March 7, 2025 • 53 mins
The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif discuss this week's travel news and Hot Deals!
Discover what customization truly means and why it's essential for creating unforgettable travel experiences. From bespoke itineraries to personalized services, learn how tailoring your journey can elevate your adventures to new heights. Tune in to find out why you should care about customizing your travel experience and how it can transform your trips into extraordinary memories.
Discover what customization truly means and why it's essential for creating unforgettable travel experiences. From bespoke itineraries to personalized services, learn how tailoring your journey can elevate your adventures to new heights. Tune in to find out why you should care about customizing your travel experience and how it can transform your trips into extraordinary memories.
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Transcript
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 Harsemberg and online It's a 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
(00:20):
guide you to great experiences in your travel, whether it
be around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Let's bring in Terry Dean. Say hello, how are you doing, Chris.
Today's holiday? Did you know it?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Today is International Women's Day. Yeah, and we say thank
you to strong local women like you, Terry, thanks to
our blazing trails in business.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I thought I was going to catch you off guard,
but man, it's almost like you were prepared for that. Well.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I just want you to know we love you and
we really appreciate you letting us be part of the show.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Thank you. I have a lot of great women in
my life that I think make it extra special for
me too, and my mom is one of them. So
as far as women go, you know, having a good,
strong woman in your life. Everybody benefits from that, I
think in many many ways.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I was sort of chuckling under my breath because I'm thinking,
I don't know any women that aren't strong women.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, in my family that would be the case. I
can tell you that right now.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
So interesting, at least I think it's interesting. Every person
in my life when I was growing up was a woman.
I mean, my dad and I didn't have a real
close relationship. When I was a kid, I had two
grandmothers and six aunts.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Then you were a lucky gues.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
My mom was one of three girls. My dad was
the only boy out of five kids, and so I
was raised by my grandmother's and my mother's father died
when I was young, and my father's father died before
I was born. And so I always joked, I said, well,
and my wife actually says this, she's more of the
man in the relationship. I said, I have learned how
(01:59):
to be compared it and she's learned how to you know,
kick buttef it's necessarius. So strong women all around.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Thanks well, and we are happy to have Harry. And
you know, Harry has a little saying at the wishing well.
I kind of like it, and he says, regarding women,
especially around holidays, this kind of applause. When we're looking
at the differences between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, he says,
not everybody has a sweetheart, but everybody has a mother.
(02:28):
So this may not be Mother's Day, but it certainly
is also Harry a day where we can recognize women.
Thanks for being here with us today. And I know
you've got the take off on the world, and I
don't know on inside the travel industry.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, there was a little excitement across the pond yesterday.
The all train traffic was halted at the Paris Real
transit hub because an object was found on the tracks
that was identified as an unexploded bomb from World War
two and that slowed things down, suspended traffic in and
(03:04):
out of the rail station there. But they took care
of that, and just goes to show that, you know,
the travel transportation people have to be on alert for
any kind of thing. And nobody was injured and nobody
was hurt. They handled it all very very well.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And I love hearing that. But I want to know,
has it been on the tracks since World War two
or did somebody drop it there?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
No, they're not sure how it got there, but they
took care of it, and that's the good news. The
transportation industry is always on the lookout for our safety.
And we talked about airline safety last week. Now we're
talking about train safety too. The industry really does look out.
And when you talk about the number of people they
move on airlines, the number of people that move on
trains every day, every you know, every year, it's just
(03:49):
a tremendous number of people and they do it safely.
So that's that's kind of the oh yeah news for
this morning. But I've got a couple other things. Major airlines.
One of the things that I I've found is that
we made some great moves in protecting the rights of
handicapped travelers wheelchairs, and some of the airlines are having
a little kickback on that. But we're going to have
(04:11):
to stay on top of this and watch to make
sure that wheelchair travelers have safety when their equipment is
moved flight to flight. The airlines are kicking back on
that a little bit. We'll see where that story goes.
But the third story, much more upbeat, is luxury train travel.
(04:31):
I found this one and it really caught my attention.
There is a company called Belmont and they have bought
a train line going in London from London to Cornwall
and they have reintroduced luxury train travel and this is
going to begin in July of twenty twenty five. So
if you want that old fashioned luxury train travel experience, Chris,
(04:55):
I would. These are the guys. They're doing three night itineraries.
It's going to include all your meals, all your drinks,
all your excursions. You're going to have afternoon tea, lunch
and of course locally sourced dinner prepared on board these
regional trains. Starting at a mere fourteen thousand dollars for
(05:16):
a three day train trip across London. That's double occupancy,
of course.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I mean that's not a bad price.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
If it's really not when you talk about kicking back,
and I've seen pictures of these trains, if you have
a chance, take a look at Bellmond b E L MND.
It's called the Britannic Explorer is the name of the train.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So we did an episode I know maybe a year
a year and a half ago, the Rocky Mountaineer, Right,
is it similar to that experience?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Well, in fact, here on a lifeless ordinary. We did
an entire episode dedicated to luxury train travel, and I
highlighted the Belmont train that actually goes right along this corridor.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
And this is going to be a fantastic trip. It's
got eighteen cabins on the train, so it's not you're
not going to get crowded.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Okay, And I guess the question I have and you
may have already addressed this and I missed it. Is
this a sleeper train or it's yes. So we're not
getting off in the evening to go to a hotel,
which is a little.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Different than the Rocky Mountainer trips that we have talked
about earlier. This train is a sleeper train, so you're
going to travel on the on the train, You're going
to eat on the train, you're going to sleep on
the train, You're going to travel on the train. But
it is not, you know, anything other than top notch.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Just to be clear, I don't have an extra fourteen
thousand dollars laying around, but if I did, honestly, this
is how I'd want to spend it.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Right.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
This is kind of the dream come true.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
This is luxury and it actually you do get off
the train at the end, of course, but they have
a special luxury dinner for you in a fifteenth century
Cornwall manner. So you have to get off to eat
that last dinner. But I think it's worth it. What
do you say, Yeah, count me in.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
So I'm watching that one's That's definitely on my list
of things I've got to do. One more that I
want to talk about this morning is if you're looking
toward the holiday season the end of the year, if
you're looking at the week of November nineteen through twenty four,
that's Thanksgiving week. I found a really great deal. Norwegian
has a cruise that's going to Bahamas that's both Bimini
(07:23):
and Nasau. And if you have a family, this was
I booked it for two adults and two teens, not
necessarily young kids, but teens can go on this too,
So two adults to young adults. I've got a balcony room.
Internet included. This is a cruise two from Miami. You're
going to visit Bahamas, You're going to visit Great Stirrup
(07:44):
k which is their private island, come back to Miami.
And this cruise for a family of four was only
eighteen hundred dollars for a family of four over Thanksgiving week.
How's that for a good way to spend your Thanksgiving weekend?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
It sounds like better than a lot of my thanks Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, five day cruise out of Miami. So let us
know if you're interested. Those are the big hot deals
that I found this with Kerry.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
That's great, that's awesome, and we've got some great things
to talk about too today on a Life Less Ordinary.
The name of our show today Chris is called It's
My Life. And it was really interesting when I told
you before we went on air what the name of
the show was. What did you say?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I said, We're going to do it my way. I'm
not going to do it the way everybody else wants
to do it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I couldn't have defined that better if I had tried.
So we are going to continue our series on luxury travel,
and today we're going to talk about the customization of
luxury travel, how that works, what it means, and how
you can maybe have that woven into your own vacation plans.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So if you're just coming into our luxury series, we've
been doing this for the last month and a half
or so, and we had five s's was the first
episode Culture, Cuisine, Community, content and customization. So we're on
the final c of our five s's and we'll talk
more about it next here on our Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and helps you avoid pitfalls
they can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll 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 biz or call us
at five four zero nine zero eight two three three three.
(09:35):
That's five four zero nine zero eight two three three three.
The washing Well really does make dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. So travel
show and podcast brought to you by your friends at
the wishing Well there on f Avenue and Harrisonburg online
at the Wishingwell dot biz. That's biz, and of course
you can call them anytime at five four nine oh
eight twenty three thirty three. Our show today is entitled
It's My Life and yes I now have the Bonjovi
(10:02):
song rattling around inside my head.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Good.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
That was my plan.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
It is the most recent installment of our luxury travel series,
and this show is the fifth sea of the five
season of travel. It's customization.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, I have enjoyed going through this series a lot
because hopefully to the listeners out there, And by the way,
thank you again so very much. You often tell us
how much this show means to you, what you learn
from it, and we're forever grateful that you come and
be with us every Saturday morning. Love having you with
your cup of coffee, just sitting there listening to us
(10:37):
tell you how to travel the world. But this particular series,
in my mind, was something that was important, important for
people to know that luxury is not a unaffordable always,
that's not always where we want people's minds to go
when they go there. But I also want you to
know that it's an opportunity to be able to develop
(11:00):
and design your travel experiences exactly the way you want
them to. And Chris, we've been devoting, as you said,
every episode of A Lifeless Ordinary for the past several
weeks too to this topic. We've defined it, you said
it five c's Categorically, we've broken it down into the
major subsets of travel options. We've looked at the master
(11:22):
vendors behind the Curtain, if you will, as well as
many of the more notable properties themselves. Last week our
focus was on luxury travel for families, and I'd like
to remind you if you've missed any of these previous
episodes leading up to today, please please go back and
listen to those as well, because doing that is really
going to bring this whole picture of luxury travel into
(11:44):
perspective for you and Chris, if you will tell folks
where they can find that well.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Tey, that's easy. You can go to the wishing Well
dot biz. In the upper right hand corner you'll see
a link for A Lifeless Ordinary and all the podcast
episodes are there. You can also listen on the Iheartrate
app or anywhere that you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
So.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
We've learned really through this series that one size does
not fit all. That travel is as individual these days
as how you want to sleep on your mattress, and
even few couples have the same preference on that subject.
I know that for a fact. But on today's episode
of A Life Less Ordinary, we're going to be taking
a much deeper dive into the luxury world of customization.
