Summertime in Colorado is an experience not to be missed. To coax would-be visitors to hit the snowy state during the warmer months, the Keystone Lodge in Keystone, CO is offering the Putt & Putter Package, starting at $99 per person, per night. The package includes:

- Overnight accommodations

- One round of golf OR one 50-minute spa treatment for each guest

- 50 percent off additional same-day rounds of golf

The package is good from May 25 to June 28, 2007 and requires a two-night minimum stay. To book, call the resort 877-633-ROCK and ask for the 7KGOLFSPA rate or book directly through the resort online.

Have you stayed at the Keystone Lodge? What did you think of the resort? Review it for us!

Whadda bah-gin! That’s what Hotwire thinks travelers will say when they visit the 2007 Top 10 Value Destinations list. The winners were determined by ranking the top 50 U.S. destinations for leisure travelers according to their rates and discounts for air, car and hotel purchases, as well as entertainment options and “overall appeal.” And the winners are:

1. Atlanta

2. Dallas-Fort Worth

3. Raleigh-Durham

4. Orlando-Daytona Beach

5. Kansas City, MO

6. Denver

7. Los Angeles

8. Chicago

9. Cleveland

10. Washington, DC

If you were contemplating skipping out on work and heading to the nearest ski area, this would be a good week to do it. Pretty much all of the big ski destinations located west of the Rockies are experiencing new snowfall - and lots of it. Tahoe has gotten over a foot in the last 24 hours, while the Vail area is reporting 10 inches in that time. Over in Park City, 11 inches have dropped in the past day. Time to get out those planks and play hooky.

You can stay up-to-date on the latest snowfall reports with Weather.com’s The Deep Stuff Across the U.S.

Guests at Magnolia Hotels can now ask the front desk for a complimentary Healthy Comfort pack during their next visit. Geared at sniffling travelers, the pack includes:

Echinacea tea

Chamomile tea

Organic throat lozenges

Vitamin supplements

A fizzy Vitamin C drink

Magnolia Hotels are located in Denver, Omaha, Dallas and Houston.

Magnolia Hotels Announces “Healthy Comforts” for Guests

During my adventures in Colorado last week, I had the opportunity to test drive some Spyder ski gear, specifically this women’s St. Anton jacket and the women’s Davos pants. Since I’m a snowboarder, I rarely try out ski gear, but let me tell you, Spyder makes one of the best damn jackets I’ve ever had the pleasure of wearing on the slopes (the pants were good, too, but I’m just a diehard baggy snowboard pants fan). The slim fit was a surprising departure from the super bulky outerwear I usually encounter for snow sports, and the warmth factor was equal to, if not greater than, the double-layer Burton number I personally own. Even with the slim design, I had more than enough room to twist and bend to my heart’s content. The bottom line? I’m convinced that Spyder makes some of the best, most versatile and stylish-looking snow gear out there. If you’re scouting the sales come spring and summer, be on the lookout for a good deal. I say this because this premium line comes with a premium price tag. Cost for the jacket I tried? $640. Yowza!

Travelers heading to Colorado ski resorts Vail, Beaver Creek, Bachelor’s Gulch and Arrowhead face a choice of airports. The choice has inspired many a debate among frequent visitors to the area. Fly into Denver, and you skip the hassle of a connecting flight into Eagle County/Vail Regional Airport, but you’ve got to drive about two hours to reach any of the resorts. Fly into Eagle County/Vail directly, and you’ll only have to drive 30-45 minutes depending on your destination resort, but you risk becoming ensnared in the smaller airport’s more primitive customer service. Here’s my take:

When to choose Denver International Airport: If you’re heading to Vail for a brief trip from a city that doesn’t offer direct flights into Eagle County/Vail Regional, you’ll want to fly into Denver and either rent a car or contact a shuttle like Colorado Mountain Express ($73/person each way) to transport you to your final destination. Even if you have to throw down for the shuttle, flying into Denver makes sense for several reasons. First, you won’t risk missing your connecting flight, nor will you risk losing your luggage along the way. If you’re just going to be in Vail for a weekend trip, lost luggage could completely screw up your plans to hit the mountain. Weather and close connection times make it all too easy for luggage and flight mishaps to occur, and once you’ve been separated from your bags, it can take a while to get them back from the smaller regional airport (Trust me, I know this from personal experience. The folks at Eagle County/Vail Regional are not in a hurry to deliver your bags, and there is often just one delivery guy in charge of ferrying lost bags to different resorts all over the area). If lower tech airport amenities really bug you, you’ll also want to avoid Eagle County, which tends to have slower check-in service, luggage delivery and poorer food and beverage amenities than Denver.

