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.


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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.

If you are a fan of Santa Fe style, this is the one for you. It's a newer Bob Ritter built stone and adobe home that took more than 500 tons of native moss rock and 53,000 adobe bricks to complete. This home is located in the Club Estates area and is on over 9 acres overlooking the 14th fairway of the Sunrise golf course. There are four bedrooms and over 7,000 square feet of space total. The details here, like the wood beamed ceilings, the smooth adobe fireplaces and the hallways rimmed with stone are nice but there is something about this home that feels off and chilly. Perhaps adobe does not lend itself to the vastness or perhaps its the ultra Southwestern staging job. This home is listed at $4.6 million, which seems a bit high.

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Santa Fe in winter is beautiful. Not as cold as other places but still offering plenty of snow. La Posada de Santa Fe has a package to celebrate the season. The "Ski, Spa & S'mores" package includes two night accommodations, a daily lift ticket for two at Ski Santa Fe, one 60-minute massage per person, daily breakfast for two and a welcome amenity of hot cocoa and s'mores kit (including marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars) for using at the resort's outdoor fire pit. Rates start at $238 per person, per night, based on double occupancy.

Fashion designer Tom Ford's road to tranquility in New Mexico has been anything but smooth. A couple of years ago he had to fight for approval to build his Santa Fe home. Now he has bought mineral rights beneath his Galisteo ranch in order to protect his land from possible oil exploration in the region. Ford paid $84,000 for the rights on his more than 1,400 acres of land. In the region the state maintains the rights to sell leases to energy companies. Ford's team tried to persuade the Land Office not to sell oil and gas leases to Tecton Energy, a company which plans to drill eight exploratory wells on 65,000 acres, or 101 square miles, in the Galisteo Basin. The agency however is charged with using the state trust land revenues to help fund public education. Ford's attorney, Janet McKay offered this quote to the press: "We are protecting our land by holding these rights." Ford's ranch is home to a working cattle ranch and an Old West movie set that has been used for several films, including "3:10 to Yuma."

We first heard about the plans for Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America back in December 2005. The home base for space travel promises to bring space tourism to the New Mexico desert. Now the team of US and British architects and designers working on the project have released design renderings of Spaceport America. The design is from a US-British consortium of URS Corporation and Foster + Partners and shows a low-slung design which is tucked into the earth and uses passive energy for heating and cooling with photovoltaic panels for electricity and water recycling. Massive windows open out to the runway. People enter through a deep channel cut in the landscape. The terminal and hanger are expected to cost around $31 million and construction will begin in 2008 with late 2009 or early 2010 projected as a completion date. Big pics of the design drawings in the gallery.

[via Aero-News Network]

The Sunrise Springs Resort is a quiet eco-friendly resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico which has been receiving rave reviews. The resort includes private casita rooms with kitchenettes, master bathrooms, computer alcoves, elegant gas fireplaces, and private patios (some also have a yoga/meditation studio) as well as pond-view and garden-view rooms. Megan Hill, the creator of the resort is a former gallery owner, and so there is plenty of art on display in public areas and the guest rooms. The resort has a Japanese Tea House which does traditional tea ceremonies and meals are served at the Blue Heron restaurant, which focuses on organic ingredients and slow food. The spa offers massages, facials and more New-Agey treatments like sound healing and holographic therapy. A three-night stay during the Santa Fe Fiesta, a celebration of Santa Fe history and culture, September 6-8, costs $899 for a stay in a superior casita plus daily breakfast buffet for two in the Blue Heron Restaurant.

The Rainmakers Golf and Recreational Community is located at 7,000 feet up in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The $30 million community will include an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones II championship golf course, a theater for the performing arts, walking trails, a trailhead center with spa, fitness and swimming facilities, a clubhouse with a restaurant and lounge and a 135-acre wildlife habitat and conservation easement. The grounds include ponderosas, pinon pines and juniper and views of Sierra Blanca and the Sacramento and Capitan mountains.

Real estate options include townhouses, patio homes and estate home sites. The development is also making a green effort with energy-saving construction, environmentally-friendly soil technology and property-wide water conservation initiatives. The golf course is the only Audubon Signature Member golf course in New Mexico. In order to be an Audubon Signature course the management had to demonstrate environmental management practices in areas like water conservation and wildlife habitat management. Townhouses will be priced from the mid-$300,000's to the low $500,000's and 186 building lots have an average price of $110,000.