Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards 2011 (orignally posted July 7, 2011 by JustLuxe)

 

"It's clear that remote and exotic destinations - places that convey a sense of authenticity and adventure - are ruling the day once again in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards," said Nancy Novogrod, editor in chief of ACTUAL Travel + Leisure. "The top ten hotels overall are African camps and lodges; resorts in India; a property in Chiang Mai; and a luxury lodge in Montana. The top cities overall span the globe: Bangkok, Florence, New York, Istanbul, Siem Reap, and Sydney, to mention a few."

The results of Travel + Leisure's sixteenth annual World's Best Awards survey revealing readers' favorite hotels, cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, car-rental agencies, spas, and tour operators and safari outfitters have been named, and will be the cover story of the August issue of the magazine, on newsstands July 22.

Here is a look at the winners:

WORLD'S BEST CITY: Bangkok
WORLD'S BEST HOTEL: Singita Grumeti Reserves (Saskwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge), Tanzania
WORLD'S BEST ISLAND: Santorini Greece
WORLD'S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE: Crystal Cruises
WORLD'S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE: Seabourn
WORLD'S BEST RIVER CRUISE LINE: Tauck
WORLD'S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE: Singapore Airlines
WORLD'S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE: Virgin America
WORLD'S BEST TOUR OPERATOR/SAFARI OUTFITTER: Micato Safaris
WORLD'S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY: Zipcar
WORLD'S BEST DESTINATION SPA: Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort & Spa Tecate, Mexico
WORLD'S BEST HOTEL SPA: Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa New Zealand

Travel + Leisure World's Best 2011 Hotel Winners by Region:


Continental U.S. and Canada
TOP RESORT: Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee
TOP LARGE CITY HOTEL: The Peninsula Chicago
TOP SMALL CITY HOTEL: Eliot Hotel Boston
TOP INN: Triple Creek Ranch, Darby Montana

Hawaii
TOP RESORT: Four Seasons Resort, Hualalai, Hawaii
The Caribbean, Bermuda and The Bahamas
TOP RESORT: Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Nevis
Central and South America
TOP RESORT: Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora Rapa Nui Easter Island, Chile
TOP CITY HOTEL: Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mexico
TOP RESORT: One And Only Palmilla, Los Cabos
TOP CITY HOTEL: Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City
Australia, New Zealand and The South Pacific
TOP LODGE/RESORT: Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, New Zealand
TOP CITY HOTEL: The Langham Melbourne

Europe
TOP RESORT: Hotel Caruso Ravello, Italy
TOP LARGE CITY HOTEL: Stafford London by Kempinski
TOP SMALL CITY HOTEL: Milestone Hotel London
TOP INN/SMALL COUNTRY HOTEL: Hotel Villa Cipriani Asolo, Italy

Asia
TOP RESORT: Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur, India
TOP CITY HOTEL: Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
Africa and The Middle East
TOP LODGE/RESORT: Singita Grumeti Reserves (Saskwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge), Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
TOP CITY HOTEL: Cape Grace Hotel Cape Town, South Africa

Travel + Leisure 2011 World's Best City and Island Winners by Region:

U.S. AND CANADA: New York City/Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada
EUROPE: Florence/ Santorini Greece
ASIA: Bangkok/Bali
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC: Sydney/Great Barrier Reef Australia
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA: Buenos Aires/Galápagos
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST: Cape Town
HAWAII: Hawaii, the Big Island
THE CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA, AND THE BAHAMAS: Cuba

Travel + Leisure 2011 World's Best Hotel Spas Winners by Region:


CONTINENTAL U.S. AND CANADA: Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, Louisiana
HAWAII: Grand Wailea Maui
MEXICO: (a tie) Excellence Riviera Cancun Mayan Riviera and Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa Los Cabos
EUROPE: Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel Rome
ASIA: Discovery Shores Boracay Philippines
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC: Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa New Zealand
CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA AND THE BAHAMAS: Couples Tower Isle St. Mary, Jamaica
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA: Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST: Singita Kruger National Park South Africa
The Twitter conversation about the World's Best Awards 2011 can be accessed with @travlandleisure #tlworldsbest.

For those who wonder how the winners were chosen, the research methodology is described below.

