Forget Aspen. Carbondale is Colorado’s hottest summer playground

Barely 30 miles northwest of Aspen, in the shadow of the majestic Elk Mountains, tiny Carbondale is becoming Colorado’s most exciting summer destination.

True, the town has more family-owned cattle ranches than Michelin stars, and there are still more farm stands than white tablecloth spots. The restaurant best poised to elevate the town’s status doesn’t even have a proper dining room.

Instead, at the Guest House, French Laundry alumna Seth O’Donovan serves her experimental farm dinners outdoors, usually next to a horse paddock or in a roomy tree house that surveys 1,200 acres of pristine Colorado pastures. Meals include savory links of deer sausage served with soft, house-made cheese and a mind-bending dessert of carrots with butter and cinnamon, cooked to the point where they almost resemble pie filling. 

Those who come for her experimental, starlit dinners can roll into an assortment of rustic cabins on the property, many of which date back to the 1940s. In two years, O’Donovan aims to turn the main house on her property into a five-star, eight-room hotel.

Some of Aspen’s best chefs are catching on. Down on Main Street, a new izakaya is soon to be opened by Aspen sushi master Kenichi Kanada. Down the same road, Mladen Todorovic and Kyle Raymond, two transplants from Aspen’s seafood-centric Grey Lady and brunch favorite Over Easy—are collaborating on Roosters, which will soon serve crepes in the morning and rotisserie-based entrees by night. “The produce that we can get in the summer in Colorado is amazing. We want to accentuate that,” Raymond told the Sopris Sun, a Carbondale newsweekly.

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What makes Bali hotels so popular among luxury travelers?

Outstanding guest service, grace and genuine kindness are among the highlights of Bali's five-star properties, contributing to their regular inclusion in world's best hotel lists, according to Forbes Travel Guide CEO Gerard J. Inzerillo. 

"We have some incredible hotels on our list in Bali, and of course leading the way are the two Four Seasons properties and The Villas at Ayana Resort Bali. Though these Forbes Travel Guide five-star hotels are particular standouts for an all-round commitment to excellence in service and facility, across Bali all the hotels on our list show a dedication to very high levels of guest service, grace and genuine kindness—we see this come through quite clearly in our numerous visits and evaluations of the area," Inzerillo told The Jakarta Post via email.

Forbes Travel Guide, which claims to be the only independent, global rating for luxury hotels, restaurants and spas, recently celebrated its 60^th anniversary and unveiled its latest list of worldwide Star Rating winners in February. Among the five- and four-star hotel winners in Indonesia are the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, The Villas at Ayana Resort Bali, Ayana Resort and Spa, Bali, Conrad Bali and Amandari.

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Currently there are 1,609 Forbes Travel Guide-rated properties across 50 countries. To determine the ratings, the Forbes Travel Guide’s ratings department vets each destination and identifies potential hotel, restaurant and spa candidates. A team of anonymous inspectors then conduct a short stay before assessing properties according to the organization’s set of 900 objective standards.

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Inzerillo added that as a destination Bali also nicely served the needs of family travel, a growing trend in luxury hospitality. 

"Accommodations that serve multi-generational guests who can be together in a villa setup—perhaps with some private facilities, such as a pool or access to a private chef, yet with all the conveniences of the main hotel or resort—is a growing need. Bali serves this need particularly well, offering the privacy /exclusivity aspect so many luxury travelers demand."

An avid traveler himself, Inzerillo said guests should expect more than stunning facilities when choosing to stay at a luxury property.

"While a stunning facility should rank high on a guest’s list of priorities in the luxury market, what is crucial is knowing you will receive a consistently high level of personalized service that strikes that fine line between being too attentive and too discreet," he said.

"Hotels that have staff committed to assisting every guest in a manner that serves each unique situation or preference in an intuitive manner is what will truly make for an all-round luxury experience. We like to say at Forbes Travel Guide that when the guest has to think, luxury stops." 

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Indonesia - Best destination Labuan Bajo Port in Komodo district

#Indonesia - Best destination – This picture shows a number of tourist ships parked at Labuan Bajo Port in Komodo district, West Manggarai, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. Labuan Bajo is the entrance for tourists attracted to enjoy the beauty of nature in the Komodo National Park, including the Komodo dragon, a species of giant lizard predominately found in the national park. 

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