Jetset Jingles :: Après-Ski

[trip style = ski]

Jetset Jingles publishes once monthly. The ‘soundtrack’ is written, mixed and mastered by Nicole, amateur DJ by night and movie maven by day.

Along with the good fortune of living in the nature-y city that I do {Vancouver BC}, comes the privilege of being surrounded by ski hills. Minutes from the city you’ll find three local mountains {Cypress, Seymour and Grouse}, and an hour and half drive away there are two of the best slopes in North America, Whistler and Blackcomb.

I’ve been skiing for as long as I can remember, and one of my favorite things about a ski day is the infamous après-ski, or simply, après to enthusiasts. Gathering with friends on a patio, eating nachos and throwing back a cold beer is almost as good as shredding on the slopes!

But there’s a second kind of après, one that I like to call the après-après-ski. It takes place once you get back to your cabin. You peel off your bulky layers of cold-weather clothes, pour yourself a glass of Cabernet and relax on a bearskin rug, fireside of course. Ok, so this may seem like a scene out of a cheesy romance novel, but I think you get the picture, the goal of the après-après-ski is to relax and unwind after your long day navigating the mountain. And with this in mind, I’ve created the ultimate playlist for your next après-après-ski.

Happy listening….

Song List 1/ Champion Sound - Star of Love 2/ I Follow Rivers - Wounded Rhymes (Deluxe Version) 3/ High And Dry - Pointless Nostalgic 4/ Fiction - Coexist

Playlist {Can’t view the playlist?}

More Jetset Jingles TS Music Musts Pause And Reflect Gals’ Getaway Portlandia – The Mecca Of Indie Rock Palm Springs Rat Packin’

[photo by @tripstyler]

Roam+Board :: Alcazar Palm Springs

[trip style = sun + budget conscious]

What Serving up serenity, style and the desert's it foodie address-come-hotel, the Alcazar is a recently restored Spanish-style hideaway bursting with calliandra vines and bright pink bougainvillea.

Originally build in the 1950s, the hotel was reborn in 2011 by after undergoing a thoughtful facelift bringing out its whitewashed, pool house-chic. Minimalist rooms---some with petite patios---mirror the outside's pulled-together design. Black and white geometric-print pillows, silver-toned vintage palm tree lamps and bright Kelly Tunstall original art add pop against the gallery-white canvas. Imported Italian Mascioni linens wrap the bed.

Surrounded by restaurants, the Alcazar is a haven for foodies conceived by part owners Tara Lazar and Marco Rossetti, the savvy restauranteurs behind Palm Springs dining institutions Cheeky's, Birba and Jiao---each with a different dining concept, all featuring 100-mile menus. Hit Cheeky’s in the morning to brunch on huevos rancheros, melt-in-your mouth buttermilk waffles or a bacon flight; in the afternoon sample Jiao’s Asian street food and at night, dine alfresco over handmade pizzas and cups of vino at Birba.

Coupled with a tucked-away salt water pool and hot tub anchored by sky-high palms and views of the snow-capped San Jacinto mountains, this 34-room boutique property makes you want to stay in---every night.

Where Palm Springs, California in the hippest block around; the Uptown Design District. Ten minutes from the Palm Springs Airport {PSP}.

When Palm Springs is a year-round destination, though desert temperatures can reach 40-degrees C+ in the summer, so most visitors prefer a lighter dose of Vitamin D between September and June.

Who/Why You read Bon Appetit---preferably in the city or by a pool. You wear glasses {even if you don't need them}. You believe there's a time and a place for brightly-hued cocktail-wear. You're a very part-time scenester who knows you can get your fill at the Parker's bar, or the Ace's Amigo Room.

Cost Rates start at $120 per night. A $9 daily resort fee includes Wifi, use of Electra cruiser bikes, parking and morning pastries from Cheeky's as well as Intelligentsia coffee. Kids are allowed, though the hotel is generally adult-oriented.

