Adventures in Luxury Travel

Mimi Lichtenstein 0:01
If you're a traveler that believes luxury and adventure are not mutually exclusive, then you're in the right place. Every week I take you to a new destination with one of my partners sharing the hidden gems over the top experiences and active adventures to inspire your next family vacation. I'm Mimi Lichtenstein, an experienced Travel Advisor who has also traveled with my three teenagers and my husband around the world. Let's get started. Welcome to Episode 50 of adventures and luxury travel. Today, Rosa and I talk about two destinations of a lifetime dabbler farm in Iceland and Rio Polina in Chile. They each are an ideal combination of adventure plus understated elegance. Join us to learn how these two trips will leave you thinking you just had your best vacation ever visit true Bay travel.com/fifty for a video of today's show, and additional resources. Good morning, everyone. I'm Mimi Lichtenstein. And today I am here with Rose Allen. And we're going to talk about 11 experience one of my favorites, luxurious, active and adventurous companies in the travel industry. Rose, welcome to the show.

Rose Allen 1:17
Thank you. Thanks, Mimi, I'm excited to be here. And thanks for having me.

Mimi Lichtenstein 1:21
Absolutely. Well, I'm excited to have you here. Because you guys have an ethos, a vibe, you know, a way of doing business that is super appealing to me and many of my clients. And so I would love to hear from you. Maybe first you could tell us a little bit more about 11. And then we can dive into two of the properties that we're gonna talk about today.

Rose Allen 1:41
Okay, perfect. So 11 is a really unique kind of hotel brand. If you could even call us that we don't actually identify as a hotel brand, we actually think of ourselves as a luxury experiential travel company. And I think that that is an important aspect of understanding us because we are really so different from anyone else out there. So the kind of four key things to know about 11 What really is our kind of wrapped in our DNA across all of our lodges in the world are that we are always going to be located in remote destinations that get our guests off the beaten path, sometimes to a place they might not be able to go to otherwise, because there's nothing else anywhere for miles, our goal being that you don't see it, you know, you don't see anyone else or you see foreign Park, fewer people than you might see in your typical travels, you may be experiencing a special place in the world, etc. Number two would be our focus on adventure. And so I think the key thing here is that adventure means different things to different people. And we completely understand that. And so for some people adventure might be going on a more challenging hike than they've ever done before, or maybe trying rock climbing for the first time. And for others, the more adrenaline junkies it might be jumping in a helicopter and doing something that is totally out of the ordinary, and maybe some people will consider crazy. So what we can do is create adventures, no matter what adventure means to you which which is pretty special, we are also largely all inclusive meaning and our goal there is that you from the moment you arrive on property to the moment you leave us, you're not worried about your wallet, you're not thinking about what things are gonna cost Everything's Included, you can really sit back, relax, and not have to worry. And then last but not least, we customize everything, every aspect of the itinerary and the experience to the guests. And so we do that through a process we call experience planning. We have a team of experienced planners at all of our lodges. And they get to know the guests about starting about 30 days out from check in and work together to put together an itinerary for that family or couple or group or celebration trip, whatever it might be. So that by the time you're packing, and you're getting ready to leave your home to head our way you know exactly what's in store and can get really excited and feel like you have kind of everything nailed down that you're excited about.

Mimi Lichtenstein 4:11
I love it. And I should also say so I had the opportunity to experience in 11 Lodge myself when I went to tailor River Lodge I think back in February in Crested Butte, Colorado. And so I worked with the experience planners, we had lots of amazing food, you know, experiences, active things, great guides, which we'll touch on a little bit too, and I absolutely loved it. And I think the concept I believe it's your tagline, maybe or your motto best day ever that should feel that way at the end of the day, and I definitely did when I was there. So I think you do a pretty good job of addressing that probably at each of the largest just all in a different

Rose Allen 4:51
way. Yeah, I think so too. And it's kind of funny, like, it feels so aspirational. Sometimes you're like how are we going to get every single person In saying that, but I think we've really perfected this equation over time of the things I just talked about. And when some of the things you threw in there guides, you know, having having fun spa food, it really does actually have people opt in leaving the day being like, this was the best day ever, or leaving the trip saying this was our favorite family trip you've ever taken. We can't wait to book with you somewhere else in the world. And so I one of the I think my sort of proudest moments on a weekly basis is when people come back to us because they had such an amazing experience that they want to do it all over again.

Mimi Lichtenstein 5:35
Yeah. And they have the opportunity there. Go back to the same place or pick one of the other places. Yeah, exactly. And, you know, I think it's rare in this niche market of the luxury travel industry to have this kind of diversity in the places that you have, because some people they're four seasons clients, so they want to go to four seasons, you know, no matter what the destination, and it's similar for you guys. If you go to declar farm and you absolutely love it and you're looking for a more tropical destination, you can do that. If you're looking for something in South America, you can do that. So it's really nice to have that consistent philosophy and that consistent experience in each year places.

