villagance in vacation rental properties where
there might not be enough security. Now, travelers are encouraged
(03:53):
to practice basic safe principles like being aware of their surroundings,
locking their doors and windows, not answering the door unless
they know who it is, and by all means, be
very careful if you are out and about at night,
after dark, when the sun goes down. My grandmother used
to say, nothing good ever happens after the sun goes down.
(04:14):
But they also travelers can also sign up Chris for
something called the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. The acronym for
that is STEP. You can enroll in that anytime you're
going abroad, and this allows the State Department to send
real time updates on health safety and other urgent matters
and contact you in the event of an emergency where
(04:36):
you are traveling to. So some good things to know there, Harry.
I think you had a couple of pieces of news
that you wanted to talk about this morning, and then
if you hand it back off to me, I've got
something that everybody should know about spring travel trends for
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So we've been hearing a lot about volcanoes and Iceland.
Good news as of this week, Dada says everything has stopped.
Iceland has had eleven consecutive volcanic eruptions since twenty eleven,
so it's not something new, but it's something that we
want to be very concerned about. This particular one didn't
pose any threat to life. And one of the big
(05:15):
sites there in Iceland that I know a lot of
our visitors like to see is a blue lagoon that
has now reopened and is one hundred percent safe to visit.
Flights back and forth to Iceland remain uneffective. All the
international quarters are open, so if you're thinking about Iceland,
it's okay to go.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
That is good news.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah. One of the other things I think that's coming
is a trend. It's news, but it's also a trend.
We're going to hear a lot about it over the
next years. Is this whole idea of facial recognition, and
what I read is something that it says scan, smile
and boared. What's happening more and more is we're seeing
facial recognition taking the place of having to haul out
(05:55):
your driver's license and how many times have we gone
through security and it's like, where's my driver's license? Do
you have your driver's license? Did you remember to put
it backward belongs? Or your passport? With facial recognition, the
big trend that I'm seeing in the news is more
and more companies are using it. Delta Airlines in particular,
has been very aggressive with facial recognition on their international
(06:17):
flights that instead of the boarding pass facial recognition when
you're going through tsa facial recognition when you're boarding the plane.
It makes it a whole lot easier because you don't
have to worry about losing anything. One of the things
that people are concerned about and have some questions about
with facial recognition is how long is that information held
(06:39):
on to and I think that's a really valid concern
for people that are listening. They should know this. TSA
says their systems generally delete facial recognition and personal traveler
data immediately after identity verification, and that's great. That means
within twenty four hours that information is out of the system.
(07:00):
They needed ahead of time because they do some pre
checking on people that are boarding the planes, but that
information is supposed to be deleted. And there are a
lot of discussions going on with the airlines too about
making sure that we're respecting people's privacy. Because convenience is great,
privacy also important. So we want to make sure that
(07:22):
as biometric identification takes off that it's going to have
a real great experience for everybody.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
So I mentioned that we want to talk about some
travel trends. I want to do that real quickly, and
then we're going to head into some of our specials
that we have for this week. But I thought it
was real interesting this article that came out about everything
that you want to know about Spring travel trends for
twenty twenty five, and I'm going to run through these
(07:50):
probably a little quicker than all the information that I
have because I really wanted to hit some of these
because they are very hot topics for spring travel, And
one of the ones that we're getting from our Virtuoso
partners that they pointed to is jet setting continuing its
rise now this spring, Virtuoso is continuing to see film
(08:13):
and television drive travel. As a matter of fact, bookings
by US travelers to Thailand are up by forty one percent.
Coinciding with the season three of HBO's The White Lotus. Now,
I have to confess I do not watch it. I
have not seen it, but I hear it's fantastic. So
don't know anything about that. But if you are someone
(08:33):
who watches this show regularly, perhaps it's time for you
to plan your travel to Thailand. Average daily rates are
also rising by ten percent to Thailand. Another growing trend
women going solo. Recent Virtuoso data shows that women now
make up seventy one percent of solo travelers.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
That's a big number.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
They are increasingly embracing experiences that are typically more group oriented,
like cruising. Now, I can tell you I've seen a
big trend in that at the Wishing Well as well.
So thank you, ladies. We love to have you, and
we'd love to send you anywhere you want to go.
Another trend we're seeing is adventure. Adventure is in more
(09:18):
than eight thousand travelers were surveyed about their spring break plans,
and we find that more than sixty percent of those
responders are seeking adventure in their trips for the upcoming season,
with top activities ranging from hiking, trekking to going on safari, snorkeling,
scuba diving, and horseback riding. Another big trend spring safaris.
(09:41):
Eighteen percent increase in bookings for safari destinations including South Africa, Botswana,
and Kenya. This rise in safari travel is related to
an overall trend toward taking bucket list trips in twenty
twenty five, and safaris are part of that. Warm weather rules.
(10:02):
We talked about how coolcations, remember Chris several episodes ago
about how that was trending, But for twenty twenty five,
it's reported that a decline in interest for cooler weather
destinations like Switzerland, Iceland, and Antarctica, in some cases down
as much as sixty percent from last year. Instead, the
(10:25):
list of in demand destinations for spring travel is going
to be topped by Mexico. Interestingly enough with the article
I just read in the Bahamas. Other popular countries include Japan, Italy,
and the Dominican Republic. Now, international and warm weather destinations
are definitely in I just said that, but we're seeing
(10:46):
destinations spike that include Los Cabos, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Japan,
I mentioned Amsterdam. All international hotspots. Most searched localities include
also Hawaii, Cancun, Orlando, Tokyo, and Las Vegas. Now this
is another big one and in the next months that
(11:08):
are coming up in the next weeks for a life
less Ordinary, be listening because we're going to have a
very special guest with us from Villas of Distinction. He's
the vice president of the company, gentleman by the name
of Steve Lassman, and he's going to be joining us
talking about villas and the popularity of those. This is
another trend. Based on booking trends, luxury villa rentals report
(11:31):
that family and multi generational groups are driving villa bookings
this spring. Hawaii and the Caribbean are top villa spots,
followed by Jamaica, Saint Martin, Barbados, and Turks and Caicos.
Another trend. This is interesting to me. Gen z is
splurging and they're really coming out and making travel their own.
(11:55):
They are leading and spending as well as splurging on extras.
One percent of responders from this survey that was taken
say that they are willing to spend on the best experiences,
and that's the highest in any generation that was surveyed.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
I read an interesting statistic on that also, Terry, forty
percent of grandparents over the age of eighty said they'd
rather spend money on a big, extravagant trip than leave
an inheritance.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Doesn't that say something?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, and this is really interesting. I love these statistics.
I mean, the older I get in the more time
I spend in the travel industry, the more these statistics
start to speak to me and in the way we
run our business. And it's so interesting how it parallels
once I read these statistics in these survey results, how
it parallels what we're seeing actually happen inside the doors
(12:47):
at the wishing well. For example. The next big trend
cowboy core. This rising trend in cowboy culture is driving
interest in Southern states like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and louis
I have a family of fourteen this year that are
doing a multi generational trip with top Tours on one
(13:08):
of their trips called Cowboy Connections. So, I mean, these
all really speak to a growing number of trends that
we're seeing. One of the last ones is spending is up.
I love good news stories, especially now, and one of
our popular insurance vendors has found that rising costs are
not stopping Americans from splurging on spring travel this year.
(13:30):
As a matter of fact, average trip cost is up
about fourteen percent from twenty twenty four, reaching well over
fifty five hundred dollars as an average tour cost.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
One of the things complementing what you're saying, Terry, is
I've been reading a lot about nostalgia traveling lately, with
families going back to places, taking kids back to their
childhood neighborhoods where they grew up, you know, seeing what
you know, the baseball stadium look like, seeing what school
I'm on, Grampa graduated from. So they're looking at significant destinations,
(14:04):
and as they look at those destinations, they're including college campuses,
places where they went to school. All of those things
are part of that nostalgic travel and I think that's
really interesting that parents, kids and grandkids are trying to
learn about the family and have these cohesive traveling experiences
(14:25):
together where they start to put the pieces together and say, ah,
now I know why my family's got that crazy New
York accent. He went to school here or whatever it
happens to be.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
So I thought that news was pretty interesting, and I
thought it again, it parallels what we see happening under
the roof. And so I also targeted our specials today
based on all of these trends that we're seeing in
these survey results with that in mind. So one of
the first travel specials that I saw that sort of
answered a lot of this is coming from our preferred
(14:58):
partners at club Med. Remember we talked about Club Med
in a subsequent episode about how they were the leaders
and really the pioneers in all inclusive resorts. Well, for
a limited time right now, there is a sale that
club Med is offering. Best family offer for this summer
is here. Kids under sixteen can stay free with one
(15:20):
paying adult and everybody everybody enjoys forty percent off. That's
a pretty good deal. And this offer is going to
end on April the seventh. So if you're listening today
and you are interested in an all inclusive vacation to
places like Cancun, Mexico and Puntakana and even Quebec, maybe
(15:42):
even Estapo, Mexico where some of the more as we learned,
more popular places are going to be for summer travel
in twenty twenty five. This would be the deal to
jump on again. Forty percent off and one child free
for every paying adult. And those children do have to
be between the ages of four to seventeen, so great
way for them to make new friends and embark on
(16:04):
new journeys. Remember that you can always with Club met
enjoy gourmet meals, open bars, and over twenty land and
water activities all included.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
So that's a great special, but.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
It's really quick.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's April seventh, April seven, long to think about that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Another one that's really great is offered by our good
partners at Almah Waterways. They are offering a complementary land
package offer. This is a value of up to eighteen
hundred and sixty dollars per person. You do have to
book before June thirtieth to receive this, and what's included
in this are overnight stays at their four and five
(16:42):
star hotels conveniently located near the major sites. You get
daily breakfast at the hotels, enriching city tours and excursions
led by knowledgeable local guides. You get your transfers and
portage service between your hotel and that oh so wonderful
river cruise ship on Alma Waterways, the services of an
(17:02):
extraordinary cruise managers throughout your journey, and that all complements
of Alma Waterways. And when you say free these days
in the travel industry, that's real money. Eighteen hundred and
sixty dollars per person. That's a great deal, and they're
giving you that for free. This one I love. If
you're a big watcher of Wheel of Fortune, the name
(17:23):
of this company is certainly going to resonate with you.
