Travel Ideas For Exploring The Great Outdoors In Style

Enjoy the great outdoors in style

With winter (finally) behind us, we're looking for vacations that take advantage of the great outdoors. These new accommodations are perfectly positioned for such adventures; they also have serious food and beverage programs for indulging after a day of play.

El Encanto, Santa Barbara, CA:

El Encanto may be the only hotel that has its own dairy cow; she provides milk for the hotel's signature cheese. The property also roasts its own coffee, brews its own beer, and maintains a vegetable garden. Recently reopened after a seven-year restoration, the Southern California hotel is now run by Orient Express and has brought on Patrice Martineau to run its restaurant. An alum of Daniel, his menu includes dishes like caramelized Santa Barbara uni, and seaweed custard with quail eggs.

Scarp Ridge Lodge, Crested Butte, CO:

Once a saloon and brothel for Rocky Mountain miners, this lodge is now the flagship property of Eleven Experience, a global collection of unique inns, castles, farmhouses and beach homes. Guests take over the entire seven-bedroom lodge, which is outfitted with an indoor saltwater pool, cinema and rooftop hot tub. After mountain biking or fly-fishing, guests return to pulled-pork empanadas and other Colorado produce-driven dishes, prepared by house chef Ashley Odom. 

Hotel Vermont, Burlington, VT:

 This new property (opening in early May) avoids B&B kitsch in favor of a woody, minimalist-modern aesthetic. At the restaurant, Juniper, fuel up for an active day with breakfast options like a wood-oven-baked bagel topped with gin-cured salmon, cream cheese and pickled red onion. This summer, the hotel will get even more food cred when chef Eric Warnstedt opens a second location of his acclaimed restaurant, Hen of the Wood, on the property.