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My Birthday Trip to Aspen, Colorado.

My Birthday Trip to Aspen, Colorado.

by | Jan 28, 2021 | 0 comments

With the realities of COVID travel, I decided to travel to Colorado for my birthday celebration. It was as fulfilling as any of my international destinations, so I encourage you to try exploring within the US as much as you desire to travel internationally. Here are some highlights of my 5-day 4-night trip.

After I planned my trip, the hotel notified me that the COVID restrictions had changed for Aspen and Pitkin County not to allow indoor dining. Also, a negative COVID test was necessary before travel. I considered canceling my trip as the thought of testing, and outdoor dining in the winter was not my idea of an ideal trip, but I’m so glad I chose not to.

My stay was at St Regis Aspen, and I planned to arrive mid-afternoon as many hotels post that the room may not be ready until afternoon. My room was ready upon arrival, and my reception was as expected for a St. Regis property. A hotel representative met me at the airport who tagged the luggage to my room, so I did not struggle with luggage.

Day one was for checking in, getting set up in the room, and exploring around the hotel. I was not too fond of the first room assigned because of the obstructed view and, upon request, was moved to another room right away. The concierge recommended an excellent restaurant for dinner, and even though it was outdoor dining, it was an enjoyable experience with the heat lamps.

Day two was my birthday, and I scheduled morning snowmobiling and an afternoon dinner. Since there was also an 8 pm curfew, dinner had to be early to be back at the hotel before the deadline. The hotel arranged transportation to and from the snowmobiling location for a fee. However, it was private transportation, and the driver was accommodating with great tips and ideas. I chose to go to another county, Basalt county, to have an indoor dining experience for dinner. The hotel offered a BMW 7 series car with a 4-hour test drive window, and I took advantage of it as the restaurant was less than 30 minutes away.

On day three, I chose to go for a snowboarding lesson on Snowmass. Again, I took advantage of the car from the hotel and drove to Snow mass, which was also less than 30 minutes away. Snowmass was all that I pictured Aspen Colorado to be with snow falling, gondola rides, and ski lift experiences. The heated pool at the hotel was a great end to the day.

Day four was set aside for writing content for my blog and relaxing after snowmobiling and snowboarding lessons. It was an excellent way to relax before leaving the following day.

Overall, my trip to Aspen was an incredible experience, and my stay at St. Regis, all I expected and more. The staff was excellent, and I received complimentary champagne and truffles from the hotel to mark my birthday. The hotel also offered a breakfast credit in their modified outdoor dining space and blankets to make dining a pleasant experience.

I did not anticipate a winter vacation being so wonderful, but I encourage you to give it a try. Have you been to Aspen? Let me know if your experiences were as good as mine or ask me any questions you may have.

5 Covid friendly hotel stay tips.

5 Covid friendly hotel stay tips.

by | Dec 16, 2020 | 0 comments

Having flown as a career for over 20 years I have stayed in many hotel rooms and so the experience has taught me a lot about what to look out for in terms of cleanliness.

1. Check the hotel sheets. No one wants to sleep on possible dirty covid sheets. I can’t tell you how many different times I have gone into a hotel room just dying to shower and get into bed and found that the sheets have not been changed. If you do this when you first get into the hotel room, there is plenty of opportunity for the hotel to fix the issue before you are ready to go to bed.

2. Make sure the sheets are visibly dirty before you check out of the hotel and prevent any possible Covid spread. I think it’s just a matter of kindness to the next guest and just plain hygienic. Don’t feel bad as the hotel should automatically be doing this anyhow. I always wiped the bottom of my shoe across the sheets before I checked out.

3.Place a face towel or hand towel on the bathroom counter to place all your items on. Especially in this time of covid you do not want to transfer any germs to your face or hands. It’s also a visual reminder of anything placed on the counter and it helps in not forgetting items like jewelry in the bathroom.

4. Take an extra washcloth and wipe the toilet seats down. I think we all assume that the hotel room has been cleaned thoroughly but my experience has shown that the toilet seat is often overlooked.

5. Treat hotel room floors like airplane bathrooms and never assume it’s just water. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed through hotel corridors and seen the remains of a hotel room party gone wild. Let’s face it, the hotel does not have the manpower or capability to thoroughly clean hotel room floors, nor do they often have time between checkouts. Covid can be easily spread through bodily fluids.

I hope my tips have been helpful, check back in for more of my lived travel experience.