I'm talking about collect Tours. They go everywhere all over
the world, both domestically and internationally, and right now they're
doing something unprecedented by any air airline or tour operator.
They are giving you fifty percent off of the airfare
if you're going economy on their packages, or twenty five
(17:46):
percent off of premium air. Premium air would be either
business economy plus or first class. That travel window to
take advantage of this offer is right now through the
end of this year December thirty, first of twenty twenty five,
and this is going to include any of their packages,
include the airfare, your in destination, transfers twenty four by
(18:10):
seven emergency Assistants, and something that's really great for our
area is round trip home to airport, private chauffeur service
to the airport itself. Again, if you can buy their
package and get fifty percent off, we love to tell
you about ways you can get things for free here
on a life less ordinary and with a great tour
operator to boot. So again, this offer is with collect
(18:33):
Big News. Everywhere they go, every tour, every gateway, they're
offering fifty percent off.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
So Terry, we just wrapped up our series on luxury
travel and this week we are kicking off a new series.
Luxury is still part of it, how luxury comes together.
And I think a lot of us when we think
about luxury travel, we think of those big moments, but
there are some nice little town that shouldn't be forgotten
(19:01):
when it comes to luxury. And our show this week
is called in the Smallest of Places And.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
If you had a lot of fun with our first
episode on luxury. You're gonna love this one because we're
also going to bring in some guests.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
I love it. We can't wait to get into this
next here on a Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and help you avoid pitfalls.
They can spoil your HRD earned vacation well, plan your trip,
and have your back as you travel. All of this
without support or so called convenience fees. We're on the
web at the Wishingwell dot viz or call us at
five four zero nine zero eight two three eight three
(19:37):
three has five four zero nine zero eight two three
three three. The washing Well really does make dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
at this time, we sit down and we talk travel,
and it's always good to be able to talk about,
you know, all these luxurious locations. But this week we're
going to talk luxury in small packages are show it's
called in the Smallest of Places and we're talking about
small towns.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, it is kind of fun, I mean, really, places
that take you outside of the big bright You know,
bright lights, big city.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Kind of as soon as you said the name of
the show, I started thinking of like little towns in
New England. Yeah, that to me sounds like luxury, especially
right at the edge of fall into winter.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Well you hang tight here, Chris, because I got something
for you today. I really do.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
And I hope that those that are joining us today
have been tuning in for the last couple of weeks
while we covered a six week series of what luxury
really was. It's a question that interestingly enough, has multiple answers,
as we discovered, and maybe even more importantly, means different
things to different people and certainly different groups of people.
(20:52):
Luxury doesn't mean the same thing to everybody, and it's
not calibrated that way. We've explored luxurious destinations and vendors,
and let's not forget Chris. I would quiz you on
this right now for the five seas of luxury.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Come on, hit me, culture, cuisine, community, content, customization.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I gotta give you an Abody year, and we want
to talk about how that applies to almost every luxury
travel experience that you're ever going to enjoy in one
form or another. Now today, on a life less ordinary,
We're going to be exploring something that has become somewhat
of a new trend in travel. We talked about trends
a while ago in the news you might recall immediately
(21:36):
following COVID, and when travel began to open up after
years of nothing, travelers started to seek more unique and
selective experiences over again, bright lights, big city. They began
to gravitate really to destinations that were certainly more off
the beaten path, but they didn't want to sacrifice meaningful
(21:57):
conveniences in that process. We know that we still want
what they want, but they don't want it in the
big cities necessarily. Remember the old saying don't throw the
baby out with the bathwater. So the reality is we
want our cake and eat it too. That's what we want.
And today we're going to explore, in the first of
our newest series, how luxury comes together. That's what we're
(22:20):
going to be focusing on in the next couple of
weeks together. Our series is going to begin with small towns. Now,
we may not get to all of those today, and
I can tell you, I promise you we won't, but
I've got a couple I want to share with you
we're going to continue that conversation in the weeks ahead.
We're going to talk about off the beaten path experiences
and the remarkable new way of villa vacations. And we'll
(22:43):
put this date on your calendar May the third. The
senior vice president of Villas of Distinction, Steve Lassman, is
going to be joining us right here to talk about
this rapidly growing arena in the travel industry, which are villas,
and they are spectacular and they're not what you'd think.
So you want to join us for that special show.
(23:05):
But since you're going to have to make do with
me today, I'm going to jump in and open the
pages on how to obtain luxury in some of America's
best small towns. Now, luxury is not just for glamorous
cities of Las Vegas and Los Angeles. But there again,
this all depends on how you define luxury. Here's a
couple of ways that you can enjoy luxury in small
(23:27):
towns and things that you should probably look for if
you're targeting that. I mean, a lot of people would
say to me, and I can almost hear you at
home right now, going small towns luxury, I'm not sure
I can make that connection. Terry, what should I be
looking for? Well, here's what you should be looking for.
Luxury accommodations.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Those can be boutique hotels and inns. They can be
luxury bed and breakfasts, they can be unique rentals. And
then you want to look for luxury experiences when you
get there. Do they have gourmet dining, spa and wellness
some things that we talked about outdoor adventures? Do they
have great shopping and art? And importantly do they have
(24:07):
wine and spirit tours? All of those things collectively you
can find these in small towns, but if that's what
you want your experience to be, you need to actively
seek those out. So now that we know what we're
looking for, I want to share with you where you
might find a few of these little hidden gems.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
I particularly love.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
This first little small town destination because in this one example,
I'm going to open the doors to you of a
one small luxury boutique hotel, two a luxury bed and breakfast,
and three a luxury.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Villa, all in this same small town.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Three great choices and a great destination unlike any other.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
In Sedona, Arizona, one of my favorite places It's true.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Sodona is a playground for all kinds of people with
interests as wide ranging as fortune telling and crystal healing
to mountain biking, hiking, climbing, trail running. It welcomes the
luxury spa vacationers, culinary officionados, and jeep tour enthusiasts too.
As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, I
(25:18):
believe one of the great jeep roundups that I ever
actually booked people too, took place in all places, Sedona, Arizona.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Are you going to tell us give us a clue
where to find Sedona, Arizona, because that's not an everyone's mouth.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
You can go ahead and do that, Harry.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
It is just north of Phoenix. If you head up
the highway toward flag Staff, you will go to Sedona.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
So that tells you it's a great place. Phoenix would
be a great place to fly into. Yes, perhaps rent
a car and then make your way into the small town,
small community of Sedona, Arizona, where you're gonna find all
of those great things. Remember what I said, you need
to be looking for these things when you go. Sedona
has all of that and more. Now Sedona offers this
(26:03):
and great accommodations to boot. So let's take a look
at a couple of these accommodations, because I have to
tell you, when I was researching for this show today,
I was blown away. I mean, small towns, that's the
way to go. I mean, good Lord, this is amazing,
And just researching this I felt more relaxed.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
It is great. But the first place I want to
take you to is a gorgeous small hotel property. It's
called Ambient Hotel Sedona. Please, if you're in front of
your computers, look this up. Located in Sedona, carries with
it an amazing story. This landscape hotel is the first
of its kind, first of all in North America. It's
(26:47):
built so that it seamlessly blends with the landscape of Sedona.
And if you've ever seen pictures of Sedona, you know
how colorful it is. First of all. But the fact
that somebody was so thoughtful when they built this hotel
to just blend seamlessly into the landscape, I think is
a stroke of brilliance. All the great respect for the land,
(27:10):
all the creatures who roam it. Their innovative, elevated design.
It provides for minimal impact to the natural environment, so
we love it for those reasons. The owners are focused
on sustainability here no surprise, and creating a blended natural
environment for everybody who stays there. And by the way,
this is an adult's only property, so it's great for honeymooners,
(27:32):
special occasions, and anniversaries. Now, speaking of the story behind
this property, they say that some men are cut from
a different cloth, and the owner, Mike Stevenson, is one
of them.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
He's the guy who owns this.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
At just age fourteen, he began working at Disneyland in
a restaurant. He was inspired by watching Walt Disney walk
the park and reimagine attractions until they were just right.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Now.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
That early lesson in vision and perseverance became a core
part of Mike's character. He served in the US Army,
he got married, him and his wife, Kathleen, moved to
Sodona to work at his father's restaurant then which was
called the Dutchman's Cove now. While he cooked there, he
took on construction jobs too, and Kathy served the guests
(28:23):
at the restaurant, and together they built a life rooted
in hard work and resilience. Fast forward to nineteen seventy three,
Mike risks everything he had to buy up a little
motel called the Red Rock Motel in Oak Creek Canyon.
A year later, he lost it all. He had to
declare bankruptcy. The family returned to California, seemingly defeated until
(28:48):
a new opportunity in manufacturing blossomed. He was drawn into that.
He found success in that, and that brought them back
to Sedona in nineteen eighty five. Talk about a success story.
In twenty sixteen, fate led Mike to a stunning parcel
of land overlooking ancient red rocks. He walked this landscape
(29:10):
with his daughter Jennifer, and they shared a vision to
create something truly truly special. Ambient Sodona was born, a
luxury landscape hotel that fulfilled Mike's lifelong dream. And in
twenty twenty three, this is a fairly new property that
dream became a reality. Operated now by Mike and his
(29:32):
daughters Jennifer and Colleen. They're known as two sister Bosses.
Ambient Sodona is a family legacy built on that same perseverance, passion,
and purpose. And I have to tell you I've looked
at this property I would happily stay.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
There for a week.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
I mean it is all of that and everything you
could imagine for a small town luxury property. This hotel
is just amazing.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I'm looking at pictures right now.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Isn't it wonderful? I mean, it's just some website itself.