Rose Allen 6:15
Yeah, absolutely. And, and just to build on that a little bit. For those who may not know we have 10 lodges across the world, I can quickly list out excuse me where they're located. We have sitter lodge on South Island of New Zealand. We then hop to Europe. We have two chalets in the French Alps right near the Italian border, chalet. Eboo and chalet pelerin. We have double our farm in Iceland, which we're going to launch into in a minute. We have now we're in the you know, we're gonna go to Caribbean we have Hama house on harbor Island in the Bahamas. We then have three lodges in in and around Crested Butte, Colorado, we have scarpe, Ridge Lodge and soapers house in Crestview. And then Taylor River Lodge right outside of town and in Orleans, Colorado, we have a new heli ski operation in British Columbia called Kingfisher heli. And last but not least, the real plane lodge in northern Patagonia, which we're also going to go into in more detail. But as you you know, as you were saying, me, me, you can really kind of like close your eyes and put your finger on a map, and there's going to be a large somewhere within the vicinity of where your finger landed. And we're just continuing to grow our portfolio as well, which is really exciting.

Mimi Lichtenstein 7:27
Awesome. Okay, so before we dive into depth, our firm one more question. Tell everybody a little bit about why you guys are called 11 experience?

Rose Allen 7:35
Sure. So it's a it's a pretty easy answer. And some people chuckle because they can't believe that is how but uh, basically, you know, we have a an amp, let's say or a dial that goes to 10 and a 10 out of 10 would be an amazing experience. I think we'd all agree. But what we want to do is take things up a notch, we want to take everything to 11 paths 10 to 11. So our goal is that we're kind of challenging the sort of typical luxury experience or typical adventure or typical experiential lodge experience and and really taking it all up a notch in whatever way makes sense for that destination in the world and for the activities on offer. And so I'll let you know how we're taking it to 11 at Doppler and reopening lodge

Mimi Lichtenstein 8:24
excellence. Okay, good background. So let's talk about Doppler. Let me pull up our pictures. So first of all, it's an Iceland. And it's not an Iceland, where everybody else goes in Iceland. It's kind of very, very northern Iceland, as you mentioned in a fairly remote location. So we'll flip through some pictures and you can share with us and I'll ask you some questions and let's get everyone excited about about go into depth.

Rose Allen 8:51
Okay, awesome. So I'll give you the high level so depth for me mentioned is in northern Iceland, it's in a region most people don't go to we're really the only kind of game up there right now. The way that you would get there is you'd fly into Reykjavik and then fly on a domestic flight or you can fly privately as well up to an airport in the north called accuracy it's also the name of a small city from accuracy We're about an hour and a half to two hour drive depending on the season and the weather it sounds like a track it's really not much of a track and it's so worth it once you get up there the drive is also really beautiful and you definitely like the your the anticipation is growing and growing as you get closer and by the time you enter the valley we're located in honestly are kind of like your breaths taken away it's so so stunning depth blur is kind of your ultimate Lux adventure property. So if you think about Iceland being adventure Well imagine you have this luxury lodge in it of itself is it has a total wow factor. It's absolutely you know, architecturally stunning, really the amount of detail put into the design of the lodge and all kinds of little things is really quite remarkable. But then you have this huge valley and the ocean and mountains and, and incredible streams and rivers all around you that are like your home base for kind of whatever adventure you've drempt up with our Experienced planners during your stay. So people come our way to spend time outside to try new things to experience Icelandic landscapes and culture and activities. to luxuriate in our lodge. Our spa is absolutely incredible. I think there might be a photo or two and I can talk about it in a little more detail, but it's just kind of the ultimate Icelandic adventure destination. And I think that it would be a pity for anyone who is really interested in experiencing all the best that Iceland has to offer to come up to come up our way and not stay with us.

Mimi Lichtenstein 10:54
We'll talk about maybe at the end, combining it with other parts of Iceland, but right for a lot of people, they're going to Iceland once in their life. And so to be able to come beyond, you know, the area in the south where a lot of people go to all the way up to where you are and do both of those, I think would be perfectly 3d.

Rose Allen 11:13
Yeah, absolutely.

Mimi Lichtenstein 11:15
And then what about we've so shown a couple pictures of both snow covered mountains, and non snow covered mountains. You guys are really a four season destination.

