After 16 Years of Planning, Stowe Mountain Lodge Will Finally Open its Doors in June
After 16 Years of Planning, Stowe Mountain Lodge Will Finally Open its Doors in JuneVermonts Most Highly-Anticipated Resort Hotel to Offer up to 50% Discount for Two Days OnlyStowe, Vt. (April 15, 2008) In June, Destination Hotels & Resorts will welcome their very first guests to stay at Stowe Mountain Lodge, the first true luxury resort hotel experience to open in Vermont in over 50 years. The historic town of Stowe, Vermont has long been known as the “Ski Capital of the East” and the opening of Stowe Mountain Lodge will now affirm this charming vacation destination as the nations preeminent year-round mountain resort experience. A host of activities will be available to visitors all four seasons of the year, and Stowe Mountain Lodges location at the base of two mountains Mt. Mansfield and Spruce Peak will enable guests to enjoy limitless cultural, recreational and relaxing activities in the areas most luxurious and highly-coveted surroundings.Stowe Mountain Lodge is the centerpiece of Spruce Peak at Stowe, a new $400 million alpine neighborhood and the first-ever Audubon International Sustainable Community in a mountain resort area, that has been in planning and development stages for the past 16 years. As part of this new real estate community, guests of Stowe Mountain Lodge will enjoy five-star service; 139 guestrooms; a 21,000 square foot spa and Cooper Wellness at Stowe; exclusive access to Stowe Mountain Club, an 18-hole mountain golf course designed by Bob Cupp; a heated outdoor pool with indoor access; over 12,000 square feet of event space, high-end boutiques and restaurants; and unmatched on-mountain recreational options. The Lodge will also offer the Vermont artisan-inspired cuisine of Chef Sean Buchanan, one of the states foremost advocates of the farm-to-table movement, in Solstice restaurant and Hourglass bar. In addition, 34 fractionally-owned condominium units will be available for vacation home ownership in the Lodges Front Four Private Residence Club.In celebration of its opening, Stowe Mountain Lodge will offer a special catch-it-while-you-can up to 50% discount to its very first summertime guests. The “First Guest” bed and breakfast package will be available from July 1 to July 31, 2008, and includes luxury overnight accommodations for two and breakfast for two in Solstice restaurant. This special package is available for one-night stays only, and must be booked between 12:01am on April 28 and 11:59pm on April 29, 2008. The rate for the “First Guest” package starts at $299 per night, and does not include tax. (This represents 50% off of regular summertime rates).The new Stowe Mountain Lodge is located at the heart of the lively Spruce Peak at Stowe alpine village in historic Stowe, Vermont. Opening June 2008, the 139-room lodge will offer an exclusive 18-hole mountain golf course created by the legendary Bob Cupp, a luxurious spa, Cooper Wellness at Stowe, Salon Mario Russo, 12,100 square feet of meeting space, the Alpine Concierge® available to anticipate every need, twice-daily housekeeping, 24-hour in-room dining and artisan-inspired cuisine. The lodge also will offer highly-customized services and personalized in-room amenities.
“Trustees are expected to meet regulations, understand their duties and discharge them with reference to the various frameworks – that’s going to require a lot of written policies,” she said. Ireland’s pension trustees face an “onerous” compliance burden to prepare for IORP II’s implementation in January, according to consultants and regulators.The Pensions Authority, Ireland’s regulator, published guidance for trustees earlier this week detailing the new requirements that the EU rules will bring in. The Irish government has yet to publish its plan for integrating IORP II into local law.The new rules include “fit and proper” tests for trustees, written policies on key areas of risk management and outsourced services, and minimum standards for communication with members.However, Ireland’s comparatively small pensions sector could find it difficult to meet IORP II’s “quite onerous standards” in the three months left before the law comes into force, said Roma Burke, partner and actuary at LCP in Ireland. Roma Burke, LCP“It reminds me of GDPR, where there was a rush to get things done.“This is a significant enhancement of the regime that sets people up on a higher level and needs a one-off significant effort.”Ireland’s relatively small population – at 4.8m it is the 20th biggest out of the 28 EU member states – meant schemes tended to be smaller and less well resourced, Burke added.“This will probably go above and beyond what most trustees are used to, and we’d expect significant costs for trustees to comply,” she said.Colum Walsh, deputy head of compliance at the Pensions Authority, added: “Larger schemes are doing it all already, but it is the smaller schemes where trustees have a lot more challenges. A lot of it is very, very new.”“The game has shifted, from needing a broad understanding of governance, to requirements enforced through legislation”Colum Walsh, Pensions AuthorityThe Pensions Authority’s existing guidelines for defined contribution (DC) funds are mostly voluntary and do not carry punishments for non-compliance. Current trustee standards set “quite a low bar”, Burke added, ruling out only people who have been declared bankrupt, convicted of fraud, or barred from being company directors.“Now we’re moving to an environment where there are fit and proper requirements,” she said. “Trustees will have to look at themselves and their colleagues and make sure they are fit and proper and manage that on an ongoing basis.”Smaller schemesWalsh told IPE that the smallest schemes could be exempt from the rules – but this would depend on how the government implements IORP II.Article 5 of IORP II allows for member states to exempt schemes with 100 members or fewer from the most onerous of requirements. Ireland chose this option when implementing the first IORP directive in 2003.“The industry has the same expectation this time round but we can’t say for certain,” Walsh said.The regulator recently launched a consultation on the future regulation of DC schemes with a view to encouraging consolidation – and Walsh said the increasing regulatory burden was one reason for this move.He added: “A number of [schemes] are doing well but they haven’t engaged on this level before. For schemes that haven’t looked under their own bonnets at how to mitigate risk, that’s going to be a shift.”The regulator
Leinster House, home of Ireland’s parliamentWalsh also highlighted the challenges facing the Pensions Authority as it prepared to enforce the new rules.“We’ve probably been more reactive in the past, which is reflective of our legislation,” he said. “The enhanced expectations on trustees and evolving regulations lead to higher expectations.”Ireland’s pensions regulation was “principles based” prior to IORP II, Walsh added. While the details of the changes depended to some extent on how the government fitted IORP II into legislation, he emphasised that “the game has shifted, from [needing] a broad understanding of governance, to requirements enforced through legislation”.The Irish government has stated that it would implement IORP II as part of its ambitious overhaul of the pension system.