Luxury Adventures for Air, Land, and Sea

If you’re a weekend warrior looking for an adventure that is closer to an extreme Fear Factor stunt (minus the goat eyeball stew) than a game of “Simon Says” on a hotel beach, there are some incredible adrenaline rushes just minutes away from some of the most exclusive resorts in the country.

So grab your wetsuit, your driving gloves, and your goggles, and spend a day amped and pushing your heart rate to the max knowing that when your adventure du jour is done, a 7-course gourmet meal, a luxurious spa treatment, and a bed wrapped in fine Egyptian cotton awaits to bring you back to reality.

THE DROP ZONE AND QUIET ZONE IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN AIR ADVENTURE:
Never had the opportunity to leave a perfectly good airplane at 13-thousand feet? Virgin landlubbers get their chance with a Tandem Freefall at Skydive Arizona located less than an hour outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

These days jumping from a plane two and a half miles up is as easy as rolling out of bed. With only a half hour instructional briefing, you’ll be harnessed to an instructor then climb into the wild blue yonder in a Super Otter aircraft. Ten minutes later, you’ll be looking at your drop zone from two and a half miles up.

Out the door you go for a 1-minute freefall followed by a pull of the ripcord and a “knees in the breeze” trip back to earth. Since the instructor is behind you, you have the sensation of being alone with the comfort and safety of knowing that a seasoned professional is watching your back front from top to bottom.

Tandem jumps are the most popular for first timers and often are the starting point for more advanced instruction like the Accelerated Skydiving Program which has you jumping unattached (along with instructors nearby) after a six to eight hour ground school. It’s the quickest way to become a licensed skydiver. And when it comes to skydiving, licenses are a good thing.

Skydive Arizona has been pushing people out of planes since 1978 and has grown to one of the world’s largest skydiving centers with over 150-thousand jumps made every year. So if you’re ready to test the law of gravity first hand, start with the Tandem Freefall at $160 and impress your couch potato friends with video of your jump for $70. Check out all the skydiving programs offered at Skydive Arizona at www.skydiveaz.com.

THE LUXURY:
After a hard day of plunging to earth, fall into bed at the 250-acre Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. This landmark celebrates the American Southwest with its lavish décor and breathtaking surroundings. It’s a sportsman’s destination with a 27 Hole Championship Golf Course, nine heated swimming pools, 12 secluded tennis courts and a Well-Being Spa (voted Best Spa in North America for “Top Service”). The resort has 474 guest rooms ranging from private casitas to luxury suites.

If your day of skydiving wasn’t enough, the Phoenician can arrange other mini-adventures including personalized tours through the red rocks of Sedona, day trips to the Grand Canyon, hikes, and visits to authentic western “ghost towns.”

And if skydiving makes you hungry, this is the place for a great meal. The resort is the recipient of the AAA Travel Guide Five Diamond Award for culinary excellence. And best of all, if you want to do your adventure with the family in tow, the Phoenician caters to activities for guests of all ages with its Funicians Club for Kids. Room rates are seasonal. For more information visit the Phoenician website at www.thephoenician.com.

OFF ROADING OFF THE BEATEN PATH LAND ADVENTURE:
These days almost every soccer mom or dad you encounter is driving some type of SUV. Millions of these off-the-road vehicles are on America’s highways and the biggest workout they’ll ever get is driving the Girl Scouts to a sleep over.

Think of the fun you can actually have taking an SUV to a place where it was designed to be driven, like a 6500-acre wilderness area of great off road driving. Pop on the 4-wheel drive and blow through that mud puddle, navigate over huge fallen trees, and then go straight up a dirt incline steeper than any hill in San Francisco. And do all in the lap of luxury.

Get behind the wheel of the workhorse of the British Empire at The Land Rover Driving School in White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia. The Allegany Mountains serve as the perfect backdrop for this one to four-hour driving challenge on Kate’s Mountain Trail.

Before you get the keys to the brand new Land Rover you’ll have to take a short crash course, so to speak, that teaches you all the techniques you’ll need to survive in the wild. Once you learn the ropes, you’re off with an instructor and up to three guests to hit the miles of trails that are rated from novice to expert. The Land Rover Driving School rates start at $185 for one hour to $485 for four hours including the vehicle. The bad news is you have to give the Land Rover back when you’re done. The good news is you don’t have to wash it. For more information and reservations call The Greenbrier resort at 800-453-4858.