And please, listeners, if you are in front of a computer,
or just write this down when you do get in
front of one. The ambient Hotel Sodona. It is truly
a masterpiece. It is, and what a great backstory to
go with it. I love the rise from rags to riches.
(30:26):
I love that, and Mike Stevenson certainly exemplifies that'd be
great if we had him on the show one day.
I'd like to do that now. Next, still in Sidona,
I promised you three properties there. We've got someplace called
the Origins Bed and Breakfast. This property is killer man.
This is another great one. This is a quiet bed
(30:46):
and breakfast in Arizona, near Sodona. It's located near Cottonwood, Arizona,
just a short drive to Sodona, Jerome and Clarksdale, as
well as many wine tasting rooms and vineyards close by.
The rooms here are kind of cool. They're rooted in
Arizona history first of all, and every one of the
(31:08):
rooms has a different theme. They go from river to
Copper to Puebulo to canyon and again every room there
is a different kind of theme. All the rooms have
king size beds, mini fridges, private bathroom, tub shower, microwave, fireplace,
private balcony or patio. There's a gourmet breakfast included every morning.
(31:31):
These are three courses art fully prepared with gluten free,
vegan and vegetarian options. So if you are looking for
more of a bed and breakfast type of accommodation, don't
forget the origins bed and breakfast. This again is going
to be a four or five star hotel equivalent, but
in a bed and breakfast style. So again this is
(31:53):
your second option in Sodona. Last great property I'm going
to point you to in Sodona. It is a small
luxury hotel property especially for multi generational travelers out there.
I'm talking about the Adobe Grand Villas. Now, these are spectacular.
Each of their custom designed mansion stile villas are uniquely themed.
(32:19):
They were hand crafted impeccably with the attention to detail
at the highest level of comfort in mind. Each one
of these villas, highly designed, hand crafted villas, is at
least eight hundred and fifty square feet. That's a pretty
good sized villa. They have private entrances, private garden, patio, balconies,
(32:39):
freshly baked bread on arrival. I love that, two fireplaces.
They have California king beds, jetted two person private tubs,
luxury linens and bathrobes, a kitchenett with microwaven refrigerator, complimentary
snacks and drinks. What a forty to a fifty inch
smart TV desk with complementary Internet and Wi Fi. And
(33:05):
they have telephone with free local calls.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Now.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
In addition to the luxurious villa themselves, they also offer
chef prepared complimentary breakfast, complementary concierge services, private spa services
year round, outdoor heated pool and spa, beautiful lush landscaping,
(33:29):
a fully stopped coffee and tea bar, and fresh homemade
cookies every day. So, if Soedona sounds attractive to you,
or didn't before, I'm sure it does now.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
So I looked at pictures as you were talking about
each one of those locations. The first one very modern looking. Yes,
they're like these glass boxes that are set apart with
a deck up on top. Beautiful. I think out of
the three, that's my.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Yeah, you're seamlessly into the landscape.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
The second and third location has that very Pueblo Arizona
feel to them.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
It does.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
And you were saying each room is unique. Each one
of the rooms, the beds, like one had a very
unique canopy that came over it.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Is that the bed and breakfast at Origins, Yeah, Origins.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
And then the last location, which is the Grand Villas. Yes,
one of the beds looked like a con of Stoga wagon.
I know, it's like each one of the rooms there
has this unique twist to it. I know.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
The websites themselves, I call eye candy. You know, I
can really get excited about a destination based on sometimes
just a website. And honestly, that's why I said the
research for the show today was really kind of over
the top for me. I just loved it. And I think, Harry,
you've spent some time in Sedona.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
I actually was in Sedona when there weren't any of
these properties available. Okay. I was in Sedona back in
the seventies and there were motels that were or kind
of like house, trailer motel. So this is a town
that's really developed, and it's developed hery because of its
strategic location. It is two hours north of Phoenix, it's
(35:12):
an hour south of flag Staff. It is right in
the midst of a lot of the Indian reservations, which
if you want some cultural immersion, you've got the Yabbapie,
the Navajos, other Indian reservations right around there. So you're
talking about, you know, grabbing a car either Phoenix or Flagstaff.
(35:32):
Phoenix a little bit easier to fly into grabbing a car,
and in a three four hour radius, for sure, you
are looking at the desert, you're looking at Indian reservations.
You are at the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
What a vacation destination. And talk about strategically placed. That's
(35:52):
why it's moved from what it was when I was
there in the seventies to these fantastic, over the top
but yet affordable properties that you're talking about today. That's
the luxury part of it. It's the location, it's the properties,
it's the ambiance, it's everything about this wonderful small town
called Sodona.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Yeah, I'm sure you all can't tell at all that
we get really excited when we talk about travel here
in a lifeless, ordinary, Now, next on our small town
luxury journey, I want to take you someplace else. We're
going to be headed to the beautiful West coast town
of Monterey, California, very close to Carmel by the Sea
as well as Palm Beach, and yet a world away
(36:34):
from the stress and the chaos of big city life.
And in particular, I want to focus on a beautiful
luxury in They're known as the Old Monterey Inn. Talk
about incredible, delightful, and tastefully appointed rooms and suites at
the Monterey, California Bed and Breakfast, known for their exquisite
(36:54):
furnishings and thoughtful amenities. This is an award winning four
Diamond Triple A rated Monterey Inn. They've earned national acclaim,
including placement on the coveted Conde Nass Travelers Reader's Choice
Gold List and being selected by Patricia Schultz for her
book titled One Thousand Places To See Before You Die.
(37:17):
This place appeared in that book. It was also featured
on The Today Show as a romantic rendezvous destination. Old
Monterey Inn is an ideal venue for an intimate Monterey
honeymoon retreat or your dream Monterey wedding in the dazzling gardens.
Truly a beautiful place.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
And if you wonder where Monterey is, just say the
Monterey Jazz Festival. Everybody's heard about that this is a
historic town. It was actually the first capital of California.
I didn't know that. Know that interesting? It goes back
to the sixteen hundred, So this is a very historic town.
Unlike Sodona, that's you know, come up out of the desert.
This is a history, lots of history, lots of culture,
(38:03):
lots of things happening. If you love jazz, September is
the time to be in these places that Darry's talking about.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
I'm just looking at photos. I'm sorry that it looks
like something of a storybook.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
It does, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
It's got ivy on the side of the building and
the I don't crepe myrtle type trees growing in the
front and inside. Just when you say in this is
what you think of, this as beautiful and the gardens
are gorgeous as well.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Yeah, and that's why I really wanted to take our
show A Lifeless Ordinary into some of these small towns
Monoeyes considered a small town USA. And so really, as
we start to peel this onion back and we start
to look at a lot of these small towns across
the United States, I think you're going to agree with
us that sometimes less is more and certainly why we
(38:54):
talk about these small towns as a place to find luxury.
These are the hidden gems. Now another small town with
big town luxury worthy of our Life Less Ordinary list today, Chris,
this one's for you. You talked about this. You were talking
about up in Maine, perhaps in the New England areas,
that's what you were thinking of. I'm taking us today
(39:16):
to a place called and one of my favorites, Bar Harbor, Maine. Oh,
how we love this small town. We were fortunate enough
to actually spend some time here when we took a
New England and Canada group on the Queen Mary Too
a few years ago, and the memories are indelible.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
In my mind.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
For Bar Harbor, it was probably one of the highlights
of my trip there. I absolutely loved walking around in
Bar Harbor. We visited Acadian National Park, which is just
literally behind the hill up up behind the hill behind
Bar Harbor, and shopping in downtown Bar Harbor was the best,
but my favorite was the hotel inn that we found
(39:58):
right downtown called the Acadia Hotel. It's located right downtown
Bar Harbor. Again, if you're in front of a computer,
oh good lord, please look this up. The Acadia Hotel
downtown is Bar Harbor's premiere boutique hotel, and the Acadia
Hotel is located in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor,
(40:21):
right in the middle of the thriving shopping district where
you've got galleries, fine restaurants and boutiques. Hotel is within
two blocks literally of one hundred and thirty restaurants and bars,
two hundred shops and galleries. Of course, the waterfront is
right there and Acadia National Park. Now, interesting fact about
(40:41):
this particular property, this hotel. It was originally built as
a ship's captain's house in eighteen eighty and the main
house and the attached boat house offer a wide variety
of rooms, all tastefully renovated with modern amenities, and guests
really love the convenient downtown location, kind of kind a
little quirky feel. Hot tub is open seasonally. They've got
(41:04):
free wireless high speed internet access They've got off street
parking and light, continental breakfast and exceptionally clean rooms. We
actually toured this hotel and went into the rooms. I'll
tell you they're spotless, and the location, the amenities, customer
service is going to make your stay not only enjoyable,
but memorable.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
You left out the most important thing about Bar Harbory.
Speaker 4 (41:26):
What's that?
Speaker 3 (41:27):
What did you eat? When we went to Bar Harbor?
It was fascinating watching Terry eat native food, not lobster lobsty.
You ate lobstery. We bipped her up. She had some
lobsty and we enjoyed ourselves. It's that kind of town
where everybody's smiling at each other and everybody's friendly. And
(41:51):
the best part about it you can get a lobster
dinner at a very affordable price and is it fresh
or what?
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (41:58):
So I mean?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
And you could very easily being in the town of
Bar Harbor. You could let your mind drift and you
could easily think you're on the coast of Scotland somewhere.
It is so quaint and it is so amazing, and
it has everything you could want.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
I envisioned Hallmark Christmas movies right it is. Yeah, it
is a place that famous people have loved. John Rockefeller
donated a lot of the land for Alcadia National Park,
so he liked it up there.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
It must have been pretty good. JP Morgan also a
resident of that area, So there are a lot of
famous people that think highly of this town as much
as Terry and I do.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
Terry, I'm loving this conversation. We need to take a
real quick break and then we'll come back and continue
to talk about the smallest of places when it comes
to luxury travel here on a Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Syria. Let the Wishing World
guide your next travel experience. Travel the world as you
enjoy the very best destinations and all they offer at
the best prices. Our mobile travel app keeps your vacation
on track and keeps you connected with our team of experts.