(12:28):
What in the world exactly is that? Why should you
care about customizing a travel experience? After all, isn't what
packaged travel is all about? I mean, isn't that what
people buy package travel for. Well, in theory, that would
be just fine if everybody vacationed the same way the
world over. Imagine, Chris, if everybody ate their hamburger the
(12:52):
same way, which is with ranch dressing, tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese,
and dijon must on, a toasted, buttered brioche bun. That's
how you do it correctly. Really didn't take you long,
So you see what I'm saying. Everybody's got their own
(13:13):
opinion about what customizing means, right, I mean, I'm sure
you all have your own specific way to eat amburger,
and it's not like I eat mine.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Mine's correct.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Okay, Well, I'm just happy if somebody's making it for me.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
But there it is. That's the theory. So today's traveler,
they want more. They want the hamburger, all right, but
they might prefer it off the bun, or maybe they
want it wrapped in a tomato and deal burrito with
no condiments. Just straight up, please give me what I want.
It's my life, it's my travel. I want it the
(13:50):
way I want it. And that's exactly what I want
to dig into and why I wanted to focus on
this subject today to say we heard you. We don't
even want you to try like everybody else. It's time
to name your own tune, so to speak. And so today,
as we explore the world of customization, we're going to
include topics of travel that you might not be terribly
(14:11):
excited about. It might not be your particular vibe, but
hold on because the world of customization, just like in
the Wizard of Oz, all you have to do is
imagine it and it can and very likely will come true.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
I like it.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah. So customization is revolutionizing luxury travel. I mean we
hear about this every single day at the Wishing Well.
I mean, this is kind of the common thread through
every piece of news. And I got to tell you,
almost every client that walks in my door anymore, it's
rare that they're buying things off the shelf, you know,
(14:51):
so to speak. In the ever evolving world of luxury travel,
customization has emerged as the defining element of truly exceptional experiences.
More than ever, travelers are looking and seeking those more
highly personalized journeys that cater to their unique interests, their lifestyles,
(15:12):
their wellness needs. I mean, we hear about this everywhere.
You can't watch commercials on TV anymore or hear anything
in the news that isn't in some way talking to
us about how we can customize our lives. Am I right, Yeah,
they do that, and the transformation is particularly evident in
the rise of wellness retreats. This is probably one of
(15:33):
the fastest growing categories that we're going to be covering today.
There's also the growing appeal of unconventional sporting events and
something that I'm going to let Harry talk about later
in the show today, and that is the emergence of
extended family sabbaticals. All of these things kind of roll
in together and what you have are these Yeah, you
(15:55):
can't buy a package for that kind of experience, and
yet that's what people. So that's what we're going to
talk about. And one of them is the rise of
wellness retreats. So I'm going to take my microscope and
look a little deeper at this. Today. We are stressed out,
We are a house divided. It wreaks havoc on our
wellness and our peace of mind. There are, of course,
(16:19):
a lot of ways of trying to deal and cope
with this, but I can assure you our travelers, the
ones that reach out to the wishing well, are looking
to combine solutions for added peace and wellness. They want
that in their travel experiences. Who doesn't. Wellness retreats have
surged in popularity. They're drawing travelers in who seek some relaxation, rejuvenation,
(16:44):
and a deeper connection to themselves and to the natural world.
Who am I anyway? Is what people are doing?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Well?
Speaker 2 (16:50):
It's my life. I want it the way I want it.
Gone are the days when a luxury vacation was just
involving lounging by the pool. To travelers crave transformative experience
is centered on their health and their wellness and their
well being. And you know what they I can't tell
you the number of times I remember this as a kid,
(17:12):
even when my parents would take us on vacation. My
mom and dad joked many times after we got back
off of vacation, and they said, you may have heard
this too from people that you know who vacation. I
need a vacation from my vacation. Have you heard of that.
I've said that, well, you know what they didn't bother
to build in wellness and peace of mind and relaxation,
then did they? They forgot that. And as we have
(17:36):
gotten older and we've evolved this travel industry and the
travel experience, is that people want especially I think this
went wild after COVID. People went, I want what I
want now, and I want peace of mind, I want wellness,
I want relaxation, and so all of a sudden that
was something that in the travel industry, in our travel agencies,
(17:59):
we to have to deal with with people. And I'm
actually very happy about that because now when people go
on vacations, their narrative when they return is what a
great time, what a great vacation I had. And it's
really one of these key elements that I'm talking about
in the world of customization. It's the rise of these
(18:21):
wellness retreats.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And one of the things that a lot of people
are doing terry in the last few years that I've
noticed is that even with the traditional vacations where they
pack a lot of stuff in, because some people still
have that mindset that says, I just have to do
a lot of things, but they'll build in a day
at the end or two days at the end, and
they build them. They'll build in a little extension into
their vacation to just sit back, reflect, maybe share photos
(18:45):
with each other of what they've done over the last week,
and then go home so they don't have to have
a vacation from their vacation when you get back.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And all of that I think is brilliantly laid out
when people decide to do that. But several destinations and
resorts have also taken wellness to the next level, and
we're going to spend a little time focusing on them
today because these are the destinations that are offering highly
curated packages that integrate things like yoga, meditation, organic cuisine,
(19:16):
and nature immersion. And remember, at the beginning of the show,
I said, this might not excite a lot of people,
because I know I've got the adventure seekers out there.
We talked about them too through our luxury journey that
we've been talking about. But today I'm talking about people
who want this, who want the yoga, they want the meditation,
they want the organic cuisine, and they want some nature immersion.
(19:38):
So I'm going to take a look at a couple
of these places that I got to tell you. I
did some heavy duty research on today's show to figure
out and find where these hidden gems are. And I
got to tell you, even though I am not, I'm
just going to confess to you right now. Don't anybody
judge me. I don't yoga, I don't matter, I don't
(20:01):
do any of that. But after I looked at some
of these properties and these venues, I went, what have
I been missing these last forty five years? And one
of the first ones that I want to take a
look at is a place called Six Senses Duro Valley
in Portugal. Well, first of all, it's Portugal, Hello, But
(20:24):
this luxury retreat blends the beauty of Portugal's wine country
with some really personalized I'm going to say customized. You're
gonna hear that word a lot today wellness programs, including
guided meditation, they do this, holistic spa treatments, and some
even what they call forest bathing experiences. And I looked
(20:48):
that up and I went, oo, la la, I could
so be there. You know, there was there was a
commercial on TV many years ago. It was called Colgon
Take Me Away. Yeah, I think this is where they
film that. This is all about that, and this paragraph
is taken right from their website. I want to read
it to you. I just love it. It goes like this,
(21:11):
Portugal's Douro Valley is not just for looking at experience
and get involved in it. From Doro Valley river cruises
to stomping the port Wine grapes and prehistoric rock art
sites to canoeing, mountain biking and helicopter tours of Doro Valley.
(21:31):
When was the last time you climbed a tree?
Speaker 1 (21:36):
I tried. I'm not as good as shape as I
was when I was a kid, so probably when I
was in junior high or something.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, I know. But this is all part of how
they do their setup on their website, which I thought.
I read that and I went, that's brilliant. What that
did was it made me stop for a minute and
think about my own life. Yeah, you know, when was
the last time I climbed the tree? And that question alone,
(22:04):
to me was an invitation. It was an invitation to
harken back to the life we love. Which is another
saying that I actually wrote down in one of these
is that the highest sophistication is simplicity. I love that,
and I love this property that they actually decided to
(22:25):
make this kind of invitation to what they had to offer,
and then they immediately look to draw you into that
offering of the property by showing you all of the
things that sixth senses can do for you, like they
offer things like tile painting. I looked at that and
I went, guy, used to do that as a kid,
(22:45):
You know, I did that, and I remember you, remember
how that made you feel? My daughter still to this day,
I've got a special needs daughter. For those of you
who don't know, talk about her sometimes here on a
lifeless ordinary. I love her. She's her name is Morgan,
and Morgan is thirty seven years old. She's special needs,
and she still draws mommy pictures. I love it, and
sometimes I get them painted on tile. And when I
(23:07):
saw that, and I saw that they were doing that
here at Six Senses in Portugal, I went, what a
cool thing to do. I mean, you don't have to
have a particular special need. You just have to have
a need of your heart, a need of those six
senses to be able to appreciate the fine art of
painting a tile. You know, it's awesome. The other things
(23:30):
that they have there are the Alchemy Bar workshop. Now
that takes it all to another level. I mean, if
you are interested in learning how to create and curate
your own cocktails, they've got a bar and a workshop
that'll show you how to do that. The Authentic Portuguese
Kitchen Table Experience they call it. So this is what
is that exactly? Well, it's where you can get together
(23:53):
with some of your closest friends or maybe people who
are visiting this place for the first time. The chef
sets you down at the table inside the kitchen where
he's preparing meals, and you exchange lifestyles, you exchange stories
of your own life, and while he fixes this meal,
here she fixes the meal, and then you get to
(24:15):
enjoy that together. So it's a bit like being at
grandma's table. You know who doesn't love that? I mean,
I love it when people come over to my house.
I have a bar in my house, a kitchen bar,
and people sometimes sit down there and watch me fix dinner.
And while they do that, we learn a lot about
each other. That's a great way to relax and enjoy
(24:35):
the next meal. You're going to have that culinary experience
is actually lifted through the experiences that you share. And
then they have a vintage boating experience, which I thought
was pretty cool, and then mountain biking through Portugal. I
love all of these things that sixth Senses do. This
property is trying and succeeding at showing you that they're
(24:56):
not just another hotel property, but they are, in fact
a way to get the most you can out of
Portugal by here's that word again, customizing your entire experience
from sun up to sundown. And I talked about kids, Well,
do you ever wish the kids would just disconnect from
their communication devices and really see you, really spend time
(25:20):
with you when you go on vacation with them. I mean,
I know when I go on vacation with my daughter,
she tags that phone every five minutes. And if I
ever have to discipline Morgan in any way, all I
have to do is take her phone away. That's the
best way to do it. But kids have a very
hard time disconnecting. It's part of their life. I mean,
(25:40):
even when I book cruises for families on vacations anymore,
one of the first things the tweens in the family
want to know is do we have WiFi. Am I
still going to be able to communicate well? At Six
Senses Dora Valley in Portugal, they have these well intended
six Sense programs that aren't just for grown ups. They
(26:01):
bring that well being experience and the wellness experience to
kids as well by promoting positive well being six dimensions
of wellness that they classify as social, environmental, physical, spiritual, emotional,
and intellectual. They bring kids into yoga programs, cooking workshops,
(26:22):
spa treatments, crafts. They believe their wellness programs designed for
use make kids want to turn off their devices and
turn up the fun. I love that. I love this property.
