2019-10-01 Robb Report

GUTTER CREDITS

ROBBREPORT.COM 53

TRAVEL | The Goods

Robert A. Katz

The chairman and chief

executive of Vail Resorts keeps

winter sporty.

As the head of Colorado-based Vail Resorts

for well over a decade, Katz has presided

over a period of tremendous expansion,

acquiring more than two dozen resorts and

outdoor-sports destinations—from properties

in California’s Lake Tahoe to those in Vermont’s

Green Mountains—and boosting the share price

by more than 600%. Andrew Sessa

What’s the news from Vail Resorts?

We recently announced plans to acquire

Peak Resorts, which owns 17 ski areas in

the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest,

including Mount Snow, in Vermont, and Hunter

Mountain, in New York. We’re excited many

of our season passes will include unlimited,

unrestricted access to these spots when the

transaction closes, expected this fall.

What does conglomeration like this mean

for travelers? We can provide unprecedented

benefits. For instance, we have reinvested

more than $1.2 billion to improve the guest

experience across our resorts over the last

decade.

How are you preparing for climate

change? The great outdoors is our business,

and we have a special obligation to protect

it. But tackling climate change is not about

saving the ski industry. It’s about the health

of the environment and ensuring a more

promising future for generations to come. To

reduce our environmental footprint, we

made a “Commitment to Zero” sustainability

pledge in 2017 that includes achieving zero net

emissions, zero waste to landfill and zero net

impact to forests and habitat by 2030.

What do you ski in?

I am a big fan of Helly Hansen products. It’s

what our ski patrollers, mountain-ops team

and ski instructors wear day in and day out.

And your go-to après drink?

Tequila on the rocks, with lime.

What’s the best experience money can

buy at Vail Resorts this season? For the

ultimate treat, check out the Reserve package

at Trapper’s Cabin in Beaver Creek. With ski-in,

ski-out access, it lets you enjoy the mountain

before it opens to the public.

Q&A

never mind the miles

of trails in the secluded

rainforest. Nor the world’s

second-largest boiling

lake. Forget the country’s

year-round resident deep

divers—sperm whales. Can

a guy get mollycoddled

amid Middleham Falls? Yes,

yes he can.

Dominica has long

been the underdog of the

Caribbean—even confused

with that homophonous

island to the north—

but Hurricane Maria’s

aftermath has brought a

renewal of interest to this

sparsely populated Elysium. 

Cradled between

Guadeloupe and

Martinique, Dominica is a

land that stays true to its

terrain, with developers

taking much care to

preserve its hot springs,

cliffs and waterfalls galore.

Opening in October is

the five-star Cabrits Resort

& Spa Kempinski, from

Europe’s oldest luxury

hotelier, Kempinski Hotels.

Perched in Dominica’s

Cabrits National Park,

the resort offers guests a

nature-inspired design in

its 151 rooms, though you’ll

likely prefer to spend your

time in the company of

nearby black- and white-

sand beaches, bubbling

mud baths or snorkeling at

Toucari Bay.

In late 2019, the island

will welcome Anichi Resort

& Spa, which provides

indoor-outdoor living on

the shores of the Caribbean

Sea. Part of Marriott’s

Autograph Collection, the

hotel was partly funded by

Dominica’s Citizenship by

Investment Program, which

grants financial backers

citizenship in exchange for

their capital. The property is

situated by the Portsmouth

Yacht Association within

the upscale Purple Turtle

Beach harbor, though you

might have a hard time

relinquishing your private

dip pool to journey over. On

the horizon is the Sanctuary

Rainforest Eco Resort and

Spa, tucked into the lush,

verdant rainforest of Roseau

Valley, with development

just announced for a

10-acre plot.

Among the resort's

most noteworthy

accommodations is Secret

Bay, six sustainably built

luxury villas that reopened

last November after

Hurricane Maria. This

summer, the property

unveiled sales for 42 private

residences featuring a

hybrid of tropical and

modern design with an

eco-friendly slant. Or tuck

in at Jungle Bay, which

relaunched its second

property, an enclave of eco-

villas, in June.

Time to book that

private whale and dolphin

safari before the masses

discover the Nature Isle

of the Caribbean. 

