Vail Getaway

Poolside Lunch at the Four Seasons in Vail

Phew! It’s been a busy six weeks filled with all kinds of travels for a variety of reasons.

I spent the first two weeks of July in Denver–sword-drawn–helping my brother battle cancer. (More on that at a later date.) On both ends of the trip, I sampled Colorado Greyhound service for the first time. (It’s much like I’ve found it to be on the East Coast:  colorful and crammed on certain trips, sparsely populated and cruise-y on others, all punctuated by sketchy wifi throughout.) Still, I feel that it often beats driving the approximate seven hours between Telluride and Denver. I wish train service was better along this route but that’s likely a dream for years to come. Shuttle service between these two destinations is sadly nonexistent as well.

Lots of People Traveling with Pets These Days

The first week of August I arrived back in Telluride from a whirlwind three-and-a-half-day trip to the East Coast to drop off my seventeen-year-old-cat Clara for an extended stay with my eighty-five-year-old mother–double phew! (Had my travels not been canceled due to weather on the outbound, it actually would have been a two-and-a-half-day trip.) Clara is a great traveler although it could all have ended poorly this time because she nudged her way out of the zippered closure of her carrier beneath the seat in front of me while mommy was catnapping. 

“Excuse me, miss. Is this your cat?” a kind-faced young man asked as he hovered over me in the aisle, cradling Clara in his arms. “She made her way to the back of the plane.” Fortunately the other passengers chuckled and I refrained from having a heart attack.

A Disgruntled Clara on Her Layover

I’ll was in T-ride less than a week before I headed back to upstate New York with her brother, Leo, another old kitty, a fluffy miniature lion-like orange tabby as his name indicates. Don’t ask–but know that only one pet per passenger is allowed in the cabin. Thankfully we’re all adaptable travelers. If only they could rack up frequent flier mileage, too!

TSA Hold Up with Leo’s Suspicious-Looking Kitty Litter

Leo: Old and Grumpy yet Very Happy to Be at Grandma’s

In the middle of all this movin’ and shakin’, I delighted in three lovely days in Vail, Colorado with my boyfriend, Steve. Ahhhh, yes, aside from the usual email checking, note taking and social media posting, it felt like a vacation, a much-needed one because as you can perhaps gather from the above, it has been a hectic year. 

Cheers to Getaways

We often have a summer getaway in Vail, largely because he has business meetings that take him there–he’s a hotel GM–and I tag along and do my travel writer thing and steal some quality time with him. As residents of Telluride, we regularly enjoy the many benefits of living in a beautiful mountain town, but as we all know, it’s different when you go someplace else, especially when you stay in a luxury hotel where neither of us has to get bogged down with daily household chores or catering to our four cats. (Yes, we each have two and together we formed the Brady Bunch cat family.)

Hotel Talisa Vail

This time we enjoyed our stay at the newly renovated Hotel Talisa (formerly Vail Cascade) within a smooth, style-y decor that made us feel oh-so pampered. The staff makes lots of efforts with the service as well, something that as a demanding hotel GM and travel writer, we inevitably test to the max. (Hint:  Always ask for a room change if you’re not quite happy with the one you’re given upon check in and don’t be afraid to suggest some kind of compensation–some sort of a gesture–if there’s a goof up during your stay.)

Summer Vail

We left Vail rested and relaxed and excited about some of the discoveries we made during our stay. Below you’ll find a few of the highlights.

Hotel Talisa Spa

The Relaxation Room at the Hotel Talisa Spa

Ahhhh

The Spa Ladies

Great Shopping at the Hotel Talisa Spa

Love the spa here! The decor–all in soothing earth tones–comforts and relaxes much like the rest of this uplifted hotel. It’s silky and seductive and yet thankfully void of pretension. For such a large property, I found the Hotel Talisa Spa to be surprisingly intimate in size, a design feature that adds to the cozy enclave feel that pervades throughout this center of health and well being. I found out firsthand that the services are not full of fluff either.

My scheduled massage turned out to be a deep one-hour session of healing for my left hip that’s been ornery more times than not. (It’s more of a downside to the sedentary writer’s life than from too much skiing.) Gordon, my therapist, asked me if anything in particular was going on and when I told him, he worked his magic in and around the effected area. Plus, he provided much insight about my problem and how to heal it. Sure, he was more than willing to give me a classic massage, however, I let him know that I was receptive to targeted work and he responded with great knowledge and skill. I’m sure most of the treatments for men and women are good here. Make sure you save time to experience all of the spa amenities, particularly the relaxation lounge where you can loll about in front of the fire or outside on the patio. Well done, Talisa!