Rose Allen 11:25
Yes, we are. So we have three key seasons, we definitely have four seasons, but we kind of refer to it as three seasons because we have our summer season which would be June through the end of October so encompasses fall, you could say we then have our winter season which begins in November and goes through mid March. And then beginning in mid March, we have our heli ski season. And so what's awesome about this is that we're open pretty much year round. So whenever you're planning to come to Iceland, you can try to work us in the key thing to keep in mind would be that that heli ski season is really all about heli skiing, so if you're not skiers might not be the best it will be the best fit for you. But otherwise, the the focus of the summer and winter season is to depending on the weather, and we're very good at rolling with weather and making sure that it doesn't mean what bad weather doesn't mean it down day. It means a different adventure that we pick up for you. But whether it's summer or winter, it's all about getting people outside to try new things. So in the summertime like our activity list in general across all 11 lodges is is really long so it's impossible to touch on everything but to give you an idea in the summertime at that bar you might be going horseback riding and learning about the Icelandic horse breed which is really unique and interesting. You can surf you can go whitewater rafting, D biking, stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking, destination yoga, there's really like the list kind of goes on and on. In the winter, it's going to be more of course, like winter and snow focused activities. Although it's worth noting that the snow doesn't really come until end of December. So So November and December might be less snow based activities and more of just enjoying the great outdoors and the perfect next slide of the Northern Lights. So think when you think of winter, think of snow activities, snowmobiling skiing, like skiing at a local resort, you can also actually still do horseback riding and surfing, there's a lot of different day trips you can take. But but really, when you think winter think Northern Lights we are, you might not always think of Iceland as the best place for the Northern Lights. But actually given our location in Iceland and the north with very, very, very little light pollution. The Northern Lights are out of this world up there. And we had just incredible luck this past season with so many of our guests getting to experience them. So that's worth keeping in mind. We've also designed the property so that you can actually take in the northern lights from many different places making them even more special. So we have this massive outdoor pool that's heated so that no matter whether you can be in it and you won't be cold, and there's actually loungers built into the pool like like soft but concrete loungers built into the pool so you can be laying in the pool after dinner 10pm Maybe water or drinking your hand whatever your preference is looking up at the Northern Lights and you know, you just can't imagine like what what cooler thing to to be doing while you watch them.

Mimi Lichtenstein 14:27
That sounds absolutely amazing. So I never would have thought that you'd be sitting in a nice warm pool with a drink in your hands in the middle of winter in Iceland looking at the Northern Lights. No,

Rose Allen 14:38
it's pretty crazy.

Mimi Lichtenstein 14:39
Good to know. And what is there a best time of year for the Northern Lights within the wintertime?

Rose Allen 14:45
You know, the full winter season is really solid for Northern Lights viewing. The key thing to look out for is the full moon. So it's more like as you know, you can you can of course look at that in advance but if it's going to be a full loon it makes them they might still be there. But the human eye might not see them as well. And so but generally are starting in September, even the northern lights start to start to be visible.

Mimi Lichtenstein 15:11
Okay. And I know for a lot of people that's on their bucket list, so this would be a great destination to go see it, and then the atmosphere inside the lodge. One thing that I love, I don't think we have a picture of today, but I know it's consistent throughout some of your properties as well is the horseshoe bar, which they have at Taylor River, and I believe you also have one at duckboard farm, right?

Rose Allen 15:34
Yes, we do and reopening a lodge as well.

Mimi Lichtenstein 15:38
Okay. So I mean, it seems to me the what I experienced at Taylor River was a really warm, inviting casual place to hang out with other guests, meet other people talk with the guides and the staff. And it's really a place where people come together and socialize after their adventures throughout the day.

Rose Allen 15:58
Yep, absolutely. So I would say that I completely agree with everything you've said, it's really we intend our properties to feel more like homes than they do like hotels. And of course, you know, they're, of course, it provides the privacy that different guests staying in the same space together would want to have but our ethos is very much like make yourself right at home. So you know, at Def bar, for example, people love the spa and at depth bar, it's worth noting, it's more the European definition of a spa, you know, you don't, you don't just have to have a treatment to go to the spa, everyone goes spot of all ages, no matter no matter what, what you'll find them in the spot. And so people might come home from a day of activities, it's worth noting our all of our activities are private guided, so each group has their own private guide. So you get that you get that nice one on one time with your significant other or family or friends, whoever it might be during the day. And then you come back from your activity. And you might be excited to share your adventure story. Or maybe you're excited to meet some some like minded travelers. And so you might go back to your room, put on your robe and walk barefoot through the lodge to the spa. And that's totally acceptable, and really how comfortable we want people to feel. So you'll see here, it's the architecture is lots of lots of glass windows, and that was done on purpose with views of either side of the valley. So whether you're looking this way, and you're seeing one side of the valley, you can, you know, do a 180 look the other way and see the other side of the valley. And with the crazy weather we have up there, it's just so to be cozy inside and know you're in the same building. But watching you know, this snowstorm to a rainstorm to a beautiful sunset to the midnight sun. You know, just these crazy weather change around you is really cool. It has the kind of Scandinavian influences. It's all just kind of the best of the best of everything. So it feels very blocks and comfortable. And yeah.

Mimi Lichtenstein 17:57
And this picture I believe is of the spa, nation room, right? So just imagine putting yourself in that seat. You know, in the afternoon, perhaps after you went and did a big active hike or mountain biking or canyoning. And then you just spend the afternoon every day luxuriating in this spot reading a book and having a massage.

