With 300 days of sunshine every year, Denver is a city where people like to get outside, and one of the big draw cards are its outdoor patios – they’re almost always ready to welcome visitors to enjoy their farm-to-table cuisine al fresco. Especially at historic Larimer Square, which has become the city’s premier dining and shopping destination. Victorian buildings connected by fairy lights have been converted into stylish boutiques, lounges and hyper-local, chef-driven restaurants. And most of them have a patio.
TAG Restaurant is just one of the Square’s amazing offerings. The menu, inspired by chef Troy Guard’s Hawaiian roots, is a dazzling homage to the flavours of Asia made with local ingredients. Seafood potstickers with Korean soy vinaigrette, flash-seared hamachi (yellowtail tuna) tricked out with pop rocks, and taco sushi with Hawaiian ahi, guacamole and mango salsa are just some of the dishes you can try.
The city’s other source of prime entertainment real estate comes from up high. Places like 54Thirty Rooftop, Denver’s highest open-air bar, are popular for late-afternoon sessions. Cocktails, bar snacks and stunning views of the city are all part of its charm.
Take a self-guided tour along the Denver Beer Trail and sample craft beer paradise in the Mile High City. Explore the featured breweries, most of which are in the walkable city centre, and you’ll find everything from stouts to lagers and all the flavours in between.
Blue Moon Brewing Company started producing its beloved Belgian White in Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, in 1995. For more than 20 years, the Sandlot brewery provided its team of brewers an opportunity to create and share new beers with fans around the world. In the summer of 2016, Blue Moon brought the same creativity and passion for beer to a new state-of-the-art brewery and restaurant in the city’s RiNo District. Since then the brewers have been fermenting fan favourites – old and new – and experimenting with unique ingredients on the pilot brewing system.
There are more than a hundred breweries, brewpubs and taprooms in metro Denver, and you can check out the interactive map on the Visit Denver website to see what’s open in the neighbourhood you’re visiting.
This could well be the best backdrop for a music festival you’ve ever experienced. Set at the base of the majestic San Juan Mountains, yet with an intimate format to bring you close to the musicians, it’s no surprise Telluride Jazz Festival ranks among the world’s most memorable musical get-togethers.
It’s taken place each August since 1977, and during three days and nights Telluride Jazz Festival continues to celebrate the art, soul, history and future of the jazz genre. Festival-goers can experience world-class jazz, funk, soul, folk and gospel performances, intimate late-night shows, interactive jams and a lively New Orleans second line parade, with colourful floats, costumes and beads, through the town of Telluride.
Beyond the typical music festival, there are free morning yoga sessions, a historical walking tour, and VIP culinary and cocktail experiences. There’s also the opportunity to explore the historical mining town, as well as the many trails and adventures among the nearby 4,000-metre Rocky Mountain peaks. If Telluride’s gold rush history has you wanting to see more, try a guided 4WD jeep tour with Telluride Outside that takes you onto old mining roads that were carved into the San Juan Mountains more than a century ago, visiting what remains of ghost towns that were once home to booming mining communities.
There’s a range of ticket options available to customise your experience, with full three-day tickets, Jazz After Dark performances or one-day options if the location has you wanting to explore beyond. Following the Jazz After Dark shows, the late-night Liberty Sessions take place at The Liberty Bar & Lounge from 11.30pm, free of charge.
Named after one of the most fierce gangs in New York City, The Dead Rabbit is as notorious as its historic moniker. Set in Manhattan’s Financial District, the bar – created by Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon, alumni of Belfast’s much-lauded Merchant Hotel – has featured on ‘World’s Best’ lists since opening in 2013, finally taking out World’s Best Bar in 2016. Sawdust-sprinkled floors, leather furnishings and unpretentious service infuse the vintage venue with an ambient atmosphere across its three levels. There’s the Taproom, pouring 145 varieties of Irish whiskey (the largest selection in the USA); the Parlour, featuring a graphic novel-like cocktail menu; and the Occasional, a private function room, plus with traditional Irish fare served across all floors.
The stunning landscape of southeast Alaska, also known as the Alaska Panhandle, is where you’ll find Kalgaya Point, a lookout taking in the small township of Haines and the northern part of the famous Inside Passage.
Despite the rugged landscape, the trail from Haines to Kalgaya Point is well-maintained and moderately trafficked so you won’t be jostling other travellers out of the way for a decent view. The potential for wildlife sightings is huge and you might see eagles, waterfowls, porcupines, whales, seals, winter wrens and moose.
Take a guided hike and learn more about the area and the Indigenous people’s uses for the various plants encountered along the trail. As the trail slowly rises, the sensational panorama of snow-capped mountains and coastal Haines comes into view. From this vantage point you can see Chilkat Inlet to the south and Chilkoot Inlet to the north. Soak it up – you’re far enough from civilisation that the only sounds you’ll hear are the occasional bird call or squirrel chirp.
