Category Archives: Leisure

New Resorts: “Ambiente – A Landscape Hotel” In Sedona, Arizona (Dec 2020)

Ambiente is comprised of 40 cubed-shaped guest Atriums that are elevated above the ground by steel piers and constructed using floor-to-ceiling, bronze-tinted glass and matte-charcoal and rusted metal.

Ambiente Sedona Landscape Hotel Facebook

At dusk, the tinted glass reflects the nature around it creating stunning, mirrored silhouettes. The Atriums’ sleek and contemporary design embodies elegant minimalism and the utmost in luxurious accommodations.

Designed by award-winning, Scottsdale-based ASUL Architects, Ambiente will be constructed around the natural vegetation and topography, requiring less cut and fill, which better meets today’s expectations of being responsible land stewards. The pier-method to building Ambiente’s Atriums basically eliminates the need to grade the land. During construction, this pier technique allows each Atrium to be rotated and individually hand-placed at very specific angles to fit, as best as possible, within the existing trees and flora, thereby maximizing the views.

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Top New Camper Vans: “NOVA EB” From La Strada Is Luxury Spaciousness

The NOVA EB is a rolling space miracle offering every comfort. Driving or living is therefore no question at all, because the cockpit belongs to the living space and the standard SKA seats with 180° rotation provide 2 absolute favourite seats. Especially in bad weather you will love these prime seats of your NOVA. Precious materials underline the perfect travel feeling, because everything that has to work should also have a special value.

Nova EB from La Strada Sprinter Camper Van 2020 picture collage

The special highlight of the Nova EB is truly to be found in the rear. The floor plan with 2 single beds provides unhindered access to each bed and thus creates an unusually generous feeling of space. We have made every effort to ensure that you can enjoy a relaxing night’s sleep in the new NOVA EB. And thanks to the inviting and spacious bathroom of the new NOVA EB, the day can start in a refreshing and relaxed manner.

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Collectors Books: “Watches – A Guide by Hodinkee” (Assouline)

Watches A Guide by Hodinkee Assouline book December 2019For our debut, we wanted to do something that would appeal to anyone and everyone who has the slightest interest in watches. Whether you are new to the game or have been scouring flea markets since you could walk, we want you to be able to pick up this book and gain a greater understanding of watches and all they have to offer.

So we broke it down into nine chapters: “A Brief History of Time,” “Chronographs,” “The Dive Watch,” “Travel Time,” “Military Watches,” “High Complications,” “Women and Watches,” “Dress Watches,” and “Icons.” Each chapter was written by one of our editors: Benjamin Clymer, Cara Barrett, Cole Pennington, Jack Forster, James Stacey, Jason Heaton, Jonathan Bues, and Stephen Pulvirent, with a foreword by Mr. Joe Thompson.

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Camper Trends: “Beauer X-Van” Telescopes To Larger Size With Push Of A Button

From a New Atlas online article:

French company Beauer has earned a lot of attention over the years for telescoping teardrop caravans that grow double or triple their size at the push of a button. Now the company’s bringing its tech to van life, launching a plug-and-play module that grows to create a large camper at camp and a smaller, nimbler van on the road. The X-Van installs in 10 minutes and extends the length of the van to add comfy sleeping quarters for two, giving a mid-size van the length of a full-size model.

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After popping the tailgate, the owner merely hits a button on the pillar next to the driver seat and watches as the electrically actuated module sets up within a minute’s time. The only thing left to do is pop the expansion panels on the module’s sides to increase elbow room inside. The 25-mm sandwich construction keeps the temperature comfy inside.

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Innovations: “Manta5 Hydrofoiler XE-1” Bike Rides On Water (Video)

Jan.06 — At CES in Las Vegas, a New Zealand company is showing off a new way to get moving on water. The Manta5 Hydrofoiler XE-1 is a bike with an electric engine that lets the user pedal around on water.

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Top Destination Travel: “Blackberry Mountain” Resort, TN – 5200 Acres In Great Smoky Mountains

Spanning 5,200 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains, Blackberry Mountain continues a legacy of world-renowned hospitality and unwavering dedication and appreciation for the land. Rising above Miller’s Cove in Walland, TN, Blackberry Mountain has dedicated 2,800 acres of land to conservation.

Every adventure needs a home base, and the luxury accommodations on the Mountain offer equal parts modern design, natural charm and refined comfort. Choose from a ridgetop cabin, a stone cottage nestled into the hillside near The Lodge, or a multi-bedroom home. You’ll find each to be well-appointed, thoughtfully furnished and, of course, tastefully stocked.

This effort to preserve the natural wonder of the mountains offers breathtaking views and a serene escape from the stresses of modern life in a private national park setting. A commitment to land conservation and a passion for sharing the wonders of life in the Smokies shapes the unprecedented experience that awaits on Blackberry Mountain. Outfitted for adventure and designed for comfort, this estate takes the Blackberry State of Mind to new heights.

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Hotels: “Waldhaus Sils” In Sils Maria, Switzerland – In A Venue Called “Heroic And Idyllic” By Nietzsche

111 Years Hotel Waldhaus Sils – History and Stories for an Unreasonable Family Dream Book111 Years of Waldhaus Sils ranges across the hotel’s life and history. Founders Josef and Amalie Giger and their descendants, by now in the fifth generation, have guided the “house in the woods” with skill and fortitude through good times and bad through the twentieth century and into the present. The owners and their exceptionally diverse guests—lively families side-by-side with intellectuals and artists of world renown—have created a unique blend of luxury and modesty, historic grandeur and playful fun, smooth professionalism and unexpected idiosyncrasies.

Those in the know are aware that Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel has a real-life counterpart in the Swiss Alps: The Waldhaus Sils, which has pleased and puzzled visitors for 111 years and become an icon of Swiss hospitality. Located above the small village of Sils Maria near St. Moritz, it overlooks a striking landscape of forests, lakes and mountains and offers a combination of Belle Epoque flair and modern comfort. Its distinctive charm comes from the fact that the Waldhaus has been family-owned and operated since its grand opening on June 15, 1908.

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Top Events: “To Sail Beyond The Sunset – Central Coast Airfest 2019” (Video)

Edited and Directed by: Henry Behel

Produced by: Henry Behel and Carl Indriago
EP: Chris Kunkle
Airboss: Owen Ashurst
Narrated by: Vicky Benzing
AD: Katie Sanderson
Director of Photography: Gus Bendinelli

Come, my friends,
‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
–from “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson

2020 SHOW: October 17-18, 2020

Central Coast Airfest Short Film

Flying is about freedom. Freedom to move, to travel, to savor all three dimensions we’re capable of experiencing. The wheels leave the ground and everything just melts away. Airshows give us an opportunity to look skyward at the people who fly and say… “I want to do that.”

This film celebrates the performers of the Central Coast Airfest. These are aviators who have pushed their love for flying to the edge. Stunt pilots who roll and tumble mere feet from the ground. A fighter pilot who blasts through walls of fire with 30,000 lbs of thrust at his back. A rodeo clown who lands airplanes on top of ambulances.

For thousands of years, flying was an impossible dream. Now, flying is more accessible than ever before, but it’s no less a dream. Look up, and dream.

Website: http://centralcoastairfest.com/