THE LUXURY:
Sure the Land Rover is fun and comfortable but you wouldn’t want to sleep in it. That’s where the Greenbrier in West Virginia comes in. This 221-year old 5-star resort is located only a few hours drive from Washington D.C. and word is this is the place where politicians come to eat, sleep, and hide when they have to.

The resort has 803 rooms ranging from individual guest rooms to luxury suites. They also offer guesthouses and elegant estate houses for those wanting even more privacy. Gourmet breakfast and dinner are included in the room rate.

They also have a dress code. Casual dress is fine during the day, but evening is reserved for coat and tie for men and dresses or suits for women. Black tie is optional and as we’ve seen, quite common.

Service at The Greenbrier is impeccable. Sixteen hundred staff members cater to the whim and wishes of up to 1500 guests. You do the math. Chances are your water glass will never hit empty. Neither will your wine bottle.

After your Land Rover Driving adventure (which can be booked through the resort), sooth those aching muscles in the healing powers ascribed to the waters of the White Sulpher Springs that flow under and through the multimillion dollars spa of the resort. Since 1778 guests have soaked and drank (it’s a natural laxative) the mineral water and “taken the cure”. And you thought only Pepto-Bismol works.

There are more than 50 activities available at the Greenbrier ranging from golf to fly-fishing and horseback riding. And while you’re visiting take a tour of the Greenbrier’s very own atomic bomb shelter, one of the last remnants of the cold war. Built in 1962, the bunker with its four 30-ton blast doors was a top-secret relocation site for the U.S. Congress in the event of nuclear war. Today the no-longer needed hideaway has been decommissioned and is open to the public. Congress will just have to find somewhere else to hide out.

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, SLEEPING WITH STARS SEA ADVENTURE:
If you’re looking for close encounters with dangerous creatures of the deep (and we’re not talking sushi here), the Pacific Ocean off Southern California is the place to have one of the best face to teeth visits with sharks that you will live to talk about it.

San Diego Shark Diving Expeditions gets you “up close and personal” with Blue & Mako sharks. These one-day trips take you 20-miles offshore to a blue-water dive site where you’re escorted into a metal shark cage and dropped 15-feet into the ocean. A dive master in a stainless steel chainmail suit outside the cage baits the sharks. Up to four divers at a time remain in the cage for 40 to 60 minutes. And everybody gets two turns in the cage with video and still pictures capturing your exciting moments of face time with sharks.

A word of warning; this adventure is not for everyone. The shark dive is in such deep water that the boat cannot be anchored so it drifts with the wind and current and rocks side to side. This could be the worst day of your life if you’re seasick and stuck out in the Pacific from dawn to dusk. You also must be certified and successfully complete a practice dive in order to visit the sharks in their neighborhood. One-day shark trips are $260 and can be booked at www.sdsharkdiving.com.

THE LUXURY:
When you’re done diving with the sharks, come up for some surf and turf and a room with a view on nearby Coronado Island.

For over 115-years, the Hotel Del Coronado has hosted U.S Presidents, Hollywood Celebrities, international dignitaries, and regular folks at its oceanfront location in Coronado California. It’s been called “One of the top 10 Resorts in the World” and a 55-million dollar restoration has brought this National Landmark back to its original Victorian splendor.

The Hotel Del is the real deal. Thomas Edison helped bring electricity to its 688 rooms and suites, the Otis Elevator #61 (The Bird Cage) still is hand-operated from the lobby today as it was in 1888, and the opulent Crown Room (with its incredible Sunday Brunch) still is illuminated by crown shaped chandeliers designed by L. Frank Baum who incidentally wrote “The Wizard of Oz” at the hotel.

History aside, today the Del continues to surround you in the lap of luxury at the beach. For foodies, the resort was recently voted “Best Hotel Dining” by the California Restaurant Association. The Prince of Wales offers 5-star fine dining with contemporary fare and an extensive wine list. And nothing takes the edge off an adventurous day like oceanfront dining at Sheerwater’s near one of the outdoor fireplaces with a very dry Martini in hand and a Montecristo if you so desire. For a light snack, the Babcock & Story bar offers food and drink in a relaxed setting with live music.

The Hotel Del is the quintessential Southern California resort experience. Room rates start at $270 per night and can be reserved at www.hoteldel.com.

• Email this page
• Printer-friendly version