Camel's Garden Reservation Manager Mike Munno on the cover of Telluride Magazine.

The 2011-2012 ski season in Telluride is off to a great start, as you can see from this Facebook album from the Telluride Tourism Board.

With the snow has come a bevy of fresh accolades for Telluride, both the town and the mountain. The town nearly always ranks as the most beautiful in ski country, a position conferred on Telluride once again, this time by Sunset Travel magazine.

Meanwhile, Forbes named Telluride the third-best ski resort in the United States. After gushing about the historic main street framed by the towering San Juans, the author writes of the skiing: “Telluride’s venerable runs leading toward old town remain some of the most charming in North America: the fall lines are true, the peaks overhead are 14,000-footers and the town below is a gem. But it’s the new terrain, opened during the last several years, that elevates Telluride to a true skier’s mountain. The mountain opened its backside, Revelation Bowl, a classic and continuous Western fall line, in 2008. Better lift access was also provided to the shoulders of Palmyra peak, which offers a bevy of expert chutes, nooks and steeps.”

Ski Magazine also got in on the act, naming Telluride the No. 1 “most charming” resort in America, as well listing it in its top 10 resorts for nightlife and après-ski.

Also check out  Telluride Magazine, which featured Camel’s Garden reservations Manager Mike Munno on the cover of its last issue.

What makes Telluride so special, and what’s the best way to enjoy it? Simply, it’s the combination of having a lively, authentic, historic town perfectly integrated with a world-class ski area and boundless wilderness. It’s all right there, no car needed, no trudging through a plastic, per-fabricated base area. It’s a European experience in the Rockies.

And we’ve got the best perch in the whole place! The Camel’s Garden Hotel is just feet from the Oak Street Lift and the Gondola, with some of Telluride’s best restaurants right next door. We have the best location in town, on the mountain yet just two blocks from Main Street. Check out some of our winter specials.

Our hot tub caught the eye of the Adventurous 500.

A high-energy camera crew called The Adventurous 500 has been on a mission to have 500 Colorado adventures in 500 days.

When they decided to take a break, they picked the Camel’s Garden Hotel, and ended up giving us this fun glimpse of the Camel’s through the eyes of a very enthusiastic young lady and her camera-toting posse.

Not surprisingly, they enjoyed the visit, particularly the huge hot tub, the luxurious rooms, the convenience of a an underground garage and the adjacent River Trail.

It seems the Adventurous 500 has been having trouble actually leaving Telluride.

They’ve been here since day 252 of their adventure and have now seen day 274 come and go.

It’s hard to blame the young lasses and lads. Fun people, a lively nightlife and access to the most beautiful wilderness in America are tough to be beat.

All but of a few of the locals here remember their first “visit,” too.

The Camel’s Garden Hotel is proud to offer an unbeatable holiday season special: 5 nights in Telluride’s most luxurious and conveniently located hotel, plus five days of skiing, for $999 per person.

The deal offer is based on double occupancy and is good for stays from Dec. 17 to Jan. 1, a truly magical time in Telluride.

Late fall can be gorgeous in Colorado, and Thanksgiving can often mean some of the first good skiing of the season. Meanwhile, even Santa wants to be in Telluride for Christmas. And fear not, Telluride, long known for having some of the best nightlife of any ski town, knows how to party on New Year’s Eve as well. The ski area even treats folks to a great ski parade and fireworks display.

Our online reservation system won’t even let us enter in such a good deal. It keeps thinking we’re making a mistake. So call today to book your room or learn more about this deal. We’re at 888-772-2635.

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  Photo by Ryan Bonneau
  
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UPDATE (7.6.11): Ryan got some great shots of the hotel during the Telluride fireworks display. One has been added to the slide show at the top of this post, and you can see more at http://on.fb.me/oGfgWk.

There’s no substitute for talent. Fortunately, Telluride is a talent magnet. World-class athletes, chefs, musicians, artists, architects — they’ve been born here, moved here or, at the very least, have stopped by for a visit.

In addition to skiers and banjo players, Telluride seems particularly adept at attracting photographers.

One of the Camel’s Garden‘s favorite shooters is Ryan Bonneau. Ryan has a wonderful eye to go along with his soft spot for our hotel. He often features Camel’s Garden Reservation Manager Mike Munno in his skiing, mountain biking and fly fishing photos.

Ryan recently snapped the shots featured at the top of this post, which show how perfectly situated the hotel is to Telluride – both the town and the ski resort.

In one of the shots, a glowing Ajax looms over the hotel and the rest of historic Telluride. Our guests get a particularly awesome view of this peak from our huge outdoor hot tub. The shot also gives you an idea as to why our patio, now serviced by Oak, is such a popular spot for lunch and afternoon refreshments.

The other shot shows just how convenient the Camel’s Garden is to the Gondola, Oak Street Lift and the rest of the Telluride Ski Resort, which all descend to, and ascend from, a grassy plaza directly adjacent to the Camel’s Garden Hotel. It’s a spot that serves as a popular meeting place in summer as it is convenient to everything in town. And it becomes the center of activity in winter, a place where people staying at other hotels get dropped off to pick up their passes and get on the lift.