If it's something that you're interested in, we would enjoy
the opportunity to kind of peel back this Onionique sixth
(26:45):
Senses with you. If you have a family, if it's
just a couple of you that want to go. I
can see this as being a great talk about International
Women's Day. This would be a great thing for women
to get together and do.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
It would and it's also a great thing for family
that are located different parts of the country. My family,
I've got people on the East coast, people on the
West coast. We work so hard to try and get
together every couple of years, and we talk about it,
talk about it. But something like this that's very focused,
where we could all get back together in one location
(27:18):
and spend time with each other, getting to know each
other again and do something that's just so out of
the ordinary but so simple, just seems very very attractive.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, And I think the thing is true that all
of us are experiencing is that our minds need healing
and wellness. Our minds need that. And if Harry and
I and the folks at the wishing Well and the
staff at the wishing Well can't bring you some possible
solutions and resolve to that, at some point, we're doing
(27:53):
it wrong. You know, the wishing Well's doing it wrong.
If we don't bring in some of the things that
people need right now into the world in the realm
of travel and getaways. I mean, I think that's very
very important. Now, Chris, the next property that I want
to jump over to is going to take us quite
a ways away. But Virginia, there is a place called
(28:16):
Shambala and it is amazing. It's part of the Como
Estates and design Properties with an expert led approach. Como
shambala actually meet you wherever you are on your wellness journey.
I love that. Whether it's furthering your practice in yoga,
let's just say, I mean, you do this, it's second
(28:38):
nature to you. Maybe you're even a yoga teacher and
you don't need somebody to instruct you so much. But
so you're just looking to sort of further your practice
in yoga and fitness. But you maybe want restorative facial
or massages that kind of thing. But maybe you need
something from ground zero. You don't know anything about this
world of yoga and wellness and relaxation and meditation. These
(29:03):
guys have the answer for you. Actually, Shambala means peace
in Sanskrit. That's what it means out It's the pursuit
of balance, which they say in their marketing information Guide's
their approach to wellness. It's a combination of sort of
modern science with time honored practices to align the body,
(29:26):
the mind, and the spirit. They go deep here. Global
Wellness Company was founded thirty years ago in Singapore. And
you know one thing I learned when I actually went
over to Asia. I think I mentioned that here in
a life less Ordinary, one of the most probably meaningful
and impactful pieces of travel that I've ever done in
(29:47):
my career was to Japan, and what I learned about
that was the Asian's focus on wellness and zen. That's
the first place I ever learned what the words in
really comes from, what it means. And when I learned
that Shambala really was a thirty year ago concept that
(30:10):
started in Singapore, I wasn't surprised that that's where it
came from. It's a world class facility where experts from
yoga to Chinese acupuncture, they come from everywhere, from Bali
to London. They integrate nutrition from Como Shambala kitchens with
movement programs and therapies to restore and empower you. And
(30:31):
you see, that is what I mean by customization. They
integrate sensitive diagnosis of individual's wellness goals with their expert
knowledge on nutrition and yoga and fitness and hands on healing.
They take a hoalistic approach that allows them to meet
guests wherever they are on their journey. So again you see,
(30:54):
one size does not fit all. So you get to
start where wherever you are and go wherever you want
to be through these programs. That's vacation. That's healing, that's
mindful wellness. That's taking vacations to a whole other level
of really medical treatment, if you will. I mean, it's
(31:17):
kind of a fine line between medical treatment, but there's
no pharmaceuticals involved. And I love that. I really love that.
It's natural.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
You keep saying vacation, and it got me thinking about
in Europe they say we're going on holiday, yes, and
it's like we're saying we're vacating something normal. Yeah. It's like,
I like to think maybe what you're talking about right
now is a you know, a holistic holiday.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Yes, exactly. I mean it means something when you start
talking about vacations and the definition changes to this level. Yeah, yeah, buddy,
I'm all about that, you know. That's that to me
is where I want to be. And Shambala is known
for its world class yoga retreats. They actually schedule these
and this resort customizes guest experiences, nutrition planning for you.
(32:06):
So you know, it's funny. Harry and I've been talking
a lot about this lately, about eating habits and how
poor sometimes our eating habits are. My heating go ahead,
and so will. Harry's off the rails. I'm going to
say it right now with you. Yeah, and you know,
getting back on the rails sometimes takes somebody else other
than a family member, you know, gently nudging you toward
(32:30):
a better program, a better plan that's gonna maybe be
life changing for you. And how great would that be
if something positive that you're doing on vacation changes your
life for the better. I mean I love that too.
Outdoor activities like jungle tracks and waterfall swims, that's what
this program at Como Shambala is all about. And again,
(32:54):
these you know, are focused entirely on the one right
now that's in Bali, but the Shamahlacks experiences are in
Bali everywhere from Bali to London. So again, if that's
something that you're interested in, and this sounds interesting to you,
and you might be interested in having a vacation planned
around this kind of experience, I would love to help you.
(33:15):
I think this is exactly where vacationing is heading in
the trending future. I really do.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
And Shambala is such a cool word. And I've got
a trivia question for Chris who sang on the Road
to Shambala.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
Shannanah Shambala no, I know it wasn't Shannana. No, I
have no idea three dog night. I do like three
dog knight. Yes, all right, here's your trivia question. We're
getting way in the wait terry. Why is the band
called three dog Night?
Speaker 3 (33:44):
It was something about them getting stuck somewhere and it
has to do with the phrase three dog night that
they adopted.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Yes, because it's so so cold, you got to have
three dogs on your bed to keep you warm. It's
a three dog night.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
I did not know that.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Okay, very interesting. You know what I think we need
to do is take a break. Okay, regroup, We'll talk
more about Music.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Of Life show again.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
It's coming up next here on a lifeless ordinary.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Siri? Let the Wishing Weld
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.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Team of experts.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
For help, if you need it, call us at five
four zero nine zero eight two three three three Stop
Buy two forty three Avenue or visit us at the
Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
And welcome back to you a Lifeless Ordinaria, the travel
show and podcast brought to you by your friends at
the Wishing Well. You can find them on f Avenue
in Harrisburg, online, the Wishingwell dot biz or gimm a
call five four O nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Jerry.
Just once again, I want to wish a happy international
women say thank you for being a trailblazer as a
(35:00):
female business leader here in the Shenandoah Valley, and you
know all the work you've done to bring some enjoyment
and calmness to people's travel.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
I love it, you know, I can't imagine doing anything else.
And again, thank you so much, Chris, and a big
salute out there to all the women who bring so
much joy to other people with well meaning things that
they do as well. I love our show today because
I think it's kind of my gift to women in particular,
(35:33):
because we are talking about the customization of travel and
if we ever needed a time where we can take
our vacation experiences and elevate them to more of a
healing opportunity in our lives, I think it's now and
we've spent a good bit of time talking about two
very beautiful properties, very well orchestrated properties in what they offer,
(35:59):
and that is the Same Senses in Doro Valley in
Portugal and the Como Shambala estate in Bali. But I
want to move on to talking about some of the
other properties that I had brought today to enlighten our
listeners about and maybe get them excited about this opportunity
to bring customization into their vacations. I said something earlier
(36:22):
in the first part of the show, and I think
it's worth repeating. The highest sophistication is simplicity, and I
think sometimes people miss that when they think luxury, you
know what comes to mind. Somebody told me this the
other day. Came in my office and we were talking
about luxury, and they said, oh, you know, I think
of the big Burj Khalifa in Dubai and all of
(36:44):
these great hotels and that kind of thing. Okay, sure,
that's luxury. I mean, I won't argue that point. That
is definitely luxury. Luxury is also the Atlantis in the Bahamas,
that's also luxury.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
I was going to say, when you first asked me
you know what is luxury, I think gold, toilets and right,
but that's opulence. That's not necessarily luxury.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And you know what, I think that is a great
defining definition Chris, that you brought that up. You're right,
because it's not always about that. Sometimes it is. This
sophistication is simple. For example, I went not long ago
out to Park City, Utah, and I stayed in a
beautiful place there that couldn't have been less pretentious. It's
(37:29):
called the Montage, and I was so blown away by
their lack of, as you said, opulence, and yet they're
highly sophisticated, simple elegance of just being on that property,
having the natural elements of Park City, Utah, and the
(37:50):
beauty that that brought. That was probably a year ago now,
and it's still so vivid in my mind that that,
to me was luxury. That was by definition, what luxury was.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
Well, luxury kind of blends between a couple words you
mentioned opulence. When I talk about luxury a lot of times,
I think quality also in quality doesn't have to necessarily
mean opulence. Quality means great. I had a great experience
with my kids, a quality experience. I had a great
experience at a property. That's what you're talking about, Terry.
(38:24):
And it's sometimes confusing when you use that word luxury,
but think about it in a very broad sense. Luxury
is something that's customized just for you. It specially made,
tailored just for you. That's what you're talking about this morning.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
It's my life and that's the name of our show today.
Another property that I want to head into is one
that continues to fascinate me. I love it ever since
I saw Eugene Levy represent this property on The Reluctant Traveler,
which is a TV series that I watch pretty religion,
justly on travel. This guy just slays me. I've never
(39:03):
seen anybody who says they hate travel so much get
to go to so many great places. If I thought
I could do that, you know, i'd hate travel every
day of my life, but I don't. I love it.