For help if you need it, call us at five
four zero nine zero eight two three three three stop
(43:15):
buy two forty three nef Avenue or visit us at
the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. This is
your travel show and podcast from your friends at the
Wishing Well. They're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg, online at
the Wishingwell dot biz, and you can also get them
a call at five four h nine eight twenty three
thirty three. I mentioned the website Terry Up in the
upper right hand corner, you will find a link to
(43:42):
all of the podcasts that we have done. You just
click on the I think they call it the Hamburger
menu button, which will drop down and say a life
less Ordinary. Click there, and then you can search all
of the podcasts. You can listen on your website, you
can listen on the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere that you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Yeah, and I actually have had a ball researching all
of the small towns, and there's more in the weeks
to come that are going to be coming up that
we're going to be talking about and sharing with you,
so that you two may be able to use this
information to plan maybe a visit yourself to one of
America's great little small towns. I don't always just talk
(44:23):
the talk, but I walk the walk. And so next
week about this same time, Chris, I'm going to be
in a place called Farmington, Pennsylvania. I know that sounds
like just a very small town it is, but one
of the most luxurious hotel properties that are really in
the United States exists there. I'm going to be spending
(44:46):
some time there for a conference with our good friends
from Virtuoso and the property is called NEMA Colon and
it is one of the great luxury properties. It is
a five star resort. We're talking all of the major
five c's with luxury there, and I'm looking forward to that.
(45:07):
I'll have more to tell you about that property when
I come back. But again, Farmington, Pennsylvania is another great
little spot to put on your register of things to go,
places to go, places to see. I can tell you
this though, getting there is not easy unless you want
to drive. I will be driving to this property because
(45:28):
flying in was not an option, and train is certainly
not an option there. But for us who live on
the East Coast, especially us here in the Shenandoa Valley,
it's like a three hour drive, so I'm going to
enjoy it. I'm going to drive up and enjoy my
ride up there.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
You know, I love that you're talking about somewhere that's
close by, because we've got so many locations here in
the Commonwealth, and if you travel into West Virginia. We do,
and so many of these hidden gym like you said
that earlier in the show, in small towns that you
may not have never heard of. There are some big
ones too. There's the Greenbrier.
Speaker 4 (46:07):
Springs and what a gorgeous place they bring in.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
The PGA and everything, and it was good enough for
the government to hide their continuity of government shoulder in there.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
No kidding.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
You can still take a tour of there. Yeah. But
then there's the small towns too. I mean, you know,
quaint little you know, Airbnbs and things up in the
New Market area or exactly there's some ends down outside
of Stanton that you know, are off the beaten path.
We have so many luxurious places here in Virginia. In Washington,
(46:41):
a little Washington, there's a place there that back in
the day, all the Senators would fly in so that
they could have dinner, yes.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
And a Michelin Star restaurant to boot. So again, you know,
as we focus on the Five Seas of Luxury, we
find that they did not miss the small town. We
still have that fortunate ability to be able to visit
these luxury properties there as well.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
Can I take us back up north for just a second, sure, Okay.
One of my favorite places is in a state that
I lived in, New Hampshire, and New Hampshire has a
big lake in there. Most people think New Hampshire is
a little, itty bitty place small. It's got a lake
that actually has a mail boat that runs on it,
Lake Winnipesaukee. If anyone's seen the movie on Golden Pond,
(47:26):
some of the scenes were filmed on Lake Winnipesaukee. And
it's got a place there called the Wolfboro Inn that
I love. It's only about forty one rooms, a great
historic property. You're right there at the lake, overlooking this
lake with all these islands. There's hundreds of islands in
Lake Winnipesaukee. And one of the favorite things I do
there is as I step out and I get on,
(47:49):
they've got an old fashioned paddle boat that you can
take a cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee, have dinner. Check it out.
It's called the Bell and just one again. A nice,
wonderful place. You can spend a week there. You can
spend a week in there and having time on the lake.
And I'd wait until you know after, I'd say June
(48:15):
is a good time to be there. September starts to
get a little cold, but you can go on the lake,
visit the lake on the boat, or you can be
swimming in the lake. You can rent motor boats. Fantastic place,
fantastic location, and the prices are great. And one of
the neat things about New Hampshire is if you want
to buy something up there, there's no sales tax. So
(48:35):
what a great place to go.
Speaker 4 (48:36):
I like some of that good features for small towns.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
So if we want to just kind of bring back
around sort of a summary of what people should look for,
I would say some of the tips that I have
for planning a small luxury town trip would be one
is to research your destination. Really spend some time looking
around that area. Five small towns that offer the type
(49:02):
of luxury experiences that you really want. You're going to
want to book in advance because as we pointed out
here with some of these properties, and maybe if you
have a chance to look some of them up later
on your computers, you'll see that some of these properties
are only maybe twelve thirteen, fourteen accommodations or units that
they have, so you're going to want to make sure
(49:23):
you book in advance. They tend to book up quickly,
so you're going to want to make those reservations. Consider
the transportation. So for me, like I said, going to Farmington, Pennsylvania,
this I'm going to have to drive. It's a three
hour drive. You know, for some people that's a deal breaker.
For me, it's not so bad. But you're going to
want to make sure that you've explored the surrounding area,
(49:44):
whether you need to rent a car or hire a driver. Also,
you want to look into embracing the local culture. You
want to take time to explore the town's unique characters,
some of like what Harry was talking about with Lake
Winnipeesake and some of the areas you identified, like up
at Greenbrier in West Virginia. While a lot of people
(50:04):
I'm sure didn't even know that the train stops right
outside their front door pretty much.
Speaker 4 (50:10):
Exactly. So you want to.
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Make sure that you explore all of these town's unique characters, accessibility,
how they interact with the locals there. What are some
of the great things to do. Just this past weekend,
I actually went and had some time in Lynchburg and
went to a concert there. But I spent time in
(50:33):
downtown Lynchburg and found some things that I didn't even
know I was going to find, like the downtown local
Farmers Market. I had a blast. There was an inside
and outside and it just encompassed a whole city block
in downtown Lynchburg. What a great weekend to just be
among locals and do something very unique.
Speaker 3 (50:56):
And as we're approaching summertime. We're still in spring, but
we're approaching summer time. Get online as you're doing your research,
find out what the summer festivals are in those towns.
See what's going on. It can be, you know, something
just silly and fun for the kids. You know, a
treasure hunt, a historic walk, anything going on there. But
that goes back to Terry's point. Once you find out
(51:19):
what you want to do there, make sure you excuse
us to help you contact these hotels. A lot of
them are hotels that are on our radar, on our
Virtuoso screens, so there may be amenities there for you too.
Will help you with that research, but book early because
these places do fill up. And when you talk about
a vacation to a small town, the logistics are a
(51:40):
little more complicated. You need to find the hotel, you
need to be there at the right time to do
the things you want to do. If there are reservations
you want to take a dinner cruise, you want to
make those reservations to be sure that their space, make
sure you can get the car and tile that together.
That's what we're here to help you do at the
Wishing Well. So if you're close by or far away,
(52:01):
we're here to help and we'd love to show you
more and tell you more than we can do in
this short hour about these small towns.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
This has been a fun show and it's got me
now dreaming about heading off to a small town and enjoying.
I don't need all of the all the destination stuff.
I just need the really nice place to stay and
sleep for a week and want to be spoiled gorgeous
views out the window, in a chef on hand to
bake me cookies every day. Jack, I encourage you, if
(52:31):
you're at the tail end of the show today and
you didn't follow along online looking at photos, go back
and listen to the podcast and look for those locations
and enjoy the photos. Because I have a suspicion you're
going to be talking to Terry or Harry about booking
a trip really soon.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
Are you going to tell them how to find that podcast?
Speaker 1 (52:52):
You can go to the wishing Well dot biz. It's
in the upper right hand corner you find the link
for a Life Less Ordinary. You can listen on the website.
You can also listen on iHeartRadio or wherever you get
your podcasts. And how do we get ahold of you, Terry.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
We're easy to find and I encourage you to join
us every Saturday here, especially in the upcoming episodes. We
can be found at two forty three nef Avenue in
the Valley Center in Harsenburg. You can call us at
five four oh nine oh eight two three thirty three
or look us up on the web. We are at
the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a lifeless ordinary, the travel show from
your friends at the wishing Well at two forty three
nef Avenue in Harsenberg. If you have any questions on
topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing Well
online at the Wishingwell dot biz or five four oh
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Eight Past episodes
are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see again
next Saturday morning at ten for a Life Less Ordinary
(53:47):
from the wishing well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel show and
podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well two forty
three f Avenue in harsemerg and online at the wishing
Well dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:20):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean and say hello. I love Saturdays,
and so do I. I get to see you, Chris.
It's nice, nice just to be able to have an
hour to sit and talk about travel. It is talk
about how we can make our life more enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
It's so funny because when I talk to people who
tell me they listen to this show, which, by the way,
thank you so very much. We're so pleased that you're
joining us this morning. They talk to me about sitting
down with a cup of coffee in their kitchens or
their living rooms and have the show on and they
dream with us. And I love that. Saturdays then are
for dreaming.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I love that. I know I do too, Harry. Do
you dream much?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Do I dream? I do dream? I dream about creating
great memories. How's that fit?
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Harry? Right from the wishing Well, it's good to see
you as well this morning.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yes, sir, same to you.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
So we didn't talk to each other last week, did we?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
We did not know.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
So we've got a couple of weeks get caught up
on what's happened in the world of travel. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Absolutely, And I want to get started right away with
something that I know everybody has been talking about, and
that is just wanted to give you a heads up
the real ID deadline about a month away. What to
know about that travel requirement? Well, in order to avoid
a potential travel delay come this time next month, the
Transportation Security Administration has confirmed to everybody travel industry exactly
(01:49):
that they have plans to enforce this identification requirement for
every adult traveler starting Wednesday, May the seventh. So that's
why I'm mentioning this today is because we're about a
month away from that, and the TSA said in a
statement that if you do not have a real idea
by May seventh, your air travel may be delayed, So
I just want to let people know again, just a pleasant,
(02:12):
friendly reminder that you do need to get that or
passport or a passport. Passport card is also okay, got.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
To be valid passport if I want to get that
star put on my ID. What kind of turnaround time?
