Originally Posted by TravelerBen_ll

Mountie - Jim has stayed at several LL properties. Let me see if I can coax him into adding to our group blog, but as you said, it's tough to pry Jim away from the phones

Kyshel - The OW airport transfer was another huge perk of my lebua stay. I imaging you'll really enjoy it after a loooong Transpacific flight, but for us it was such a breeze to be whisked out of Bangkok on a shockingly traffic-free Sunday morning, met at the airport by another lebua rep and walked all the way to the security line!

Ben, I have spoken to Jim several times and he has been a great help, especially when I encountered difficulties in adjusting my travel schedule to Peru. Jim jumped right into the middle of the fray and sorted out the complications. During our several conversations, Jim was kind enough to comment on some of his travels. He's been around the travel industry for years and certainly knows the ins and outs of tight situations.

I'm sure he has some favs he could share.

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I have not been to any of these but they all sound wonderful - Victoria Falls Lodge is on my bucket list!

Mine, too, DH. Just trying to figure out how to go that direction when most of our travel seems to be other way for now!

The bed is gone!!!! I had to eat it in pieces. I enjoyed it but peeled off some of the sugary cover. I have been enjoying the blanket on these cool evenings. Memories of Travaasa continue........

What a wonderful idea.

Congratulations to everyone who attended.

I have not been to any of these but they all sound wonderful - Victoria Falls Lodge is on my bucket list!

Great Hotels. We enjoyed the Dorchester in Washington, DC a while back, but you did not include it here, why?

Mountie - Jim has stayed at several LL properties. Let me see if I can coax him into adding to our group blog, but as you said, it's tough to pry Jim away from the phones

Kyshel - The OW airport transfer was another huge perk of my lebua stay. I imaging you'll really enjoy it after a loooong Transpacific flight, but for us it was such a breeze to be whisked out of Bangkok on a shockingly traffic-free Sunday morning, met at the airport by another lebua rep and walked all the way to the security line!

Wonder why we don's see a few words from Concierge Extraordinaire Jim Sanchez?

Maybe Jim doesn't have time to take many trips, since he is always on the telephone booking travel for us!

Great poll--thank you all for sharing your experiences. Ben, I'm looking at Lebua again. Thinking about adding to Banyan Tree. First Lebua w/OW transfers since we arrive at midnite, get our jet lag settled, then continue with our Thailand travels.
I echo BJ03 on South America.

Great post. Now, let's get the team to South America to enjoy those properties!! Would love to see the team's favorites in Chile and Argentina!!!

PS- welcome back Ben!

The bed was an ornate cookie made to look like a bed. The blanket was a sheet of icing (or marzipan or fondant) on a cardamom shortbread type slab cookie. It was displayed in a clear plastic box--very cute I think the box might have tasted better? We didn't dare try the cowboy hat, so we left it for the housekeeper for a little snack.
I like your chili style. Did you make yours in an hour, too?
BTW--ask your fishing pals about 4 dings.

Well, it sounds like the trip to Travaasa has made an impression on most of those who attended. I'm a bit out of the loop on bed eating, but I'll Google it and see if I can learn more.

btw, big thanks to omegaet for the PM with the prize winning recipe for Vegetarian Chili.

I made a batch last night and it turned out to be pretty darn good.

I did use omegaet's advice to adjust the recipe to my taste. I substituted ground top sirloin for the tofu, added an extra Jalapeno and a half cup of tequila and a full bottle of beer. My neighbor and his wife stopped by to enjoy the chili.

She really liked it, but seemed to get sleepy shortly after eating her second helping.

Oh No about the bed....isn't it good????? The coffee was very good. Can't wait to try the throws. It has been so warm here though. Enjoy K!!!!

I don't recommend eating the "bed treats" Connie. Trust me--it's cuter than it tastes.
I brought the coffee back but have yet to brew it. I left my scottie horses at the desk for a local friend who has a new baby boy. I used my cashwere throw last night while lounging and watching TV. So soft and snuggly!

You guys are great! The Cowboy hat was eaten behind closed doors in my office! I shared the Austin Breakfast Tea with my staff. (yet we were confused with two tea bags in each container and no explanation. Spent 30 minutes discussing tea. Not a productive morning.) We still have one bag of popcorn left. The beautiful "bed" cookie is sitting on the counter. I am just waiting for a crabby moment to truly inhale it in one sitting! I just adored the food gifts and surprises each day. The Scottie Horses (K understands that one)adorn our bed. Miss MacKenzie has her eye on them and I have a feeling they might not make it through the month.
Again, this was a fantastic experience. I hope that this can happen again!

I looked over at the pool one morning and I saw feet in the air. I'd recognize them anywhere...

It would be great if someone could post names of who's who in the group photos, at least to point out our LL Lounge buddies. I think the only one I know for sure in the group photos is bonniejoy. Could someone please do so? Thanks!

mountie, I chuckled at your use of the term 'experiment' rather than 'experience'. I guess in some sense of the term, it was an experiment:

· 10 consumers who have never met, some of whom have been doing business with the company for 8 or more years, and bringing them together in a luxury environment

· 6 of those consumers who have been active in an on-line forum for 6+ years and have established cyber identities and multiple exchanges of travel experiences. The remaining attendees have done business with the company but never actively participated in the on-line forum with the others.

· ask all participants to share their experiences in various social media forums during the weekend.

We found the weekend 'experiment/experience' enlightening.

Great fun to finally meet two other VIP couples face-to-face, as well as the other four individuals. Although we are different in many ways, we all share an enthusiasm for great travel experiences, which is a common bond through Luxury Link.

Let me assure you, Connie looks totally different when she is standing on her feet rather than her hands!

Likely Diane and Ben have returned to their Playa del Rey headquarters and begun the 'after action' evaluation. Possibly their overall assessment might be to never, never do anything like this again or maybe they decide to do a similar 'experiment/experience' in the future.

Yes, to your question about input to management. None of us were shy about sharing our thoughts and suggestions both good and bad (there were few of these) regarding Luxury Link and the possibility of future destinations.

As I recall, the only reference to Chile was to Chili as in Cookoff (which by the way, regardless of what others have written about the quality of their finished versions - we won the Vegetarian Chili Award).

Great questions, Mountie. Connie is right--it was like meeting long-lost siblings for those of us in the Lounge. We split up so often, mixed with Travaasa staff/mgment and Diane/Ben. With all the activities, I found conversations flowed in every which direction. Breakfast made for more personal time with our group. We got more inspiration for the lower Americas.

We had a great time learning more about each other. Its funny how you might perceive or anticipate how someone will be after just reading posts, blogs, comments. Then, when you meet them, it is like old friends! I truly enjoyed our company! The common thread was definitely travel. Michael and I were able to get some great suggestions about places we have never visited such as Asia and Southern Africa. Wish we could do this more often!