Rose Allen 18:17
Yes, exactly. And behind the photographer would be the kind of bigger main area of the spa. And just to touch on some of the elements indoor hot tub indoor pool where you can swim out and under into the outdoor pool, a large sauna with views of the valley a steam room. Outside of the spa near the pool, we have what we call a Viking sauna. And that is a sauna built into a like kind of like a mound in covered in grass. And next to it is a cold plunge. So there's a Viking ritual you can do that our team can brief you on and then leave you to do on your own where you move between the sauna and the cold plunge. And you know it has all these kinds of health benefits. And so people love to do that. But the spa is really like one of two and I'll talk about the other one in a second one of two kind of magnets on property. Like if you're not out and about enjoying all that the area has to offer. You're either in the spa or you're in this room, the next slide that you had just pulled up. So this is the kind of main big living public area on property you have in front of you the horseshoe bar that Mimi was commenting on this is like a signature bar at 11 properties it makes for great conversation because you are able to face people or sit next to people and also chat with the bartender in this room. There's actually a lot more space than you can even really can tell it's a big room but it's even bigger than it looks. Lots of different nooks and crannies for different groups to sit in behind the bar is a massive fireplace in huge living area that you know 10 People could comfortably sit in. I'm in behind the photographer's foosball table, pool table ping pong table and above the photographer and a law There's actually an entire band set up. So if a family wants to go up there and start a family band like that's, that's fine. Sometimes people for celebration might bring in a local band. It's really you start sort of started to get the feel like meant. It's we keep things fun. It's like, you know, find your own adventure. Even if you're not adventuring outside, like, Come Come have an adventure in the lodge.

Mimi Lichtenstein 20:23
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I will say that we enjoyed many moments around the horseshoe bar at Taylor river. And I also did a different experience. But similar to the hot cold treatment, where I went with a yoga teacher into the hot tub inside of the beautiful pool, which I loved and Taylor River, and then we went outside into the snow and laid in the snow for a period of time and then went back into the hot tub. And she got multiple times. Nice. She told me that it was healthy for me at the time, it didn't, you know? It's didn't feel like it, but I did it. And it was refreshing. Let's say that for sure. Yeah, yeah. And so off property you guys have we have a lot of activities on property, and then also off property. And this is a spectacular picture of people hiking, potentially, was this a heli hiking excursion on No, I

Rose Allen 21:15
don't think this is the heli hiking excursion. But we do have helicopters on property at Def bar in the heli ski season and the summer season, not in the winter season due to weather, which is just, you know, that would be an additional cost, but is a really cool thing to bring in the mix if you're looking to see things from up above or to get to some piece of land that might not be accessible otherwise, but it's I think what you know, even though this isn't a heli hiking photo, what it kind of shows you is like you can do this sort of a hike without Pelle. Yeah. And that makes it more accessible to more people. Yeah,

Mimi Lichtenstein 21:51
it's absolutely stunning. And I will say, I'm always plugging helicopters, because we had a lot of helicopters in Alaska last summer, and we absolutely loved it. So I would say I would definitely want to do this hike. But maybe I would also find an excuse to take a helicopter up just just see the scenery. I mean, to see Iceland from above would be spectacular. Yeah. So so many options, and then mountain biking. Are you doing some of these? Do you go mountain biking from the lodge? Are you going somewhere first, and then going from there,

Rose Allen 22:23
there's all different kinds of options. And the nice thing too, speaking of mountain biking is that we have an entire fleet of E bikes now on property that we own. So if somebody in the group or the whole group is down for an adventure, but maybe doesn't want to exert so much physical energy that they're exhausted later, we have E bikes, that we of course, the guidance can teach everyone how to safely use. And I personally don't know if we'll ever mountain bike again, now that I've ebike, just because you could do all the same things, but you have this button that is like you know, I'm a little tired, I'm going to amp the power up a little or I want to work a bit harder in this section. So I'm going to turn the power down as far as it goes. And so that's a really awesome way for people to start to get comfortable on a bike if they haven't really done it venture by Pete before in the past.

Mimi Lichtenstein 23:12
And you know, I really one of the reasons I love the bikes for people is I work with a lot of families or multi generational families. And it equalizes everyone. So before, you know to people might not have gotten together because somebody could go so much further faster. And now you can actually keep up and make you know, you're on equal footing.

Rose Allen 23:30
Yeah, exactly. And really, I would say while we you know, I touched on the fact that we can cater to adrenaline junkies, I'd say generally 11 is welcoming families and couples and multigene families and groups of friends. And and yes, though there will always there might be someone in the group who's looking to really get after it. But Jen, generally people are trying some of these things for the first time. And so just you know, always want to make sure people know that like, we can really tailor the itinerary and the experience to whatever people are looking for.

Mimi Lichtenstein 24:03
I love that because there are people even within my family who are a little bit more willing to do things a little bit more over the top than others. So it's nice to be able to, and quite frankly, somebody can sit back in the lodge all day if they want to while everybody else is out and about if you are going with a multi generational family. And you know, Grandma and Grandpa are up for the you know, three hour hike up the mountain, they can just chill at the lodge getting a spa treatment or reading a book.

Rose Allen 24:30
Yeah, and we often recommend people actually buffer in at least a half day if not a full day at the lodge just because there's even thing simple low angle activities you can do from the lodge. But the lodge is so special in its own right that people often kick themselves and give us the feedback like we really wish we'd stayed one more night so we could have had some time just to lay in our room with the book or spend more time in this Bob

Mimi Lichtenstein 24:54
great. And then you also have some special spots which I think you call outposts and this Here's an example of one of them. Tell us what those are used for.