A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with ROI Research Inc., was made available to Travel + Leisure readers at TLWorldsBest.com from December 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011. Readers were invited to participate through Travel + Leisure magazine (January, February, and March issues), T+L iPad editions (T+L 500 and Romance), and online at TravelandLeisure.com.

To protect the integrity of the data, after March 31, 2011, respondents were screened by Travel + Leisure and responses from any identified travel-industry professionals who completed the survey were eliminated from the final tally. The survey website, TLWorldsBest.com, was maintained, monitored, and kept secure by ROI Research Inc., which collected and tabulated the responses and kept them confidential. The scores are indexed averages of responses concerning applicable characteristics. Respondents were asked to rate hotels, islands, destination spas, and rental-car agencies on five characteristics; cities, cruise lines, and tour operators and safari outfitters on six characteristics; and airlines and hotel spas on four characteristics.

In the hotel, cruise line, tour operators and safari outfitters, and airline categories, respondents could also rate additional optional characteristics; these ratings were not included in the final score. For each characteristic, respondents were asked to rate a candidate on a scale of 1 to 5, where "1" means poor and "5" means excellent. Required component ratings were then averaged, creating an overall score. A minimum response number was necessary for a candidate to be eligible for inclusion in the World?s Best Awards listings. Some companies were rated in both the cruise lines and tour operators and safari outfitters categories, and some properties were rated in both the destination spas and hotel spas categories.

These were the categories and characteristics:
Hotels: Rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, value
Cities: Sights, culture/arts, restaurants/food, people, shopping, value
Islands: Natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people, value
Cruise Lines: Cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, activities, value
Tour operators and safari outfitters: Staff/guides, itineraries/destinations, activities, accommodations, food, value
Airlines: Cabin comfort, in-flight service, customer service, value
Rental-car agencies: Vehicle selection, vehicle availability, car-rental location, service, value
Destination spas: Accommodations/ambience, treatments, service, food, value
Hotel spas: Ambience, treatments, service, value
Throughout the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards, scores shown have been rounded to the nearest hundredth of a point; in the event of a true tie, properties, companies, or destinations share the same ranking.

The Harvest Inn: A Green Sanctuary in Napa Valley (originally published July 6th, 2011 by JustLuxe)

Unlike many hotels and resorts the traveler can see from the road, the Harvest Inn, in St. Helena, Napa Valley, is quite hidden. There is an entrance, but the grounds can't be seen from the road; so even some of the St. Helena natives know of the Harvest Inn, but have never actually experienced it.

One of the vintners I interviewed on a recent Napa trip said that when he and his wife were building their home, they stayed at the Harvest Inn for an extended period, and never wanted to leave. "It was so peaceful and beautiful, eight acres of gardens," he said. "There were even Redwoods on the property, near the hanging wisteria, and roses. A true sanctuary, a peaceful retreat."

I stayed at the Harvest Inn on the suggestion of a wine distributor - I had never heard of the Harvest Inn, but then again, it was my second time in Napa. And there was indeed something immediately restful about it. The eight acres of garden included multiple rose gardens, fountains, small brick foot bridges, white and purple wisteria, aromatic Madagascar jasmine, a Koi pond, rhododendrons, azaleas, and here and there, park benches and Adirondack chairs made of old wood, near forested areas where guests can just sit and ponder.

It was also close to a vineyard, so in the Vineyard Suites, I opened the patio door and looked out into acres of vineyards, with the Mayacama foothills in the background. There was a spa on property also and the guest could opt for a treatment outside near the Redwoods.

I walked the property with Debbie Greene, the General Manager, and commented on the sanctuary-like nature of this place - outside the intimate quality that often only lush wooded areas can bring, and inside in my suite, the leaded glass windows and the huge, ornate brick fireplace in my room.

"The owner did a lot of renovations," she said, "and each brickwork fireplace, as well as each suite is done differently. The suites are much larger than they have to be. Our complimentary breakfast is exceptional, and you can walk through our rose garden, and five minutes later be in downtown St. Helena. We even have Redwoods on the property. The quality of everything has to do with our owner and investor, Rick Swig."

Well, how true. I knew Rick's name and reputation, as he owns RSBA & Associates in San Francisco, a significant advisory group that consults with hotel management companies, individual hotels. He has spent years dealing with the visions and the operations of other hoteliers, and knows how to please guests. His career experience also is associated with Fairmont Hotels, where he was Vice President and Managing Director of the Fairmont Hotel Management Company for many years.