It's part of what I eat, breathe and sleep every
day of my life. But the property that he went
to that just blew me away is a property that
happens to be one of our Virtuoso properties, and it
(39:25):
is called the Almungari in Utah. This is a beautiful,
secluded luxury retreat in the desert actually, and it offers
private wellness journeys that does something that I saw him
do there that they televised, and I would actually I
was honestly surprised that this got televised because it incorporated
(39:48):
the Native American healing rituals that they do there through
sound therapy, guided meditation within breathtaking natural surroundings that are
there in Utah. And I was actually surprised that they
televised the Native American rituals that they have there well.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
And you got to put into context Eugene Levy for
those of you who don't know as a Native died
in the wool, traditional, stereotypical. What other words can I
throw in there? New Yorker. He does not like anything
out of the ordinary that he sees every day in
New York City, and they put him out here in
(40:28):
the middle of the desert. So keep on with your story, heeray.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
And I heard him say on a talk show that
they asked him, they said, of all the places that
you've ever been, which one of the places is still
most keen in your mind as the one that made
the biggest impression. And he said, Almungary in Utah had
to hands down be one of the most impressive and
(40:54):
memorable all of the transformative exactly properties that he had
ever been to. And no surprise, I mean, this is
actually a property that is so well planned and well orchestrated.
Even in where it lies in Utah. It's literally built
back into the hills so that you almost have to
(41:16):
be right upon the property to even notice that it's there.
They took such great care to make sure that the
footprint of this property did not overstate its welcome if
you will. I mean, it is absolutely serene in what
it offers. The state rooms there just overlook some of
the painted desert. It's just gorgeous what it does there.
(41:37):
But what they offer insofar is the customization of the
offerings that they have there is part of why people
will go and pay what the Amungari commands because it's
not an inexpensive opportunity to be there, but it is
one of great customization and one that you would not
long forget.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Yeah, it's it's a process. When you go there, they
you Chris. Before they decide what you're going to eat,
what they're going to feed you, they interview you and
learn about you, learn about your aspirations, learn about your preferences,
and then they decide what you're going to eat. And
it was a very for me. It was very enlightening
to watch Eugene Levy there when they told him this
(42:20):
is what he's going to eat. And he's got heavy,
thick eyebrows. His eyebrows kind of move like a freight
train up and down on his forehead, and when they
told him what was going to happen, he was he
was quite taken, but he decided to try it. And
it's very important that when you go to a place
like this, you have to open yourself up a little bit,
get out of your skin and give it a chance.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
And you know, I'm the generation that grew up on
the Jetsons and Star Trek and James Bond, you know,
and interestingly enough, you know, I was kind of hooked.
I was a James Bond geek. I loved those James
Bond movies. And mostly I think because I had that
in me when I was a child watching the James
(43:03):
Bond movies, that I was fascinated and drawn to the
way in which he traveled and navigated, you know, different
areas that he would go to and never you know,
we're thinking as we're kids watching the Jetsons and the
Star Wars and you know, Star Treks and James Bond,
we're thinking, then it'll never come to where we get
(43:26):
to the place where we have that. But now people
can actually be James Bond when they travel. They can
actually get like Harry described that customization where they call
you ahead of time and find out how do you
like to eat, what things do you like to eat,
how do you like your mattress, how do you like
your pillows, what kind of coverings do you enjoy on
your beds? And the very idea that we as travel
(43:50):
advisors now can deliver that level of here's that word again,
customization to our customers is one I am pretty excited about.
You know, that's the James Bond approach to travel.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
You know, you can find a hotel that has the
perfect bed, you can find a restaurant that has the
perfect meal. You're going to make sacrifices to get one
maybe two, but you're not going to get everything. This
is how you get everything. Oh, this is how you
get it all. Yeah, this is how you get it all.
And you can have it all. You just have to
know to ask for that. The other property that I
(44:29):
want to share with you is one that I also love.
It also happens to be in Spain. There should be
a lot of very peaceful people in Spain, don't you think?
I mean people?
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Yeah, exactly if. This one's called the Shah Wellness Clinic.
It's one of the most privileged spots in Europe where
it sits a favorable climate where they are very close
to the Coasta del Soul area. They have a favorable
climate of actually three hundred and thirty days of sunshine
a year. That alone, to me says happy. You know that,
that's really happy. They pioneer sort of a medical meets
(45:03):
wellness approach, which is a lot of what we've been
talking about today. They sort of provide this individualized, tailored
detox and anti stress program that incorporates medical diagnosis, realistic treatments,
and personalized fitness regimens at their property. And this is
one that if you're listening today, you really should look
(45:24):
this up online. It again is the shot Sha Wellness
Clinic in Spain. And I think what I would have
to say today in summarizing is the idea of vacations
that can be anything and everything that you want them
to be. If you're looking at the retreats in wellness
(45:46):
I mentioned for today, but I can tell you the
list is endless. As I began to research for today's show,
I was astounded by the number of properties that are
actually just being a built with that in mind, because
this is a growing population of travelers that are looking
(46:08):
for these types of vacations. So again, the Wishing Well
would be a great resource to you for divine deciding
and defining where and what you want to do when
you vacation. And we know where these wellness retreats are,
we'd be happy to give you any additional information about it.
Travelers can find wellness packages at leading resorts worldwide, with
(46:31):
options ranging from weekend retreats to month long immersive programs.
Many high end travel agencies and luxury hotel groups such
as Belmont Harriet listed them before in one of the
advertisements for news and retreats that we had, and Four
Seasons also, I'm a four Seasons girl, I got to
tell you, after having stayed in one, I'm hooked. But
(46:54):
they all offer these wellness journeys tailored to individual needs.
All of the Four Seasons Fairmont's Belmont's hotels are going
to offer them to the extent of the wellness retreats
that I talk to you about today that we covered,
but there are many resorts and hotels that are offering
(47:15):
that as a sidebar offer because people are asking for it.
Even when they get to some places like Nashville, Tennessee,
where I went and stayed in a four seasons, they
actually had a wellness package that I could have taken
advantage of when I was there. So maybe in small part,
not like the extensive ones that I mentioned, but in
(47:36):
small part, a lot of these retreats are offering that today.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
On a lifeless ordinary we talk about some of the
extraordinary high end experiences, but everything you're talking about today.
Terry properties have figured out that travelers want these kinds
of things, and so many of them offer different levels
of packages too. And I think that's very important for
our listeners to hear that you don't always have to
(48:01):
go to the you know, to the top of the
pyramid to get that particular package, but you may choose
something that's you know, on the way up the pyramid,
And what a great way to kind of step up
your travel experience. And live that life less ordinary.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Yeah, and so I wanted to cover a couple of
different things before we've run out of time today, and
one was the wellness retreats. Another area that is impacting
customized travel is unconventional sporting interests on travel. People are
doing this too. This is a striking shift in luxury travel.
It's the rise of interest in some unconventional, unconventional sports.
(48:41):
Now why traditional sporting events like football and baseball really
still remain pretty popular, Today's travelers Chris are being increasingly
drawn to unique and exhilarating sporting experiences like Formula one racing,
dirt mic racing, U, the FIFA tournaments, and even pickleball championships.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
Good lord, we did an episode on pickleball. We did,
We did.
Speaker 2 (49:08):
And these niche sporting interests have birthed an entirely new
travel segment where enthusiasts actually plan their vacations around major events.
I actually had families who have called me who are
going to plan their vacations around the World Cup for
FIFA that's going to be happening, which is the soccer tournament,
(49:30):
Formula one Grand Prix events, destinations like Monaco, Abu Dhabi, Singapore.
They're catering to travel packages for people that are offering
these unique customized experiences with yachting access. Believe it or not,
the European Football League is actually putting soccer lovers in
a whole other category with what they're offering for the
(49:52):
upcoming World Cup for FIFA and pickleball travel experiences. You're right,
we devoted a whole segment to that. Motocross and dirt
bike racing travelers seeking adrenaline fueled experiences are booking customized
tours to motocross events like the Moto Cross of Nations
in France and also I'm a AMA Supercross in the US,
(50:17):
combining it with their trips of off road riding experiences.
So these are all the things that are greatly important
to people who are customizing their travel. I want to
hand it off to Harry real quickly to finish up
here talking about the sabbatical experiences that even families are
taking to customize their vacations.
Speaker 3 (50:36):
Yeah, as travel advisors were really fortunate to get to
speak to a lot of families. And when you talk
about families and doing things together, this whole idea tarya
of extended family sabbaticals is just gaining traction too. A
lot of families are going away to do work. Well,
what about extended family sabbaticals where you get together and
(50:58):
you bring the parents in, the grandparents, the moms, dads, kids,
everybody together and recognize the value this slow, immersive travel.
The neat thing about this when you talk about customization.
You can customize these trips, and you can have even
segments within your trip where you're customizing, so you can
customize by family members. Some might go out and see
(51:19):
sites one day while another is out ziplining. You meet
together for dinner, you share your experience as you share
your great days, activities and the fund that you had,
and you talk about them. That's part of the bonding
and regrouping of families that is so much missing in
some families lives as they're separated. Families are spending weeks
(51:41):
months integrating themselves in new culture environments. And I just
want to list a couple places real quickly. Tuscany, Italy
is a place where families are renting private villas. They're
embracing that slower pace of life, that farm to table cuisine,
checking out the historical landmarks, the hands on cultural workshops.
Close to re one of my favorite places. You want
(52:01):
to go and learn about ecology, Eco conscious families can
immerse themselves in wildlife conservation, sustainability, learn some Spanish. Along
the way Kyoto, Japan. You can go into the traditional homes,
participate in some of the ceremonies, explore the historical cultural roots,
go to New Zealand, go outdoors, go on these stays
(52:22):
that include farm stays, the adventure, tourism, cultural experiences. Just
so many ways that you can have these extended families
sabbaticals and bring in exactly what you're talking about today, Terry,
this customized vacation that caters to the needs of all
the different segments in your family. Let yet, let yet,
let you come together at the end of the day
(52:44):
to share experiences, share finding, share the joy and the
wonder that you found in the world.
Speaker 2 (52:50):
Christ we have tom for you to mention the five
c's of customized travel again.
Speaker 1 (52:54):
Culture, cuisine, community, content and customization.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
There you go. That's it. In a nutshell, we have
covered a really really good series for you to learn
about luxury travel here in a lifeless ordinary.
Speaker 1 (53:08):
In our final seconds, how do we get in touch
with you at the wishing Well.