Rose Allen 25:03
Sure. Yeah, so the outpost concept is a concept we have across all of our lodges and in Iceland I'd argue we have the the most developed outpost offering there. So this is the what we call the lake house. And it is a beautiful little cabin that we have bought and completely got renovated. As you can see, you know, you feel like you're in a little extension of the lodge. It's located on the lake on property where we can basically have guests like make it their home base for a half day or a day depending upon what they're in the mood for, for to facilitate activities on the lake. So things you can do on the lake would be fishing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, swimming, if you're crazy, or it's warm enough out to jump in the water. And up at the lake house, we have a hot tub, a pool, a big porch with with swings, and in this cozy interior little fire place. And so what we do is maybe we'd have people ebike to the lake, it's short, you know, maybe 20 minute ebike they get to get comfortable. Once we get there, get them set up with whatever activities they're in the mood for. And then when it's time for lunch, the chef actually comes here and prepares it and it's so it's it's a beautiful setup lunch, it's cold out, you come inside, get cozy and get the nutrients and sustenance you need to make it through the afternoon. It's just it's a way of facilitating more kind of special activities around our beautiful place.

Mimi Lichtenstein 26:31
Yeah. And just gives you another unique venue to go to and it does look so cozy. I think this is this has me thinking that people should actually go at least twice unless you're a highly skier. Go once in the summertime and then once in the wintertime so you can experience the best. Yeah, absolutely. And here's a great shot for winter. So this is more of the heli skiing time. So as you mentioned after March, I think impossible you know, when we were in Alaska, the the all you have when surrounded by these types of mountains and the vastness right is something that you can't even imagine what's that? Like what it's like until until you're there experiencing it?

Rose Allen 27:10
Yeah, and I would say so it's epic. I mean, people are heli ski season is so popular. And people really love it not so much because of the terrain necessarily like the actual skiing more so because of how special and different it is. And so for those of you who might watch this and say, Oh, heli ski, I don't heli ski. I don't know how to do that. Actually, it's not difficult skiing, intermediate skiers can do it. So this is a amazing place to try heli skiing for the first time. And the reason it's so popular The reason we have advanced skiers go do it is because you're skiing with us of the ocean, you're skiing down a mountain and to the bottom where your tips of your skis touch the ocean, you know, that's just it's just a very cool thing that the lucky people might get to do once in their life and so it's definitely for any anyone that loves to ski and wants to ski in a beautiful special place in the world keep keep the heli ski season in mind for sure.

Mimi Lichtenstein 28:10
Okay, and it works equally well for snowboarders. Yeah, uh huh.

Rose Allen 28:14
This nevados are allowed to, because I have three

Mimi Lichtenstein 28:17
snowboarders so there's, I think, two properties in the US they're not allowed to go to so then here's a great shot of one of the fish that was caught ice. Is this the salmon? Do you know,

Rose Allen 28:27
I knew you're gonna ask me what kind of fish? My team is gonna kill me. I don't know what fish that is.

Mimi Lichtenstein 28:31
I feel like it is familiar compared to what I've caught in Alaska. So we're just gonna go with it. Okay,

Rose Allen 28:37
I was just gonna say, for anyone who loves to fly fish, we have some awesome fly fishing options at DEP lar. The key thing to know is they need to be booked far in advance because the fishing is really heavily regulated for good reasons to preserve the fisheries. And so if you if anyone's ever interested or has clients who want to fish, let us know right away as soon as they send the first inquiry, and we'll see if we have permits available.

Mimi Lichtenstein 29:03
Okay, good to know. Yeah. It's funny, because when you and I talked about doing this show, at first, we were going to touch on all of the lodges. And then I thought, okay, there's no way we're gonna get through it all. And so we narrowed it down to two. And at the time, like, Okay, we have to make it to Rio Polina. Otherwise, we could probably talk about depth lower the entire time. This is another example. And I think the spa rights and sound meditation. Yeah. So I mean, it's just the food, the food at Taylor River was amazing. And we had a cooking class from our chef who was there, which I think you all also offer a Doppler, you will not go hungry, that's for sure. And you will be very well fed in a very, you know, farm to table right, like, Yes, fish that they caught that morning or the day before, in a very healthy way. And then I think the other important thing to talk about for all of your lodges are the guides, you mentioned the experience the experience managers. We had one of the guys So we had for a cross country ski trip was Reed, who had just come back from Doppler farm, which he absolutely loves being there. I think he had been there for a couple of months. So I love that you have your guides rotate around to different lodges. You know, you can see from this picture, these are fun people they like to, you know, have fun and and make sure everybody else is having fun. So it definitely has a huge it's a huge part of the connection and the experience that you have when you're there.

Rose Allen 30:25
Yeah, absolutely, I think you can couldn't really say it better, I'll just I'll try to just keep it really short, insane. I think there's so many things that make an 11 experience special, but the guides are a really big part of it. And they're so passionate about sharing the destination. And all we have to offer with our guests. And they they're just they have that sort of innate ability to really connect with and get to know the guests so that they can tailor everything accordingly. So much so that you don't even notice they're switching up the plan or, or kind of like tailoring the hike to your ability level. They just make you feel comfortable and at home. And I find most of the time when I leave a lodge having gotten to experience activities. I feel like that guide is the best friend. And I think a lot of our guests feel that way. And so sometimes I asked the guides, like how do you keep up with all the people texting you photos of their family? And they love it? It's like why they do what they do. So super special part of the experience?

