Dock Dogs competition at the 2013 GoPro Mountain Games.

We love the variety of friends who make the Antlers their home while here in Vail. As the official pet-friendly hotel of the Go Pro Mountain Games, we enjoyed many furry friends visiting over the weekend. Those furry friends included a skateboarding bulldog and competitors in the 2013 Dock Dogs competition at the GoPro Mountain Games. Most of those friends have checked out now, and our friends at the Colorado Children’s Chorale have checked in. Our condo arrangements (from studios to four-bedroom condos, all with full kitchens) make us an ideal home for families, or anyone coming for an extended stay.

The Colorado Children’s Chorale during their annual visit at the Antlers at Vail.

The Colorado Children’s Chorale is at the Antlers for their annual visit.  They are in town for a workshop designed to develop performance skills such as singing, dancing, acting and stage movement. Professional conductors and Chorale members work with attendees to share music and theater skills plus elements of teamwork and self confidence. The workshop concludes with a performance, Voices in the Valley, featuring workshop participants on stage with the Colorado Children’s Chorale at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater on Friday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m.

Here’s a taste of all the fun we’re looking forward to at the Antlers at Vail Condominiums and Conference Center this week in a video of the Colorado Children’s Chorale Rehearsing in the Antlers at Vail Courtyard in 2010.

The Antlers is excited to share that we have been awarded TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence.

The Antlers at Vail is excited to share that we have received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

“TripAdvisor is delighted to celebrate the success of businesses around the globe, from Sydney to Chicago, Sao Paulo to Rome, which are consistently offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience,” said Alison Copus, Vice President of Marketing for TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award provides top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers.”

After a visit from the Easter Bunny, kids enjoy a hunt for eggs in Lionshead.

Today I am marking my two and a half week anniversary here at the Antlers at Vail with my second blog post. This is my first experience working in the lodging industry and while I have had the fortune to work with the Antlers as the official condo hotel of both the Bravo! Vail music festival and Vail Symposium, there has still been a lot for me to take in.

I feel very fortunate to be working here as a part of the Antlers family, and to get to experience to some extent what our owners and guests get to experience. My first week here our Grand Poobah (aka Rob) shared an informal SWOT analysis with me. The top item on the strengths list was “location”. But I don’t think that does it justice. It is really more like the very best access to all that Vail has to offer, and that is a lot.

The antlers-bedecked cruiser bikes are free for guests. A fun way to tour the village!

Two weekends ago my family came into town for the Vail Rec District’s Easter egg hunt. We parked here at the Antlers, enjoyed the Easter activities and then stopped back in at the lobby to enjoy some conversation, coffee and hot chocolate for our daughter before heading home. Last weekend we took our daughter up skiing. Of course, everyone knows the convenient proximity of the Antlers to the gondola. Earlier this week I needed to run to the bank. Instead of getting in the car and driving, I grabbed one of the free antlers-bedecked cruiser bikes and enjoyed a refreshing ride through town. As a long-time Vail local, working here reminds me of all the reasons that I live here. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to bringing my hiking boots in and enjoying some impromptu Vail hikes this summer!

Posted by: Liana, the new marketing gal

Jacquie and I had fresh tracks on Prima Friday afternoon.  Chair 11 opened with Riva Ridge, Prima, Pronto, Northstar, Northwoods, South rim, North rim and Gandy Dancer (watch for the rollers).  Its fast and fun right now.  Vail only recorded 2″ from the storm last night but over cast skies and flurries are looking promising today.  I will be headed out this afternoon for some turns with our guest if anyone is on the hill and wants to join me.  I suggest a ski with some width.  Have fun and enjoy the GREAT snow!

Jacquie killing it on lower Prima Cornice.

Lodge pole Gap

Video of me coming down South Rim. video is a little bumpy.

Janet and I killing on Look Ma

Random kid and a 360.

We are so proud to be the host hotel for Dr. Kanal’s MRI group.  Through the years, it’s been such a pleasure to work with Dr. Kanal and his staff.  Every attendee is amazed by Dr. Kanal’s knowledge and his teaching techniques. This course is highly recommend to radiologists, neurologists, cardiologists, physicists, technologists, industry specialists, and others who seek to understand how MR imaging works and how to clinically apply it.