Can I walk into the DMV.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And you can as long as you have the proper
documentation with you that they're asking for, then yes, you
can turn it around all in a day.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
No perfect usually yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, And an old driver's license is not the proper documentation.
It requires something that's an official sell birth document, like
like a stamped or sealed birth certificate.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
And then like utility builds or something.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Too exactly to establish your home residence.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Yes, it was easy. I did it a couple of
years ago and it was no problem.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, So just a friendly reminder about that, folks. If
you don't have it yet, you might want to get
busy now. Next, we've got something from the State Department
that is issuing a warning for US travelers about their
visits to the Bahamas. This one kind of surprised me
a little bit. The State Department warning travelers about violent
crime and other potential risks in a popular destination for
(03:17):
crewis passengers and other tourists that are going to the Bahamas.
They're not discouraging travel to the Bahamas. They wanted to
be very clear about that in this news break, but
it's urging caution.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
They say.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Violent crimes like armed robberies, burglaries, sexual assaults can occur
in the Bahamas and most of these crimes are occurring
in Nassau and Freeport on New Providence and Grand Bahama Islands.
The advisory also encourages villagance in vacation rental properties where
there might not be enough security. Now, travelers are encouraged
(03:53):
to practice basic safe principles like being aware of their surroundings,
locking their doors and windows, not answering the door unless
they know who it is, and by all means, be
very careful if you are out and about at night,
after dark, when the sun goes down. My grandmother used
to say, nothing good ever happens after the sun goes down.
(04:14):
But they also travelers can also sign up Chris for
something called the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. The acronym for
that is STEP. You can enroll in that anytime you're
going abroad, and this allows the State Department to send
real time updates on health safety and other urgent matters
and contact you in the event of an emergency where
(04:36):
you are traveling to. So some good things to know there, Harry.
I think you had a couple of pieces of news
that you wanted to talk about this morning, and then
if you hand it back off to me, I've got
something that everybody should know about spring travel trends for
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So we've been hearing a lot about volcanoes and Iceland.
Good news as of this week, Dada says everything has stopped.
Iceland has had eleven consecutive volcanic eruptions since twenty eleven,
so it's not something new, but it's something that we
want to be very concerned about. This particular one didn't
pose any threat to life. And one of the big
(05:15):
sites there in Iceland that I know a lot of
our visitors like to see is a blue lagoon that
has now reopened and is one hundred percent safe to visit.
Flights back and forth to Iceland remain uneffective. All the
international quarters are open, so if you're thinking about Iceland,
it's okay to go.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
That is good news.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah. One of the other things I think that's coming
is a trend. It's news, but it's also a trend.
We're going to hear a lot about it over the
next years. Is this whole idea of facial recognition, and
what I read is something that it says scan, smile
and boared. What's happening more and more is we're seeing
facial recognition taking the place of having to haul out
(05:55):
your driver's license and how many times have we gone
through security and it's like, where's my driver's license? Do
you have your driver's license? Did you remember to put
it backward belongs? Or your passport? With facial recognition, the
big trend that I'm seeing in the news is more
and more companies are using it. Delta Airlines in particular,
has been very aggressive with facial recognition on their international
(06:17):
flights that instead of the boarding pass facial recognition when
you're going through tsa facial recognition when you're boarding the plane.
It makes it a whole lot easier because you don't
have to worry about losing anything. One of the things
that people are concerned about and have some questions about
with facial recognition is how long is that information held
(06:39):
on to and I think that's a really valid concern
for people that are listening. They should know this. TSA
says their systems generally delete facial recognition and personal traveler
data immediately after identity verification, and that's great. That means
within twenty four hours that information is out of the system.
(07:00):
They needed ahead of time because they do some pre
checking on people that are boarding the planes, but that
information is supposed to be deleted. And there are a
lot of discussions going on with the airlines too about
making sure that we're respecting people's privacy. Because convenience is great,
privacy also important. So we want to make sure that
(07:22):
as biometric identification takes off that it's going to have
a real great experience for everybody.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
So I mentioned that we want to talk about some
travel trends. I want to do that real quickly, and
then we're going to head into some of our specials
that we have for this week. But I thought it
was real interesting this article that came out about everything
that you want to know about Spring travel trends for
twenty twenty five, and I'm going to run through these
(07:50):
probably a little quicker than all the information that I
have because I really wanted to hit some of these
because they are very hot topics for spring travel, And
one of the ones that we're getting from our Virtuoso
partners that they pointed to is jet setting continuing its
rise now this spring, Virtuoso is continuing to see film
(08:13):
and television drive travel. As a matter of fact, bookings
by US travelers to Thailand are up by forty one percent.
Coinciding with the season three of HBO's The White Lotus. Now,
I have to confess I do not watch it. I
have not seen it, but I hear it's fantastic. So
don't know anything about that. But if you are someone
(08:33):
who watches this show regularly, perhaps it's time for you
to plan your travel to Thailand. Average daily rates are
also rising by ten percent to Thailand. Another growing trend
women going solo. Recent Virtuoso data shows that women now
make up seventy one percent of solo travelers.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
That's a big number.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
They are increasingly embracing experiences that are typically more group oriented,
like cruising. Now, I can tell you I've seen a
big trend in that at the Wishing Well as well.
So thank you, ladies. We love to have you, and
we'd love to send you anywhere you want to go.
Another trend we're seeing is adventure. Adventure is in more
(09:18):
than eight thousand travelers were surveyed about their spring break plans,
and we find that more than sixty percent of those
responders are seeking adventure in their trips for the upcoming season,
with top activities ranging from hiking, trekking to going on safari, snorkeling,
scuba diving, and horseback riding. Another big trend spring safaris.
(09:41):
Eighteen percent increase in bookings for safari destinations including South Africa, Botswana,
and Kenya. This rise in safari travel is related to
an overall trend toward taking bucket list trips in twenty
twenty five, and safaris are part of that. Warm weather rules.
(10:02):
We talked about how coolcations, remember Chris several episodes ago
about how that was trending, But for twenty twenty five,
it's reported that a decline in interest for cooler weather
destinations like Switzerland, Iceland, and Antarctica, in some cases down
as much as sixty percent from last year. Instead, the
(10:25):
list of in demand destinations for spring travel is going
to be topped by Mexico. Interestingly enough with the article
I just read in the Bahamas. Other popular countries include Japan, Italy,
and the Dominican Republic. Now, international and warm weather destinations
are definitely in I just said that, but we're seeing
(10:46):
destinations spike that include Los Cabos, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Japan,
I mentioned Amsterdam. All international hotspots. Most searched localities include
also Hawaii, Cancun, Orlando, Tokyo, and Las Vegas. Now this
is another big one and in the next months that
(11:08):
are coming up in the next weeks for a life
less Ordinary, be listening because we're going to have a
very special guest with us from Villas of Distinction. He's
the vice president of the company, gentleman by the name
of Steve Lassman, and he's going to be joining us
talking about villas and the popularity of those. This is
another trend. Based on booking trends, luxury villa rentals report
(11:31):
that family and multi generational groups are driving villa bookings
this spring. Hawaii and the Caribbean are top villa spots,
followed by Jamaica, Saint Martin, Barbados, and Turks and Caicos.
Another trend. This is interesting to me. Gen z is
splurging and they're really coming out and making travel their own.
(11:55):
They are leading and spending as well as splurging on extras.
One percent of responders from this survey that was taken
say that they are willing to spend on the best experiences,
and that's the highest in any generation that was surveyed.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
I read an interesting statistic on that also, Terry, forty
percent of grandparents over the age of eighty said they'd
rather spend money on a big, extravagant trip than leave
an inheritance.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Doesn't that say something?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, and this is really interesting. I love these statistics.
I mean, the older I get in the more time
I spend in the travel industry, the more these statistics
start to speak to me and in the way we
run our business. And it's so interesting how it parallels
once I read these statistics in these survey results, how
it parallels what we're seeing actually happen inside the doors
(12:47):
at the wishing well. For example. The next big trend
cowboy core. This rising trend in cowboy culture is driving
interest in Southern states like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and louis
I have a family of fourteen this year that are
doing a multi generational trip with top Tours on one
(13:08):
of their trips called Cowboy Connections. So, I mean, these
all really speak to a growing number of trends that
we're seeing. One of the last ones is spending is up.
I love good news stories, especially now, and one of
our popular insurance vendors has found that rising costs are
not stopping Americans from splurging on spring travel this year.