Of course, our guest don’t need to bother with the bus. They just step outside.

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  The best location in town, with a patio big enough for a band
  
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  Oak draws a crowd for its June opening
  
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  Cheers! It's Oak at the Camel's Garden!
  
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  Oak at the Camel's Garden: Party Here Daily
  
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  Family friendly: A youngster enjoys the patio at Oak
  
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  Robbie O'Dell works the register at his new resturant, Oak
  

Fat Alley Opens at the Camel’s Garden as Oak!
Restaurateur Robbie O’Dell takes over at Telluride’s best location

Telluride is rocking as music lovers from around the world pour into town for the incomparable Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which kicks off tonight with FirstGrass and continues through Sunday with an amazing lineup that includes Sarah McLachlan, Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris, The Decemberists, Robert Plant and Mumford & Sons.

Other than Town Park – Telluride’s absurdly beautiful festival venue – the weekend buzz will be at its best at Oak, the new restaurant at the Camel’s Garden Hotel.

Oak is the latest venture from Robbie O’Dell, who previously ran one of Telluride’s most popular restaurants, Fat Alley, which won people over with great barbeque and a friendly, casual vibe.

O’Dell has managed to keep that vibe, along with the fabulous comfort food, while upgrading his approach to match Telluride’s best location.

At the junction of Oak Street and San Juan Avenue, the Camel’s Garden is just a few steps from Lift 8 and the Gondola, an area that essentially serves as the “base area” of the Telluride Ski Resort as it descends into town.

Yet, in a setup unique to Telluride, the location doesn’t have a “base area” feel at all and blends perfectly with the rest of Telluride’s vibrant, historic business district.

O’Dell takes advantage of this location by expanding on the things that made Fat Alley so popular: Quality food and friendly service.

The menu includes Fat Alley favorites mixed with new offerings. Oak also capitalizes on the space’s great bar and huge patio for what has already become Telluride’s favorite afternoon hangout and what’s sure to be its best après ski destination.

“I love everything about the space and location,” O’Dell said of the new digs. “It allows me to do everything I did at Fat Alley and much more. This is going to be a place that locals and visitors embrace. It’s going to be fun. It’ll be Fat Alley, only better.”

Camel’s Garden co-owner Michael Zivian says O’Dell’s Oak is great fit for the space.

“Telluride has this wonderful balance between luxury and being a friendly, down-to-Earth, casual place,” Zivian said. “That’s what we exemplify at the Camel’s Garden. We give our guests the best amenities and location without the attitude. Oak fits perfectly into that mix.”

Co-owner Larry Holmgren said it is important to note that Oak is not a hotel restaurant.

“It’s independently owned, just like the Camel’s Garden,” Holmgren said. “Oak will be a great local hangout, have a terrific après ski and be a high-quality southern-style restaurant that locals, hotel guests and other Telluride visitors will all enjoy.”

As Camel’s Garden General Manager Scott Spencer puts it: “This is a win-win-win. It’s good for Robbie, good for our guests and it’s great for Telluride.”

Oak is open daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call Oak at (970) 728-3985.

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  Going into its four year, there's already a ton of buzz about the Telluride Yoga Festival
  
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  Town Park Telluride, the ultimate festival and concert venue, just a short walk from the Camel's Garden Hotel.
  
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  Raise your hand if you love Telluride festivals!
  
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  Mountainfilm kicks off summer in Telluride each May.
  
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  Town Park stage during Blues & Brews.
  
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  Got gunslingers? Sure do, at the Telluride Heritage Festival
  
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  Telluride Mushroom Festival banner with a rainbow. Go figure!
  
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  The Telluride Film Festival brings out the stars, and generally a few Oscar winners, too.
  
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  The scene at Blues & Brews in Town Park Telluride.
  
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  Balloon Festival illuminates downtown Telluride.
  

Nature has surrounded Telluride with some of the most glorious peaks in the world, blessed it with blue alpine lakes and etched it with rushing rivers.

To this man has added an absurd variety trails, classic Old West architecture and a dizzying array of places to eat, shop and drink.

All of which make Telluride a center for hiking, biking, fishing, climbing, rafting and other alpine pursuits.

But were the good folks of Telluride content? Did they just sit back and wait for travelers to find their way onto the dead-end road that leads into the box canyon at the center of the San Juan Mountains?

No they did not!

Instead, Telluride has packed the summer calendar with world-class festivals and events that make it a truly irresistible summer destination. [Here's another excellent listing.]

One of the amazing things about Telluride is that it seems to wear each festival well. You could come to town for a weekend of hiking during the enormously popular Bluegrass Festival, and still find yourself alone on the trails during the day and able to get a table at the best restaurants at night. (One caveat is that rooms do fill up quickly for the premier events. The Camel’s Garden has just a few left for Bluegrass.) Likewise, you could come to town for one of the smaller festivals, and still find a lively, colorful scene.