More R+B Jumeirah Zabeel Saray - Dubai Makena Resort - Maui Nita Lake Lodge - Whistler Hester Creek Winery – Oliver, BC Fairmont Banff Springs – Banff  Thompson – Beverly Hills The Sorrento Hotel – Seattle The LIT! Bangkok – Thailand Hotel De La Paix – Thailand From ice hotels to Anna Wintour’s steal-of-a-deal holiday escape, find all featured R+B properties here.

[photos taken by @tripstyler while staying as a guest of the hotel]

Holy Hammam!

[trip style = spa + luxury]

{Editor's Note: On TS, we don't typically talk about micro experiences---ie, one treatment at the spa---but a recent Turkish hammam I had on the other side of the planet was too out-of-this world to keep to myself. If Dubai is on your immediate or one-day travel list, ladies AND gentlemen, I implore you to read on in the name of bliss!}

When I traveled to Dubai in December, my trip started at the spa. If you haven't tried this immediate relaxation method, I HIGHLY recommend beginning every trip this way.

The bliss session in question took place in the Middle East's largest Turkish Hammam spa---normally a deterrent but in this case a plus---at 9.30am Dec. 5th, 2012. It left me and the three other travel writers I was with in a state of shock and awe as we melted into a regal relaxation chamber, feasting on nuts and a salted yogurt bevvie {to replenish our electrolytes} in the bathhouse post-treatment.

Under a gold and red hand-painted dome atop a heated slab of moss-green marble, we tried the spa's signature Turkish hammam treatment at Talise Ottoman Spa in a hotel I profiled last week: the luxe Jumeriah Zabeel Saray. Surrounded by columns and arches, I sprawled out beside a huge copper jug of warm water on a peach towel in the center of the room. There was no spa soundtrack on replay. Instead the sound of splashing water echoed in the dome above.

The treatment started with a full-court-press scrubbing, supplemented by cleansing splashes of water. This scrub-splash process went on for 30 minutes until I was raw like a just-peeled carrot {normal in hammam treatments}. After the head-to-toe exfoliation was complete---the pain part of the gain---the soaping started. Aside from the spa's physical details---the Ottoman architecture and rich materials culled from the world over---this part of the treatment will be stamped into my mind for eternity.

On top of the octogonal platform my eyes were closed in 'spa mode' until the olive oil-infused soaping started. The second I felt what I'll call the 'soap pillow' on top of my left leg, my eyes flashed open. I could not process the sensation. Enveloped in a gazillion tiny bubbles, I raised my head and looked back to visualize what was happening, unable to place the sensation with my other four senses. As my Turkish towel-clad attendant ran the bubble bundle from my feet to my shoulders it was like I was floating, weightless, on top of the clouds. At that moment, I might have seen an angel or two flutter by.

A massage and more splashing followed until we ended up beside a mineral pool to relax post-treatment. I did not go to Dubai searching for a Sex and the City moment in the Middle East, but just short of a fan and grape attendant, I found it here.

Given the size of the spa's size, nearly 2 acres, there's more than just the hammams to keep you occupied. Outfitted with everything {and more} you could ever ask for, there's snow rooms, adventure showers, hot stone beds, mineral pools, steam and sauna rooms, etc... In other words, you'll want to spend an ENTIRE day---or four---at the spa.

*The cost for the Turkish Hammam treatment is approximately $90usd. *If you want a traditional hammam but don't want to travel 15 hours, visit the Cosmopolitan's Spa in Vegas---not the same level, but lovely. *As a guest of the hotel, you have access to the spa's facilities during your stay. Treatments are extra.

[photos by @tripstyler taken while as a guest of the spa]

Travel Beauty :: LA's {Must-Stop} Organic Pharmacy

[trip style = any]

Want more travel beauty? Get your fill the third Wednesday of every month. Lauren, our travel beauty expert, is already whipping up her next concoction post!

I just got back from LA---my former stomping grounds---with an EXTRA suitcase filled to the brim with clothes, food, and guess what took up a biggest amount of suitcase space? Products from The Organic Pharmacy. Founded by a pharmacist and her husband, I absolutely love this UK-based health and beauty store. With natural, non-toxic products and uber-knowledgeable staff to recommend beauty solutions for your every whim, this store is your one-stop beauty shop. Below are a few of the items I picked up on this trip!