Speaker 2 (53:11):
We are easy to find, Chris. We'relocated at two forty
three nef Avenue in the Valley Center in Heresonburg, Virginia.
You can call us at five four oh nine oh
eight two three three three, or look us up on
the web. We're at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a life Less Ordinary, the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well dop biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
again next Saturday morning at ten for a Life Less
(53:47):
Ordinary 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 Harsemberg and online It's a 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
(00:20):
guide you to great experiences in your travel, whether it
be around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Let's bring in Terry Dean. Say hello, how are you doing, Chris.
Today's holiday? Did you know it?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Today is International Women's Day. Yeah, and we say thank
you to strong local women like you, Terry, thanks to
our blazing trails in business.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I thought I was going to catch you off guard,
but man, it's almost like you were prepared for that. Well.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I just want you to know we love you and
we really appreciate you letting us be part of the show.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Thank you. I have a lot of great women in
my life that I think make it extra special for
me too, and my mom is one of them. So
as far as women go, you know, having a good,
strong woman in your life. Everybody benefits from that, I
think in many many ways.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I was sort of chuckling under my breath because I'm thinking,
I don't know any women that aren't strong women.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, in my family that would be the case. I
can tell you that right now.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
So interesting, at least I think it's interesting. Every person
in my life when I was growing up was a woman.
I mean, my dad and I didn't have a real
close relationship. When I was a kid, I had two
grandmothers and six aunts.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Then you were a lucky gues.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
My mom was one of three girls. My dad was
the only boy out of five kids, and so I
was raised by my grandmother's and my mother's father died
when I was young, and my father's father died before
I was born. And so I always joked, I said, well,
and my wife actually says this, she's more of the
man in the relationship. I said, I have learned how
(01:59):
to be compared it and she's learned how to you know,
kick buttef it's necessarius. So strong women all around.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Thanks well, and we are happy to have Harry. And
you know, Harry has a little saying at the wishing well.
I kind of like it, and he says, regarding women,
especially around holidays, this kind of applause. When we're looking
at the differences between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, he says,
not everybody has a sweetheart, but everybody has a mother.
(02:28):
So this may not be Mother's Day, but it certainly
is also Harry a day where we can recognize women.
Thanks for being here with us today. And I know
you've got the take off on the world, and I
don't know on inside the travel industry.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, there was a little excitement across the pond yesterday.
The all train traffic was halted at the Paris Real
transit hub because an object was found on the tracks
that was identified as an unexploded bomb from World War
two and that slowed things down, suspended traffic in and
(03:04):
out of the rail station there. But they took care
of that, and just goes to show that, you know,
the travel transportation people have to be on alert for
any kind of thing. And nobody was injured and nobody
was hurt. They handled it all very very well.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And I love hearing that. But I want to know,
has it been on the tracks since World War two
or did somebody drop it there?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
No, they're not sure how it got there, but they
took care of it, and that's the good news. The
transportation industry is always on the lookout for our safety.
And we talked about airline safety last week. Now we're
talking about train safety too. The industry really does look out.
And when you talk about the number of people they
move on airlines, the number of people that move on
trains every day, every you know, every year, it's just
(03:49):
a tremendous number of people and they do it safely.
So that's that's kind of the oh yeah news for
this morning. But I've got a couple other things. Major airlines.
One of the things that I I've found is that
we made some great moves in protecting the rights of
handicapped travelers wheelchairs, and some of the airlines are having
a little kickback on that. But we're going to have
(04:11):
to stay on top of this and watch to make
sure that wheelchair travelers have safety when their equipment is
moved flight to flight. The airlines are kicking back on
that a little bit. We'll see where that story goes.
But the third story, much more upbeat, is luxury train travel.
(04:31):
I found this one and it really caught my attention.
There is a company called Belmont and they have bought
a train line going in London from London to Cornwall
and they have reintroduced luxury train travel and this is
going to begin in July of twenty twenty five. So
if you want that old fashioned luxury train travel experience, Chris,
(04:55):
I would. These are the guys. They're doing three night itineraries.
It's going to include all your meals, all your drinks,
all your excursions. You're going to have afternoon tea, lunch
and of course locally sourced dinner prepared on board these
regional trains. Starting at a mere fourteen thousand dollars for
(05:16):
a three day train trip across London. That's double occupancy,
of course.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I mean that's not a bad price.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
If it's really not when you talk about kicking back,
and I've seen pictures of these trains, if you have
a chance, take a look at Bellmond b E L MND.
It's called the Britannic Explorer is the name of the train.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So we did an episode I know maybe a year
a year and a half ago, the Rocky Mountaineer, Right,
is it similar to that experience?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Well, in fact, here on a lifeless ordinary. We did
an entire episode dedicated to luxury train travel, and I
highlighted the Belmont train that actually goes right along this corridor.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
And this is going to be a fantastic trip. It's
got eighteen cabins on the train, so it's not you're
not going to get crowded.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Okay, And I guess the question I have and you
may have already addressed this and I missed it. Is
this a sleeper train or it's yes. So we're not
getting off in the evening to go to a hotel,
which is a little.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Different than the Rocky Mountainer trips that we have talked
about earlier. This train is a sleeper train, so you're
going to travel on the on the train, You're going
to eat on the train, you're going to sleep on
the train, You're going to travel on the train. But
it is not, you know, anything other than top notch.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Just to be clear, I don't have an extra fourteen
thousand dollars laying around, but if I did, honestly, this
is how I'd want to spend it.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Right.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
This is kind of the dream come true.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
This is luxury and it actually you do get off
the train at the end, of course, but they have
a special luxury dinner for you in a fifteenth century
Cornwall manner. So you have to get off to eat
that last dinner. But I think it's worth it. What
do you say, Yeah, count me in.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
So I'm watching that one's That's definitely on my list
of things I've got to do. One more that I
want to talk about this morning is if you're looking
toward the holiday season the end of the year, if
you're looking at the week of November nineteen through twenty four,
that's Thanksgiving week. I found a really great deal. Norwegian
has a cruise that's going to Bahamas that's both Bimini
(07:23):
and Nasau. And if you have a family, this was
I booked it for two adults and two teens, not
necessarily young kids, but teens can go on this too,
So two adults to young adults. I've got a balcony room.
Internet included. This is a cruise two from Miami. You're
going to visit Bahamas, You're going to visit Great Stirrup
(07:44):
k which is their private island, come back to Miami.
And this cruise for a family of four was only
eighteen hundred dollars for a family of four over Thanksgiving week.
How's that for a good way to spend your Thanksgiving weekend?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
It sounds like better than a lot of my thanks Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, five day cruise out of Miami. So let us
know if you're interested. Those are the big hot deals
that I found this with Kerry.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
That's great, that's awesome, and we've got some great things
to talk about too today on a Life Less Ordinary.
The name of our show today Chris is called It's
My Life. And it was really interesting when I told
you before we went on air what the name of
the show was. What did you say?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I said, We're going to do it my way. I'm
not going to do it the way everybody else wants
to do it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I couldn't have defined that better if I had tried.
So we are going to continue our series on luxury travel,
and today we're going to talk about the customization of
luxury travel, how that works, what it means, and how
you can maybe have that woven into your own vacation plans.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So if you're just coming into our luxury series, we've
been doing this for the last month and a half
or so, and we had five s's was the first
episode Culture, Cuisine, Community, content and customization. So we're on
the final c of our five s's and we'll talk
more about it next here on our Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and helps you avoid pitfalls
they can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll 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 biz or call us
at five four zero nine zero eight two three three three.
(09:35):
That's five four zero nine zero eight two three three three.
The washing Well really does make dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. So travel
show and podcast brought to you by your friends at
the wishing Well there on f Avenue and Harrisonburg online
at the Wishingwell dot biz. That's biz, and of course
you can call them anytime at five four nine oh
eight twenty three thirty three. Our show today is entitled
It's My Life and yes I now have the Bonjovi
(10:02):
song rattling around inside my head.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Good.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
That was my plan.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
It is the most recent installment of our luxury travel series,
and this show is the fifth sea of the five
season of travel. It's customization.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, I have enjoyed going through this series a lot
because hopefully to the listeners out there, And by the way,
thank you again so very much. You often tell us
how much this show means to you, what you learn
from it, and we're forever grateful that you come and
be with us every Saturday morning. Love having you with
your cup of coffee, just sitting there listening to us
(10:37):
tell you how to travel the world. But this particular series,
in my mind, was something that was important, important for
people to know that luxury is not a unaffordable always,
that's not always where we want people's minds to go
when they go there. But I also want you to
know that it's an opportunity to be able to develop
(11:00):
and design your travel experiences exactly the way you want
them to. And Chris, we've been devoting, as you said,
every episode of A Lifeless Ordinary for the past several
weeks too to this topic. We've defined it, you said
it five c's Categorically, we've broken it down into the
major subsets of travel options. We've looked at the master
(11:22):
vendors behind the Curtain, if you will, as well as
many of the more notable properties themselves. Last week our
focus was on luxury travel for families, and I'd like
to remind you if you've missed any of these previous
episodes leading up to today, please please go back and
listen to those as well, because doing that is really
going to bring this whole picture of luxury travel into
(11:44):
perspective for you and Chris, if you will tell folks
where they can find that well.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Tey, that's easy. You can go to the wishing Well
dot biz. In the upper right hand corner you'll see
a link for A Lifeless Ordinary and all the podcast
episodes are there. You can also listen on the Iheartrate
app or anywhere that you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
So.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
We've learned really through this series that one size does
not fit all. That travel is as individual these days
as how you want to sleep on your mattress, and
even few couples have the same preference on that subject.
I know that for a fact. But on today's episode
of A Life Less Ordinary, we're going to be taking
a much deeper dive into the luxury world of customization.
