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2014
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The Phoenician 6000 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix 480-941-8200
The Phoenician has earned its spot in Arizona luxury-resort history. The resort impresses from the start, with a beautifully manicured driveway. Take in the sweeping views of the lush lawns and sparkling pools. If scones and Devonshire cream are the in-laws’ thing, check out high tea. Regale them with stories of the resort’s fallen developer, Charles H Keating Jr. (even if you have to Google it). At night, view the stars through telescopes on the lobby patio. — Dawn Gilbertson
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WHIT RICHARDSON
La Marmotte was once an ice house in Telluride, Colo. Now it is an upscale French bistro with a menu that changes daily.
TELLURIDE: REINVENTED Ski resort gave once-dying mining town a reason to live, thrive RON DUNGAN
TELLURIDE, Colo. — When people talk about the seasons in Telluride, they’re not necessarily talking about the weather. Chances are they mean activities: the winter ski season and the summer festival season that draw tourists to this southwest Colorado mountain town. Snow play has evolved over the years, and that means more than just the addition of snowboards on the slopes. Telluride winter visitors come to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, skate, ice climb — just about anything you can do on snow and ice. They heli-ski and tele-ski. They ride snow bikes with big, fat tires. Local outfitters will rent you gear and get you where you want to go. “Basically, the fatter tires provide more float, more traction,” said Pete Jaeschke of Bootdoctors and Paragon Outdoors, a downtown outfitter. Paragon also offers group bike rides to a nearby brew pub. “We’ll get a group together, grab a beer and come back into town,
THE REPUBLIC
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Jaeschke said. It wasn’t always this lively. Telluride, which began as a mining community in the 1870s, was nearly a ghost town by the 1960s. A ski resort breathed new life into the area in the ’70s, and Telluride became an oasis of good restaurants, bars, shops and hotels for travelers to the San Juan Mountains. The original ski runs have been expanded, and a cluster of shops, hotels, bars and restaurants called Mountain Village has been built to accommodate them. A chairlift connects Telluride with Mountain Village. You don’t have to drive anywhere to have a good time in Telluride. Hotels boast that they are so close to snow that you can ski out the door and ski back in. Even those that don’t make that claim are probably within a few blocks of a chairlift. “It’s amazing what you can do COLORADO TOURISM
Views from a gondola are matched only by skiing or snowboarding down Telluride’s slopes.
See TELLURIDE, Page T5
Sale away: Hotels, attractions offer holiday deals Big savings to be had on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, but do your homework DAWN GILBERTSON THE REPUBLIC
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Who says Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon.com get to hog the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping spotlight? Travel companies from airlines to attractions started horning in on the shopping extravaganza a few years ago, figuring people might scoop up vacation specials along with toys and electronics. The list of participants grows each year. The High Roller, Las Vegas’ towering new observation wheel that offers 30minute rides in an enclosed capsule, is even getting in on the action. It’s offering two-for-one tickets for travelers who will be in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving. For those thinking ahead to summer, the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix is offering what will likely be its lowest
rate, $69 a night. As with any travel promotion, check the fine print before you buy. Many deals must be prepaid and are non-refundable. Many hotels and resorts have mandatory resort fees that top $25 a night. Blackout dates apply in many cases. And most offers have specific travel dates, some in the very near future. No sense plunking down your credit card for a non-refundable hotel room in New York City if the offer is good only in January and February and you hate cold weather. Perhaps most importantly, check regular prices on the dates you’re considering to make sure the offer is indeed a deal. Hotels, airlines and other travel businesses often wait until the last minute to release their Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. Check for updates through Dec. 1 at travel.azcentral.com.
Arizona The Wigwam Deal: Rates starting at $99.50 plus $22 resort fee and taxes. Booking dates: Nov. 28-Dec. 1. Travel dates: Nov. 28-Jan. 12. Blackout dates apply. Details: wigwamarizona.com. The booking code is FRIMON. Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Deal: Summer rate of $69 plus $18 resort fee and taxes. Booking dates: Nov. 28-Dec. 1. Travel dates: May 25-Sept. 7. Details: 800-876-4683, tapatiocliffs hilton.com. The promotion/offer code is CYBER. JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & See DEALS, Page T3
GETTY IMAGES
Capsules of the High Roller observation wheel cut through the sky above the Las Vegas Strip.
ORLANDO BECOMES A MAGIC KINGDOM FOR LOCALS PAGE U4