1/ Carrot Butter Cleanser $69 Yes, the price is a little steep for a cleanser, but this has to be the thickest, richest cleanser I've ever used. In these cold winter months, nothing makes my skin feel so clean yet so soft. I love the balm-like consistency.

2/ Immune Tonic $26 This tincture was created to help boost the immune system and fight infection, all you do is add 10 drops into a glass of water. Perfect for before or after a flight, or during cold and flu season; Immune Tonic is a no-brainer I always keep in my purse. This tonic is made with potent ingredients like Astragalus, Cat's Claw, Elderberry, Thyme, and Plantain, all known to boost the immune system.

3/ Cleopatra's Milk Bath $64 The name alone got me! This relaxing bath soak has luxurious rose petals and decadent, hydrating milk as main ingredients, taking your regular bath to a whole other level.

Bonus - Apricot & Chamomile Lotion for Baby $27 I recently had my second baby and this light lotion leaves my little ones smelling d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. I love that it's made without any harsh chemicals and filled with ingredients like Apricot Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Chamomile and Aloe.

PS - Want these lotions and potions now? You can order them online.

More Travel Beauty Splurge VS Steal {Part 2} Splurge VS Steal {Part 1} Gorgeous Hair In 5 Minutes A Sky-Vival Kit

[collage by @tripstyler with images sourced online]

Instagram :: The Ultimate Travel Tool

[trip style = any]

Not just a snap-py tool to follow friends, swoon over glamor shots of far-flung locales or ogle latte art, Instagram is one of my favorite travel tools. Lately I've been chatting with my travel friends about how we use it as one of our go-to galavanting guides, so I wanted to give you the quick and dirty deets. Use it the right way and suddenly, a picture turns into a plan.

Trip Styler Tip :: O-B-V-I-O-U-S-L-Y TripStyler's on Instagram

How To Use Instagram As Your Travel BFF 1. Hashtags Whether it's a tourism organization, hotel or restaurant, travel-related businesses are harnessing the power of hashtags to build up a user-generated database of 'real people' photos. For example, if you're interested in a place you want to visit, say Canada, search the #exploreCanada hashtag for inspiration. Maybe you decide a tour of BC is your best bet; in this case search #exploreBC. The list goes on. To find the hashtag associated with your destination, airline, restaurant or shop du moment, go to the username and see if they mention a hashtag in their profile, or search possible hashtags to find the right one. The example above is a shot I took in Osooyoos, BC in the early fall, which I hastagged #exploreCanada and #exploreBC.

2. Geotags A few weeks ago, I was getting a coffee at Koffi in Palm Springs when I spotted a hotel I've always wanted to check into: The Horizon Hotel. A midcentury gem in all its clean-lined glory, I decided to walk in and self-tour the property. Naturally, I took a photo while there {above}, instagrammed and geotagged it. Interested what the rooms look like on the inside, I clicked the hotel's geotag and started scrolling though scores of snaps. This five-minute photo safari only confirmed my desire to stay, revealing details like private showers and complimentary breakfast in bed. **Looking through geotagged photos is easiest when you post a photo, geotag it, then go back to your feed and click on the geotag to look at everybody's snaps for that location. If you're not at the place associated with the geotag and want to search its geotag, find the associated hashtag or username, then search through the photos to find the geotag.

3. Personal Recommendations You can search your Insta-muse's photos two ways: 1/ follow their Instagram day-to-day; 2/ click on their photo map to see where they've gone and what they like.

For example, I follow Sunset Magazine on Instagram. The mag's Insta is updated by the editor who lives in Seattle, so many of the photos are of cool spots in the PNW. As a result, I get a lot of recommendations about where to eat around the Emerald City from Sunset, like in the photo above {a relaxed coffee/bike shop beside some of Ballard's hottest restaurants}. Thanks Sunset. I'm a little more plump Insta-knowing you.

[photos via @tripstyler]