(13:30):
As a matter of fact, average trip cost is up
about fourteen percent from twenty twenty four, reaching well over
fifty five hundred dollars as an average tour cost.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
One of the things complementing what you're saying, Terry, is
I've been reading a lot about nostalgia traveling lately, with
families going back to places, taking kids back to their
childhood neighborhoods where they grew up, you know, seeing what
you know, the baseball stadium look like, seeing what school
I'm on, Grampa graduated from. So they're looking at significant destinations,
(14:04):
and as they look at those destinations, they're including college campuses,
places where they went to school. All of those things
are part of that nostalgic travel and I think that's
really interesting that parents, kids and grandkids are trying to
learn about the family and have these cohesive traveling experiences
(14:25):
together where they start to put the pieces together and say, ah,
now I know why my family's got that crazy New
York accent. He went to school here or whatever it
happens to be.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
So I thought that news was pretty interesting, and I
thought it again, it parallels what we see happening under
the roof. And so I also targeted our specials today
based on all of these trends that we're seeing in
these survey results with that in mind. So one of
the first travel specials that I saw that sort of
answered a lot of this is coming from our preferred
(14:58):
partners at club Med. Remember we talked about Club Med
in a subsequent episode about how they were the leaders
and really the pioneers in all inclusive resorts. Well, for
a limited time right now, there is a sale that
club Med is offering. Best family offer for this summer
is here. Kids under sixteen can stay free with one
(15:20):
paying adult and everybody everybody enjoys forty percent off. That's
a pretty good deal. And this offer is going to
end on April the seventh. So if you're listening today
and you are interested in an all inclusive vacation to
places like Cancun, Mexico and Puntakana and even Quebec, maybe
(15:42):
even Estapo, Mexico where some of the more as we learned,
more popular places are going to be for summer travel
in twenty twenty five. This would be the deal to
jump on again. Forty percent off and one child free
for every paying adult. And those children do have to
be between the ages of four to seventeen, so great
way for them to make new friends and embark on
(16:04):
new journeys. Remember that you can always with Club met
enjoy gourmet meals, open bars, and over twenty land and
water activities all included.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
So that's a great special, but.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
It's really quick.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's April seventh, April seven, long to think about that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Another one that's really great is offered by our good
partners at Almah Waterways. They are offering a complementary land
package offer. This is a value of up to eighteen
hundred and sixty dollars per person. You do have to
book before June thirtieth to receive this, and what's included
in this are overnight stays at their four and five
(16:42):
star hotels conveniently located near the major sites. You get
daily breakfast at the hotels, enriching city tours and excursions
led by knowledgeable local guides. You get your transfers and
portage service between your hotel and that oh so wonderful
river cruise ship on Alma Waterways, the services of an
(17:02):
extraordinary cruise managers throughout your journey, and that all complements
of Alma Waterways. And when you say free these days
in the travel industry, that's real money. Eighteen hundred and
sixty dollars per person. That's a great deal, and they're
giving you that for free. This one I love. If
you're a big watcher of Wheel of Fortune, the name
(17:23):
of this company is certainly going to resonate with you.
I'm talking about collect Tours. They go everywhere all over
the world, both domestically and internationally, and right now they're
doing something unprecedented by any air airline or tour operator.
They are giving you fifty percent off of the airfare
if you're going economy on their packages, or twenty five
(17:46):
percent off of premium air. Premium air would be either
business economy plus or first class. That travel window to
take advantage of this offer is right now through the
end of this year December thirty, first of twenty twenty five,
and this is going to include any of their packages,
include the airfare, your in destination, transfers twenty four by
(18:10):
seven emergency Assistants, and something that's really great for our
area is round trip home to airport, private chauffeur service
to the airport itself. Again, if you can buy their
package and get fifty percent off, we love to tell
you about ways you can get things for free here
on a life less ordinary and with a great tour
operator to boot. So again, this offer is with collect
(18:33):
Big News. Everywhere they go, every tour, every gateway, they're
offering fifty percent off.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
So Terry, we just wrapped up our series on luxury
travel and this week we are kicking off a new series.
Luxury is still part of it, how luxury comes together.
And I think a lot of us when we think
about luxury travel, we think of those big moments, but
there are some nice little town that shouldn't be forgotten
(19:01):
when it comes to luxury. And our show this week
is called in the Smallest of Places And.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
If you had a lot of fun with our first
episode on luxury. You're gonna love this one because we're
also going to bring in some guests.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
I love it. We can't wait to get into this
next here on a Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and help you avoid pitfalls.
They can spoil your HRD earned vacation well, plan your trip,
and have your back as you travel. All of this
without support or so called convenience fees. We're on the
web at the Wishingwell dot viz or call us at
five four zero nine zero eight two three eight three
(19:37):
three has five four zero nine zero eight two three
three three. The washing Well really does make dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
at this time, we sit down and we talk travel,
and it's always good to be able to talk about,
you know, all these luxurious locations. But this week we're
going to talk luxury in small packages are show it's
called in the Smallest of Places and we're talking about
small towns.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, it is kind of fun, I mean, really, places
that take you outside of the big bright You know,
bright lights, big city.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Kind of as soon as you said the name of
the show, I started thinking of like little towns in
New England. Yeah, that to me sounds like luxury, especially
right at the edge of fall into winter.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Well you hang tight here, Chris, because I got something
for you today. I really do.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
And I hope that those that are joining us today
have been tuning in for the last couple of weeks
while we covered a six week series of what luxury
really was. It's a question that interestingly enough, has multiple answers,
as we discovered, and maybe even more importantly, means different
things to different people and certainly different groups of people.
(20:52):
Luxury doesn't mean the same thing to everybody, and it's
not calibrated that way. We've explored luxurious destinations and vendors,
and let's not forget Chris. I would quiz you on
this right now for the five seas of luxury.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Come on, hit me, culture, cuisine, community, content, customization.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I gotta give you an Abody year, and we want
to talk about how that applies to almost every luxury
travel experience that you're ever going to enjoy in one
form or another. Now today, on a life less ordinary,
We're going to be exploring something that has become somewhat
of a new trend in travel. We talked about trends
a while ago in the news you might recall immediately
(21:36):
following COVID, and when travel began to open up after
years of nothing, travelers started to seek more unique and
selective experiences over again, bright lights, big city. They began
to gravitate really to destinations that were certainly more off
the beaten path, but they didn't want to sacrifice meaningful
(21:57):
conveniences in that process. We know that we still want
what they want, but they don't want it in the
big cities necessarily. Remember the old saying don't throw the
baby out with the bathwater. So the reality is we
want our cake and eat it too. That's what we want.
And today we're going to explore, in the first of
our newest series, how luxury comes together. That's what we're
(22:20):
going to be focusing on in the next couple of
weeks together. Our series is going to begin with small towns. Now,
we may not get to all of those today, and
I can tell you, I promise you we won't, but
I've got a couple I want to share with you
we're going to continue that conversation in the weeks ahead.
We're going to talk about off the beaten path experiences
and the remarkable new way of villa vacations. And we'll
(22:43):
put this date on your calendar May the third. The
senior vice president of Villas of Distinction, Steve Lassman, is
going to be joining us right here to talk about
this rapidly growing arena in the travel industry, which are villas,
and they are spectacular and they're not what you'd think.
So you want to join us for that special show.
(23:05):
But since you're going to have to make do with
me today, I'm going to jump in and open the
pages on how to obtain luxury in some of America's
best small towns. Now, luxury is not just for glamorous
cities of Las Vegas and Los Angeles. But there again,
this all depends on how you define luxury. Here's a
couple of ways that you can enjoy luxury in small
(23:27):
towns and things that you should probably look for if
you're targeting that. I mean, a lot of people would
say to me, and I can almost hear you at
home right now, going small towns luxury, I'm not sure
I can make that connection. Terry, what should I be
looking for? Well, here's what you should be looking for.
Luxury accommodations.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Those can be boutique hotels and inns. They can be
luxury bed and breakfasts, they can be unique rentals. And
then you want to look for luxury experiences when you
get there. Do they have gourmet dining, spa and wellness
some things that we talked about outdoor adventures? Do they
have great shopping and art? And importantly do they have
(24:07):
wine and spirit tours? All of those things collectively you
can find these in small towns, but if that's what
you want your experience to be, you need to actively
seek those out. So now that we know what we're
looking for, I want to share with you where you
might find a few of these little hidden gems.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
I particularly love.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
This first little small town destination because in this one example,
I'm going to open the doors to you of a
one small luxury boutique hotel, two a luxury bed and breakfast,
and three a luxury.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Villa, all in this same small town.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Three great choices and a great destination unlike any other.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
In Sedona, Arizona, one of my favorite places It's true.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Sodona is a playground for all kinds of people with
interests as wide ranging as fortune telling and crystal healing
to mountain biking, hiking, climbing, trail running. It welcomes the
luxury spa vacationers, culinary officionados, and jeep tour enthusiasts too.
As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, I
(25:18):
believe one of the great jeep roundups that I ever
actually booked people too, took place in all places, Sedona, Arizona.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Are you going to tell us give us a clue
where to find Sedona, Arizona, because that's not an everyone's mouth.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
You can go ahead and do that, Harry.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
It is just north of Phoenix. If you head up
the highway toward flag Staff, you will go to Sedona.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
So that tells you it's a great place. Phoenix would
be a great place to fly into. Yes, perhaps rent
a car and then make your way into the small town,
small community of Sedona, Arizona, where you're gonna find all
of those great things. Remember what I said, you need
to be looking for these things when you go. Sedona
has all of that and more. Now Sedona offers this
(26:03):
and great accommodations to boot. So let's take a look
at a couple of these accommodations, because I have to
tell you, when I was researching for this show today,
I was blown away. I mean, small towns, that's the
way to go. I mean, good Lord, this is amazing,
And just researching this I felt more relaxed.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
It is great. But the first place I want to
take you to is a gorgeous small hotel property. It's
called Ambient Hotel Sedona. Please, if you're in front of
your computers, look this up. Located in Sedona, carries with
it an amazing story. This landscape hotel is the first
of its kind, first of all in North America. It's
(26:47):
built so that it seamlessly blends with the landscape of Sedona.
And if you've ever seen pictures of Sedona, you know
how colorful it is. First of all. But the fact
that somebody was so thoughtful when they built this hotel
to just blend seamlessly into the landscape, I think is
a stroke of brilliance. All the great respect for the land,
(27:10):
all the creatures who roam it. Their innovative, elevated design.
It provides for minimal impact to the natural environment, so
we love it for those reasons. The owners are focused
on sustainability here no surprise, and creating a blended natural
environment for everybody who stays there. And by the way,
this is an adult's only property, so it's great for honeymooners,
(27:32):
special occasions, and anniversaries. Now, speaking of the story behind
this property, they say that some men are cut from
a different cloth, and the owner, Mike Stevenson, is one
of them.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
He's the guy who owns this.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
At just age fourteen, he began working at Disneyland in
a restaurant. He was inspired by watching Walt Disney walk
the park and reimagine attractions until they were just right.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Now.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
That early lesson in vision and perseverance became a core
part of Mike's character. He served in the US Army,
he got married, him and his wife, Kathleen, moved to
Sodona to work at his father's restaurant then which was
called the Dutchman's Cove now. While he cooked there, he
took on construction jobs too, and Kathy served the guests
(28:23):
at the restaurant, and together they built a life rooted
in hard work and resilience. Fast forward to nineteen seventy three,
Mike risks everything he had to buy up a little
motel called the Red Rock Motel in Oak Creek Canyon.