Mimi Lichtenstein 31:22
Yes, I would agree. I feel like I mean, we obviously weren't at one of your largest in Alaska, because you guys don't have a lodge in Alaska yet. But we had a very similar experience last summer. And one of our guys who We adored had a baby after we left and we sent him like a baby gift. And he said to his baby announcement and I feel like it's very easy for us. As this is such a special unique experience. We get attached to these people. Maybe you know, a year later, obviously we're still thinking about them and they might be you know, have had 1000 Whatever, 100 guests by then but they are really well trained and very, you know, engaging people. Yeah, and

Unknown Speaker 31:59
they somehow do actually like remember their guests that I just don't know how they do it but they genuinely caring keep in touch,

Mimi Lichtenstein 32:07
which is so fun. Yeah. Okay, so do you want to talk about real quick before we go to real Polina about pairing pairing depth lar with any particular places in the southern part of Iceland or somewhere else?

Rose Allen 32:20
Yeah, sure. So I just think that there are there's so much more to see in Iceland than where we are. I think for people that just have a short period of time and need to just kind of one and done it. We definitely can offer a nice variety of activities and and scenery etc. And we are a great standalone but I think for people that have the time I highly recommend connect you know creating a multi stop itinerary to the country with a few other lodges and so I think personally that flying into Reykjavik having a couple of nights there, get over jetlag have some food explore the city it's small but you know has a lot of character so maybe one or two nights at you know there's a new addition Reykjavik that's opened we also have a house in Reykjavik called Reykjavik house, four bedroom we that's available for booking as well and it in a little beautiful residential neighborhood you really feel like a local when you stay there because you are living amongst all the locals in this beautiful old house. So Reykjavik for a couple nights then I would suggest going south kind of going to the Golden Circle, I think toward this retreat is a nice combine combination with dabbler because it's more focused on sort of some of those famous scenes some of those famous spots like gold foes and you know, there's lots of different things to see down there. And then like getting a feel for the Icelandic culture and having some good food etc. Then move north comes to at depth Lars so it's kind of like your soft landing. We really caught up unrest and now we're ready for some adventure at depth bar. So adventure spa food guides, you know, all the things we've talked about. And then before you leave, do like an overnight at the Blue Lagoon, the retreat at the Blue Lagoon, which is done like a 20 minute drive to the airport. So in my if I could choose my own adventure, I think that would be the circuit I would do. There's there's definitely some other options out there. But I think that that makes for really nice, like contrasting experiences throughout like nothing is kind of competing with the other it's all have to be a one big, cool Icelandic experience.

Mimi Lichtenstein 34:31
And there are so many places down in that southern area, you know, to go see that are those iconic waterfalls and the black sand beaches and snorkeling between the tectonic plates and dry suits and all that good stuff. So it would be easy. A lot of people go to Iceland, let's say for you know, maybe like six days but if you're going to come do that part. Come up and see you guys you want to have at least a good 1012 Maybe, yeah. 14 The days if we could push it. Yeah. Okay, terrific. Well, let's talk about Rio Polina, which you will have less time to talk about now, but that's okay because we got the whole history of 11 already. So it's in Chile, fairly remote Chile, as you mentioned Santiago's way up here Rio Polina is way down here. Give us some of the highlights of REO Polina

Rose Allen 35:22
Okay, so, REO played a lodge is our newest lodge in the portfolio. So it was initially opened in November of 2019. Unfortunately, COVID took us all down about four months later, depending on where you were, and we closed down for COVID You know, we had just opened didn't make sense it didn't make sense to stay open. So we've just reopened the lodge and almost feels like the RE grand opening this past December. I can't believe it's been five months already. And we are just so excited about this offering. So we're in located in northern Patagonia. So when you look at Patagonia map, we're kind of in like the very most northern section near also the lakes district or Lakes Region, the landscapes are super, I mean, it's like you have the Andes you have these glacial lakes you have glaciers you have just in just the most incredible breathtaking landscapes you've ever seen. We're in this new kind of up and coming Aysen region which a lot of people are saying is the next frontier of of Patagonia What's so special is how remote we are. So we're definitely not easy to get to and I can touch on how you get to us but it's for the people that are open to a few more hours of travel to get to a place where you will be the only travelers for Dallas, you know hunt hundreds of miles in any distance in any direction. I mean, we are small the lodge is only seven rooms. So it's feels I would say even more so like a home than depth or wood but it's available for both buying out the whole lodge or booking it by the room so it can it does operate like a hotel, not a home. It is located right on the Rio Polina River in just the most beautiful location. The only people you will see around our lodge are our neighbors who are local Chileans, you know, running their own farms and gardens or gauchos and you see gauchos on horseback with their dogs kind of following following along. We are all about getting people outside to experience this really special part of the world. We have a helicopter on well let me back up one second. We have two seasons, we have a heli ski season which is October November. And then we have a summer season which is December through the end of March. So the property is only open from October through the end of March and then closes from March to October, we have a helicopter on property. So in heli ski season of course, we're taking people heli skiing, important to know that's for advanced skiers. It's kind of like the pinnacle of Heli skiing in the world. So for people who have probably skied elsewhere, and they want to really take it up a notch and experience heli skiing the and people are skiing what we call first descent. So the first people that ever slope are skiing it and they can even name it if they want. But we can't guarantee this but like we can try to make this happen this summer season, we have a helicopter on property as well. And every state includes a helicopter assisted like adventure. And basically what that means is you're heli hiking, you're helping to a glacier to stand up paddleboard, you are helping to a special part of a river that's otherwise inaccessible to fly fish. You can heli mountain bike, there's just the heli. You know, it's like you can already do all these awesome things. But why not start in a helicopter with an incredible 15 minute aerial ride over the region to access land or a place that hasn't been touched by a human in hundreds of years because you cannot physically get there by foot or by car. And so it's just a really quite spectacular thing we have there because there's just no way around it the the nature is just pristine and untouched. And we intend to keep it that way. And we're getting people out enjoying like this, this incredible place.

