There's a gap in the upscale travel market right now. The companies that plan these limited-access excursions aren't selling as much as they used to, and once-upon-a-time buyers still have a thirst for the experiences not available to the general public – but not at the prices they paid before the recession. A new website, Jetsetter, is planning to help luxury travel planners and buyers meet in the middle.

Jetsetter, now in beta, bills itself as a "flash-sale website" for the up-market. This Gilt Groupe enterprise is invitation-only. So, the opportunities provided are not subject to the mass competition of the entire travel market. Nonetheless, inventory is likely to move quickly, and the window within which to act is not wide. "International trip curators" roam the world to conduct primary research – including on-site visits. These experts, including veteran travel writers and industry experts, then compile their findings on Jetsetter's site, with editorial accounts and photographs used to help would-be travelers make informed decisions.

Members of the online community will receive e-mail alerts every evening announcing the coming sales. Once that e-mail goes out – at 8 PM – the clock starts to tick.

Destinations available through Jetsetter include The Cotton House on Mustique, Negresco in Nice, the Paws Up resort in Montana (an amazing space) and Encantado in New Mexico.

Earlier this year Val Kilmer put his Pecos River Ranch in New Mexico on the market for $33 million but maybe he didn't mean it. A report in the New Mexico Independent in which Kilmer said that he would not be running for governor of the state also referenced the fact that his ranch was up for sale. The state has been buzzing about the possibility of Kilmer as a gubernatorial candidate for months especially after a controversial statement he made in Rolling Stone magazine that said he lived in "the homicide capital of the Southwest."

In a video interview with KOB-TV Kilmer said that when he put the ranch up for sale he was not planning to leave the state. Kilmer said that he only listed the whole ranch to "try and attract a business partner for an idea I have about a sustainable, off-the-grid community." Back in 2006 he had also offered an 1,800 acre parcel of the ranch for $18 million. The property appears to be off the market but you can still visit as a paying guest.

The ranch has its own website and offers stays in several one-bedroom casitas for $200 per person a night double occupancy. The ranch is located approximately 22 miles northeast of Santa Fe. The ranch has ample wildlife including deer, elk, bear and hawks. It has a trail system that snakes throughout the property and a variety of hikes are available. Horseback riding and mountain biking tours can be arranged. The ranch is located along a seven-mile stretch of the Pecos River which offers great opportunities for fishing.

Today's home is a Southwestern masterpiece tucked into the luxury community of Las Campanas, Santa Fe, New Mexico. This classic adobe home is around 12,000 square feet of luxury designed with Anasazi and Pueblo influences. The five-bedroom home belongs to a member of the family that owned the company that conceived the product Rice A Roni and introduced it to the world. The family also owned Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. The owner's wife has been an international architectural and interior design consultant for a number of celebrities.

The home is constructed mostly of adobe with 24 to 48-inch-thick walls which keeps things cool in the summer time. The home's large entertaining spaces have floors of imported tile, stone, and cherry wood. What sets this estate apart is the fine details such as custom iron and glass work, hand crafted, hand adzed custom built doors, fine millwork, and nine uniquely designed fireplaces. Large windows show the mountains in the distance. Massive ancient vigas support the ceilings and add a rustic look especially in the glassed in curved dining room with a skylight. More pictures are available on the property website. The home is listed at $8.2 million.

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Decreasing tourism has pushed another historic hotel into trouble. The Eklund Hotel in Clayton, New Mexico is a slice of the Old West that includes a saloon with bullet holes in its tin ceiling and a ghost named Irene. The hotel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1892.

It underwent a 2.3 million renovation just five years ago. An AP report highlights the impact the hotel's closing has on the small town of 2,100. The hotel has the main restaurant and bar in town. But the owners, Eklund Association, Incorporated a group of investors that has owned the hotel since 1992 have seen business shrink and are still wrestling with debt from the renovation. The owners wanted to keep the hotel open for the summer season but had to close at the end of April.

The Eklund has 26 rooms with private baths. The renovation was paid for with a $2.16 million loan from the First National Bank in Clayton that was guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development business program but it is not known how much is owed on that loan. The State Historic Preservation Office loaned an additional $200,000 for the project and there is still $147,600, plus 3 percent interest owed on that loan. The hotel isn't officially on the market yet as the bank is still in the foreclosure process. The town is hoping that a buyer who wants to be a part of this small town will come along, save the hotel and join the community.

I first covered the offering of the Bell Ranch in 2007. The New Mexico ranch is still on the market and the deal has gotten better. The Bell Ranch, which was assembled by William N. Lane nearly 40 years ago, is now being offered with an additional 40,100 acres of canyon country and productive pastureland. The additional acreage contains abundant habitat for deer, turkey, bear, and an emerging population of elk, plus water features unique in the region. This brings the Bell Ranch total to 290,100 +/- contiguous fully-deeded acres, or over 453 square miles.

The Bell Ranch features Bell Mountain and a a 10,832-square feet hacienda with swimming pool and tennis courts The property includes a general manager residence and lake house, ranch offices, stables, barns, garage and storage facilities. Cowboy camps are located throughout the property. The Bell Ranch airfield (8,200' x 75' lighted dirt airstrip) has a large hangar.

The ranch is now listed a per-acre price that is 22 percent below its original listing price. At $99 million or $341 per acre for the land, and $4 million for the livestock and equipment, The Bell Ranch offers a lot of room to roam for your $103 million. The property was listed at $115 million when I covered it in 2007.

