Five Best Kid Friendly Summer Activities In FoCo

Photo courtesy of Holiday Twin Drive-in

You’re headed to Fort Collins with the kid’s in tow and worry if there will be enough to keep them entertained and still enjoy the best of FoCo Adulting. Since FoCo is consistently ranked on lists of the best places to raise a family, including The Best U.S. Cities to Raise a Family by MarketWatch the list of things to do is deep and wide with year-round, family-friendly attractions, entertainment, and community events.

While there is plenty to do in any season, the best seasons for kids is Summer (which lasts well into September and even early October). Here is our shortlist of fun…enjoy!

1. See a movie at Holiday Twin Drive-in.

We defy you to find something better to do with your kids than experiencing a soon forgotten joy of your own childhood, a night at the Drive-In. Drink the sugary soda, have the extra buttered popcorn, bring the lawn-chairs (we’ll even supply them for you). Holiday Twin Drive-in was originally built in the late 1960s and is one of Colorado’s last remaining drive-in movie theaters. Movies are shown from mid-spring through the first weekend in September. To see what’s playing, click here.

2. Ride Birney Car 21.

Since we’ve got nostalgia on the mind, Birney Car 21 is Fort Collins’ historic trolley and it turned 100 years old this year! You can visit Birney Car 21 on summer weekends and holidays for a three-mile round trip between City Park and Howes Street in Downtown Fort Collins. It’s a great way to enjoy local history and take a unique tour of our city center.

3. Spend an afternoon at Fort Fun.

Fort Fun boasts more than 10 attractions, 70 games and an on-site restaurant so guests can play all day long. Outdoor attractions like mini-golf, go-karts and the iconic giant slide are great but the kid favorite in the summer months has to be bumper boats and paddle boats on Blue Heron Lake.

 4. Expand your mind at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. 

If the summer heat gets to be too much, head indoors to a world of wonder, learning, and fun. Featuring eleven experiential exhibits including a music and sound lab, animal encounters, and food forage and farm experience, this adventure is enough to keep people of all ages engaged and entertained for hours.

5. Try your hand at Paddle Boarding on Horsetooth Reservoir

Start your day with a hike around Lory State Park and reward yourself and the kids with some fun at the beaches of Horsetooth Reservoir. FoCo recreation just minutes from Remington Flats, can be found here where you can fish, swim at the public beach, and boat with your own or a rented craft through Inlet Bay Marina. The surrounding area also offer climbing, hiking, biking and even overnight camping.

Honorable Mention:

Have a picnic and pet the animals at The Farm at Lee Martinez Park.

Maintained by the City of Fort Collins and located on the grounds of one of our largest community parks, The Farm at Lee Martinez Park is a hands-on family experience. Guests can interact with animals, play games, attend events and more. For more information, click here.

 Do you have a favorite?

If you and your kids have a favorite summer activity in Fort Collins let us know in the comments below!

Getting ready for summer fun...What's DUG up to now?

Ahhh….summertime in Northern Colorado. There’s really no place we would rather be…for serious.

We’ve put together a Perfect way to spend a day in Fort Collins summer.

1. The alarm sounds and you hit Snooze, Snooze eatery that is! One of the friendliest and tastiest Ft. Collins breakfast restaurant with fantastic retro vibes. The menu has something for everyone from classic egg dishes, fancy waffle creations, or one their famous Benidict’s but get there early or you’ll have a long wait.

   If you’re in a hurry grab a breakfast burrito from Vato’s Tacos in The Exchange (a steal at $4.00).

2. Hike the trail in Lory State Park and experiece a true Rocky Mountain High. This nearby NoCo treasure is a perfect way to experience FoCo like a local with stunning views overlooking Horsetooth Reservoir, amazing natural landscape with native perennials, grasses, and trees. You may even be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of wildlife but do be on alert as there are mountain lions in them there hills. An easy hike for the moderate to well fit persons but you MUST stay hydrated!

3. Patio Lunch in Old Town. You’re famished from your hike so reward yourself with an amazing lunch at any of these fine establishments with patio’s: Jax, The Rio Grande, Austin’s American Grill, Rare Italian, Stuft Burgers, Nextdoor (opening mid-summer), Blue Agave or Fish.

4. Let your food digest and take in Museum of Art Fort Collins is located directly adjacent to Oak Street Plaza in one of the prettiest historic buildings in downtown Fort Collins. Inside, you’ll find rotating exhibitions exploring everything from masks and funny family portraits to fine art photography and cartoons. Admission is just $5 for adults with discounts for students, seniors and young kids, and children ages 6 and under are admitted for free.” -NoCoSpeaks

5. Explore Old Town Shops and Boutiques. So much shopping…so little time. Here’s just a few of our favorites The Perennial Gardener,  Kilwins Chocolates & Ice Cream, Ku Cha House of Tea (Featured at Remington Flats),  White Balcony, The Cupboard,  Clothes Pony & Dandelion Toys, Savory Spice Fort Collins, and Rocket Fizz Fort Collins just to list a few. There are several artisan shops, novelty stores and art galleries as well.

