Hey all –
It’s time for my annual update about Crescendo’s improvements, and there have been many.
First, though, a big THANKS to everyone staying at Crescendo outside of Ski Season this past year. Our May through September occupancy rate doubled, literally. Many groups of golfing buddies, in addition to weddings, corporate retreats, family reunions, and bachelor/bachelorette parties.
Theatre
It’s hard to believe that DVD (including BluRay) is old technology, but it is. So, we’ve removed our 450 DVDs, and have loaded everything onto a hard drive system: 24 terabytes, in fact. More than 850 titles (many in BluRay quality) now stream into the Theatre. Our movies are searchable on-line (we’ll give you the username/password at booking), as well as from the comfort of your couch (by title, by genre, and more). We’re experimenting with Netflix and Hulu (as if the 850 movies weren’t enough).We’ve also rewired for 3D, and may switch to a 1080p 3D projector next year.
The new Integra amp/pre-amp finally allows us to take full advantage of our two stereo 12” subwoofers. The range and separation of the voicing from the background special effects has also substantially improved the clarity. Even an old fart like me can now actually understand the dialogue.
Two Angstrom 2-way speakers with 8” Vectran drivers have been added to the Great Room. What does that mean? Simply put,the system rocks! We added a new iPod doc, which now accommodates the older iPods and the newer iPhones. Plug in your iPod/iPhone, and the system reads your playlists. The system displays your metadata on the touchpanels, and you have control & sound thereby.
Crescendo’s gourmet Kitchen has never been lacking. Still, we are very interested in accommodating your unique needs/wants/wishes, so we’ve continued to add the small appliances and other items based on our your feedback. This year, for example, we’ve added an Immersion Blender, Cuisinart Panini Maker, Cuisinart Waffle Iron (I still prefer the Mickey Mouse waffle maker, though), and so much more.
The Master Bedroom now has a 46” 1080p TV, with soundbar and sub-woofer. The TV is networked, so we may eventually allow it to talk to the MediaServer, so that the movies can stream into that room as well.
Motion detection has been enhanced and reprogrammed throughout the house, so that one can wander about at night without ever manually turning on/off any lights.
Internet – I can assure you, there is no one more impatient than me. Accordingly, we’ve substantially increased our internet speed. Also, just about annually we update Crescendo’s wireless access points (and we have five throughout the home), so that connectivity and speed are assured.
Some of you have seen/experienced our new Gaming that we added last year. A professional grade Ping Pong table, a Bumper Pool table, a Poker table, and a Nintendo Wii.
As always, we look forward to another great Ski Season. Again, if you are going to be on the mountain, please let me know (drMitch@drMitch.com). If I happen to be at Crescendo during your stay, I’d love to have you drop by.
Wishing you and yours the very best this holiday season,
Mitch