A year later, he lost it all. He had to
declare bankruptcy. The family returned to California, seemingly defeated until
(28:48):
a new opportunity in manufacturing blossomed. He was drawn into that.
He found success in that, and that brought them back
to Sedona in nineteen eighty five. Talk about a success story.
In twenty sixteen, fate led Mike to a stunning parcel
of land overlooking ancient red rocks. He walked this landscape
(29:10):
with his daughter Jennifer, and they shared a vision to
create something truly truly special. Ambient Sodona was born, a
luxury landscape hotel that fulfilled Mike's lifelong dream. And in
twenty twenty three, this is a fairly new property that
dream became a reality. Operated now by Mike and his
(29:32):
daughters Jennifer and Colleen. They're known as two sister Bosses.
Ambient Sodona is a family legacy built on that same perseverance, passion,
and purpose. And I have to tell you I've looked
at this property I would happily stay.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
There for a week.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
I mean it is all of that and everything you
could imagine for a small town luxury property. This hotel
is just amazing.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
I'm looking at pictures right now.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Isn't it wonderful? I mean, it's just some website itself.
And please, listeners, if you are in front of a computer,
or just write this down when you do get in
front of one. The ambient Hotel Sodona. It is truly
a masterpiece. It is, and what a great backstory to
go with it. I love the rise from rags to riches.
(30:26):
I love that, and Mike Stevenson certainly exemplifies that'd be
great if we had him on the show one day.
I'd like to do that now. Next, still in Sidona,
I promised you three properties there. We've got someplace called
the Origins Bed and Breakfast. This property is killer man.
This is another great one. This is a quiet bed
(30:46):
and breakfast in Arizona, near Sodona. It's located near Cottonwood, Arizona,
just a short drive to Sodona, Jerome and Clarksdale, as
well as many wine tasting rooms and vineyards close by.
The rooms here are kind of cool. They're rooted in
Arizona history first of all, and every one of the
(31:08):
rooms has a different theme. They go from river to
Copper to Puebulo to canyon and again every room there
is a different kind of theme. All the rooms have
king size beds, mini fridges, private bathroom, tub shower, microwave, fireplace,
private balcony or patio. There's a gourmet breakfast included every morning.
(31:31):
These are three courses art fully prepared with gluten free,
vegan and vegetarian options. So if you are looking for
more of a bed and breakfast type of accommodation, don't
forget the origins bed and breakfast. This again is going
to be a four or five star hotel equivalent, but
in a bed and breakfast style. So again this is
(31:53):
your second option in Sodona. Last great property I'm going
to point you to in Sodona. It is a small
luxury hotel property especially for multi generational travelers out there.
I'm talking about the Adobe Grand Villas. Now, these are spectacular.
Each of their custom designed mansion stile villas are uniquely themed.
(32:19):
They were hand crafted impeccably with the attention to detail
at the highest level of comfort in mind. Each one
of these villas, highly designed, hand crafted villas, is at
least eight hundred and fifty square feet. That's a pretty
good sized villa. They have private entrances, private garden, patio, balconies,
(32:39):
freshly baked bread on arrival. I love that, two fireplaces.
They have California king beds, jetted two person private tubs,
luxury linens and bathrobes, a kitchenett with microwaven refrigerator, complimentary
snacks and drinks. What a forty to a fifty inch
smart TV desk with complementary Internet and Wi Fi. And
(33:05):
they have telephone with free local calls.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Now.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
In addition to the luxurious villa themselves, they also offer
chef prepared complimentary breakfast, complementary concierge services, private spa services
year round, outdoor heated pool and spa, beautiful lush landscaping,
(33:29):
a fully stopped coffee and tea bar, and fresh homemade
cookies every day. So, if Soedona sounds attractive to you,
or didn't before, I'm sure it does now.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
So I looked at pictures as you were talking about
each one of those locations. The first one very modern looking. Yes,
they're like these glass boxes that are set apart with
a deck up on top. Beautiful. I think out of
the three, that's my.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Yeah, you're seamlessly into the landscape.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
The second and third location has that very Pueblo Arizona
feel to them.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
It does.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
And you were saying each room is unique. Each one
of the rooms, the beds, like one had a very
unique canopy that came over it.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Is that the bed and breakfast at Origins, Yeah, Origins.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
And then the last location, which is the Grand Villas. Yes,
one of the beds looked like a con of Stoga wagon.
I know, it's like each one of the rooms there
has this unique twist to it. I know.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
The websites themselves, I call eye candy. You know, I
can really get excited about a destination based on sometimes
just a website. And honestly, that's why I said the
research for the show today was really kind of over
the top for me. I just loved it. And I think, Harry,
you've spent some time in Sedona.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
I actually was in Sedona when there weren't any of
these properties available. Okay. I was in Sedona back in
the seventies and there were motels that were or kind
of like house, trailer motel. So this is a town
that's really developed, and it's developed hery because of its
strategic location. It is two hours north of Phoenix, it's
(35:12):
an hour south of flag Staff. It is right in
the midst of a lot of the Indian reservations, which
if you want some cultural immersion, you've got the Yabbapie,
the Navajos, other Indian reservations right around there. So you're
talking about, you know, grabbing a car either Phoenix or Flagstaff.
(35:32):
Phoenix a little bit easier to fly into grabbing a car,
and in a three four hour radius, for sure, you
are looking at the desert, you're looking at Indian reservations.
You are at the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
What a vacation destination. And talk about strategically placed. That's
(35:52):
why it's moved from what it was when I was
there in the seventies to these fantastic, over the top
but yet affordable properties that you're talking about today. That's
the luxury part of it. It's the location, it's the properties,
it's the ambiance, it's everything about this wonderful small town
called Sodona.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Yeah, I'm sure you all can't tell at all that
we get really excited when we talk about travel here
in a lifeless, ordinary, Now, next on our small town
luxury journey, I want to take you someplace else. We're
going to be headed to the beautiful West coast town
of Monterey, California, very close to Carmel by the Sea
as well as Palm Beach, and yet a world away
(36:34):
from the stress and the chaos of big city life.
And in particular, I want to focus on a beautiful
luxury in They're known as the Old Monterey Inn. Talk
about incredible, delightful, and tastefully appointed rooms and suites at
the Monterey, California Bed and Breakfast, known for their exquisite
(36:54):
furnishings and thoughtful amenities. This is an award winning four
Diamond Triple A rated Monterey Inn. They've earned national acclaim,
including placement on the coveted Conde Nass Travelers Reader's Choice
Gold List and being selected by Patricia Schultz for her
book titled One Thousand Places To See Before You Die.
(37:17):
This place appeared in that book. It was also featured
on The Today Show as a romantic rendezvous destination. Old
Monterey Inn is an ideal venue for an intimate Monterey
honeymoon retreat or your dream Monterey wedding in the dazzling gardens.
Truly a beautiful place.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
And if you wonder where Monterey is, just say the
Monterey Jazz Festival. Everybody's heard about that this is a
historic town. It was actually the first capital of California.
I didn't know that. Know that interesting? It goes back
to the sixteen hundred, So this is a very historic town.
Unlike Sodona, that's you know, come up out of the desert.
This is a history, lots of history, lots of culture,
(38:03):
lots of things happening. If you love jazz, September is
the time to be in these places that Darry's talking about.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
I'm just looking at photos. I'm sorry that it looks
like something of a storybook.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
It does, doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
It's got ivy on the side of the building and
the I don't crepe myrtle type trees growing in the
front and inside. Just when you say in this is
what you think of, this as beautiful and the gardens
are gorgeous as well.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Yeah, and that's why I really wanted to take our
show A Lifeless Ordinary into some of these small towns
Monoeyes considered a small town USA. And so really, as
we start to peel this onion back and we start
to look at a lot of these small towns across
the United States, I think you're going to agree with
us that sometimes less is more and certainly why we
(38:54):
talk about these small towns as a place to find luxury.
These are the hidden gems. Now another small town with
big town luxury worthy of our Life Less Ordinary list today, Chris,
this one's for you. You talked about this. You were talking
about up in Maine, perhaps in the New England areas,
that's what you were thinking of. I'm taking us today
(39:16):
to a place called and one of my favorites, Bar Harbor, Maine. Oh,
how we love this small town. We were fortunate enough
to actually spend some time here when we took a
New England and Canada group on the Queen Mary Too
a few years ago, and the memories are indelible.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
In my mind.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
For Bar Harbor, it was probably one of the highlights
of my trip there. I absolutely loved walking around in
Bar Harbor. We visited Acadian National Park, which is just
literally behind the hill up up behind the hill behind
Bar Harbor, and shopping in downtown Bar Harbor was the best,
but my favorite was the hotel inn that we found
(39:58):
right downtown called the Acadia Hotel. It's located right downtown
Bar Harbor. Again, if you're in front of a computer,
oh good lord, please look this up. The Acadia Hotel
downtown is Bar Harbor's premiere boutique hotel, and the Acadia
Hotel is located in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor,
(40:21):
right in the middle of the thriving shopping district where
you've got galleries, fine restaurants and boutiques. Hotel is within
two blocks literally of one hundred and thirty restaurants and bars,
two hundred shops and galleries. Of course, the waterfront is
right there and Acadia National Park. Now, interesting fact about
(40:41):
this particular property, this hotel. It was originally built as
a ship's captain's house in eighteen eighty and the main
house and the attached boat house offer a wide variety
of rooms, all tastefully renovated with modern amenities, and guests
really love the convenient downtown location, kind of kind a
little quirky feel. Hot tub is open seasonally. They've got
(41:04):
free wireless high speed internet access They've got off street
parking and light, continental breakfast and exceptionally clean rooms. We
actually toured this hotel and went into the rooms. I'll
tell you they're spotless, and the location, the amenities, customer
service is going to make your stay not only enjoyable,
but memorable.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
You left out the most important thing about Bar Harbory.
