denrusso

And now they just announced that they are incorporating 10 Aman properties. I will say this - they do continue to build the service by incorporating additional features.


Thanks,
dr

nddomer04

I just posted a trip report from our vacation to Punta de Mita in the Trip Reports forum. We stayed at Inspirato's Punta Vista residence within the Los Veneros resort.

Inspirato - Punta de Mita Residence (Punta Vista)

Kagehitokiri

at rack rates? i never get the point of these offerings. its not like ER where you have to pay tens of thousands a year in dues.

SeattleGal

Hi all, I'm new here but found this forum in doing some Inspirato research. I'm considering a membership and would love to hear from couples or small families. We are a family of 3 so the large homes would be of no use to us. But we enjoy luxury travel.. thoughts? Does anyone stick to the hotel suites that are offered and still find value in the membership? Thanks in advance!

bangkokiscool

We are a family of 3 (our daughter is under 5). We've been traveling to Inspirato homes since she was 2. We go on at least 3 a year. We've also done the hotels (Ritz Grand Cayman is a phenomenal value, and kids under 5 eat free). Overall we think very very highly of Inspirato. There's only been one disappointing stay for us (Rosemary Beach), and that property is no longer part of the portfolio.

Kagehitokiri

Exclusive Resorts has done group trips using exclusive-use villas, along the same lines as their cruise charters

has inspirato ever advertised/considered something like that?

anyone heard re having inspirato hire chef/etc at daily rate?

gold23

We've been members since right around the beginning. Our 2 kids were pre-teen at the time and are now in their mid-teens. I would describe our relationship with Inspirato as love with occasional frustration.

We've been generally happy with every trip we've taken. The villas certainly provide you with the service and pure luxury aspect. We are occasionally surprised by tiny little things, like issues with electronics due to previous guests, energetic but sometimes less than "full service" concierge, etc. Those are minor, and excacerbated in our minds because we expect true over the top service with a club that promotes as such...

The best trips have been when we've gone out of season. I haven't taken a trip yet during school vacations. The pricing just doesn't make sense. I can rent a 2 bedroom 5 star condo for much less than I can a 4 or 5 bedroom home, and I don't need the home. However, we took the extended family to Italy and it was the most luxurious and memorable trip of our lives. We did the same to SD and Kiawah. Essentially, the villas have become our go-to for signature family experiences.

As for the hotels? Very good rates. I wished they offered Virtuoso or Amex FHR perks, because in several instances where Inspirato has a relationship I've booked Virtuoso instead due to the additional amenities. Like any other club, how you are treated at these properties varies. Some are over the top due to Inspirato, some have needed to ask superiors what "Inspirato means".

All in all, we use Inspirato to supplement our travel options. We start every vacation search with them, and probably book maybe 30-40% with a property or partner.

Btw, check out their partner relationships. Some are quite useful.

Kagehitokiri

ive heard they get great rates at their partner hotels. definitely nice. interesting they and the destination clubs mostly stay around a certain level/rate/etc. i would think inspirato could have a wider range since its not a flat nightly rate, but i guess they know what theyre doing.

kind of like what gold23 raised. although they may want a certain minimum level. but there is no downside to higher level.

inspirato has partnered with a virtuoso agency for those bookings. i have become very skeptical about virtuoso etc. perks reward inexpensive 1 night stays, rather than very expensive stays. and i really question how they choose partners like DMCs as well as ignoring great hotels (or villas) that are happy not being part of things like virtuoso. some agents are great, but that is separate issue.

SeattleGal

This is the kind of response I was really hoping for Thank you! I would love to hear more of your favorite destinations from when the 3 of you travelled. The Ritz Grand Cayman is definitely on our short list.

Kagehitokiri

inspirato has 2 houses at RC grand cayman, on the Exclusive Resorts 'island' (these houses are not in hotel inventory, and i dont think RC has put dockhouses in inventory either)

long ago at Exclusive Resorts enclave at RC grand cayman >
https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=b74c1...=2&form=S00027
inspirato.com/destinations/grand-cayman/residences/starlet
inspirato.com/destinations/grand-cayman/residences/coral

denrusso

It's just me, my wife, and 3 year old daughter. We've done three trips so far with Inspirato (member for a year). The first was to the Four Seasons in Nevis where we had a two-bedroom villa. Perfectly roomy for the three of us. Second was to Disney World where we stayed in a one-bedroom deluxe suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Our most recent trip was to Grand Cayman where we stayed at their Starlet residence. This was admittedly large for us (4 bedroom/4.5 bath), but was excellent.

