If full immersion in nature is on your client’s travel wish list, a mind-boggling number of acres of preserved land in New Mexico is ready to grant it.
Ted Turner Reserves – founded and owned by billionaire philanthropist Ted Turner – encompasses several luxury lodges set on over a million acres that welcome outdoorsy travelers of all kinds.
TMR spoke with Ted Turner Reserves President Jade McBride about the hospitality brand’s conservation mission, guest experience, and how travel advisors will factor into its continued success.
Wild bison at Vermejo. Photo: Ted Turner Reserves
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Connecting with nature
For decades, Turner has funded regenerative agriculture projects, including helping to save wild bison and other endangered species. The media mogul is now 85 years old and living with dementia. In the future, the 1.1 million-acre Ted Turner Reserves will transition to a nonprofit organization, which recently built out an executive leadership team to inherit it.
On-site staffers educate guests about Turner’s work restoring natural habitats, in hopes that the clientele will feel empowered to get behind the conservation mission. They also believe that spending time in this restored ecosystem will have a net positive impact on their lives and the world.
Guests may visit Ted Turner Reserves to go fishing, horseback riding, hiking, or for outdoor teambuilding. But most of all, when they get there, they marvel at the sprawling haven of natural beauty and enjoy unplugged time with loved ones.
Through these experiences, McBride hopes they’ll “be connected to nature, see the work that we’ve done, have a fantastic family vacation, and leave a little transformed.”
Choosing the perfect property
There are three massive pieces of land and four lodging options that comprise Ted Turner Reserves. In northern New Mexico is Vermejo, and in southern New Mexico are Sierra Grande, Ladder, and Armendaris.
At 558,000 acres, Vermejo is the largest piece of private, continuous land in the entire country. On the property is Casa Grande, a renovated mansion where visitors can stay in one of eight luxury guest rooms. There are also several cottages that groups can buy out. Overall, Vermejo offers an all-inclusive, resort-like experience.
“It’s going to feel like you had a really high-end luxury guest ranch, and you placed that guest ranch in the middle of your own private national park,” McBride said. “Nothing’s a cookie cutter, and the properties are all extremely unique.”
In southern New Mexico, there are a total of 521,000 acres to explore – Armendaris and Ladder – and three lodging properties offering a variety of accommodations. At Ladder, there’s a four-bedroom country house to buy out, while Armendaris features the large and luxurious Hacienda at Armendaris – which boasts amenities spanning gaming and fitness spaces to an outdoor terrace with a kitchen, fountain, and fire pit. Private chefs and activity guides are available at both these properties, who customize the itineraries and menus.
Sierra Grande is a lower-cost option created in order “to share these properties with as many people as possible,” McBride said. Travelers can stay in the boutique hotel, located in the quaint nearby village of Truth or Consequence, then go on day tours to Armendaris and Ladder.
Exploring and experiencing the land
At both the northern and southern reserves, guests can embark on private guided safari and conservation tours to learn about the endangered species Ted Turner Reserves has protected, including bison, black bears, desert bighorn sheep, Mexican wolves, bolson tortoises, and mountain lions.
“It’s pretty special because no one in the United States is doing what we’re doing,” McBride said. “There are some really great companies that are pioneers in their own way. The African safari companies are taking hospitality operations and using that to fund their conservation work, but nobody has been as brave in this hospitality space in the United States.”
Hiking, biking, nature walks, and culinary experiences are a given at all the properties. At the same time, each reserve also has its own distinct features. Vermejo’s 19 fishable lakes are suited for fishing enthusiasts. Ladder and Armendaris offer activities such as tubing along the Rio Grande River, birdwatching, kayaking, and paddling boarding.
In southern New Mexico, one special experience is a must-see: the Armendaris Bat Flight Expedition. From June through August, guests can stand at the edge of a cavern to watch over a million Mexican free-tailed bats rush out of the cave and fly in concert over the Rio Grande.
For families with children, Turner Trailblazers offer kid-oriented wildlife tours, and activities ranging from crafting and geocaching to snow tubing and bug catching. There are also teambuilding activities available to book: think Murder Mystery parties and Survivor-like outdoor challenges.
Working with travel advisors
From his background in the hospitality industry, McBride learned about travel advisors’ influence long before he landed at Ted Turner Reserves. He pushes most of the organization’s sales and marketing efforts on the advisor community.
“It’s even more important today than it’s ever been,” McBride said. “The travel advisor is a critical component to making sure the guest has this amazing experience when they get to us.”
After attending Virtuoso Travel Week in August, he quickly headed back to New Mexico to meet six travel advisors on a three-day FAM trip, of which they host “quite a few” throughout the year, he said.
“Travel advisors are critical to sustainability, to purposeful mission-built travel experience,” McBride added. “Without them, we will fail; and with them, we can’t fail.”
Janel Carnero, a New Mexico-based luxury travel advisor, has visited the properties on several occasions for individual FAM trips and with her husband and children. She said her visits helped her experience her home state in a whole new way.
“You’re able to see what nature can be without thousands of people walking on the trails and seeing 50 different cars and all these travelers,” she told TMR, noting a contrast from the national parks. “You feel you are there by yourself, and you’re taking in nature in a different but beautiful way.”
She adds that she can visit multiple times and still experience something new. Some other highlights of her stays: her 11- and 17-year-old children putting their phones away during long, beautiful hikes. Lakeside evening sunset tours. Drinking wine and stargazing.
Carnero has now booked clients of families and corporate groups at the reserves; she adds that commissions are paid timely, and the team on site is passionate and communicative.
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