The rocky forest trail, broken with dense tree roots, leads down to a pebbled beach. Stand on the beach and watch for seals, sea lions and the tell-tale blows or flukes of humpback whales, before heading back along the same trail to your Hurtigruten ship.
“You wanna know something? Donnie asks in a smoky mid-western drawl. I’m only gonna tell you this once, so pay attention. Where you are now, right now, this place here, is the best ski mountain in the USA if not the whole damn world!”
I’m propped up at the bar at the Hellroaring Saloon & Eatery on Montana’s Whitefish Mountain. In front of me is a pint of Moose Drool Brown Ale and to my left is Donnie, a local skier with an amazing ability to fit twice as many words into a sentence than is necessary. The bar itself is decorated with an eclectic mix of ski paraphernalia and the odd stuffed animal. There are three guys in cowboy hats downing shots of whiskey at the end of the bar. If not for everyone dressed in ski gear we could be in a scene from a classic Clint Eastwood western.
“This place ain’t like them fancy pancy nancy Colorado reeezorts,” Donnie drawls. “Oh, no sir! I skied down there before I got up this way and I ain’t never ever even thought once about heading back on down.”
“Coz we’re different, man. We’re the real deal in these parts.” Then he stands, shakes my hand and wanders out onto the powdered slopes of Whitefish leaving me grinning.
“Donnie,” I say to myself channelling his linguistic trait, “that is simply, without a doubt, the main exact reason we’re here.”
We had landed at Bozeman Airport a week earlier to make our way to Montana’s most famous ski field, Big Sky Resort. Embracing the Wild West, we eschew the ski-in, ski-out chalets and instead choose to stay at Lone Mountain Ranch, one of National Geographic’s Unique Lodges of the World. Picture the quintessential American log cabin surrounded by trees slouching with the weight of a fresh snowfall. The 27 log cabins are spaced well enough away from each other to ensure privacy and a feeling of isolation, yet all are within walking distance of the main ranch where the renowned Horn & Cantle Restaurant serves award-winning nosh and its saloon bar pours American whiskies and craft beer. It’s all rustic wood, open fires and low lighting. I feel like I need to buy a Stetson just to fit in.
The snow when we arrive is waist deep. The stars light our way and the glow of the open fire in our cabin – named Lame Deer – beckons through the windows. There’s a record player with a selection of vinyl. I choose The Best of John Denver (nice touch) and climb into the deep warmth of our bed to the strains of ‘Rocky Mountain High’. This is America.
It’s a short drive from Lone Mountain to Big Sky Resort. As we approach the base there’s a flurry of activity as a few skiers and boarders jostle for the lifts. Claiming to have the “Biggest Skiing in America”, Big Sky has more than 20 square kilometres of ski terrain with runs for all levels. It is astonishing that there are not more people here. There are no lines for the lifts. None. Not one. Perhaps that is why the likes of Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck choose to ski here.
Big Sky has only recently opened the Ramcharger 8, one of the most technologically advanced chairlifts in the world. Built to carry eight people, it is high speed, heated and comes with a weather-protecting hood. Unless word begins to get out, I struggle to see how they will fill it given the lack of crowds.
We ski all day, only stopping for lunch at Headwaters Grille on the mountain. Big Sky lives up to its name and for a couple of hours in the afternoon I have no idea where we are. It is a great way to ski knowing there are new runs after every lift. Thankfully the mountain is well signposted and we don’t find ourselves staring down a double black diamond run to get home.
It’s not all skiing here though, and on our second day we join the team from Spirit of the North for a dog sled through the Moonlight Basin in Big Sky’s backcountry. With the imposing Lone Mountain and Spanish Peaks as a backdrop dogsledding through fresh snow is a serious adrenaline rush. My team of Alaskan huskies barks with excitement and, even before we have taken off, pulls hard on the sled.
“Foot down!” Jim yells at me to ensure I weigh heavily on the foot brake. “If they take off without you we’ll never get your wife back!” My wife shifts uncomfortably in the sled.
Jim gives me the thumbs-up, so I lift my foot and step onto the sled.
It lurches forward and for a split second I fear I’ll be a bachelor again.
It is not easy controlling a dog sled. Push the brake going downhill. Jump off and run with the dogs going uphill. Lean to the left when turning right. Lean to the right when turning left. I curse myself for not paying enough attention to Jim’s briefing, especially when we take a sharp turn and hit a tree branch heavy with powdery snow.
“Having fun?” I ask my wife as she clears the snow from her head. The views are astonishing though. There is so much deep snow it feels like we’re sledding through a world made of marshmallow.