I shared your concern regarding the options offered by Inspirato. The real 'value' with Inspirato is with the service they provide you both pre-trip and during. We now shy away from staying in hotel rooms as you get so much more when finding a house that is right for you.


Inspirato does do exclusive-use cruise charters, but not villas, as far as I know. I'm not sure how that would work - sharing a house with some strangers? They do, however, have 'experiences' that you can book as part of a group. One of their popular options is for the Masters Golf tournament, where they basically take over a small B&B, host private dinners during the week and shuttle you to the tournament.

Cost for a private chef varies by location. For example, some of the residences in Punta Cana have a live-in chef that will cook you two meals a day for only the cost of groceries.

I couldn't agree more with this statement. The cost savings when traveling out of season can be great. Plus you have less crowds to deal with.

As previously stated, we just came back from the Ritz Grand Cayman. The houses they offer are great. The service you get from the onsite concierge is really assuring. I had her cell number and could text her at almost any time for anything and she got right back to me.

We did have an unfortunate experience with our return flight being canceled due to Irma. We had to scramble to find a return flight and once we realized we were 'stuck' in Grand Cayman for an additional two nights we also had to find someplace to stay and this is where Inspirato came through. The other residence they have, Coral, was vacant and they offered it to us, basically for the week, if needed. We moved basically next door and without the hassle of finding a hotel room, were able to actually enjoy the two days.

Needless to say, at this time, I am a huge fan of Inspirato!


Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer.


Thanks,
dr

Kagehitokiri

depends how one defines "house" as i enjoyed necker island with low occupancy

andrew harper has done trips involving exclusive-use-only country estates in UK

indagare did members trip to 20,000ft2 7BR overwater villa at 15 acre private island

cant recall what ER did, but the properties were not average inspirato size "house"

another operator had trip on superyacht, most yachts dont allow reselling cabins

interesting, wish they identified those and had more expensive villas/properties

how was FS nevis rate vs hotel rate? FS nevis has some brand new contemporary villas in hotel inventory including right by beach. hotel currently doing 40% off villas

might check inspirato rates at FS orlando, has its own private waterpark

denrusso

I prefer my own private house, but YVMV and there's nothing wrong with that!

Inspirato does identify what villas come with a private chef within the property description.

The 40% promotion that FS Nevis is running is a great deal and hard to beat. That now puts them in line with Inspirato pricing. I just priced a two-bedroom Palm Grove Residence for Nov 4-11 on the FS site for $7,480 (includes taxes and fees). The same residence on Inspirato is $7,500. Last year it was approximately $5,000 for roughly the same week through Inspirato vs. $11,000 on the FS site.

Unfortunately, Inspirato does not have a relationship with FS Orlando.


Thanks,
dr

Kagehitokiri

i book room (cost more than house) when i cant really afford the exclusive-use rates.

part of why i booked a room at necker (74 acre island with 17 rooms) was low occupancy at last minute. the great room in the Great House was mind blowing. tough going back to regular houses and hotels. staff can be great and rates that include everything can be convenient.

such properties can offer great potential privacy. but i understand why some prefer villa resorts with pool villas. or similar residential communities rather than hotels, which ive also enjoyed.

another way inspirato could offer unique properties would be to lease properties at say FS hualalai that are better than all others on rental market. not sure if possible to lease at amanresorts.

FS nevis new contemporary >
stewart's (2BR looks pretty amazing)
pinney's beach (4/5BR 2001 closest residence to beach)
caribbeanvillas.fourseasons.com
fsrenevis.com
some older houses have nice renovated interiors >
cant tell if 1418 2BR palm grove redid kitchen
1433 3BR palm grove has Dedon interiors (not much more)
both 3BR sunset hill have a big double shower
while others can be more, 1BR stewart's not much more

for inspirato hotel program (vs leased) should be able to change at arrival

edit - should clarify i could have had very private house at necker as no rooms occupied

denrusso

Was your stay pre or post fire of 2011?

Two completely different experiences

And I'm thinking after Irma he will make it even more individual room/hotel like


Thanks,
dr