Below please find a small description about his course:

Since 1985, Emanuel Kanal has taught literally thousands of people the concepts underlying MR imaging physics and their clinical applications. His teaching style is informal, interactive, humorous, enthusiastic, energetic, and unique.  Among the unique aspects of this course is that it takes full advantage of the graphic, interactive format of his custom developed MR tutorial and simulator software programs, which permit real-time simulation of the effects of MR image parameter manipulation on the scanned images. The course will review basic MR imaging principles, including explanations and applications of such parameters as T1, T2, T2*, proton density, TR, TE, TI, flip angle, contrast agents, relaxivity, etc.

It will review spin echo, gradient echo, and inversion recovery (including FLAIR and STIR) imaging techniques and it will lead into a number of more complex MR issues, including several hours dedicated to MR angiography, diffusion and perfusion weighted imaging, sequence optimization techniques for high relaxivity MR contrast agents, and MR spectroscopy.

Kanal is recognized as one of the most sought after MR educators in the world today; is the first to have developed, applied, and presented dynamic bolus contrast-enhanced MRA; and is the pre-eminent physician authority on MR safety issues. As is his style, Kanal will be available to answer questions and clarify concepts at and between each conference session. Participants will leave this conference with a solid understanding of complex but clinically vital MR imaging, angiography, and spectroscopy physics principles and how to apply them to routine clinical diagnostic patient care.

The Antlers is offering amazing rates for attendees of this course.  For more information, a brochure is available for you: Dr. Kanal’s 2013 Vail Course Brochure

Left, Antlers at Vail hotel; right, photo by Jack Affleck

What does it take to create and sustain special places? The global symposium Elevate Vail 2012 brings together future-minded business leaders, developers, planners, architects, builders and travel professionals from September 25 – 27, 2012 for panel discussions, interactive workshops, site tours, seminars and other presentations about the thoughtful development and caretaking of special places.

The Antlers at Vail hotel is a sponsor and official lodging hotel for the event, which will be held at the nearby Sebastian Vail. ElevateVail 2012 participants will save 35% off standard room rates; studio suites are $156 per night; a one-bedroom suite is $182 per night and a two-bedroom suite is $273 per night, subject to availability.

“We’re excited to welcome our colleagues from ‘down under’ to the Vail Valley this year,” says Antlers General Manager Rob LeVine, who attended the inaugural 2011 Creating Special Places event in Queensland, Australia. LeVine will speak about Sustainable Tourism on September 27.

Elevate Vail 2012 is produced by Regional Breakthroughs/Australia, and features a faculty of international speakers and presenters. Registration is $1450, and includes priority access to all event sessions, special tours and activities, an exclusive gift bag and more. For additional information, visit www.elevatesymposium.com.

The Antlers at Vail offers condominiums ranging from studio suites up to four bedrooms, and each room includes a fully-equipped kitchen, fireplace, free Internet access and free parking in a heated indoor garage. The Antlers Vail is conveniently located with easy access to the ElevateVail/2012 sessions, and the free Vail town shuttle stops just footsteps away. For more information, call 1-800-843-8245 or visit the Antlers at www.antlersvail.com.

Media Contacts: Rob LeVine, General Manager, Antlers at Vail, 970. 476. 2471, RLeVine@antlersvail.com; or Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations,darla@wordenpr.com, 307.734.5335.

Of course the Antlers, a hotel and conference center that is always afraid of missing out on the fun, volunteered to host “emergency disaster training” for 2 days. This involved real life, re-enactments of rescue operations involving different scenarios around our property and common areas.

The pictures really don’t illustrate how life-like these situations were.  Some guests actually thought there were live rescues occurring as they passed through the staging areas.  What made it believable were the “victims” that were not afraid to scream as though they were in pain and the rescue teams shouting out instructions as they assured the “victims” that help was on its way.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

As the second day of mock rescues were winding down, I was approached by a guest who had these comments.  “My kids really were fascinated by all of this and I had no idea  what went on behind the scenes.  These people really are professionals.”  His young son looked up at me and said “Mister, do you have a coal mine here?”

“No we don’t, but there are some not too far away in the mountains” was my reply.

He looked back at his dad and said ” too bad because I sure would feel safe if something happened in your mine.”