Mimi Lichtenstein 39:09
Yeah. So for someone who lives in downtown Manhattan or Brooklyn like you to be able to go somewhere like this. It's the complete opposite of where you live probably right. Yes. And so for those people who are listening and not watching this next picture I brought up because you mentioned the stand up paddleboarding, there are people paddleboarding on a river underneath or in an ice cave. Tell us about that.

Rose Allen 39:32
Yeah, so believe it or not, this is actually a glacial lake. And that's a glacier above them. So for anyone that that is, you know, making their way around the world and wanting to experience the fortunate, you know, we're seeing the glaciers are receding everywhere. For people that want to really see these glaciers and Patagonia before they're gone someday. We have really a lot of options to do that. This glaciers called them Martini glacier named after our lead guide in Chile, whose name is martini and we're pioneering this area. There's no one else down there doing this. And so you know, these people might have been like two of the 10 people that ever stand up paddleboard on this glacial lake.

Mimi Lichtenstein 40:17
Amazing. And so stunning. And glaciers, if you haven't seen them are beyond cool. We had some cocktails in Alaska that had glacier ice in them. Do you guys

Rose Allen 40:27
know, we haven't done that good idea.

Mimi Lichtenstein 40:31
It's fun, because glacial ice just looks different. You know, it's like crystal clear and so beautiful. And it was just like a big chunk. It looks like it just fell off. But I'm sure there was a piece that was floating around that they broke into pieces. Yeah. And here's another example of the you know, stunning beauty surrounding you when you go for a hike even.

Rose Allen 40:50
Yeah, this is called Los Condor ice. And basically, the helicopter takes you about a 10 minute ride to the to what feels like the top of the mountain, but then you proceed to what's called canyoning. You can Canyon up the mountain, which means you're doing some hiking, some scrambling on all fours. And then sometimes you're clipping into a harness and doing little bits of rock climbing. And, you know, that was my first I did this particular hike. And that was my first time doing the doing that. And, you know, the guides make you feel so comfortable. You just sort of feel like what where am I and what is this incredible adventure, I'm happy. You know, we stopped have a picnic for lunch. A few of the group retired and wanted to rest after the picnic and the rest of us, ran up to the peak and got up to the very top super windy, got some cool, cool aerial views of the area. And then I made our way back to the helicopter and it was a full day, full day adventure.

Mimi Lichtenstein 41:44
I have taken my teenagers canyoning before and they love it so so teenagers, it's a very good activity and fishing. That's another property that's big on fishing, I'm not going to try and identify this let's just go with this as a trout not sure

Rose Allen 42:02
it's worth noting we have world class fly fishing at this lodge. And and especially because the country was close to tourists for me know a little over two years, some of these fisheries haven't been touched by humans and years. And so the they're fishing really well. And it's worth noting that even people that maybe have never tried fly fishing, anyone can try you can be a complete beginner or guides or magicians and somehow everyone always catches something and it's it can be really fun even for kids to they make it very easy. And it's a it's a there's a thrill that until you felt it. You don't know it. When you catch your first fish.

Mimi Lichtenstein 42:39
I completely agree with you. And we all caught fish last year fly fishing for the first time. So I can attest to yes, you can. With a little help from your guide, you can get it done. So the culinary aspects of Rio Polina have some more unique quality than dabbler or some of the other ones, which is a little bit based in South America or South. Yeah, South American Chile and tradition. Tell us a little bit about this particular one that we're seeing here.