After failing to sell parcels of his 6,000-acre Pecos River ranch in New Mexico, actor Val Kilmer has now listed the entire estate for $33 million. The 49-year-old star, who recently announced that he may run for governor of New Mexico next year, says he's listing the property so that "someone who has the time and the finances" can maintain and preserve it, the Wall St. Journal reports. Back in 2006 my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported that Kilmer was offering an 1,800 acre parcel for $18 million.

The ranch, which features six miles of trout fishing, canyons, pine forests, a stable and a rock quarry, is about 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe. The main house is a 5,600-sq.-ft. log and stucco contemporary with four bedrooms. There are also two one bedroom guest houses and a two bedroom foreman's house. The star of The Doors and Batman Forever assembled the impressive property, which remains largely unspoiled, about 13 years ago.

Today's home in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area is on 175 acres of scenic ranchland with the Ortiz Mountains in the background. The home is a nearly 14,000 square foot residence that is distinguished by a chapel. The property has a central plaza courtyard, guest and caretaker's quarters, carriage house, infinity-edge pool, hot tub, and cabana. There are also equestrian facilities that include twelve casita-style horse stalls and a large riding arena. The pueblo-style main house features dramatic barrel vaulted ceilings, custom light features, a stone spa shower area. This home is listed at $12.9 million.

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Santa Fe, New Mexico is home to a lot of pricey real estate but this is the most lavish home I've seen in the area. Rancho Escondido is a large home on over 11 acres high in the hills of Tesuque with red rock box canyon cliffs and a waterfall as a backdrop. The home is also surrounded by a 40 acre conservation easement for open views of the mountains and plenty of privacy. The impressive property includes an equestrian facility, guest house, guest casita, pool cabana and an infinity pool with perfect mountain views. The home itself includes eight bedrooms and details like a handcrafted copper entry, indoor/outdoor fireplaces, limestone and oak floors, hand crafted tiles, custom cabinets. The home is being sold with all those dark brown furnishings for a list price of $21.5 million.


Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Auberge Resorts is set to unveil their latest resort, Encantado. The resort is set against the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. The resort offers 65 casitas, a luxury spa, and a fine dining restaurant led by Executive Chef Charles Dale, who was named Best New Chef in America by Food + Wine Magazine in 1995 and twice nominated for Best American Chef in the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation.

The resort offers a variety of packages. The luxurious Too Much Of A Good Thing package includes three nights accommodation in a Casita or suite, a welcome spa gift, a couples Mountain Spirit Purification spa treatment, Moisture Drench facials for two, Encantado Classic Massage for two, private instruction in yoga, pilates or Tai Chi for two, a daily spa breakfast and a special turn down amenity. Rates start at $3380 for the package.

Travelers to Santa Fe desiring an authentic and luxurious New Mexico experience can now look to Casa de Estrellas. This new boutique hotel located in the heart of the city is designer Jay Payne's vision of high end, low key pampering.

With an emphasis on privacy and service, the Casa de Estrellas, or House of the Stars, offers guests private villas instead of rooms, complete with gourmet kitchens and the availability of a personal chef, butler and host. Originally built in the 1930's, the one and two bedroom villas feature mediterranean inspired, adobe style architecture, filled with ancient antiquities from around the world. The property also boasts a full service salon and spa as well as a wedding garden inspired by the work of Kadee Strickland, star of the TV series Wedding Bells. The one bedroom villas start at $195 per night. For larger parties, the 1,200 square foot Aria Townhouse will soon be available starting at $500 per night.

Want to marry a millionaire? Or, if you are already one, find some other millionaires to hang out with? Move to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where one in five households claims millionaire status, making the town the area with the highest concentration of millionaires in the country, according to a study in Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Many residents in Los Alamos work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where, as one would expect, salaries for nuclear researchers aren't too shabby. Coming in behind Los Alamos is Naples/Marco Island, Florida, as well as the Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk, Connecticut region.

[Photo image via Sidecanyon.com]

More news on the growing space industry in New Mexico. Aero-News Network reports that New Mexico governor Bill Richardson has announced that the Rocket Racing League, the NASCAR of the sky, will have its world headquarters in New Mexico. The Rocket Racing League will be based in Las Cruces and will also have facilities at the Southwest Regional Spaceport. Races will be held around the country with the semi-finals at the Reno Air Show in Nevada and the finals in New Mexico in conjunction with the X PRIZE CUP competition. The X-Racer rockets race a three-dimensional track that is one-mile high, two miles long, and a half-mile across and will race three to four laps around the course between pit stops. Cameras will follow the race from balloons, chase planes and the cockpits of vehicles.

Want to combine your ski vacation with a little wine tasting? The 20th Annual Taos Winter Wine Festival starts January 18 and runs through January 29. The festival is host to over 40 wineries and offers a wide variety wine and food events throughout Taos Ski Valley and the Town of Taos. Local restaurants host wine dinners and many winemakers and vineyard owners come to the festival to pour (and soak up the gorgeous scenery).The seminars are small and allow plenty of interaction. There are two Grand Tasting events held on the Friday of each week (January 20 and 27) and a silent auction of great wines benefits the Nature Conservancy of New Mexico and the Taos Community Foundation.

[via Outdoor Newswire]