I recently interviewed Rick and asked him about the sense of sanctuary so easily discovered and remembered at the Harvest Inn.

JustLuxe: How did your involvement with The Harvest Inn come about? From the Fairmont in San Francisco to The Harvest Inn in Napa seems like a light year's leap.

Rick Swig: Well, the original owner had this idea of creating an English country lodge but it didn't really work well. It might have worked well in England, and had it not been in the middle of wine country, so I bought the property and wanted to see what could be done. We did a lot of renovation and did a lot of landscape work. We wanted to provide our visitors with great hospitality enclosed in an intimate garden sanctuary experience, and I think we are doing that.

JL: There is deep green beauty almost everywhere you look and I would imagine this may be a good place for small conferences. You would not feel so closed in, like you do in other hotels. Is this a part of the Harvest Inn business?

RS: It is and the acres of greenery help conference attendees focus on the ideas and subjects. There is something else also, the easy access to many of our amenities. It is a close walk to the pools and spa, as well as to the Harvest Kitchen and the Wine Bar. Everything is in easy walking proximity, which is a great help for many people these days.



JL: How do you see your own hospitality values emerging within this resort's context?

RS: I have tried to make my values for hospitality mirror our customer's values and expectations. I want essentially for them to experience the comfort, serenity, and grace of their own lives, but better here, as it is a home away. We want the elite agrarian, authentic Napa Valley life to be reflected in all elements that make up the Harvest Inn, so our visitors will leave refreshed, ready to face the world, but knowing they can always return to our green sanctuary.







Bellagio's Epicurean Epicenter Series: Combining Food, Art & Wine (originally published by JustLuxe, July 1st, 2011)

Photo Courtesy of Tuscany Kitchen/MGM Resorts



I have written about events in Las Vegas before, from philanthropic to sporting events, all having a distinctly educational, yet sensuous component, and all often over-the-top.

I have also recently written about the curated experience trend in high-end hotels and resorts: those unique experiences available to hotel guests that are underscored by their passionate interests. And, I have discovered that Las Vegas is one of the places that combines the curated with the impassioned, with the Bellagio's Epicurean Epicenter Series a significant example of this pairing.

Bellagio, recipient of 10 consecutive AAA Five Diamond Awards, recently revealed its 2011 schedule for its Epicurean Epicenter Series. Here, guests observe talented chefs prepare their masterpieces, discuss their culinary processes, and then dine with wine pairings, from some of the world's finest vintages. The series of culinary events feature Bellagio chefs Julian Serrano, Akira Back, Martin Heierling and Edmund Wong along with rare vintages and varietals from wineries that include Williams Selyem, Husic Vineyards and Araujo Estate.

"The Epicurean Epicenter Series offers the exemplary experiences Bellagio is known for," said Ana Marie Mormando, vice president of food and beverage at Bellagio. "We have brought together the finest chefs and wine labels in the world, and provide our guests with once-in-a-lifetime experiences that entertain, educate, and enrich their culinary appetites."

Some events in the series have already taken place, including unusual Japanese culinary experiences from Yellowtail's Chef Akira Back, Chef Martin Heierling of Sensi, Chefs Philip Lo and Edmund Wong of Shabu Shabu, as well as culinary conversations with top Las Vegas food authors and critics.

The June 2011 food and wine pairing included Le Cirque's executive chef Gregory Pugin, who paired his meals with the handcrafted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines from the Williams Selyem vineyard located in the Russian River Valley. Here are a few of the pairings:

Canapés et Hors-d'oeuvre Assortis "Le Cirque" paired with 2005 Blanc de Noir Brut Magnum

Langoustines au Caviar - Citrus Marinated New Zealand Langoustines, Osetra Caviar, Apple & Vodka Gelée with 2005 Hawk Hill Chardonnay

Le Flétan d'Alaska - Potato Crusted Halibut, Celery Root & Mustard of Meaux Purée, Sauce Vieux Balsamique with 2007 Westside Road Neighbors Pinot Noir

L'Agneau Du Colorado - Espelette Crusted Lamb Chop, Taggiasche Olive Panisse, Piquillo Purée, Farcie of Spring Vegetables with 2004 Rochioli Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2004 Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir

Les Fromages - L'Epoisse, Vieux Comté, Saint Marcellin with 1999 Allen Vineyard Pinot Noir

Pot De Crème Au Chocolat - Chocolate Pot de Crème, Cardamom Emulsion, Pop Rocks Marshmallows
This fall, the pairings continue: In September, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines of Husic Vineyards will be paired with cuisine prepared by Prime Steakhouse Executive Chef Sean Griffin. And in November, Araujo Estate wines and Picasso's Julian Serrano (pictured below) take center stage for the final Tuscany Kitchen event of the year on hand also, will be Master Sommelier and Director of Wine at Bellagio Jason Smith along with Daphne and Bart Araujo, owners of Araujo Estate.

