Hotel Spotlight: Saguaro Lake Ranch, Arizona
STILL LIFE: Saguaro Lake Ranch and Bulldog Cliffs, Arizona (Alistair Wearmouth)
Saguaro Lake Ranch sits in a tranquil spot just beneath the dam that holds back ten-mile-long Saguaro Lake in central Arizona. Downstream, the Salt River twists beneath the striking Bulldog Cliffs and Goldfield Mountains before flexing some mild Class I muscles on its passage toward the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area. This guest ranch has been run by the same family, the Durands, for four generations, and it shows in the hospitality and homey touches in evidence throughout the riverside property. Guests sleep in simple but comfortable "ranchettes," first built to house the workers who constructed Saguaro Lake's Stewart Mountain Dam between 1928-30. These days, however, you can also count on free property-wide WiFi, hooked up by the current owner's grandkids (but happily no phones or televisions in the rooms). Daytime activities include hiking and horseback riding along the desert trails of Tonto National Forest, kayaking and tubing on the Salt River, or special programs such as art weekends and family reunions. Meals are shared buffet-style in a communal dining room, where you'll feast on homemade treats such as BBQ chicken, biscuits, and fresh-baked cookies. It doesn't get much more relaxing than this.
Saguaro Lake Ranch is located 40 miles east of downtown Phoenix, about an hour by car. Bed and breakfast rates start at $130 for two; the ranch's American Plan includes three meals, plus lodging, and starts at $150 per person, assuming double occupancy. Activities such as trail rides or kayak rentals cost extra. Visit www.saguarolakeranch.com for full details.
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November 13, 2009
Hotel Spotlight: Ahwahnee, Yosemite
The Great Lounge in Yosemite's Ahwahnee Hotel (courtesy, Delaware North Companies)
The summer months draw 50 percent of Yosemite National Park's overnight visitor stays; that stat drops to less than three percent once winter rolls round. Concession lodging in the park, like the classic 123-room Ahwahnee Hotel, sees a corresponding drop in visitor nights, with overnight occupancy dropping to about a third of its summer peak throughout the park. And while the Ahwahnee, considered by many to be the country's finest national-park lodging, in one of the country's most beautiful settings, Yosemite Valley, is still relatively full and pricey (rates from as low as $265 per night), the real lure is being able to enjoy the park in its winter glory without the crowds. Go for a snowshoe trek in the glorious shadow of Half Dome, take the kids snowboarding and cross-country skiing at nearby Badger Pass (all-day adult passes only $42), or just curl up with a good book in front of a roaring fire in the lodge's Great Lounge, with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing snow-clad Yosemite Valley.
Browse more of the country's top national park lodges in Away.com's Guide to the World's Best Resorts & Lodges.
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October 14, 2009
Travel Q&A: Away.com Readers Need Your Help!
Here are Away.com, we receive dozens of questions each day from readers looking for help planning their travel. Can you help? Here are five recent submissions that we need help answering. If you have advice, we'd welcome your input!
Q: We're driving to Mount Rushmore in May 2010. What's the weather like at that time and does anyone know of any good local hotels? Answer this question
Q: We are planning a trip to the Boston area, including a couple of days in Martha's Vineyard. What's the weather like in early November? Also, any must-see towns and attractions between Boston and M.V.? Answer this question
Q: Is there anywhere to snorkel off the beach in Puerto Vallarta? I'm a relative newcomer to snorkeling so need somewhere safe and shallow in which to practice. Answer this question
Q: Can anyone recommend some kid-friendly attractions in the Mount Washington area of New Hampshire? Answer this question
Q: I'm planning a solo road trip from Tennessee to Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Does anyone know of cheap hostels and good/safe camping? Answer this question
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October 06, 2009
Explore the Mountains of New York
Mohonk Mountain House in the Catskill Mountains region of New York state (courtesy, Mohonk Mountain House)
A mere 90 minutes north of Manhattan is New Paltz, New York, and the Catskill Mountains. Avid adventurers know the area for the "Gunks," one of the most popular rock-climbing destinations in the East. Families venture here in mid- to late October to take in the fall foliage. Start with a walk around Lake Mohonk and then book a room overlooking that same body of water at one of the finest family resorts in the country, the Mohonk Mountain House. Opened in 1869, this sprawling resort has the perfect vantage point from which to savor the changing colors. Not to mention, you get to slow down and appreciate the natural splendor on a hike, horseback ride, or paddle. All meals are included in the full American plan.
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October 03, 2009
Get a Free Day at Disney by Volunteering Your Time
Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World, Orlando (courtesy, Walt Disney News)
Disney has just announced a new "Give a Day, Get a Day" program that will reward up to one million people who volunteer a day of service in participating programs with a free one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park. The program kicks off next year on January 1, but you can sign up now at www.DisneyParks.com.