(12:28):
What in the world exactly is that? Why should you
care about customizing a travel experience? After all, isn't what
packaged travel is all about? I mean, isn't that what
people buy package travel for. Well, in theory, that would
be just fine if everybody vacationed the same way the
world over. Imagine, Chris, if everybody ate their hamburger the
(12:52):
same way, which is with ranch dressing, tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese,
and dijon must on, a toasted, buttered brioche bun. That's
how you do it correctly. Really didn't take you long,
So you see what I'm saying. Everybody's got their own
(13:13):
opinion about what customizing means, right, I mean, I'm sure
you all have your own specific way to eat amburger,
and it's not like I eat mine.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Mine's correct.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Okay, Well, I'm just happy if somebody's making it for me.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
But there it is. That's the theory. So today's traveler,
they want more. They want the hamburger, all right, but
they might prefer it off the bun, or maybe they
want it wrapped in a tomato and deal burrito with
no condiments. Just straight up, please give me what I want.
It's my life, it's my travel. I want it the
(13:50):
way I want it. And that's exactly what I want
to dig into and why I wanted to focus on
this subject today to say we heard you. We don't
even want you to try like everybody else. It's time
to name your own tune, so to speak. And so today,
as we explore the world of customization, we're going to
include topics of travel that you might not be terribly
(14:11):
excited about. It might not be your particular vibe, but
hold on because the world of customization, just like in
the Wizard of Oz, all you have to do is
imagine it and it can and very likely will come true.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
I like it.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah. So customization is revolutionizing luxury travel. I mean we
hear about this every single day at the Wishing Well.
I mean, this is kind of the common thread through
every piece of news. And I got to tell you,
almost every client that walks in my door anymore, it's
rare that they're buying things off the shelf, you know,
(14:51):
so to speak. In the ever evolving world of luxury travel,
customization has emerged as the defining element of truly exceptional experiences.
More than ever, travelers are looking and seeking those more
highly personalized journeys that cater to their unique interests, their lifestyles,
(15:12):
their wellness needs. I mean, we hear about this everywhere.
You can't watch commercials on TV anymore or hear anything
in the news that isn't in some way talking to
us about how we can customize our lives. Am I right, Yeah,
they do that, and the transformation is particularly evident in
the rise of wellness retreats. This is probably one of
(15:33):
the fastest growing categories that we're going to be covering today.
There's also the growing appeal of unconventional sporting events and
something that I'm going to let Harry talk about later
in the show today, and that is the emergence of
extended family sabbaticals. All of these things kind of roll
in together and what you have are these Yeah, you
(15:55):
can't buy a package for that kind of experience, and
yet that's what people. So that's what we're going to
talk about. And one of them is the rise of
wellness retreats. So I'm going to take my microscope and
look a little deeper at this. Today. We are stressed out,
We are a house divided. It wreaks havoc on our
wellness and our peace of mind. There are, of course,
(16:19):
a lot of ways of trying to deal and cope
with this, but I can assure you our travelers, the
ones that reach out to the wishing well, are looking
to combine solutions for added peace and wellness. They want
that in their travel experiences. Who doesn't. Wellness retreats have
surged in popularity. They're drawing travelers in who seek some relaxation, rejuvenation,
(16:44):
and a deeper connection to themselves and to the natural world.
Who am I anyway? Is what people are doing?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Well?
Speaker 2 (16:50):
It's my life. I want it the way I want it.
Gone are the days when a luxury vacation was just
involving lounging by the pool. To travelers crave transformative experience
is centered on their health and their wellness and their
well being. And you know what they I can't tell
you the number of times I remember this as a kid,
(17:12):
even when my parents would take us on vacation. My
mom and dad joked many times after we got back
off of vacation, and they said, you may have heard
this too from people that you know who vacation. I
need a vacation from my vacation. Have you heard of that.
I've said that, well, you know what they didn't bother
to build in wellness and peace of mind and relaxation,
then did they? They forgot that. And as we have
(17:36):
gotten older and we've evolved this travel industry and the
travel experience, is that people want especially I think this
went wild after COVID. People went, I want what I
want now, and I want peace of mind, I want wellness,
I want relaxation, and so all of a sudden that
was something that in the travel industry, in our travel agencies,
(17:59):
we to have to deal with with people. And I'm
actually very happy about that because now when people go
on vacations, their narrative when they return is what a
great time, what a great vacation I had. And it's
really one of these key elements that I'm talking about
in the world of customization. It's the rise of these
(18:21):
wellness retreats.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And one of the things that a lot of people
are doing terry in the last few years that I've
noticed is that even with the traditional vacations where they
pack a lot of stuff in, because some people still
have that mindset that says, I just have to do
a lot of things, but they'll build in a day
at the end or two days at the end, and
they build them. They'll build in a little extension into
their vacation to just sit back, reflect, maybe share photos
(18:45):
with each other of what they've done over the last week,
and then go home so they don't have to have
a vacation from their vacation when you get back.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And all of that I think is brilliantly laid out
when people decide to do that. But several destinations and
resorts have also taken wellness to the next level, and
we're going to spend a little time focusing on them
today because these are the destinations that are offering highly
curated packages that integrate things like yoga, meditation, organic cuisine,
(19:16):
and nature immersion. And remember, at the beginning of the show,
I said, this might not excite a lot of people,
because I know I've got the adventure seekers out there.
We talked about them too through our luxury journey that
we've been talking about. But today I'm talking about people
who want this, who want the yoga, they want the meditation,
they want the organic cuisine, and they want some nature immersion.
(19:38):
So I'm going to take a look at a couple
of these places that I got to tell you. I
did some heavy duty research on today's show to figure
out and find where these hidden gems are. And I
got to tell you, even though I am not, I'm
just going to confess to you right now. Don't anybody
judge me. I don't yoga, I don't matter, I don't
(20:01):
do any of that. But after I looked at some
of these properties and these venues, I went, what have
I been missing these last forty five years? And one
of the first ones that I want to take a
look at is a place called Six Senses Duro Valley
in Portugal. Well, first of all, it's Portugal, Hello, But
(20:24):
this luxury retreat blends the beauty of Portugal's wine country
with some really personalized I'm going to say customized. You're
gonna hear that word a lot today wellness programs, including
guided meditation, they do this, holistic spa treatments, and some
even what they call forest bathing experiences. And I looked
(20:48):
that up and I went, oo, la la, I could
so be there. You know, there was there was a
commercial on TV many years ago. It was called Colgon
Take Me Away. Yeah, I think this is where they
film that. This is all about that, and this paragraph
is taken right from their website. I want to read
it to you. I just love it. It goes like this,
(21:11):
Portugal's Douro Valley is not just for looking at experience
and get involved in it. From Doro Valley river cruises
to stomping the port Wine grapes and prehistoric rock art
sites to canoeing, mountain biking and helicopter tours of Doro Valley.
(21:31):
When was the last time you climbed a tree?
Speaker 1 (21:36):
I tried. I'm not as good as shape as I
was when I was a kid, so probably when I
was in junior high or something.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, I know. But this is all part of how
they do their setup on their website, which I thought.
I read that and I went, that's brilliant. What that
did was it made me stop for a minute and
think about my own life. Yeah, you know, when was
the last time I climbed the tree? And that question alone,
(22:04):
to me was an invitation. It was an invitation to
harken back to the life we love. Which is another
saying that I actually wrote down in one of these
is that the highest sophistication is simplicity. I love that,
and I love this property that they actually decided to
(22:25):
make this kind of invitation to what they had to offer,
and then they immediately look to draw you into that
offering of the property by showing you all of the
things that sixth senses can do for you, like they
offer things like tile painting. I looked at that and
I went, guy, used to do that as a kid,
(22:45):
You know, I did that, and I remember you, remember
how that made you feel? My daughter still to this day,
I've got a special needs daughter. For those of you
who don't know, talk about her sometimes here on a
lifeless ordinary. I love her. She's her name is Morgan,
and Morgan is thirty seven years old. She's special needs,
and she still draws mommy pictures. I love it, and
sometimes I get them painted on tile. And when I
(23:07):
saw that, and I saw that they were doing that
here at Six Senses in Portugal, I went, what a
cool thing to do. I mean, you don't have to
have a particular special need. You just have to have
a need of your heart, a need of those six
senses to be able to appreciate the fine art of
painting a tile. You know, it's awesome. The other things
(23:30):
that they have there are the Alchemy Bar workshop. Now
that takes it all to another level. I mean, if
you are interested in learning how to create and curate
your own cocktails, they've got a bar and a workshop
that'll show you how to do that. The Authentic Portuguese
Kitchen Table Experience they call it. So this is what
is that exactly? Well, it's where you can get together
(23:53):
with some of your closest friends or maybe people who
are visiting this place for the first time. The chef
sets you down at the table inside the kitchen where
he's preparing meals, and you exchange lifestyles, you exchange stories
of your own life, and while he fixes this meal,
here she fixes the meal, and then you get to
(24:15):
enjoy that together. So it's a bit like being at
grandma's table. You know who doesn't love that? I mean,
I love it when people come over to my house.
I have a bar in my house, a kitchen bar,
and people sometimes sit down there and watch me fix dinner.
And while they do that, we learn a lot about
each other. That's a great way to relax and enjoy
(24:35):
the next meal. You're going to have that culinary experience
is actually lifted through the experiences that you share. And
then they have a vintage boating experience, which I thought
was pretty cool, and then mountain biking through Portugal. I
love all of these things that sixth Senses do. This
property is trying and succeeding at showing you that they're
(24:56):
not just another hotel property, but they are, in fact
a way to get the most you can out of
Portugal by here's that word again, customizing your entire experience
from sun up to sundown. And I talked about kids, Well,
do you ever wish the kids would just disconnect from
their communication devices and really see you, really spend time
(25:20):
with you when you go on vacation with them. I mean,
I know when I go on vacation with my daughter,
she tags that phone every five minutes. And if I
ever have to discipline Morgan in any way, all I
have to do is take her phone away. That's the
best way to do it. But kids have a very
hard time disconnecting. It's part of their life. I mean,
(25:40):
even when I book cruises for families on vacations anymore,
one of the first things the tweens in the family
want to know is do we have WiFi. Am I
still going to be able to communicate well? At Six
Senses Dora Valley in Portugal, they have these well intended
six Sense programs that aren't just for grown ups. They
(26:01):
bring that well being experience and the wellness experience to
kids as well by promoting positive well being six dimensions
of wellness that they classify as social, environmental, physical, spiritual, emotional,
and intellectual. They bring kids into yoga programs, cooking workshops,
(26:22):
spa treatments, crafts. They believe their wellness programs designed for
use make kids want to turn off their devices and
turn up the fun. I love that. I love this property.
