Adventures with Louis Cole
A cry of exhilaration. A sigh of wonder. Nature provides travelers with unequaled delight in sublime areas like the Canadian Rockies in Lake Louise & Banff, Kohala Coast, Hawaii, Montebello and Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Whistler, British Columbia. Visiting these fabled regions is nothing short of "epic" according to Louis Cole, creator of the wildly popular YouTube vlog FunForLouis.
Louis partnered with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts for a host of adventures in these exciting destinations, documenting the thrills on YouTube and other social media channels. "Basically, we pick as many awesome activities as we want and Fairmont helps organize them as part of their Fairmont Choose Your Moment service," Louis explained. After sending the Fairmont team a list of his dream activities, hotel staff at each location planned custom, action-packed itineraries for Louis and his friends, including elegant Fairmont accommodations and "Gold Room" service.
The first leg of Louis's adventure took him to icy Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. After checking in at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, he spent an "incredible morning" snowboarding. Later that day, Fairmont put their "rock star mountain adventure guy" in charge of the snowshoeing outing ("so much fun," Louis gushed on his YouTube vlog), followed by a round of ice hockey on the lake. As the day drew to a close, Louis and friends drank champagne while admiring ice sculptures at the Chateau's custom-carved Ice Bar.
Lake Louise and Banff National Park were the stars of his stay at Fairmont Banff Springs. Louis and his posse wasted no time in tackling the slopes as they went snowboarding followed by snowshoeing through the forest and out on Lake Louise. After a first game of ice hockey, the group enjoyed a drink at the outdoor ice bar. The hotel staff even shared a “secret” location for great Instagram photos.
As intrepid explorers know, contrast is king when it comes to adventure. The Fairmont Orchid, on the Kohala Coast in Hawaii, was Louis's next stop and a far cry from Alberta's snowy surrounds. He and his friends received Fun and Sun passes, which provided access to an array of beach equipment including snorkel gear and kayaks. They enjoyed a Swim with the Dolphins excursion, along with a Honokohau Marina Sunset Cruise and Manta Ray Dive with Kona Ocean Adventures. A private hiking tour of the active Kilauea volcano was followed by a thrilling helicopter ride over the fiery lava vents of the active Kilauea volcano. "I've never felt the raw power of the Earth like this until I flew over a lava flow from one of the most active volcanos in the world," Louis raved on Instagram. The evening wrapped up with a romantic dinner outside at the hotel's gazebo. "Most insane dinner setting I have ever experienced and the end to probably what's been the best week of my life," Louis said in his vlog.
The month of May found Louis at Quebec's Fairmont Le Château Montebello, billed as the "world’s largest and most luxurious log cabin." His chosen adventures included Land Rover Off-Road Driving, where he excelled at getting two tires off the ground at the same time, and "the most amazing [whitewater] rafting I've done lately" with New World Rafting. Louis returned to his Fairmont hotel room to discover the staff had framed photos of his Iceland birthday trip and displayed them on his bedside table. "It's the most amazing personal touch I've ever experienced at a hotel," he said of the staff's kind gesture.
A day trip to Fairmont Tremblant, in Quebec began with his arrival by helicopter to spend the day zip-lining down the mountain. Five different lines and a sunny day gave him plenty of opportunities for amazing video. Needing to get rescued when they stopped on the zipline? Just part of the journey. A smoothie and the hot tub were the right note for ending his day of adventure.
The last Fairmont adventure took him to the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, at the foot of Blackcomb Mountains in British Columbia. Louis's first golf lessons with the hotel's head golf pro were followed by a trek along the Cheakamus River on the Train Wreck hike, an adventure documented in the day's vlog. Last but not least, Louis's dearest wish – to see bears in the wild – finally came true in Whistler. After numerous unsuccessful bear-viewing outings, the Whistler Blackcomb Bear Viewing Tour made it happen. "This is all I've wanted for so long," he says. "We've been in bear country – Colorado, Montana, Montreal, California – basically everywhere we've been there should be bears, and we finally get this close to one," Louis gleefully reported on his vlog. Fairmont came through for Louis – but this is no surprise. That's what the Choose Your Moment program is all about.
Teo Spengler has written more than 1,000 travel articles for such publications as USA Today and SF Gate. In addition, she has written extensively for such brands as Choice Hotels, JetBlue and United Airlines. Her work has covered the world’s best luxury hotels and resorts, especially those in European cities.