Greg

1962 - The Vail Journal announces Vail's official opening

When Vail Mountain opened for skiing in 1962, the area had one gondola, two chair lifts and nine ski runs. Today, it’s North America’s largest ski resort with 31 lifts and more than 5,000 skiable acres. It’s fitting that Vail Resorts will kick off its 50th anniversary festivities by installing a new state-of-the-art gondola in the same location as the original Gondola One. The new ride will boast heated leather seats and WiFi, and will speed up the mountain at 1,200 feet per minute.

The Antlers at Vail hotel opened in 1972, and general manager Rob LeVine has been actively involved in the town’s planning and development for more than three decades. “I’ve been here long enough to remember when we put an Amana Radar Range microwave oven in one of our rooms, and people would come from all over just to see it work!” he says.

In honor of the resort’s half-century anniversary, The Antlers at Vail hotel celebrates with 50% savings from November 16 to December 13, 2012. The Antlers “50 For 50” stay-and-ski deal starts at $579 per person for 4 people in a 2-bedroom condo for 4 nights—and the price includes four-day lift tickets for each person! Along with the parties, historic presentations, concerts and other celebrations Vail has planned for its fiftieth birthday, skiers and boarders can enjoy uncrowded slopes and shorter lift lines in the early snow season.

For four decades the Antlers has offered a unique Vail lodging experience in a relaxed mountain setting. Named the Vail Valley ‘Green Business of the Year’ in 2009, the Antlers is also proud to be named a Platinum Service Award Winner by the Vail Valley Partnership. With condominiums ranging from studio suites up to four bedrooms and plenty of space to spread out, each room at the Antlers offers all the comforts of home including fully-equipped kitchens, fireplaces, outdoor balconies, free Internet access and free parking in a heated indoor garage. The Antlers Vail is conveniently located in the Lionshead area of Vail with numerous restaurants, galleries and shops within walking distance, and the free Vail town shuttle stops just footsteps away. For more information, call 1-800-843-8245.

Media Contacts: Rob LeVine, General Manager, Antlers at Vail, RLeVine@antlersvail.com, 970.476.2471; or Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, darla@wordenpr.com, 307.734.5335.

Left, autumn colors at the Antlers at Vail hotel; right, photo by Rennett Stowe.

Whether you prefer the vigorous, athletic stride of Nordic walking or an easy, meandering stroll, autumn is the perfect time to enjoy Vail’s abundant attractions on foot. The days are sunny, the crowds are gone, the aspen trees make their annual transformation to brilliant gold—and the values can’t be beat.

The Antlers at Vail hotel is a conveniently located home base, with spacious condominiums and plenty of room to spread out. The Antlers Fall Walkabout promotion offers autumn lodging discounts of up to 35% off regular room rates from September 11 through November 18, 2012; prices for a studio suite start at just $156.00 per night.

“Autumn is one of my favorite seasons in the Vail Valley,” says Antlers General Manager Rob LeVine, a resident for more than three decades. “People tend to think of our mountains for physical activities like hiking and mountain biking, but the fact is that many people visit during the fall to slow down a bit, explore the area and take in the scenery.” In fact, one of Vail’s best walks is just footsteps from the Antlers. A paved path runs along Gore Creek from Lionshead to East Vail, with benches along the way to take in the dappled sunshine and sounds of rushing water.

Those who prefer downhill ambulation to uphill climbing will enjoy a scenic ride on the Vail Gondola to the summit followed by a three- to four-hour walk down the mountain. The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens—the world’s highest botanical garden at 8200 feet— also gives guided walking tours through the end of September.

Can’t imagine stretching your legs without your favorite canine? Dogs are welcome to stay at the Antlers at Vail, and are greeted with a giant bowl of dog biscuits when they arrive. The Antlers’ condominiums range from studio suites up to four bedrooms with fully-equipped kitchens, fireplaces, outdoor balconies, free Internet access and free heated indoor parking. Conveniently located 200 yards from the Vail Gondola, numerous restaurants, galleries and shops are within walking distance and the free Vail town shuttle stops just footsteps away. For more information, call 1-800-843-8245 or visit www.antlersvail.com.

Media Contacts: Rob LeVine, General Manager, The Antlers at Vail, (970) 476-2471, RLeVine@antlersvail.com or Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, (307) 734-5335, darla@wordenpr.com.