The
snow is starting to fall and it’s time to book flight on the big metal bird to
get to where the fluffy white stuff is. But name the last time you went on a
snowboarding holiday and didn’t either a) get ripped off for lame accom b) get
kicked out of said accom for daring to have a good time and making more noise
than a mute mouse would in a coma?
Well,
my friends, if snow pro Marc Frank Montoya and a man with a suspicious sounding
name like Liko. S. Smith have their way, you’ll never have to cough up your
hard earned cash for sub-standard snowboarding holiday accommodation ever
again. The Block Hotels is “The Worlds First Snowboarder Hotel Group” created
by Montoya and hotelier Smith, and the
group devised and opened The Block at Tahoe in South Lake
Tahoe, and The Block at
Big Bear in
It’s
created a blueprint for exactly the kind of snowboard holiday nirvana most of
us have been searching for – designed specifically for the snowboarding lifestyle;
the hotels offer a super laid-back atmosphere in a fully styling, contemporary
setting. But it’s not just the vibe that’s drawing the snow crowd in hordes –
it’s the freebies and perks!
Snowboarder-friendly
amenities include board racks in all rooms, a rooftop spa tub, a lobby
featuring pool tables, wide-screen TVs, and an Internet café, while barbecue
grills dot the property. All guests receive free energy drinks, energy bars,
popcorn, DVD movies, Napster Music cards, PS2 video games and ’s “soup at hand” as well as free
wi-fi access and board waxing in a personal waxing room created by Bluebird
Wax. All rooms come equipped with PS2 game consoles, boot/glove dryers,
cordless phones and mini boom boxes as well as original wall art photography by
Burton Principal Photographer Dean "Blotto" Gray, Technine
Photographer Ethan Fortier, and Snowboard Photographer Andy Wright.
The
hotels also feature the most inventive rooms in the hotel industry,
"Signature Suites" by companies such as DVS Shoe Co., Transworld
Snowboarding Magazine, Jones Soda Co., Zoo York, SPY Optic, Roxy, Napster,
Nikita clothing, Bear Mountain Resort and others. There is also a "Liberty
Lounge" by Liberty Board Shop of Southern California in Big Bear and the
NJB Lounge in by NJB Clothing. Basically
these rooms are kitted out like you wouldn’t believe, and when they’re not full
of touring company pros are open for bookings. So does staying anywhere else in
the snow even sound tolerable now? Thought not!!
But
us non
kids are in luck. Future locations are being reviewed in Keystone, CO, Mammoth,
CA, June Lake, CA, and several areas in Canada, NZ and Japan, but seeing The Block partners plan to open 20 locations within the next
5 to 7 years, it’s pretty safe to guess there’ll be one on every continent
soon. And why not? The vision is so simple and yet revolutionary, and has
already taken off in the U.S., with investors including a who’s who of action
sports, including professional snowboarders Travis Parker, Mikey LeBlanc, Yani
Malmi, Yussi Oksanen, JJ Thomas, Kurt Wastell, Chris Coulter, Tara Dakides and
Devun Walsh as well as professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. Heck, half the
damn industry is behind this gig!
So
when are we gunna see the first outside the Smith toured Europe this October searching
for a location for The Block Hotels, and was touring
and New
Zealand, and Yuzawa and ,
, this very November to
find Pacific and locations as well. The
goal is to open an international location in 2006/07.