Rose Allen 43:05
Sure. So this is what we call a this is a photo of what we call our Assad ozone. And so it's called our Assad ozone, because there's a traditional kind of Chile and barbecue, if you will call them the Sado. And so, for every guest that stays with us, we include an evening down at our Saddam's zone, and so we try to group it so that you know, all the guests are doing it together. And we invite our entire team to attend as well. So and the majority of our team is Chilean, so it's like a it's almost like a block party, except that the blog, you know, the the attendees are our staff and our guests and by this time normally people have gotten to know their servers at breakfast and they're maybe the housekeepers and their guides and the lodge, you know managers and so everyone's gathering around this feast and so there's a bar there's a little Gaucho hut in the back right of that photo with case starts raining there's you can go sit under there, there's punches, there's hats, there's a big fire where you normally roast a lamb. And then there is a and this is a traditional you know Gaucho Gaucho tradition from the area. So it's it's really a way to bring the culture of the region to our guests and then you do not fret for our vegetarians. We have a big grill going with all kinds of different veggies and then a whole bunch of you know, delicious fresh side salads and it just is kind of like a big shared feast for everyone to partake in. There's live music, you know, you in my experience by the end of the risotto, everyone's dancing together to live music, you know, we were doing sing alongs to songs in Spanish. That note none of us knew what was being sung but you just the Chilean people are so warm and welcoming and our staff especially is so just so excited about this lodge and our guests and so it's really quite a special experience. That's that it's hard to explain. And honestly, speaking to some of the other, we do lots of lunch picnics. So the slide before this was like maybe you do a inflatable kayak down the Rio Polina and you end up at a beach where we have a big, nice little buffet lunch set up. And you know, we'd set up chairs and have drinks and other things as well. The next photo is of what we call Foodtech camp, which is kind of like phase one development of an outpost in Rio app down at Rio playing a lodge. So we'll be building some structures on this particular camp, but right now we use it for fishing or boating on the river, or even can whitewater raft to this spot, and get out and our guides can actually cook a meal over the fire for you. So different from a picnic, different kinds of picnic, but you know, cook a traditional Chilean meal over the fire and you enjoy it in these seats with you know, blankets. And so, yeah, that it's a fun, really, that we have an incredible way of kind of weaving these cool, it's like experience on top of experience on top of experience to make for really incredible memories.

Mimi Lichtenstein 46:05
And I love that you have the Assata together with all of the staff, because I do think that after you spend days with these people, right, they do become you know, like, friends, and to be able to sort of hang out all on equal footing, enjoying each other's company and talking about all sorts of adventures you've been on in places you've been and learn about other ones. It's a really, really fun experience for people in a place like this. Yeah, I mean, sitting here next to an open fire out outdoors, you know, for everybody who's spent a lot of people sort of locked up in their homes, some people very locked up in their communities or their towns because they haven't traveled much. To be able to get outside, be active in the outdoors, have fresh air, be in these remote destinations is just I think, what everybody needs. So you guys are doing so many great things all over the world. And I think it'll be fun to see you know, how 11 evolves over the next few years if new properties come onto your portfolio. I'll be excited to hear about them. Yep, definitely. Would you say actually before we before we wrap it up real Polina so if you wanted to go to Patagonia it would be a good pairing with Patagonia you're already down there right you're already taking this big flight from the United States. Yeah, we'll stay a while so they stayed at Rio Polina for a little while and then add on maybe down to Tierra del del pine a Yeah. And go W track go for hikes down there. What do you think of that?

Rose Allen 47:39
Yeah, no, I think that we can definitely be a part of the more traditional Chilean circuit I think we should be and so I would say the reason for that is not just because we're awesome but because the experience that Rio Polina I think is a nice contrast to the experience at Torrey sell pine a so in Tori still pioneer you know you have these kind of iconic mountains or hikes or views and I completely get people wanting to go see those I do too. But we are sort of like the the new player that is so you go to Torisel pioneer you do these iconic things you get your photos you can say you went there you know you experience these places but then come to real plane a lodge and experience something that no one like that's still so under the radar a new region like I said pristine nature that has had no human anywhere near it for years not to mention the landscapes are different the activities are different we have the you know the helicopter on property so maybe don't do don't do your like helicopter add on down and tourists Alpine a do it up with us. And you know, you're just it's we're really the pioneers of this new region. And I think that the like really discerning travelers who want to really experience Patagonia like of course, tourists, Alpine is going to give you an amazing Patagonia experience. But we're sort of like real Patagonia like Patagonia, you know, maybe tourists Alpine a however, many years ago before, you know, there's a handful of luxury lodges. And so I would say definitely keep us keep us on your mind for these itineraries, because what we're doing is really, really special and I think quite different from what the other like luxury adventure lodges are doing.

Mimi Lichtenstein 49:27
But then the good thing is you don't have to sacrifice a luxury experience because there are also some amazing properties down in Troy stuff I need to celebrate. Yes, yes. Awesome. Well, I think you know, if you just put one lodge on your list for the next you know, eight years, then you're good to go.

Rose Allen 49:45
So much Mimi.

Mimi Lichtenstein 49:49
Yeah, this was so fun. Rose love talking with you. And I look forward to sending lots of clients to your lodges in the future and I think all of us would be blessed to be at any one. Have them so thank you. So, yeah, thank you. If you enjoyed today's show and don't want to miss an episode, you can subscribe and follow the show wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you haven't already, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review to let me know what you think and to help others find adventures and luxury travel. I want your honest feedback so I can create a podcast that shares lots of insights to help travelers have more amazing adventures. Visit true day travel.com backslash podcast to launch for step by step instructions on how to subscribe rate and review adventures in luxury travel today. See you next time. Thank you for listening to this episode of adventures and luxury travel. If you want more travel tips, go to tube a travel.com where you can sign up for our newsletter that shares more inspiring travel ideas around the world. See you here next week.