Master Sommelier and Director of Wine at Bellagio Jason Smith has been hosting these pairing events. As both educator and sommelier, he said, "We have seen exceptional moments for our guests as we educate them on the meanings behind each pairing. But another great pairing example is our Art And Wine Pairings the second Wednesday of every month at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Arts. The Director of the Gallery, Tarissa Tiberti, and I, host an event that features art from the current exhibit called A Sense Of Place: Landscapes From Monet To Hockney. We pair the appropriate spirits - from Champagne to tequila - with the gallery art, and then have interactive conversations relating the tastes, colors and themes of the wine and the art."

In all of these culinary and wine pairings, the chefs and sommeliers are available to discuss their techniques, food ingredients and cooking processes with the guests.

The 1,170-square-foot Tuscany Kitchen where most of these experiences take place, is also a unique state of the art demo kitchen. Three cameras, positioned above the prep stations and stove tops, capture shots of the chefs at work and broadcast them over 60-inch plasma screens mounted above the cooking area for easy viewing. This, paired with the opportunity to interact with Bellagio's culinary talent, create a singular curated environment, for a fine dining and wine pairing experience.

The New Curated Guest Experience Trend: Part 1 (originally published by JustLuxe, June 21, 2011)

Meadowood Resort is one of the few that has many diverse, curated dimensions. To some, it is remembered as a resort, a Relais & Chateaux hotel, a country inn, a spa, a private club, a hub for the activities of local winemakers and grape growers, a wine education center, a culinary destination with a Michelin Three Star restaurant, and/or a great golf/croquet or tennis haven. To others it is the yearly resort where the Napa Valley Wine Auction is held.

Although there is much to explore and experience, Meadowood's locale is secluded. As you drive through the guard gate, in through the canopy of trees, it emanates the sense of a deeply private enclave, which is indeed part of its identity, but not the whole thing. I learned, after visiting Meadowood a second time, there is a private club here, but the resort component is open to all.

"It is understandable that Meadowood might look like a private club, as it does give off the sense of privacy and great beauty," said Alain Negueloua, the General Manager of Meadowood. "But Meadowood is such a varied resort, we want the public to understand we welcome all. It is part of our legacy and our history."

"In the early 1960s," Alain continued, "Meadowood was designed and built as a small club for the local wine growing community. The club changed hands and the current ownership purchased it in the late 1970s with the vision to develop the property into a country resort estate."

"It has become a world-class destination as well as a gathering place for Napa Valley vintners - a place that combines the best of nature and culture in terms of exceptional, one-of-a-kind curated experiences, so that guests can learn and experience food and wine with masters in the field."

The trend of the curated guest experience is one that has recently been discussed at the American Express Luxury Summit. This experience is a unique one, offered to guests from experts either associated with the hotel or resort, or brought in through a strategic partnership, to create a memorable, educational experience of great interest and often of great passion, for the guest. At present, some hotel brands are creating curated experiences, (I will be discussing more of them in part two) but Meadowood is one of the few non-branded, single site resorts doing this now. Two of the most substantial curated experiences that guests can enjoy involve both wine and food, not surprising given its location and the resort's elite agrarian commitments to both.
Wine

The Director of Wine Education at Meadowood is Gilles de Chambure. He is well-known in wine circles, as he is one of a very few worldwide who has an M.S., a Master Sommelier. His philosophy of wine education relates to connecting the wine taster and buyer to a particular place and time, a sensory remembrance of experiences past.

"I have always said wine is very much like music. You don't have to read music or know who the composer is to enjoy it," said Gilles in my recent interview. "To enjoy wine, you don't have to know about fermentation, Malolactic acid, or rootstocks, but if you understand these things, you appreciate it differently." To that end, and for the Meadowood guests, Gilles offers private education experiences in Napa, exploring winery architecture and history, as well as a more educated look at Napa Valley's Cabernets.