If it's something that you're interested in, we would enjoy
the opportunity to kind of peel back this Onionique sixth
(26:45):
Senses with you. If you have a family, if it's
just a couple of you that want to go. I
can see this as being a great talk about International
Women's Day. This would be a great thing for women
to get together and do.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
It would and it's also a great thing for family
that are located different parts of the country. My family,
I've got people on the East coast, people on the
West coast. We work so hard to try and get
together every couple of years, and we talk about it,
talk about it. But something like this that's very focused,
where we could all get back together in one location
(27:18):
and spend time with each other, getting to know each
other again and do something that's just so out of
the ordinary but so simple, just seems very very attractive.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, And I think the thing is true that all
of us are experiencing is that our minds need healing
and wellness. Our minds need that. And if Harry and
I and the folks at the wishing Well and the
staff at the wishing Well can't bring you some possible
solutions and resolve to that, at some point, we're doing
(27:53):
it wrong. You know, the wishing Well's doing it wrong.
If we don't bring in some of the things that
people need right now into the world in the realm
of travel and getaways. I mean, I think that's very
very important. Now, Chris, the next property that I want
to jump over to is going to take us quite
a ways away. But Virginia, there is a place called
(28:16):
Shambala and it is amazing. It's part of the Como
Estates and design Properties with an expert led approach. Como
shambala actually meet you wherever you are on your wellness journey.
I love that. Whether it's furthering your practice in yoga,
let's just say, I mean, you do this, it's second
(28:38):
nature to you. Maybe you're even a yoga teacher and
you don't need somebody to instruct you so much. But
so you're just looking to sort of further your practice
in yoga and fitness. But you maybe want restorative facial
or massages that kind of thing. But maybe you need
something from ground zero. You don't know anything about this
world of yoga and wellness and relaxation and meditation. These
(29:03):
guys have the answer for you. Actually, Shambala means peace
in Sanskrit. That's what it means out It's the pursuit
of balance, which they say in their marketing information Guide's
their approach to wellness. It's a combination of sort of
modern science with time honored practices to align the body,
(29:26):
the mind, and the spirit. They go deep here. Global
Wellness Company was founded thirty years ago in Singapore. And
you know one thing I learned when I actually went
over to Asia. I think I mentioned that here in
a life less Ordinary, one of the most probably meaningful
and impactful pieces of travel that I've ever done in
(29:47):
my career was to Japan, and what I learned about
that was the Asian's focus on wellness and zen. That's
the first place I ever learned what the words in
really comes from, what it means. And when I learned
that Shambala really was a thirty year ago concept that
(30:10):
started in Singapore, I wasn't surprised that that's where it
came from. It's a world class facility where experts from
yoga to Chinese acupuncture, they come from everywhere, from Bali
to London. They integrate nutrition from Como Shambala kitchens with
movement programs and therapies to restore and empower you. And
(30:31):
you see, that is what I mean by customization. They
integrate sensitive diagnosis of individual's wellness goals with their expert
knowledge on nutrition and yoga and fitness and hands on healing.
They take a hoalistic approach that allows them to meet
guests wherever they are on their journey. So again you see,
(30:54):
one size does not fit all. So you get to
start where wherever you are and go wherever you want
to be through these programs. That's vacation. That's healing, that's
mindful wellness. That's taking vacations to a whole other level
of really medical treatment, if you will. I mean, it's
(31:17):
kind of a fine line between medical treatment, but there's
no pharmaceuticals involved. And I love that. I really love that.
It's natural.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
You keep saying vacation, and it got me thinking about
in Europe they say we're going on holiday, yes, and
it's like we're saying we're vacating something normal. Yeah. It's like,
I like to think maybe what you're talking about right
now is a you know, a holistic holiday.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Yes, exactly. I mean it means something when you start
talking about vacations and the definition changes to this level. Yeah, yeah, buddy,
I'm all about that, you know. That's that to me
is where I want to be. And Shambala is known
for its world class yoga retreats. They actually schedule these
and this resort customizes guest experiences, nutrition planning for you.
(32:06):
So you know, it's funny. Harry and I've been talking
a lot about this lately, about eating habits and how
poor sometimes our eating habits are. My heating go ahead,
and so will. Harry's off the rails. I'm going to
say it right now with you. Yeah, and you know,
getting back on the rails sometimes takes somebody else other
than a family member, you know, gently nudging you toward
(32:30):
a better program, a better plan that's gonna maybe be
life changing for you. And how great would that be
if something positive that you're doing on vacation changes your
life for the better. I mean I love that too.
Outdoor activities like jungle tracks and waterfall swims, that's what
this program at Como Shambala is all about. And again,
(32:54):
these you know, are focused entirely on the one right
now that's in Bali, but the Shamahlacks experiences are in
Bali everywhere from Bali to London. So again, if that's
something that you're interested in, and this sounds interesting to you,
and you might be interested in having a vacation planned
around this kind of experience, I would love to help you.
(33:15):
I think this is exactly where vacationing is heading in
the trending future. I really do.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
And Shambala is such a cool word. And I've got
a trivia question for Chris who sang on the Road
to Shambala.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
Shannanah Shambala no, I know it wasn't Shannana. No, I
have no idea three dog night. I do like three
dog knight. Yes, all right, here's your trivia question. We're
getting way in the wait terry. Why is the band
called three dog Night?
Speaker 3 (33:44):
It was something about them getting stuck somewhere and it
has to do with the phrase three dog night that
they adopted.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Yes, because it's so so cold, you got to have
three dogs on your bed to keep you warm. It's
a three dog night.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
I did not know that.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Okay, very interesting. You know what I think we need
to do is take a break. Okay, regroup, We'll talk
more about Music.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Of Life show again.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
It's coming up next here on a lifeless ordinary.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Siri? Let the Wishing Weld
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.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Team of experts.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
For help, if you need it, call us at five
four zero nine zero eight two three three three Stop
Buy two forty three Avenue or visit us at the
Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
And welcome back to you a Lifeless Ordinaria, the travel
show and podcast brought to you by your friends at
the Wishing Well. You can find them on f Avenue
in Harrisburg, online, the Wishingwell dot biz or gimm a
call five four O nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Jerry.
Just once again, I want to wish a happy international
women say thank you for being a trailblazer as a
(35:00):
female business leader here in the Shenandoah Valley, and you
know all the work you've done to bring some enjoyment
and calmness to people's travel.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
I love it, you know, I can't imagine doing anything else.
And again, thank you so much, Chris, and a big
salute out there to all the women who bring so
much joy to other people with well meaning things that
they do as well. I love our show today because
I think it's kind of my gift to women in particular,
(35:33):
because we are talking about the customization of travel and
if we ever needed a time where we can take
our vacation experiences and elevate them to more of a
healing opportunity in our lives, I think it's now and
we've spent a good bit of time talking about two
very beautiful properties, very well orchestrated properties in what they offer,
(35:59):
and that is the Same Senses in Doro Valley in
Portugal and the Como Shambala estate in Bali. But I
want to move on to talking about some of the
other properties that I had brought today to enlighten our
listeners about and maybe get them excited about this opportunity
to bring customization into their vacations. I said something earlier
(36:22):
in the first part of the show, and I think
it's worth repeating. The highest sophistication is simplicity, and I
think sometimes people miss that when they think luxury, you
know what comes to mind. Somebody told me this the
other day. Came in my office and we were talking
about luxury, and they said, oh, you know, I think
of the big Burj Khalifa in Dubai and all of
(36:44):
these great hotels and that kind of thing. Okay, sure,
that's luxury. I mean, I won't argue that point. That
is definitely luxury. Luxury is also the Atlantis in the Bahamas,
that's also luxury.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
I was going to say, when you first asked me
you know what is luxury, I think gold, toilets and right,
but that's opulence. That's not necessarily luxury.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And you know what, I think that is a great
defining definition Chris, that you brought that up. You're right,
because it's not always about that. Sometimes it is. This
sophistication is simple. For example, I went not long ago
out to Park City, Utah, and I stayed in a
beautiful place there that couldn't have been less pretentious. It's
(37:29):
called the Montage, and I was so blown away by
their lack of, as you said, opulence, and yet they're
highly sophisticated, simple elegance of just being on that property,
having the natural elements of Park City, Utah, and the
(37:50):
beauty that that brought. That was probably a year ago now,
and it's still so vivid in my mind that that,
to me was luxury. That was by definition, what luxury was.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
Well, luxury kind of blends between a couple words you
mentioned opulence. When I talk about luxury a lot of times,
I think quality also in quality doesn't have to necessarily
mean opulence. Quality means great. I had a great experience
with my kids, a quality experience. I had a great
experience at a property. That's what you're talking about, Terry.
(38:24):
And it's sometimes confusing when you use that word luxury,
but think about it in a very broad sense. Luxury
is something that's customized just for you. It specially made,
tailored just for you. That's what you're talking about this morning.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
It's my life and that's the name of our show today.
Another property that I want to head into is one
that continues to fascinate me. I love it ever since
I saw Eugene Levy represent this property on The Reluctant Traveler,
which is a TV series that I watch pretty religion,
justly on travel. This guy just slays me. I've never
(39:03):
seen anybody who says they hate travel so much get
to go to so many great places. If I thought
I could do that, you know, i'd hate travel every
day of my life, but I don't. I love it.
It's part of what I eat, breathe and sleep every
day of my life. But the property that he went
to that just blew me away is a property that
happens to be one of our Virtuoso properties, and it
(39:25):
is called the Almungari in Utah. This is a beautiful,
secluded luxury retreat in the desert actually, and it offers
private wellness journeys that does something that I saw him
do there that they televised, and I would actually I
was honestly surprised that this got televised because it incorporated
(39:48):
the Native American healing rituals that they do there through
sound therapy, guided meditation within breathtaking natural surroundings that are
there in Utah. And I was actually surprised that they
televised the Native American rituals that they have there well.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
And you got to put into context Eugene Levy for
those of you who don't know as a Native died
in the wool, traditional, stereotypical. What other words can I
throw in there? New Yorker. He does not like anything
out of the ordinary that he sees every day in
New York City, and they put him out here in
(40:28):
the middle of the desert. So keep on with your story, heeray.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
And I heard him say on a talk show that
they asked him, they said, of all the places that
you've ever been, which one of the places is still
most keen in your mind as the one that made
the biggest impression. And he said, Almungary in Utah had
to hands down be one of the most impressive and
(40:54):
memorable all of the transformative exactly properties that he had
ever been to. And no surprise, I mean, this is
actually a property that is so well planned and well orchestrated.