The drive from Big Sky to Whitefish is a seven-hour cruise through middle America. We pass small towns with houses decorated with American flags, like something out of a 1980s Tom Cruise movie. There’s a church with a sign out front proclaiming “All Pasties Welcome”. I assume it means pastors, but out here who would really know? There seems to be more pick-up trucks than people in these parts.
Fifteen minutes after Donnie has departed the Hellroaring Saloon I am back up on the summit of Whitefish. We’re in luck with the weather today. With not a cloud in the sky, the views are endless. The peaks of Glacier National Park run all the way to the Canadian border to the north; to the south Whitefish Lake sparkles in the afternoon sunshine. Donnie had told me of the inversion days that happen here, where the warm air pushes the cloud cover low over the lake and town of Whitefish. “Can you like imagine, just for one minute, what it would be like to ski above the clouds? Man, that’s what it is like. I’m serious. It’s like being in heaven.”
We are staying on the mountain this time in the wonderfully unique Ponderosa Chalet, a treehouse literally a ski length from Tenderfoot chairlift. I learn the first morning to make sure I’m dressed for breakfast after a lift-load of eager snowboarders laughs hysterically at me through the window.
While Ponderosa is set up for self-catering we make the most of the mountain resort’s restaurants. We fine dine on buffalo tenderloin at the renowned Cafe Kandahar and gorge on burgers and beer at Ed & Mully’s where the après-ski scene tends to kick off each day. It ends at The Bierstube with a great selection of local craft beers and retro video games. On our last evening it is karaoke night and, as I look through the song list, I hear a familiar voice from the stage. It’s Donnie and he’s trying to sing ‘The Gambler’ while flashing a beaming smile my way. He beckons me to join him and I spend my last night in Montana singing “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em” arm in arm with a guy I’d only met a day earlier. It’s the real deal out here alright.
Despite what Taco Bill and Old El Paso have taught us to believe, there’s more to Mexican cuisine than burritos, frozen margaritas and lashings of chips and guac. Which is why the Mexico Food Adventure with Exodus Travel will give you insight into the country’s rich culinary history. You’ll learn about traditional Mexican cooking techniques, visit local markets and restaurants, partake in mezcal tastings and eat straight from street vendors.
There’s even a guided tour of the Mundo Chocolate Museum, where you can join in on an authentic chocolate metate class – tastings are a given, of course. This gastronomic expedition requires a good appetite though, so best not to start that diet until you return.
Sleek, stylish, minimal… If we had to pick three words to sum up Casa Pueblo, it would be those. With its muted palette, whitewashed walls and simple timber finishes, this boutique hotel in the heart of Tulum (although it’s so peaceful you’d never guess) is a calming haven for global nomads. Set around a greenery-filled, open-air atrium, the hotel caters to its free-spirited guests with yoga classes, guided meditation and Reiki sessions.
With a new restaurant, swoon-worthy pool and 16 gorgeous rooms to choose from, each oozing stripped-back tropical boho vibes, the hardest decision you’ll have to make is whether to order an organic coffee or kombucha. When you really need to realign your chakras in a chic, instagrammable location, Casa Pueblo is your place!
A treehouse literally at arm’s length from the slopes of one of the USA’s top ranked yet almost unheard of ski resorts? If it sounds perfect that’s because it’s hard to fault a two-bedroom penthouse surrounded by nature. Montana’s Snow Bear Chalet team, which runs two other properties nearby, ensures your boot warmers are labelled accordingly and the balcony spa is heated. You literally fall down the front stairs onto a run and slide to the chairlift while pulling on your ski boots. You cannot get any closer to the action.
A word of warning though – if you sleep late and saunter into the kitchen sans clothes, the snow seekers on chairlift number three will get an eyeful. They’re so close they can peer right in the window. In fact, you could almost high five them. It doesn’t get any better than this when it comes to ski-in, ski-out. And this part of Montana is off the tourist trail, so there are no lines and awesome locals to ski (and après) with.
On a narrow tree-lined side street hidden between manic Melrose Drive and iconic Santa Monica Boulevard and set among a quaint cottage garden sits a series of picturebook English apartments and bungalows that have harboured many a star over the years. At The Charlie there is no rooftop pool, kitchen run by a celebrity chef or Instagrammable gym. In fact, this is so far removed from the standard West Hollywood scene it instantly soothes you on returning from a day walking the nearby streets.
The Charlie is old-school Hollywood – more Clark Gable than Johnny Depp – with each of the bungalows and suites named after stars of yesteryear. We recommend the two-storey Valentino apartment, with all the mod cons and louvred doors opening to a huge balcony with luxe deck chairs placed to enjoy the LA sun. So, why stay at The Charlie? It used to be Charlie Chaplin’s cottage and you’ll feel like a star living in luxury in WeHo.
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