Perri O. Blumberg

Dominica’s Quiet

Renaissance

Secret Bay offers

six sustainably

built luxury villas. ILLUSTRATION BY JOEL KIMMEL

ROBBREPORT.COM 53

TRAVEL | The Goods

Robert A. Katz

The chairman and chief

executive of Vail Resorts keeps

winter sporty.

As the head of Colorado-based Vail Resorts

for well over a decade, Katz has presided

over a period of tremendous expansion,

acquiring more than two dozen resorts and

outdoor-sports destinations—from properties

in California’s Lake Tahoe to those in Vermont’s

Green Mountains—and boosting the share price

by more than 600%. Andrew Sessa

What’s the news from Vail Resorts?

We recently announced plans to acquire

Peak Resorts, which owns 17 ski areas in

the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest,

including Mount Snow, in Vermont, and Hunter

Mountain, in New York. We’re excited many

of our season passes will include unlimited,

unrestricted access to these spots when the

transaction closes, expected this fall.

What does conglomeration like this mean

for travelers? We can provide unprecedented

benefits. For instance, we have reinvested

more than $1.2 billion to improve the guest

experience across our resorts over the last

decade.

How are you preparing for climate

change? The great outdoors is our business,

and we have a special obligation to protect

it. But tackling climate change is not about

saving the ski industry. It’s about the health

of the environment and ensuring a more

promising future for generations to come. To

reduce our environmental footprint, we

made a “Commitment to Zero” sustainability

pledge in 2017 that includes achieving zero net

emissions, zero waste to landfill and zero net

impact to forests and habitat by 2030.

What do you ski in?

I am a big fan of Helly Hansen products. It’s

what our ski patrollers, mountain-ops team

and ski instructors wear day in and day out.

And your go-to après drink?

Tequila on the rocks, with lime.

What’s the best experience money can

buy at Vail Resorts this season? For the

ultimate treat, check out the Reserve package

at Trapper’s Cabin in Beaver Creek. With ski-in,

ski-out access, it lets you enjoy the mountain

before it opens to the public.

Q&A

never mind the miles

of trails in the secluded

rainforest. Nor the world’s

second-largest boiling

lake. Forget the country’s

year-round resident deep

divers—sperm whales. Can

a guy get mollycoddled

amid Middleham Falls? Yes,

yes he can.

Dominica has long

been the underdog of the

Caribbean—even confused

with that homophonous

island to the north—

but Hurricane Maria’s

aftermath has brought a

renewal of interest to this

sparsely populated Elysium. 

Cradled between

Guadeloupe and

Martinique, Dominica is a

land that stays true to its

terrain, with developers

taking much care to

preserve its hot springs,

cliffs and waterfalls galore.

Opening in October is

the five-star Cabrits Resort

& Spa Kempinski, from

Europe’s oldest luxury

hotelier, Kempinski Hotels.

Perched in Dominica’s

Cabrits National Park,

the resort offers guests a

nature-inspired design in

its 151 rooms, though you’ll

likely prefer to spend your

time in the company of

nearby black- and white-

sand beaches, bubbling

mud baths or snorkeling at

Toucari Bay.

In late 2019, the island

will welcome Anichi Resort

& Spa, which provides

indoor-outdoor living on

the shores of the Caribbean

Sea. Part of Marriott’s

Autograph Collection, the

hotel was partly funded by

Dominica’s Citizenship by

Investment Program, which

grants financial backers

citizenship in exchange for

their capital. The property is

situated by the Portsmouth

Yacht Association within

the upscale Purple Turtle

Beach harbor, though you

might have a hard time

relinquishing your private

dip pool to journey over. On

the horizon is the Sanctuary

Rainforest Eco Resort and

Spa, tucked into the lush,

verdant rainforest of Roseau

Valley, with development

just announced for a

10-acre plot.

Among the resort's

most noteworthy

accommodations is Secret

Bay, six sustainably built

luxury villas that reopened

last November after

Hurricane Maria. This

summer, the property

unveiled sales for 42 private

residences featuring a

hybrid of tropical and

modern design with an

eco-friendly slant. Or tuck

in at Jungle Bay, which

relaunched its second

property, an enclave of eco-

villas, in June.

Time to book that

private whale and dolphin

safari before the masses

discover the Nature Isle

of the Caribbean. 

Perri O. Blumberg

Dominica’s Quiet

Renaissance

Secret Bay offers

six sustainably

built luxury villas. ILLUSTRATION BY JOEL KIMMEL