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Real Time Retreats Library

Thank you all for supporting Real-Time Retreats. We couldn’t have done it without you!

We’re proud (and a little sad) to announce that our Real-Time Retreats series of virtual trips to fantastic places is came to an end after 16 months!

Here’s a look back, by the numbers:

We’ve visited 121 distinct hotels & resorts 
31 different countries 
Had 82 different ‘tour guides’ and hosts 
‘Gone live’ to: Ireland, Greece, Sweden, Italy, England, Monaco, Peru, Mexico and Scotland 

We’ve celebrated holidays like: 
Seis de Mayo in Mexico (Rosewood Mayakoba) 
St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland with Odyssey International, Adare Manor, The K Club, Hotel Europe 
Thanksgiving in New England with Auberge Resorts Collection - The White Barn Inn, The Vanderbilt, Mayflower Inn & Spa 
‘Wintered’ in Canada with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, Chateau Whistler 
Christmas in Scandinavia - live from Icehotel, Sweden 
Mardi Gras in New Orleans with BBC DMC 
Carnival in the Caribbean - Curacao, with Latin+Plus DMC Group and Synergy Connect 
...and helped The Breakers celebrate their 125th birthday! 

Combined video views for all 59 Real-Time Retreats videos comes to an astonishing 8,266!!! (That includes views on YouTube and our website). That also includes views by 6 of our competitors. Real Time Retreats videos below will remain on our website any time you want to refresh your memory or share these presentations, or just to see a screen’s worth of fun and friendly faces!

We’ve raised thousands of dollars for Wine to Water and the Auberge fund for families in need after the California fires.

We’ve given away (through the generosity of our destination partners and our favorite corporate gifting partner, Maui Jim):
78 nights’ stays in gorgeous locations 
64 pairs of Maui Jim sunglasses 
16 bottles of wine and/or spirits 
9 pounds of chocolate 
and 290 ‘first five’ gifts for those of you who logged in early 

We’ve had wine tastings: Malbec from Argentina, South African wines with Mont Rochelle - Virgin Limited Edition, and California - Bardessono, Hotel Yountville in Napa.

We’ve experienced: 
Live tango instruction 
Yoga with flamingos 
Hotel secrets from the general managers 
‘Granny Bingo’ 
Sang ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ and ‘The Irish Rover’ with an Irish troubadour 
Meditated under a banyan tree with Banyan Tree Resorts 
Savored high tea in Ascot and Bermuda 
Shared how our hospitality family gives back, recycles, repurposes and does good in the world 
Visited live the barn where the ‘Bailey’s ladies’ cows make Bailey’s Irish cream 
Found out how to sleep better with Equinox Hotel, Hudson Yards 
Got busy in the kitchen and at the bar, making Madelines with Hotel Bennett, Hot Chocolate Bombs with Fairmont Hotels, grilled out in the desert with Enchantment Resort, made the famous Black Miso Cod with Nobu, and made cocktails with, well, just about everyone. 

We’ve dressed up as Greek gods and goddesses, leprechauns, bottles of ranch dressing, the cast from ‘The Love Boat,’ saints, demons, gangsters, presidents, elves, Freda Kahlo, hippies, Mad Men, mobsters, moguls, the Rat Pack, Carole Baskin, spa-goers, mermaids, jet setters, flappers and flowers, ranch hands and revelers!

And finally, we’ve had 512 unique viewers and participants (thus far)! Whew!!!

These weekly gatherings have kept us creative, engaged with all of you and building relationships around the world with industry pros we would otherwise not have met. So for this, our team is extremely grateful! And we may be back for the occasional episode, as opportunity and time allows.

So, we want to thank all of you for participating and supporting these weekly destination deep dives! We hope they have surprised, delighted, entertained and informed you. Your enthusiasm, your creativity, the insights, stories and research you bring every week have enriched us all!

Real Time Retreats

Banyan Tree Resorts

March 10, 2021
This Thai based brand provides a “sanctuary for the senses” in 10 countries! Featuring Anna Celeste Brenner, Maria Lopez, Tets Kato, Sergio Serra and Pamela Gomez - the Banyan Tree team in Mexico!

The Breakers Birthday Bash

March 03, 2021
Come help us celebrate the nation’s most glamorous resort! Bruce Leet & Cara Pregadio - The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida

Virgin’s Limited Edition Mont Rochelle

February 24, 2021
Wine Down Wednesday with South African wines. Lyndsey Balog, Virgin Limited Edition Collection.

Latin & Caribbean Carnival! One Big Tropical Party

February 17, 2021
Samba, Calypso or a Conga Line, get ready to get your “dance” on! Patricia Sahin & Maura Zhang, Latin Plus: Rio de Janiero, Aruba/Curacao and the Dominican Republic

Mardi Gras: the Myths and the Legends

February 10, 2021
Bonnie Boyd, President & CEO - BBC Destination Management, New Orleans

When the (Super) Stars Align! - Beating the drum for Nobu Hotel Group!

February 03, 2021
Kathy Botero, GSO/NSO SE Groups - Nobu Miami, Chicago and Los Cabos

Sundance Resort & Stein Eriksen Lodge

January 27, 2021
“We’re Outlaws By Nature” - Celebrating the Independent Spirit Miquela Holbrook, National Sales Manager - Sundance Mountain Resort & Jim Tolbert Director of Group Sales - Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City, Utah

DC’s Watergate Hotel

January 20, 2021
Embrace your inner “Scandal”! Jon Chocklett, SVP Sales & Lori Holtzman, Director of National Accounts

Hôtel Plaza Athénée & Le Meurice

January 13, 2021
Nuria In Paris! The Couture! The Culture! The Cuisine! Hotel Plaza Athenee, Le Meurice - The Dorchester Collection

Winter Wonderland Part 3 - Aspen & Telluride, CO

January 06, 2021
To Ski or Apres Ski? Exploring Aspen and Telluride with Auberge Hotels! Gale McClurkan, Global Sales Director & Catherine Stewart, Area Sales Manager, Hotel Jerome & Madeline Hotel and Residence.

Winter Wonderland Part 2: A Scandinavian Christmas

December 16, 2020
Magnus Lindbergh, VisitSweden, Maria Andersson, Grand Hotel Stockholm, Mathias Andersson, Vasa Museum, Mikeal Dahlberg, Icehotel

Winter Wonderland Part 1: The Canadian Rockies

December 09, 2020
Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, Chateau Whistler. Karen Carini, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Canada’s Western Mountain Region

Purpose and RePurpose - 1 Hotels

December 02, 2020
How 1 Hotels is defining luxury for a new generation. The 1 Hotels team: 1 Hotel South Beach, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Feasting with our Forefathers - Auberge Resorts of New England

November 18, 2020
From Connecticut to Maine, it's time to get cozy! Gale McClurkan and Elaine Bouchard Clark, Auberge Resorts of New England

Zadún & Dorado Beach - A Ritz Carlton Reserve

November 11, 2020
What is a Ritz Carlton Reserve, Anyway??? Heda Chehda and Isabel Gracia, Ritz Carlton Reserve.

Virgin Limited Edition - Come With Us to the Kasbah!

November 04, 2020
Kasbah Tamadot, Morocco. Lyndsey Balog, Virgin Limited Edition

Hotel Hotties Part 3 - Hotel Bennett and Castle Hot Springs

October 21, 2020
Stephen Lewis, The Hotel Bennett, Charleston SC and Tina Newman, Castle Hot Springs Resort.

Hotel Hotties Part 2 - Bishops Lodge and The Lodge at Blue Sky

October 14, 2020
Gale McClurakan and Katie Wannamaker, Auberge Resorts