The Pool at the Four Seasons Vail

View from Above: the Pool at Four Seasons Vail

We’re On It!

As you can tell from the stories One Sensational Colorado Spa and Six Perfect Pools and A Pristine Pool Experience in Avon/Beaver Creek, my guy and I are pool people. Colorado boasts some of the best perhaps because our beautiful natural settings make for excellent backdrops to glorious pools. (The Colorado bluebird sky helps, too, but know that the weather often clouds over in the afternoon during July and August, also known as monsoon season.) 

When Steve and I were walking home from dinner at Vail Village one night, we eyed a glorious pool, one that we had never noticed before. It came as no surprise that this sunken oasis–it’s  actually many feet below street level–was part of the Four Seasons Vail.  And when we spotted that it even had black lines, tell-tale signs, or lanes, that indicated real swimming, we were hooked. 

I got on the phone and email the next day and proceeded to arrange access to the pool, a perk only reserved for hotel guests but thankfully travel writers are sometimes able to break the rules. It was a busy Saturday, however, we still wallowed in the calm and exclusivity synonymous with the Four Seasons. “I’d stay here just for the pool if I was planning a getaway to Vail,” I told Steve. 

“Not sure that would fit into a travel writer’s budget,” he replied.

Frozen Grapes Anyone?

“Well, you know what I mean,” I chuckled as I reached for a frozen grape, one of many special amenities discreetly passed during our two hours occupying cushy loungers poolside. 

Into the Towel Oven

Despite a variety of vacationers–young and old–bobbing about in the pool, we still managed to knock out about twenty laps. We dried off with oh-so toasty towels fresh out of the towel warmer and made our way for some comfy armchairs that Steve had arranged around a low table at the far end of the pool. There’s no doubt we were making ourselves very much at home despite having to face a good five-hour drive back to Telluride and risk overstaying our welcome. (At least we weren’t crashing one of their $500./day cabanas!)

Preparing Lunch

Sweets for a Sweet Time

Steve: Looking Relaxed and Happy

We ordered drinks, an exquisite selection of food, kicked back and savored every pampered moment that is the Four Seasons whether it’s in Vail, Paris, New York, Hong Kong. Well, you get the idea.

Vail Jazz

Going to Vail Jazz

In all the trips I’ve made to Vail in the summer, I was never able to experience Vail Jazz, something I’ve always wanted to do because I do enjoy jazz, especially in the summer. This time I made it happen and I was thrilled that Steve and I were able to attend a performance by the Django Festival All-Stars at The Jazz Tent at Vail Square in the heart of Lionshead. It was wonderful, partly because we love gypsy jazz, the setting was sweet and this group of talented musicians hailed from France. Et oui, I chatted them up post performance, bien entendu.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner afterward at the Vail Chophouse at the base of the Lionshead Gondola, the official afterparty place for Vail Jazz. Oh yeah, there was jazz. (It goes off every Thursday during the summer from 8-10pm.)

In its 24th year, the Vail Jazz Festival is an institution that offers a panoply of jazz performances in and around Vail throughout the whole summer. Best of all, world-class musicians on summer tour are featured throughout and you can enjoy them at a variety of venues, many of which offer free concerts. Some of the best known jazz artists, such as Diana Krall, were featured in tiny venues at Vail Jazz long before they made it big time. 

Django Festival All-Stars Inside The Vail Jazz Tent

The educational component at Vail Jazz is also firmly planted in their program, so if you know of an aspiring musician or singer, be sure to tell him or her to check out their site. 

Jazz at the Vail Chophouse

Fun Times

From now on, I hope that Vail Jazz will always be a part of my summer experience in this vibrant mountain town.

And I hope I’ll be able to savor many more wonderful getaways to this exciting mountain destination in the years to come.

The Cool Scene at Telluride Jazz

More Jazz

I was thrilled to come back just in time for the Telluride Jazz Festival, a three-day happening that takes place in our stunning Telluride Town Park. It’s in its 43rd year and whether rain (often) or shine, it’s always a super cool event in Telluride, now more than ever, in fact, since it was taken over a few years ago by Steve Gumble, founder of the renowned Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. Now in addition to classic and aficionado-oriented jazz, there are also acts that are a bit more accessible to those that might not have cultivated an ear for jazz. The Telluride Jazz Festival always takes place the first weekend of August; start planning for next year. You still, however, have time to line up your travels for the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, which always takes place the third weekend of September. This year marks its 25th anniversary, so it promises to be one of the best!

More T-ride Jazz Chill