6. Head back to Remington Flats, relax in the garden with a refreshing local craft brew from Horse and Dragon, Maxline, or Odells compliments of us and then freshen up for a night on the town.

7. By now, you’ll want something close by and delicious so we recommend walking (or biking) two blocks to Metro Urban Food & Booze. Start with a cocktail on the rooftop patio and then enjoy a locally sourced dinner. The menu variety has something for all tastes including vegan and vegetarian.

8. Finish up your day by jumping on the Max to Mountain Ave and head over to Old Town Churn Ice Cream in The Exchange square. Then depending on the night, watch local performances in Old Town Square Center Stage, or listen to some live Jazz at Ace Gillette’s and sample one of their craft cocktails.

Walk or Uber back to your spacious studio suite and reflect on your authentic FoCo day!

CSU Parents and the Importance of a "Home Base"

It is the best and worst of moments. The child you’ve protected and loved for 18 years is heading off to college. For most this means they are leaving home and as any parent knows, whether they are a few or thousands of miles away it’s unnerving. One of the most important thing you can do to ease this transition is find a “home away from home”. This is as much for you as for your kid.

CSU Parents really appreciate the personal connection with us. We make a genuine effort to get to know you so that in the event you need responsible local adults you can call on us (seriously). We’ve been a safe-haven for emergency visits when an exchange students parents had to fly in to help them stick with it, picked up a student who didn’t feel safe to drive home from a party, we’ve purchased a grill for one Mom to give her son as a housewarming present for his first apartment and when a young woman was visiting CSU and a blizzard blew in, we were able to take her to get groceries and make sure she had fun. Just to name a few.

But CSU Parents have also found a home-away-from-home for themselves. With fully equipped kitchen they can make their kids favorite meal while in town, bake cookies or throw a pizza party. We’ve have parents who came to Remington Flats for a vacation and seeing their kid was just a bonus! Heck, we even had one Mom come to stay in Hemingway (Studio A) to finish writing her book about what to do when your kid goes to college!

Ideally, your son or daughter will have an easy transition into college and you’ll enjoy having a home base for parents weekends, homecoming, or just a surprise visit. A place where you can connect with them away from their friends and the high energy of dorm rooms and campus life. Doing this, especially in their first year is really important. If they are struggling with a roommate, classes or homesickness, they need a safe space to talk to you face to face.

Remington Flats IS that place.

Be Like Kermit...It's Easy Being Green

Happy Earth Day Fellow Earthlings!

You’re in a class all your own as is evidenced by the fact that every time you choose to stay at a local short-term-rental, you participate in the evolution of the we-sharing economy. This usually means that your want a more authentic experience, which in Colorado means you want to enjoy nature.

This is why in the three years since we first purchased Remington Flats we have slowly but surely gone as green as we can and still accommodate the needs of the guests who stay at Boutique Hotels and Vacation Rentals.

If you never visited the products page of Remington Flats you may not know that we have been very thoughtful about the choices we’ve made from everything from the Who Gives a Crap paper products we use to the recently added refillable Keurig coffee filters.

In honor of Mother Earth, here are the Five Eco-Friendly things you can do to reduce your impact when travelling:

1. Avoid the Use of Plastics. About a year ago we ditched giving two bottles of water in the rooms and replaced them with filtered water pitchers. We also started using Dropps all natural detergents and while we have super luxurious Beekman 1802 toiletries, we buy them in 5 gallon containers to eliminate the plastic produced by those tiny little hotels bottles of shampoos and lotions. (Just to name a few)

2. Immerse in the Local Culture. This is easy when you stay at a small local vacation rental, hostel or boutique hotel. We truly give our guests an authentic local experience. The minute you walk into any of our Studio Suites you’ll feel like you’re at home. Truly.

3. Research the Property Where You Stay. One of the things our guests appreciate is that we make a genuine effort to listen to your feedback. So when our guests overwhelmingly asked about recycling bins in the rooms, we added them. When they gave feedback on the disposable K-Cups, we replaced them (mostly). Make a conscience choice to stay with people who live in the community as those folks (like Doug and I) really do care about the impact our business is having on our community and planet.

4. Use Alternative Transportation. Say for example you found this really special Boutique Studio Suite Hotel and just say they were perfectly located near everything special and fantastic to see and do in a city within walking distance…that’d be AWESOME right? (wink wink) The only thing that could improve that scenario would be if this place also had ultra cool bikes for you to use to get around everywhere at no charge! You almost certainly would make it your number one choice.