When to choose Eagle County/Vail Regional Airport: If you’re staying in Beaver Creek or Bachelor’s Gulch, both of which are a good 15 minutes closer to the regional airport than Vail, and your trip is more than three days, flying into Eagle can make sense - but it really depends on how good a deal you get and whether you have to connect through Denver first. If you can fly directly to Eagle County/Vail Regional without having to connect through Denver, then you’re lucky, especially if the ticket is close to what you’d pay just to get to Denver. Shuttle transport to and from the airport on Colorado Mountain Express is $46/person each way to resorts in the Vail/Beaver Creek area, so you’ll want to take the added expense into account. For folks who have to connect through Denver, it probably only makes sense for you to fly into Eagle County/Vail Regional if you can find a ticket that costs less than what you’d pay just to fly to Denver and you aren’t planning on renting a car once you arrive. And keep in mind that flying into the closer airport won’t necessarily save you time in the long run. It will save you driving time, but you will have to leave your resort earlier to make a flight leaving Eagle County/Vail Regional and connecting through Denver than you would if you just drove or caught a shuttle to Denver.

If you spend any amount of time in Vail, CO, sooner or later, you’re going to hear about Sweet Basil. Whether your hotel’s concierge suggests it or a local tells you its the posh place to be, it’s worth a visit. Since the restaurant’s remodel last summer, the atmosphere has quite the L.A. vibe. You won’t have to look hard to spot women in full length furs or bling bling accessories, but even that sort of semi-annoying opulence won’t detract from your dining experience - unless, of course, you get a table during high season around say, 7:30pm, when everyone and their mother wants to be here. When the restaurant’s at its loudest and most crowded, you’d score a major coup to snag a table in the back overlooking the creek. But be forewarned, they’re exceedingly difficult to come by at peak times. As for the food, the seasonal menu features starters from sashimi hamachi to southern fried quail, while entrees run the gamut from Colorado lamb to pumpkin-crusted New England scallops.

The most famous coed grotto may be at Heff’s mansion, but the grotto at the Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Avon, CO is just as much of a treat (minus the bunnies, of course). Located inside the luxury hotel’s gorgeous spa facility (which is well-worth a lengthy visit just for all the amenities in the private men’s and women’s locker rooms), the grotto is romantically lit rock-walled room whose piece de resistence is a swimming pool sized hot tub. A rushing flume of water tumbles from the wall into the pool at one end. Sitting underneath it feels almost as good as a back and shoulder massage from a pro. Almost. Rolled face towels packed with ice cubes and cucumber slices make for a refreshing break from the steaming water. It’s a divine way to unwind after carving turns on the mountain all morning. Oh, if only every day could be like this…

Whether you reach them by backcountry skiing in winter or hiking in summer, Vail’s network of mountain huts offer rustic, relatively inexpensive accommodations that get you away from the hubbub of the ritzy resort town below. And while rustic does mean rustic, some of the huts are equipped with self-service saunas (i.e. you build the fire), bunk beds, kitchens and wood-burning stoves. Some huts sleep as many as 20, while others are ideal for smaller groups or families with as few as three adventurers. Rates range from $18.75/person to $276 for an entire cabin.

I’m heading out to Vail today (yes! yes!), so I’ve got snow sports on the brain. When I saw CNN’s 5 Rookie Ski Trip Mistakes this morning, I knew I had to post it - and come up with a few suggestions of my own. If you’re new to skiing or snowboarding, here are five tips from the TravelPost.com Insider to ensure a good time is had by all:

1. Rent before you go. If you’re visiting a ski resort within driving distance of your home town, consider renting equipment before you leave instead of waiting to do it at the mountain. You’ll usually save a decent amount on rentals, and you won’t have to schlep through crowded rental lines on your first morning out. That can really kill momentum.

2. Wear a helmet. Too many people choose cute snow hats over protective helmets. When you’re learning to ski or snowboard, you will fall and, trust me, it hurts. Nothing quite botches up the learning process like a nice concussion.

3. Strike a balance with your gear. Try to find a happy medium between spending boatloads of cash on fancy gear you may never use again and taking the ultra stingy route, which can leave you shivering and hating the very sports you set out to learn. Any kind of waterproof shell pants over ample long underwear will work on your first day out - no need to spend $200 on hot looking pants. But do shell out for waterproof gloves, the right socks and a pair of long underwear.

4. Pace yourself. Many first-timers think they have to go nuts on the first day. It’s much, much easier to injure yourself when you start getting tired. Don’t feel bad about cutting out early and heading for the lodge. You can always hit the slopes another day - unless, of course, you’ve got a broken wrist.

5. Be independent. Tell your hotshot pals they can take their black diamond runs and shove them. At least until you gain more skill and confidence. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a new skiier or boarder swear off a just-burgeoning relationship with snow sports after being pushed into trying a run that was just too plain scary and difficult.