Speaker 4 (41:26):
What's that?
Speaker 3 (41:27):
What did you eat? When we went to Bar Harbor?
It was fascinating watching Terry eat native food, not lobster lobsty.
You ate lobstery. We bipped her up. She had some
lobsty and we enjoyed ourselves. It's that kind of town
where everybody's smiling at each other and everybody's friendly. And
(41:51):
the best part about it you can get a lobster
dinner at a very affordable price and is it fresh
or what?
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (41:58):
So I mean?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
And you could very easily being in the town of
Bar Harbor. You could let your mind drift and you
could easily think you're on the coast of Scotland somewhere.
It is so quaint and it is so amazing, and
it has everything you could want.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
I envisioned Hallmark Christmas movies right it is. Yeah, it
is a place that famous people have loved. John Rockefeller
donated a lot of the land for Alcadia National Park,
so he liked it up there.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
It must have been pretty good. JP Morgan also a
resident of that area, So there are a lot of
famous people that think highly of this town as much
as Terry and I do.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
Terry, I'm loving this conversation. We need to take a
real quick break and then we'll come back and continue
to talk about the smallest of places when it comes
to luxury travel here on a Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Syria. Let the Wishing World
guide your next travel experience. Travel the world as you
enjoy the very best destinations and all they offer at
the best prices. Our mobile travel app keeps your vacation
on track and keeps you connected with our team of experts.
For help if you need it, call us at five
four zero nine zero eight two three three three stop
(43:15):
buy two forty three nef Avenue or visit us at
the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. This is
your travel show and podcast from your friends at the
Wishing Well. They're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg, online at
the Wishingwell dot biz, and you can also get them
a call at five four h nine eight twenty three
thirty three. I mentioned the website Terry Up in the
upper right hand corner, you will find a link to
(43:42):
all of the podcasts that we have done. You just
click on the I think they call it the Hamburger
menu button, which will drop down and say a life
less Ordinary. Click there, and then you can search all
of the podcasts. You can listen on your website, you
can listen on the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere that you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Yeah, and I actually have had a ball researching all
of the small towns, and there's more in the weeks
to come that are going to be coming up that
we're going to be talking about and sharing with you,
so that you two may be able to use this
information to plan maybe a visit yourself to one of
America's great little small towns. I don't always just talk
(44:23):
the talk, but I walk the walk. And so next
week about this same time, Chris, I'm going to be
in a place called Farmington, Pennsylvania. I know that sounds
like just a very small town it is, but one
of the most luxurious hotel properties that are really in
the United States exists there. I'm going to be spending
(44:46):
some time there for a conference with our good friends
from Virtuoso and the property is called NEMA Colon and
it is one of the great luxury properties. It is
a five star resort. We're talking all of the major
five c's with luxury there, and I'm looking forward to that.
(45:07):
I'll have more to tell you about that property when
I come back. But again, Farmington, Pennsylvania is another great
little spot to put on your register of things to go,
places to go, places to see. I can tell you
this though, getting there is not easy unless you want
to drive. I will be driving to this property because
(45:28):
flying in was not an option, and train is certainly
not an option there. But for us who live on
the East Coast, especially us here in the Shenandoa Valley,
it's like a three hour drive, so I'm going to
enjoy it. I'm going to drive up and enjoy my
ride up there.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
You know, I love that you're talking about somewhere that's
close by, because we've got so many locations here in
the Commonwealth, and if you travel into West Virginia. We do,
and so many of these hidden gym like you said
that earlier in the show, in small towns that you
may not have never heard of. There are some big
ones too. There's the Greenbrier.
Speaker 4 (46:07):
Springs and what a gorgeous place they bring in.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
The PGA and everything, and it was good enough for
the government to hide their continuity of government shoulder in there.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
No kidding.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
You can still take a tour of there. Yeah. But
then there's the small towns too. I mean, you know,
quaint little you know, Airbnbs and things up in the
New Market area or exactly there's some ends down outside
of Stanton that you know, are off the beaten path.
We have so many luxurious places here in Virginia. In Washington,
(46:41):
a little Washington, there's a place there that back in
the day, all the Senators would fly in so that
they could have dinner, yes.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
And a Michelin Star restaurant to boot. So again, you know,
as we focus on the Five Seas of Luxury, we
find that they did not miss the small town. We
still have that fortunate ability to be able to visit
these luxury properties there as well.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
Can I take us back up north for just a second, sure, Okay.
One of my favorite places is in a state that
I lived in, New Hampshire, and New Hampshire has a
big lake in there. Most people think New Hampshire is
a little, itty bitty place small. It's got a lake
that actually has a mail boat that runs on it,
Lake Winnipesaukee. If anyone's seen the movie on Golden Pond,
(47:26):
some of the scenes were filmed on Lake Winnipesaukee. And
it's got a place there called the Wolfboro Inn that
I love. It's only about forty one rooms, a great
historic property. You're right there at the lake, overlooking this
lake with all these islands. There's hundreds of islands in
Lake Winnipesaukee. And one of the favorite things I do
there is as I step out and I get on,
(47:49):
they've got an old fashioned paddle boat that you can
take a cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee, have dinner. Check it out.
It's called the Bell and just one again. A nice,
wonderful place. You can spend a week there. You can
spend a week in there and having time on the lake.
And I'd wait until you know after, I'd say June
(48:15):
is a good time to be there. September starts to
get a little cold, but you can go on the lake,
visit the lake on the boat, or you can be
swimming in the lake. You can rent motor boats. Fantastic place,
fantastic location, and the prices are great. And one of
the neat things about New Hampshire is if you want
to buy something up there, there's no sales tax. So
(48:35):
what a great place to go.
Speaker 4 (48:36):
I like some of that good features for small towns.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
So if we want to just kind of bring back
around sort of a summary of what people should look for,
I would say some of the tips that I have
for planning a small luxury town trip would be one
is to research your destination. Really spend some time looking
around that area. Five small towns that offer the type
(49:02):
of luxury experiences that you really want. You're going to
want to book in advance because as we pointed out
here with some of these properties, and maybe if you
have a chance to look some of them up later
on your computers, you'll see that some of these properties
are only maybe twelve thirteen, fourteen accommodations or units that
they have, so you're going to want to make sure
(49:23):
you book in advance. They tend to book up quickly,
so you're going to want to make those reservations. Consider
the transportation. So for me, like I said, going to Farmington, Pennsylvania,
this I'm going to have to drive. It's a three
hour drive. You know, for some people that's a deal breaker.
For me, it's not so bad. But you're going to
want to make sure that you've explored the surrounding area,
(49:44):
whether you need to rent a car or hire a driver. Also,
you want to look into embracing the local culture. You
want to take time to explore the town's unique characters,
some of like what Harry was talking about with Lake
Winnipeesake and some of the areas you identified, like up
at Greenbrier in West Virginia. While a lot of people
(50:04):
I'm sure didn't even know that the train stops right
outside their front door pretty much.
Speaker 4 (50:10):
Exactly. So you want to.
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Make sure that you explore all of these town's unique characters, accessibility,
how they interact with the locals there. What are some
of the great things to do. Just this past weekend,
I actually went and had some time in Lynchburg and
went to a concert there. But I spent time in
(50:33):
downtown Lynchburg and found some things that I didn't even
know I was going to find, like the downtown local
Farmers Market. I had a blast. There was an inside
and outside and it just encompassed a whole city block
in downtown Lynchburg. What a great weekend to just be
among locals and do something very unique.
Speaker 3 (50:56):
And as we're approaching summertime. We're still in spring, but
we're approaching summer time. Get online as you're doing your research,
find out what the summer festivals are in those towns.
See what's going on. It can be, you know, something
just silly and fun for the kids. You know, a
treasure hunt, a historic walk, anything going on there. But
that goes back to Terry's point. Once you find out
(51:19):
what you want to do there, make sure you excuse
us to help you contact these hotels. A lot of
them are hotels that are on our radar, on our
Virtuoso screens, so there may be amenities there for you too.
Will help you with that research, but book early because
these places do fill up. And when you talk about
a vacation to a small town, the logistics are a
(51:40):
little more complicated. You need to find the hotel, you
need to be there at the right time to do
the things you want to do. If there are reservations
you want to take a dinner cruise, you want to
make those reservations to be sure that their space, make
sure you can get the car and tile that together.
That's what we're here to help you do at the
Wishing Well. So if you're close by or far away,
(52:01):
we're here to help and we'd love to show you
more and tell you more than we can do in
this short hour about these small towns.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
This has been a fun show and it's got me
now dreaming about heading off to a small town and enjoying.
I don't need all of the all the destination stuff.
I just need the really nice place to stay and
sleep for a week and want to be spoiled gorgeous
views out the window, in a chef on hand to
bake me cookies every day. Jack, I encourage you, if
(52:31):
you're at the tail end of the show today and
you didn't follow along online looking at photos, go back
and listen to the podcast and look for those locations
and enjoy the photos. Because I have a suspicion you're
going to be talking to Terry or Harry about booking
a trip really soon.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
Are you going to tell them how to find that podcast?
Speaker 1 (52:52):
You can go to the wishing Well dot biz. It's
in the upper right hand corner you find the link
for a Life Less Ordinary. You can listen on the website.
You can also listen on iHeartRadio or wherever you get
your podcasts. And how do we get ahold of you, Terry.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
We're easy to find and I encourage you to join
us every Saturday here, especially in the upcoming episodes. We
can be found at two forty three nef Avenue in
the Valley Center in Harsenburg. You can call us at
five four oh nine oh eight two three thirty three
or look us up on the web. We are at
the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a lifeless ordinary, the travel show from
your friends at the wishing Well at two forty three
nef Avenue in Harsenberg. If you have any questions on
topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing Well
online at the Wishingwell dot biz or five four oh
nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Eight Past episodes
are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see again
next Saturday morning at ten for a Life Less Ordinary
(53:47):
from the wishing well
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