"We always start off in the vineyard," Gilles continued, "and it's a personalized experience. I tailor a session to the guests' specific area of interest, and then we cover a broad range of topics - from grape growing, to winemaking, to the history of wine, to the sensory evaluation of wine. It is important they learn the emotional connections created by their olfactic memories. They learn to trust that memory - and it empowers them."

In addition to the local trips, Gilles has also hosted curated wine trips for members of Meadowood Club and of the Napa Valley Reserve, a private wine club on the Meadowood estate. Because his family has deep vineyard roots in Burgundy, Gilles knows the most significant vintners there and in many other parts of France and Europe, and is allowed greater access to private wineries than others.


"Each year, I host discovery trips to the best, and also the lesser known, wine regions of the world. For the Napa Valley Reserve members, we went to Bordeaux two years ago, to Burgundy last year and next year will be go to Argentina. For Bill Harlan (Managing Partner of Meadowood) and his group, who are all members of the Napa Valley Reserve, we also went to Portugal last year, this year to Austria, next year Piedmont, Italy at the time of the white truffle season."
Food

Unlike Gilles, who travels widely and often, Christopher Kostow, a Michelin starred Chef before he was 30, usually stays in the kitchen working with his staff, creating dishes for The Restaurant at Meadowood. It is now a Three Star Michelin restaurant, one of only two in California.

The food I had was exceptional, as it combined the fresh Meadowood vegetable garden produce with aspects of contemporary French cuisine. Christopher says he believes in inspired spontaneity, which, judging by his food combinations, define a unique way of experiencing new tastes. Some combinations from the ever-changing menu display his methods: Foie Gras in black bread, with dark chocolate, apricot, and bacon. Columbia River Salmon with poached rhubarb, potato ice cream, and chickpea hummus. And a dessert: An imaginative concoction with flavors of umami, red cedar and buttered popcorn.

In February of 2010, Christopher garnered a rare four stars in the San Francisco Chronicle and in October was awarded the highest ranking of three Michelin Stars from the esteemed guide. Christopher is only the second American-born chef and third youngest chef ever to receive three Michelin stars.

As regards curated experiences, Christopher does come into the dining room to greet guests and answer questions. If guests are interested, they can certainly ask to see the kitchen and watch Christopher work. Usually Nathaniel, the Restaurant Director, will escort them back so they can meet, greet and ask Christopher questions and discuss flavor combinations.



Christopher is accessible to the guests most of the time, but most especially during Twelve Days of Christmas event. During the hour-long sparkling wine reception, all guests are invited back to the kitchen to meet Christopher and the guest chef of the evening, as well as chat with Christopher's kitchen team.

The curated guest experience is often derived from knowing the guest deep interests and passions - whether it be for food, wine, art, sports, wellness, or some form of passion collecting. In the next article, I will be discussing some of the curated experiences offered by other hotels and clubs that offer these amenities. Stay tuned! 

Martis Camp at Lake Tahoe: Heritage, Timelessness & Architectural Diversity

Photo Credit: Susan Kime

Experiencing Martis Camp allows the visitor to feel the unusual combination of past and present simultaneously. For the present, right now, it is one of the few successful significant gated communities, accruing 62 property sales that include 57 developer home sites and five custom homes in 2010 totaling $53.7 million. Sales volume this year is over $40 million and according to Brian Hull, Director of Sales at Martis Camp, 2011 will be more substantial than last.

Why is the volume so volatile? It seems to appeal to both Boomers, GenX/yers as well as Millennials. It is a true four season destination, where noteworthy golf, skiing, swimming, fishing, and hiking are available to members and owners of elite enclave. The homes already built here run the gamut of architectural styles, from sturdy log homes and Swiss Chalets, to extremely modern/post-industrial.

This style diversity is due in part to the many famous architects who are building client homes here, including Ron Radziner, Marmol Radziner + Associates (MRA), Los Angeles, Greg Faulkner, Faulkner Architects, Truckee & Berkeley, Calif, RKD Architects, Inc., Edwards, Colo, Ted Brobst, Ward Young Architects, Truckee and Lafayette, California, among others.