Telluride is currently buzzing as the socially conscious Mountainfilm Festival is about to get underway. The festival kicks off the summer season, and brings to town adventurers, activists, artists and their stories.

As you’d imagine, Telluride locals love this festival, and they are not alone. It’s gotten a ton of glowing press this year, including these posts from Outside Magazine and Ski Magazine. TellurideInside.com has also been featuring a lot of great Mountainfilm content, as has Telluride.com, especially on its Facebook page. If you are in town for the festival, those posts will also help you make your movie selection.

One of the things we’ll do on this blog is feature the individual festivals as they approach. In the meantime, checkout the listings at VisitTelluride.com and Telluride.com and book your room at the Camel’s Garden. The historic Old Town and its Town Park are the centers of activity for the festivals, and the Camel’s Garden is perfectly situated for easy access to both. The town is right outside our front door. The San Miguel River and River Trail are directly behind us and take visitors right to the festival grounds.

Welcome Mountainfilm. Let the summer season begin!

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  Reservations Manager Mike Munno shredding Telluride powder.
  
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  Telluride's newest lift, Revelation Bowl.
  
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  Our lobby and site of our daily, complimentary après ski
  
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  Our rooms all have big, luxurious tubs!
  
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  A standard room at the Camel's Garden
  
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  Moon over Telluride
  
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  An abundance of festivals helps make Telluride even busier in summer than winter
  
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  Our hotel opens onto the Telluride Ski Resort, sharing a plaza with Lift 8, the Gondola & the Telluride Trail
  
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  Home of the Camel's Garden, Telluride, Cororado
  

The Camel’s Garden is a truly special place, a unique luxury hotel with the best of all possible locations in the paradise on Earth known as Telluride.

Capturing in words the extraordinary experience that awaits you at the Camel’s Garden is no easy task. Fortunately, the real experts — the people who have stayed with us before — have been sharing their experiences on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp. Thank you to our awesome guests for sharing these thoughts. We treasure your reviews. Here’s a sample.

“The Camel’s Garden is the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in. The location is superb – not only is less than a few blocks from Telluride’s main street and many restaurants, but it’s literally just steps from the Lift 8 AND the Gondola.”
Kate, Washington, DC, on TripAdvisor

“The most convenient ski hotel on Earth!”
Greg, New York, on TripAdvisor

“Perfect zenith of style, luxury + location THE place to stay in Tride”
Duchesse, New York City, on TripAdvisor

“The staff is awesome, very Telluride. … (and) it’s location is PERFECT. … the big Gondola … is literally stumbling distance from the front doors.”
Uncle Fishbits, San Francisco, on Yelp

“We just returned from Telluride and everything worked for us at this hotel. Friendly, helpful staff. Room was better than it looked on the hotel’s website. We stayed in a King Select and the room was extremely comfortable and quiet. Great location that made life easy for us – ski rentals off the lobby, great restaurants in walking distance, gondola right outside the door.”

KB, Texas, on TripAdvisor

Room for the whole family in our luxurious suites

The Camel’s Garden is Telluride‘s premier slope-side luxury hotel.

We’re located in the heart of  historic downtown Telluride, Colorado — a vibrant Old West town packed with famous restaurants, galleries, music venues and colorful characters.

We’re also only 25 feet from the Oak Street Lift and about 50 feet from the gondola, giving skiers tremendous access to the Telluride Ski Resort, a world-class mountain with some of the best expert terrain in the country and acre upon acre of intermediate and beginner slopes.

Being a true ski-in and ski-out hotel with a prime location in a genuine town — not some pre-fabricated “base area” –  makes the Camel’s Garden a hotel unlike any other in North America.

The location works just as well in the summer, too. Telluride is a mecca for festivals, hiking, mountain biking, fishing and all other alpine pursuits.  Our access to these assets is unmatched. Even more so in summer than winter, Telluride’s historic district (as opposed to the Mountain Village) is the center of activity and clearly the place to stay. Walk out our front door, and you’re already at some of Telluride’s best restaurants. A block farther and you are on Main Street. Walk around behind the Camel’s and you are right on the River Trail, which winds along the beautiful San Miguel River, and connects to the Bear Creek Trail and many others.

The Camel’s is packed with amenities we know you’ll love. We have a huge hot tub with views of Ajax Mountain. Our rooms are large, clean, bright, modern and extremely well appointed with MP3 music docks, flat-screen TVs, huge beds, comfy robes and more. We treat all guests to free wine at our daily après-ski. There is a restaurant, a spa and a ski shop right in our lobby. A free continental breakfast is served daily. Parking in our heated garage is also free. Your car will be extremely comfy, but rather lonely as we doubt you’ll need it during your stay. The Camel’s Garden Hotel is close to everywhere you’ll want to be in Telluride.

Visit our Web site to make a reservation, or give us a call at 888-772-2635. We know you’ll love Telluride, and there’s no place better to stay in paradise than the Camel’s Garden.