Interested in giving back when you travel? Visit Away.com's Volunteer Vacations Guide to learn more.
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September 24, 2009
Top Five Tips From a Five-Month Family Road Trip
A family of five stuck together in an RV for five months? Most people shake their heads and have one question: "Why on earth would you want to do that?" When the economy started to falter, my husband's real-estate development company began to follow suit. Hard as it might be to believe, a feeling of excitement is what I felt, followed by a sharp stab of guilt. I quickly realized that the excitement was really just a feeling of overwhelming opportunity. With change, good or bad, comes opportunity if you look for it. Time is a precious commodity and we found ourselves in a rare moment where we actually had time, and we knew it may never come again. The moment seemed even more perfect because of the ages of our three children (11, 8, and 6). After eager thoughts of moving to another country were shot down by my husband, we arrived at a shared enthusiasm for hitting the road to explore all that this great country has to offer. An RV was our chosen method of travel. We created a website to help communicate about the experience at FamilyOffTrack.com.
After five months in an RV with a family of five, here are five tips that I'm sure can help any family road trip.
Continue reading "Top Five Tips From a Five-Month Family Road Trip " »
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September 16, 2009
Grand Canyon Railway Goes Green
The Grand Canyon Railway (courtesy, Xanterra Parks & Resorts)
Travelers will be happy to hear that the Grand Canyon Railway is now ISO 14001 Certified. Although I’m quite certain that the majority of people reading this know exactly what that means, I’ll explain. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sets environmental standards, and the ISO 14001 standard applies to the environmental aspects of the train that can be controlled and influenced, ensuring environmental protection, regulatory compliance, and continual improvement. Grand Canyon Railway has taken a number of steps to be environmentally responsible and to earn this certification, which have included:
- Tripling the amount of recycled material in their property-wide recycling program, while decreasing the amount of solid waste generated;
- Using Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel in all the locomotives (much cleaner burning fuel);
- Educating staff and customers on energy- and water-conservation measures;
- Installing room sensors and timers in many areas to save on electricity;
- Decreasing water consumption by 10 percent from 2008 to 2009;
- And replacing all cleaning solvents with green chemicals.
Continue reading "Grand Canyon Railway Goes Green" »
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September 08, 2009
Win a Free Eco-Vacation to The Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize
PARADISE, FOR FREE: The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Belize (courtesy, The Lodge at Chaa Creek)
We've just nominated The Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize as one of our all-time favorite family resorts. Now here's your chance to discover for yourself why we put it on our must-visit list of the world's best resorts and lodges.
The Lodge at Chaa Creek is currently running a Nature Adventure Sweepstakes [PDF download] to award five lucky winners to the chance to win a free vacation to its award-winning eco-lodge, which is nestled deep in the rainforest of Belize's interior Cayo District. In 300 words or less, tell them why you want to visit Chaa Creek. The contest ends October 30, 2009. If you win, don't forget to send us a postcard!
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August 27, 2009
Swine Flu: Health Update for Travelers
Commuting to work on the Metro this week, the headline on the front page of The Washington Post was impossible to ignore: "Swine Flu Could Infect Half of U.S." As schools around the country, indeed the world, get ready to return to classes for the fall, doomsday scenarios surrounding the potential effects of the H1N1 virus appear to be ratcheting up day by day.
As someone who is planning to travel to the U.K. in December with two young children, it also got me thinking about what this all means for travelers. Do we really have to take the Joe Biden approach of swearing off public transport until the scourge passes? Does it make more sense to hunker down and mitigate the risk? Given some of the scarier estimates and scenarios, I decided to do some research on what we already know about H1N1 and what health experts are predicating for the next few months.
Continue reading "Swine Flu: Health Update for Travelers" »
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August 20, 2009
Guide to the World's Best Resorts & Lodges
Cayo Espanto, a private luxury all-inclusive in Belize (courtesy, Cayo Espanto)
For the past 12 months, I have been neck-deep in one of the toughest assignments a travel editor can expect: Scouring the globe for the world's best destination resorts and lodges. I know, it's a hard job gazing at images of unspoiled, faraway places (like the one above), but I wasn't alone for my journey. We assigned a crack squad of travel writers with clips in publications including National Geographic Adventure, Travel+Leisure, and Lonely Planet to track down the cream of the crop, including their selections for the best family resorts, beach resorts, national park lodges, all-inclusive resorts, and six other distinct travel categories. One year later, with my list of must-visit places in a state of morbid obesity, we're excited to announce the launch of Away.com's new Resorts & Lodges Guide, featuring 200 of the world's ultimate destination-resort experiences. If you're looking for inspiration about where to stay next, this is the place to start.
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