Lumière with Inspirato - General/Recommend

If you're looking for a place to venture to and explore, you know I've written about going to Colorado but what I haven't written about is where you need to stay and why. So here's now one of my favorite places to stay at in the nation. Yes that's right I said nation. 

When you travel to Telluride, there are of course some nice places IN Telluride but the more enjoyable spots are in Telluride Mountain Village of Colorado, at least in my opinion. One in particular I can personally attest to and recommend would be the Lumiere, near the downtown area of Mountain Village. They have great accommodations for large groups/large parties but are also lovely for the small family/size group as well as couple/s. I haven't really expanded enough on how dog friendly both Telluride and Mountain Village Telluride is so as long as you take great care of your pets and have kept up with their vaccination records, your furry family member/companion is welcome anywhere (yes even in stores and some restaurants that have the sign "pets welcome"). In the areas/stores/establishments where they don't allow for pets they are still loving towards your dogs and will typically have a bowl of water and/or a bowl of snacks/treats. Apologies, I know squirrel moment, going back on track.

It's not a very large facility but by far the best accommodations and the breakfast buffet provided is delicious. I'm not sure if they still have it to this day (as I went back in 2017) but you won't be disappointed and hey you can't beat good ole Colorado brewed coffee! The room I stayed in was adequate for a couple and/or a family of at least four to five, throw in the furry family of at least two and there was plenty of room. There was a nice kitchen nook area with a great kitchen to use if needed. I know I did during my stay and not just to store and reheat; they have plenty of in room tools/kitchen supplies (outside of food that is). This particular room had a bunk bed room across from the laundry room and the master bedroom off to the side of the living area with its own private master bath. Yes, there was a living room in addition to the kitchen nook. You might be wondering why was the room so large? Well just keep in mind that this city is made for adventures, hikers, cyclists, and winter season sports so many room accommodations are similar if not smaller in square footage, but not necessarily in the layout capacity. 

I had my furry baby with me, Aurora was her name - yes I say was because I don't have her anymore - and the hotel provided the pet daybed so I didn't have to travel with too much extra items for her. They placed the daybed near the master bedroom entrance in the living room. A little ways from the master bedroom entrance is the rooms fireplace located directly in front of the living room couch. The room was decked out in great electronics and appliances especially as you made your way into the master bathroom. I'm not one for baths and tubs, but yes the room had one. Now their shower...state of the art wonderful delicious rainfall water shower heads with the nice bells and whistles on the inside! Double sink vanity in the master where in other room they have there are half baths outside of the master bathroom, but all of their master bathrooms have double sink vanities. 

Don't take my word for it though and make plans in advance (because they do book up quick or fast within seasons) to stay here and venture into the local areas or simply spend the week in Telluride altogether (both the main city and Mountain Village). You will not be disappointed and weather for sites or just a nice reboot from life and the chaos...you will enjoy the quiet and getaway feeling. The link for this place is: https://lumierewithinspirato.com/

Sincerely,

A Distinct Woman 

Alabama and Florida - Family Life/General

I will admit that what I'm about to state in this post is based off of my personal experience from years ago, so I suppose that I'll have to plan another trip out to these locations to truly see if what I mention is still factual :) Oh the sacrifice I will have to make in order to keep my posts factual :p 

A girlfriend of mine back in 2018 was having a destination wedding out in Orange Beach, Alabama. I for one when I heard and saw the location thought, "really Alabama and a beach in Alabama." Well long story short I was imagining hick like beach front properties and not the beautiful costal front I've been to or experienced on previous personal and family trips. So I was refreshingly shocked and taken back when I came to the area that we would be staying in. The area wasn't to vast in size so I appreciated that many things could be in walking distance. The best part I thought was surprisingly how clean and soft the sands were. There wasn't a lot of seaweed areas or areas filled with hard and unclean sand. Where I stayed at (even if on the more budgeted side of things as opposed to the bridal party and my girlfriends resort stay) was truly a lovely entry to the beach and had what felt like an all inclusive resort package. The spot for my hotel was further away from the resort crowd and more on the local side of the city so I liked it. 

After actually visiting my girlfriend at her resort (where she was also to be having her wedding) I was more impressed at my stay than the the resort she was staying at. All her guests, family, and bridal party were staying at the Perdido Beach Resort. I'm going to break down why I would never recommend this place to anyone I know! First off the entrance to the beach was not as pretty as there was more beach shrubs and greenery so you didn't really get a full fledged feel of "beach front property/wedding". Secondly, then the area of the beach from their resort was sadly not tidy and actually polluted with debris and trash; whether from their drunken guests at the resort or just in general the breeze from their cossack location along the beach, I can't say for sure but that's what I can speculate. 

Thirdly, inside was outdated and muggy in a "I hope algae isn't growing on the walls with how it feels in here." I've been blessed to have stayed in resorts and some high end 5-star resorts/hotels and even the honeymoon suite or whatever upscale room they had was not very impressive. Big in the sense of a family being able to stay but that's about it. The carpeting would make you feel as if you were visiting your great great grandparents home out in the boonies somewhere. I remember vividly hiding a cringe from my face when I saw some family members barefoot on the carpet. Fourth, I would NOT recommend having a wedding there because the location for the ceremony area was pitiful! Might as well have just gone across the stateliness and found a resort on the Florida side with prettier destination wedding locations. Lastly, I'm not sure who the wedding coordinator is now but at least back in 2018 she was incompetent, rude, disorganized, and unprofessional. I had to literally take over and start barking orders to their staff and her especially! Anyway, I digress...back to the post.

The coolest part was that crossing a highway overpass across the water, you were already on the Florida state side with an easy commute into Pensacola and near Perdido Beach and Keys. 

Quaint little drive, although I have to say careful where you drive because there are some seriously trashy areas you can easily come across or drive through which makes for an unpleasant view for "beach like" cities. The weather seemed to behave during the duration of my stay and especially for my girlfriends wedding but even with the one day of rain, I was able to enjoy the Florida side at an impressive Naval Museum. 

The National Naval Aviation Museum (NAS) in Pensacola, Florida was a nice drive on the rainy day (going and coming) and the facility was inside the gates of the Naval base which was awesome to see! I highly recommend this museum for families and anyone with a facination of museums, especially that of aviation! Super clean, interesting history and areas to explore - meaning its not just one building- so there lots of areas to walk, enjoy and also user friendly (whether in a wheelchair, stroller, and walker). Fun experience and a must see! These are photos I took during my tour inside the museum, so yes I am also the owner of these photos!

So all in all, if you're looking for an affordable beach getaway and perhaps even a test run with your little ones before some of those larger bigger beach locations, this city I think is one that you can enjoy. I know I did and so did my oldest at the time. 

Sincerely,

A Distinct Woman