There are over 300 family homes here already, many from San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Texas and other areas of the country. There are 653 home sites that range from one to five acres, to the smaller cabin sites range from .3 to .6 of an acre. There is also a sense of ease and happy acceptance - very camp-like - of family in all its variegated forms. One of the members told me, "Here is the way it used to be: our family is welcomed, not just tolerated." Priceless!

But there is another reason for the success of Martis Camp and that is its accessibility. Unlike other high-end mountain enclaves, getting to Martis Camp does not take up one of two travel days. From the Reno airport it is about half an hour by car. From San Francisco, it is a three hour drive. From Portland or Seattle, it is also just a two hour plane ride away. It is only a one hour flight from Southern California.

Martis camp lies in the Martis Valley, near the upper end of North Lake Tahoe, about 6,000 feet above sea level. It is situated on 2,177 acres, with a kind of dazzling topography endemic to a rare four season destination. On property, there's a Tom Fazio, 18 hole, par 72 course, with the front nine taking advantage of mountain views; the next seven holes crisscross Martis Creek and wind through the valley forest; and the finishing holes are framed by the Sierra Nevadas, still snowy when we were there last week in June.

There is a lake where members can fish in the summer, and in winter, there is private ski access, via the Martis Camp Express lift to Northstar at Tahoe. And paralleling these sporting focal points, are the multiple architectural focal points, that further endow the sense of past and present, as well as enrich the interests of those who buy lots and build homes here.

The name alone - Martis Camp - is an homage to the great camps and lodges of the early part of the last century, as does the exterior architecture with interior use. The Family Barn, as one example, was built as a multi-use facility, where families come, play basketball, eat breakfast or lunch, involve themselves in curated art and design experiences in the Art Studio on the second floor, bowl in the bowling alley, or just sit by the fire and read. There is a soda fountain and a movie theatre also, all hearkening to a past and present feel together: having the colors and structure of a barn, but with interior uses of present day.

Another building, smaller, yet equally as unique, is about a mile away in the Ponderosa forest. Called "The Lost Library," it is a log cabin full of books and newspapers, where the members can read, or write, or just sit and have coffee, as they hear the peace of quiet, and the soughing of the pines. Nearby is a meditation rock garden.

But the building meant to encapsulate the Mardis Camp vision of past legacy and future bequeathment combined will open on July 4, and is called the Camp Lodge. From its site atop a 70-foot rock outcropping overlooking the 18th hole of the Fazio course, the Camp Lodge features dramatic 270-degree views of the Carson Range, Lookout Mountain and the Sierra Crest.

When I spoke with John Sather, one of the lead architects of Swabeck Partners and the architect of the Camp Lodge, he said the goal was to create a building that will have a lifetime of 100 years or more. He continued, "We searched beyond the development world and went into 100-year-old buildings to understand and create great spaces. This was an opportunity that couldn't be squandered as we had a chance to design a building to stand the test of time."

Sather's idea was to develop a building that conveyed heritage, rather than on latest design style. The intention was to create a real indoor/outdoor feeling through a floor plan that began with the site itself. The west side of the Camp Lodge hangs right over the edge of a spectacular natural rock outcropping and many of the indoor spaces open themselves to bring the outdoors in. The result is a vision design of past and present, creating a basic timelessness. Using asphalt roof shingles in a varied pattern, green stained cedar exterior wall shingles with indigenous grey granite rock walls and copper trim details, make the exteriors look old, yet inexplicably new.

The interior design, created by Kim Anderson of Vallone design in Scottsdale, throughout the Camp Lodge evokes a feeling of a family past with quilted patchwork upholstered ceilings. Yes, I did say quilted patchwork ceilings. Then, there is The Cliff, an octagonal dining room that anchors the western point of site.

The Camp Lodge will also feature a full-service day spa with a menu of massage and therapeutic treatments, outdoor lap and vitality pools, men's and ladies' locker rooms, fitness area, golf shop and community post office. In addition, the Camp Lodge will have four indoor dining rooms and five patio areas. The hallway leading to the dining spaces is an art gallery. The Gallery Hallway will be full of original artwork of the Sierras in addition to other original works.

Martis Camp was recently (March, 2011) named in the Top Ten of Barron's Best Places For Second Homes.
Related Topics : Lake Tahoe, Martis Camp, Real Estate, Golf, Luxury