Even in where it lies in Utah. It's literally built
back into the hills so that you almost have to
(41:16):
be right upon the property to even notice that it's there.
They took such great care to make sure that the
footprint of this property did not overstate its welcome if
you will. I mean, it is absolutely serene in what
it offers. The state rooms there just overlook some of
the painted desert. It's just gorgeous what it does there.
(41:37):
But what they offer insofar is the customization of the
offerings that they have there is part of why people
will go and pay what the Amungari commands because it's
not an inexpensive opportunity to be there, but it is
one of great customization and one that you would not
long forget.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Yeah, it's it's a process. When you go there, they
you Chris. Before they decide what you're going to eat,
what they're going to feed you, they interview you and
learn about you, learn about your aspirations, learn about your preferences,
and then they decide what you're going to eat. And
it was a very for me. It was very enlightening
to watch Eugene Levy there when they told him this
(42:20):
is what he's going to eat. And he's got heavy,
thick eyebrows. His eyebrows kind of move like a freight
train up and down on his forehead, and when they
told him what was going to happen, he was he
was quite taken, but he decided to try it. And
it's very important that when you go to a place
like this, you have to open yourself up a little bit,
get out of your skin and give it a chance.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
And you know, I'm the generation that grew up on
the Jetsons and Star Trek and James Bond, you know,
and interestingly enough, you know, I was kind of hooked.
I was a James Bond geek. I loved those James
Bond movies. And mostly I think because I had that
in me when I was a child watching the James
(43:03):
Bond movies, that I was fascinated and drawn to the
way in which he traveled and navigated, you know, different
areas that he would go to and never you know,
we're thinking as we're kids watching the Jetsons and the
Star Wars and you know, Star Treks and James Bond,
we're thinking, then it'll never come to where we get
(43:26):
to the place where we have that. But now people
can actually be James Bond when they travel. They can
actually get like Harry described that customization where they call
you ahead of time and find out how do you
like to eat, what things do you like to eat,
how do you like your mattress, how do you like
your pillows, what kind of coverings do you enjoy on
your beds? And the very idea that we as travel
(43:50):
advisors now can deliver that level of here's that word again,
customization to our customers is one I am pretty excited about.
You know, that's the James Bond approach to travel.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
You know, you can find a hotel that has the
perfect bed, you can find a restaurant that has the
perfect meal. You're going to make sacrifices to get one
maybe two, but you're not going to get everything. This
is how you get everything. Oh, this is how you
get it all. Yeah, this is how you get it all.
And you can have it all. You just have to
know to ask for that. The other property that I
(44:29):
want to share with you is one that I also love.
It also happens to be in Spain. There should be
a lot of very peaceful people in Spain, don't you think?
I mean people?
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Yeah, exactly if. This one's called the Shah Wellness Clinic.
It's one of the most privileged spots in Europe where
it sits a favorable climate where they are very close
to the Coasta del Soul area. They have a favorable
climate of actually three hundred and thirty days of sunshine
a year. That alone, to me says happy. You know that,
that's really happy. They pioneer sort of a medical meets
(45:03):
wellness approach, which is a lot of what we've been
talking about today. They sort of provide this individualized, tailored
detox and anti stress program that incorporates medical diagnosis, realistic treatments,
and personalized fitness regimens at their property. And this is
one that if you're listening today, you really should look
(45:24):
this up online. It again is the shot Sha Wellness
Clinic in Spain. And I think what I would have
to say today in summarizing is the idea of vacations
that can be anything and everything that you want them
to be. If you're looking at the retreats in wellness
(45:46):
I mentioned for today, but I can tell you the
list is endless. As I began to research for today's show,
I was astounded by the number of properties that are
actually just being a built with that in mind, because
this is a growing population of travelers that are looking
(46:08):
for these types of vacations. So again, the Wishing Well
would be a great resource to you for divine deciding
and defining where and what you want to do when
you vacation. And we know where these wellness retreats are,
we'd be happy to give you any additional information about it.
Travelers can find wellness packages at leading resorts worldwide, with
(46:31):
options ranging from weekend retreats to month long immersive programs.
Many high end travel agencies and luxury hotel groups such
as Belmont Harriet listed them before in one of the
advertisements for news and retreats that we had, and Four
Seasons also, I'm a four Seasons girl, I got to
tell you, after having stayed in one, I'm hooked. But
(46:54):
they all offer these wellness journeys tailored to individual needs.
All of the Four Seasons Fairmont's Belmont's hotels are going
to offer them to the extent of the wellness retreats
that I talk to you about today that we covered,
but there are many resorts and hotels that are offering
(47:15):
that as a sidebar offer because people are asking for it.
Even when they get to some places like Nashville, Tennessee,
where I went and stayed in a four seasons, they
actually had a wellness package that I could have taken
advantage of when I was there. So maybe in small part,
not like the extensive ones that I mentioned, but in
(47:36):
small part, a lot of these retreats are offering that today.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
On a lifeless ordinary we talk about some of the
extraordinary high end experiences, but everything you're talking about today.
Terry properties have figured out that travelers want these kinds
of things, and so many of them offer different levels
of packages too. And I think that's very important for
our listeners to hear that you don't always have to
(48:01):
go to the you know, to the top of the
pyramid to get that particular package, but you may choose
something that's you know, on the way up the pyramid,
And what a great way to kind of step up
your travel experience. And live that life less ordinary.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Yeah, and so I wanted to cover a couple of
different things before we've run out of time today, and
one was the wellness retreats. Another area that is impacting
customized travel is unconventional sporting interests on travel. People are
doing this too. This is a striking shift in luxury travel.
It's the rise of interest in some unconventional, unconventional sports.
(48:41):
Now why traditional sporting events like football and baseball really
still remain pretty popular, Today's travelers Chris are being increasingly
drawn to unique and exhilarating sporting experiences like Formula one racing,
dirt mic racing, U, the FIFA tournaments, and even pickleball championships.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
Good lord, we did an episode on pickleball. We did,
We did.
Speaker 2 (49:08):
And these niche sporting interests have birthed an entirely new
travel segment where enthusiasts actually plan their vacations around major events.
I actually had families who have called me who are
going to plan their vacations around the World Cup for
FIFA that's going to be happening, which is the soccer tournament,
(49:30):
Formula one Grand Prix events, destinations like Monaco, Abu Dhabi, Singapore.
They're catering to travel packages for people that are offering
these unique customized experiences with yachting access. Believe it or not,
the European Football League is actually putting soccer lovers in
a whole other category with what they're offering for the
(49:52):
upcoming World Cup for FIFA and pickleball travel experiences. You're right,
we devoted a whole segment to that. Motocross and dirt
bike racing travelers seeking adrenaline fueled experiences are booking customized
tours to motocross events like the Moto Cross of Nations
in France and also I'm a AMA Supercross in the US,
(50:17):
combining it with their trips of off road riding experiences.
So these are all the things that are greatly important
to people who are customizing their travel. I want to
hand it off to Harry real quickly to finish up
here talking about the sabbatical experiences that even families are
taking to customize their vacations.
Speaker 3 (50:36):
Yeah, as travel advisors were really fortunate to get to
speak to a lot of families. And when you talk
about families and doing things together, this whole idea tarya
of extended family sabbaticals is just gaining traction too. A
lot of families are going away to do work. Well,
what about extended family sabbaticals where you get together and
(50:58):
you bring the parents in, the grandparents, the moms, dads, kids,
everybody together and recognize the value this slow, immersive travel.
The neat thing about this when you talk about customization.
You can customize these trips, and you can have even
segments within your trip where you're customizing, so you can
customize by family members. Some might go out and see
(51:19):
sites one day while another is out ziplining. You meet
together for dinner, you share your experience as you share
your great days, activities and the fund that you had,
and you talk about them. That's part of the bonding
and regrouping of families that is so much missing in
some families lives as they're separated. Families are spending weeks
(51:41):
months integrating themselves in new culture environments. And I just
want to list a couple places real quickly. Tuscany, Italy
is a place where families are renting private villas. They're
embracing that slower pace of life, that farm to table cuisine,
checking out the historical landmarks, the hands on cultural workshops.
Close to re one of my favorite places. You want
(52:01):
to go and learn about ecology, Eco conscious families can
immerse themselves in wildlife conservation, sustainability, learn some Spanish. Along
the way Kyoto, Japan. You can go into the traditional homes,
participate in some of the ceremonies, explore the historical cultural roots,
go to New Zealand, go outdoors, go on these stays
(52:22):
that include farm stays, the adventure, tourism, cultural experiences. Just
so many ways that you can have these extended families
sabbaticals and bring in exactly what you're talking about today, Terry,
this customized vacation that caters to the needs of all
the different segments in your family. Let yet, let yet,
let you come together at the end of the day
(52:44):
to share experiences, share finding, share the joy and the
wonder that you found in the world.
Speaker 2 (52:50):
Christ we have tom for you to mention the five
c's of customized travel again.
Speaker 1 (52:54):
Culture, cuisine, community, content and customization.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
There you go. That's it. In a nutshell, we have
covered a really really good series for you to learn
about luxury travel here in a lifeless ordinary.
Speaker 1 (53:08):
In our final seconds, how do we get in touch
with you at the wishing Well.
Speaker 2 (53:11):
We are easy to find, Chris. We'relocated at two forty
three nef Avenue in the Valley Center in Heresonburg, Virginia.
You can call us at five four oh nine oh
eight two three three three, or look us up on
the web. We're at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a life Less Ordinary, the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well dop biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
again next Saturday morning at ten for a Life Less
(53:47):
Ordinary from the wishing Well
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