5. Take Only Photos and Leave Only Footprints. When visiting FoCo, enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Horsetooth Trail and Reservoir , Poudre River, Rocky Mountain National Forest but please don’t mess with the animals or natural habitat. When shopping in nearby boutiques and dining at local restaurants, ask if the products are grown locally or if the products are made by local artisans.

Let us know what you do to reduce your impact when traveling or share your feedback, thoughts, or ideas with us.

We love to hear from you!

Protecting Your Privacy

We’ve been alarmed by stories of hidden cameras in Airbnb’s and Hotels…this is what you can do about it.

Naturally everyone wants to believe that their Airbnb Hosts are decent people and the truth is, the majority are. When thinking about booking a vacation rental there are things to look out for, like is the property owned by individuals or part of a property management company? Property managers are not hands on so often times even they don’t know who is going into the property on a daily basis to clean and maintain the room.

This is where privacy can become a big problem.

Because Doug & I travel like you we’ve paid particular interest to this rash of stories about hidden cameras in hotels and vacations rentals. We found this great article and wanted to share it with you…our guests and of course give you our word that as hands on owners you have our personal guarantee that you’re privacy is protected at Remington Flats.

How to find camera’s in your room.

Write here…

Hey! Enter the easiest contest ever!

In Life and in Travel, It’s the Little Things…Take Pillows for Example

We have the opportunity to meet and talk with people from all walks of life, of all ages, and from all over the world. We recently hosted guests Tricia and Dermot who retired young and sold their home; now they travel all over the world staying in their selected city from one week to up to six-months at a time. We asked them… “What tips do you have to experience the local culture and make every place feel like home?” Here’s what they told us:

1.       Take a Free Walking Tour

Walking tours can be found in most every city and provide a quick way to acquaint yourself with a new city. We found a great local resource from our partners at Visit Fort Collins. If you’re traveling abroad Rick Steves offers free downloads of excellent walking tours.  Finally, because #RemingtonFlats is located in a quiet residential neighborhood but only a block away from the heart of the city, just walk out the front door of your studio and head north to experience FoCo like a local.

2.       Find Affordable Entertainment

Apps like Culture Trip and Field Trip will immediately connect you to what’s going on in our city. If in FoCo, check out Visit Fort Collins for a calendar of local events.

3.       Take your Pillow

Try as we might, we just can’t please everyone with our pillow selection but nothing says “home” as much as one’s own pillow. So if you have room in your suitcase (and you should make room) bring your own pillow when you travel.

4.       Save Money and Eat In

Full disclosure, we think this is a terrible idea unless you’re staying someplace for a week or more but Tricia and Dermot say it’s one way to save money when traveling. They also said (we’re just the messengers) that finding local restaurants is one of the best ways to meet the locals.  So, I guess take this bullet-point under advisement.  Anywayyyyy… lucky for you each studio at #RemingtonFlats  has a fully equipped eat-in kitchen. Did you also know we offer pre-arrival shopping services? (Hmmmm….me thinkith we just came up with our next “BLOG” topic!)

5.       Ask for Help in Planning

You’re going to have to get used to us repeating this mantra… “Not all lodging is created equal.” Where you stay does matter…a lot. We send several emails prior to arrival to assist you in planning. We offer concierge check-in for those wanting to meet us and get assistance with getting a lay-of-the land. If you follow our “BLOG” or any of our Social Pages you’ll find a nice mix of fun and helpful information.  So follow us!  

*As always, if you love #RemingtonFlats, and we know you do..please share this post with your friends. You’ll be their hero and ours too.

Welcome to our Blog..."Remington's Beef Wellington"?

Oh gosh…we’re doing it. We’re jumping into the blogging-world; although “jump” isn’t exactly the correct adjective to describe our venture. “Shoved violently” really describes it best.

Normally this is where the person blogging writes “Just kidding!!! We can’t WAIT to launch our blog. (Sorry to disappoint.)

Anyway…We’re told that you should think of a clever name for your blog? “Flat Chat” sounds like something one finds on Public Service Radio but it’s not terrible. “Remington’s Thoughts”? Terrible. We Googled “What rhymes with Remington”? Beef Wellington was our favorite but it doesn’t make a great title for a Blog nor does it really rhyme with Remington come to think of it.

So, as you can see we’re not off to a great start; for now we’re calling it…”Blog”. Just take a moment to enjoy that.

All kidding aside (no joking has been included thus far) we will have clever posts about all things Remington Flats, FoCo, Events, Promotions, and just our everyday thoughts.

Oh…and of course we’ll have our very popular with the cool kids series… “What’s DUG up to now?”