A Much Needed Family Reunion in Newport Coast
Last month my wife and I had the pleasure of planning a family reunion at The Villas at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast, thanks to our Inspirato membership. We booked a couple of large and luxurious villas at the Pelican Hill Resort for a four-night stay with many of our very favorite people.
Our daughters couldn’t make the trip home from college in Texas for this long weekend, so we were unfortunately missing our two very favorite people. Nonetheless, it was an amazingly special time in every way.
Aside from my dad who lives locally here in SoCal near us, all of our other family members live in Colorado or the Pacific Northwest. Times that we are able to all get together to even share a meal are exceedingly rare, so the times that we are able to spend a few days together are almost unheard of.
The last time this crew had been together for a few days of vacation was back in 2014. Since that time, there have been new marriages, new babies, new grandparents, lost loved ones…so much happens in the span of almost ten years. This was much needed time together.
How Inspirato Makes Planning a Family Reunion Easy
The mission of Inspirato is: To inspire lasting memories and relationships by changing the way family and friends experience the world. I often mention how Inspirato does a fantastic job of creating a context in which their mission is lived out by us members. I’m reminded of this each time we set off on a new Inspirato vacation. This family reunion trip to Newport Coast was just one more example.
Planning a family reunion can be a pain in the neck. You have a host of people who have different preferences and needs. You likely need multiple hotel rooms or residences. You may need to deal with more than one rental company or property manager. There is uncertainty about whether you’ll be able to select a destination and a property that will be pleasing to everyone in the group. And who will you use to help plan activities, make dinner reservations, and be charged with making your trip an overall success?
Planning a family reunion with Inspirato eliminates these concerns. You can rest assured that the property you select will be comfortable and luxurious, to such an extent that even your most discriminating family members will be pleased. And whether you need one large residence or three or four large residences on the same property, Inspirato has you covered.
Experience Inspirato’s Five-Star Service and Vast Portfolio
Further, you will receive incredible service throughout your stay, from an Inspirato vacation planner to an on-site concierge whose purpose is to ensure that you and your family have everything you need fully taken care of, so that you can relax and enjoy precious time with those you love most.
Inspirato’s impressive property portfolio spreads across the globe. And there are a number of destinations where Inspirato has multiple residences on the same property, making planning a family reunion or any type of large group vacation a breeze.
A few destinations that we’ve enjoyed that offer multiple residences at the same property include; Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast, Costa Elena in Costa Rica, Los Veneros in Punta Mita, Stein Eriken Lodge in Deer Valley, The Dominick in NYC, The Rocks in Scottsdale, Islamorada in Florida Keys, and Los Cabos. Wow! It turns out we’ve experienced a bunch of them firsthand.
I know there are also options on the Big Island, Cacique peninsula in Costa Rica, London, Tuscany, Ft. Lauderdale, Maui…and so on. As I write this, I’m surprised at how many incredible options there are for large group travel with Inspirato. You’d be hard-pressed to find any other luxury vacation club or travel company that would have anywhere close to the number of fantastic options as Inspirato.
And I need to give a shoutout to the Inspirato Pelican Hill team, specifically. We had a 9-month old and a two-year old in our group. I had requested “all the baby stuff” from our concierge. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve had a child that young, so I thought requesting “all the baby stuff” would cover their needs.
When we entered the villa where the little ones were going to be staying, everything they needed was in place and set up. High chairs, cribs, diaper trash disposals, and even a few plush soft animal toys were included among the items, along with a sweet welcome note from the Inspirato team. Amazing.
It’s becoming increasingly challenging for Inspirato to exceed my ever-rising expectations, but these personal touches did the trick. As my wife and I were the ones hosting this reunion, we also came across looking like champs, and we relished seeing how at-ease the parents of the little ones were having everything set up so nicely for them. Well done, Inspirato.
Priceless Quality Time Spent with Family
Back to our group and our time at Pelican Hill. How did we spend our days? What incredibly exciting things did we do together? It was intentionally straightforward and simple. We spent time enjoying one another’s company in one of the most relaxed settings imaginable.
We walked on the beach at Crystal Cove. We ordered meals in from fabulous restaurants in Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach that we enjoyed in our spacious villas. We did group trips to the pool and had poolside cocktails as the sun set behind us. We dined on the property at the Villa Pool and Coliseum Grill. We sat around and caught up on life as we watched our respective alma maters play college football games on Saturday. On this trip, and with this group, it was all about catching up and being together.
I did have one “activity” that will stand out as my highlight of this trip forever. On our last evening together (so often, magical vacation experiences seem to happen on the last evening), our entire group decided to walk over and hang at the Villa Pool for a bit and have a couple of drinks before heading back to the villas for dinner.
The weather was perfect; the warmth of the SoCal fall sunshine sitting low in the sky until settling down beyond the horizon. Tossing around a small UCLA (Go Bruins!) rubber football amongst ourselves and some friends, we quickly made friends who happened to be fellow Bruins.
Swimming up to the pool’s edge to sip on our Mojitos, we enjoyed lots of stories, lots of laughter. These magical vacation moments often seem to happen so naturally, right? Yes and no. They happen naturally only after much work has been done to plan extraordinary vacations with those you love most. And they seem to happen much more often when an Inspirato vacation is in involved.
Whether you’re due for a large family reunion, a big trip with family friends, or a work-related group trip, Inspirato has you covered in every way and in a multitude of destinations.
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