In 1956, Laurance Rockefeller (yes, those Rockefellers) began developing (and later purchasing) resort properties that combined luxury and what, more than half a century ago, reflected a concern for the environment. The best known of those properties, which soon became known as RockResorts, were Caneel Bay and Little Dix Bay in the Virgin Islands and Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mountain properties included the Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake Lodges in Wyoming and Vermont's Woodstock Inn. Over the years, ownership has changed (Vail Resorts Inc. now owns the entire group), and individual hotels have dropped out of or joined the RockResorts family.
Today's RockResorts are a worthy heir to Laurance Rockefeller's original concept of combining luxury with sound environmental practices, and we all know a great deal more about sound environmental practices than was common knowledge back then. I recently was invited to visit four of RockResorts' Colorado properties -- three in the Vail Valley and one in Aspen. In one fashion or another, I was familiar with most of them (I had stayed at all except the new Arrabelle, and I'd even popped in to look at that when I last skied at Vail). In addition to the impressive environmental commitment, RockResorts maintains a high level of service across the board. What is dramatically different is the range of sizes and styles, from modest and low-key to over-the-top grandeur. How fine for guests to have such a choice among some of Colorado's most luxurious resort lodgings.
Below are the four properties I visited in reverse chronological order, from the newest to the oldest.
The Osprey at Beaver Creek
The Inn at Beaver Creek, which I stayed at many years ago, had a fortuitous location right next to the Strawberry Park chairlift. And the location is what I remember about it. It was a perfectly nice and perfectly comfortable, but "distinctive" is not an adjective that comes to mine. Last December, the old Inn at Beaver Creek was reborn as The Osprey at Beaver Creek, a stylish, contemporary lodge. The $7 million makeover did not alter the footprint or expand rooms and bathrooms. The Osprey isn't bigger than the old Inn at Beaver Creek, but it's a whole lot better.The 45-room Osprey is now a boutique hotel worthy of Beaver Creek's high standards. Still, nothing was overdone. The changes were cosmetic-plus, not an expansion of the property but an enhancement with a dramatic and guest-friendly facilities, furnish and fixtures. The Osprey Lounge offers tapas and a good wine list and custom cocktails that assure conviviality.
The Osprey at Beaver Creek, 10 Elk Track Lane, Beaver Creek, CO 81620; 866-621-ROCK or 970-754-7400.
Arrabelle at Vail Square
Vail Associates developed LionsHead in 1969 using a concept for a modern, functional satellite village that would contrast to Alpine-style Vail Village. Vail Associates is now Vail Resorts Inc., and LionsHead is now Lionshead, and other changes are more significant to visitors. The second village center didn't age quite as gracefully as the original, and recent redevelopment has taken on a warmer, more opulent style.Opened for the 2008-09 ski season, Arrabelle at Vail Square is big, bold and luxurious. It has just 62 oversize hotel rooms and suites and 25 huge "residences," which is what upscale resorts call condominiums, spread over three (or is it four?) interconnected buildings around several courtyards and lanes that help bring this large development down to human scale.
The lobby/lounge/bar/ dining area similarly is a series of smaller spaces that flow into each other rather than one overwhelming one. Centre V is a French-style restaurant that really echoes the ambiance of a fine Parisian brasserie. Everything has been planned and executed with care and quality, and the spa is a lovely, tranquil retreat.
The rooms and bathrooms are oversize, and in addition to the regulation doormen, bellmen, front desk people, concierge, waitstaff and housekeepers, Arrabelle guests are assigned a personal butler to attend to whatever other needs or wants thy might have.
The Arrabelle at Vail Square, 675 Lionshead Place, Vail, CO 81657; : 866-662-ROCK or 970-754-7777.
The Lodge at Vail
In the context of Vail, one of the older of the Colorado Rockies' "new" resorts, the Lodge at Vail is venerable. When Vail Mountain opened on December 15, 1962 with one gondola, two chairlifts, eight ski instructors and a $5 lift ticket, the U.S. Forest Service had stipulated at least one lodge with a minimum of 30 sleeping rooms. The Lodge at Vail, which had been open for just one month, was that property.Boasting an enviable heart-of-Vail Village location, it now has grown 165 rooms and suites styled in the manner of a fine European chalet. It is a place of understated elegance, charm and warmth. The exterior displays Vail Village's original Alpine chalet style. The Wildflower Restaurant is one of Vail's fine-dining meccas and the more casual Cucina Rustica serve three meals a day during high season to lucky Lodge guests and outside guests as well. There is now also a spa, which seems to be required of every luxury resort hotel these days.
The Lodge at Vail, 174 East Gore Creek Drive, Vail, CO 81657; 877-LAV-ROCK or 970-476-5011.
Hotel Jerome, Aspen
The final stop on this whirlwind itinerary was the venerable Hotel Jerome in Aspen. As frenetic as Aspen can be in the lofty heights of ski season, a visit to the Jerome puts things back into balance. After all, this brick beauty on Main Street across town from the Silver Queen gondola has seen it all: the mining boom, the mining bust, the second boom, the second bust, the Depression, World War II, the post-war era referred to locally as "the quiet years," the start of skiing, the growth of skiing and the jet-setting and glamorizing of skiing, including its centennial celebration in 1989.The hotel, which has gone through many owners and was twice bought for back taxes (once by a bartender), and might again be on fragile financial footing. According to a report last week in the Aspen Daily News, the assets of LCP Elysian Aspen Owner LLC, which has owned the Jerome since 2007, might be on the verge of being auctioned off. Stay tuned.
But like every great hotel staffed mostly by unflappable individuals, no problems are loaded onto the guests. The lobby, still in original form from 120 decades ago, is warm and welcoming, and in fact, sink-into chairs and sofas are considerably more comfortable that true Victorian originals. The public spaces are an artful combination of original pieces and quality period reproductions, and each of the 94 guest rooms had different wallpaper, and all are impeccably furnished with harmonious but not identical from room to room.
No matter what bankers, lawyers and even auctioneers might be negotiating behind closed doors, the hotel's services from doorman to restaurant waitstaff doesn't miss a beat. The cedar cabinet beside the outdoor swimming pool is stocked with heated towels. A cloth bag containing the New York Times is hung on the doorknob early every morning. The hotel balances the needs of meeting groups with social guests.
Hotel Jerome, 330 East Main Street, Aspen, CO 81611; 877-412-ROCK or 970-920-1000.
FromRockResorts : There was an erroneous ad placed in the Aspen paper about the Hotel Jerome being for sale. RockResorts corporate has issued the following statement. "The Hotel Jerome is not for sale. Hotel ownership remains committed to RockResorts management and to the Hotel Jerome,” said David Pisor, CEO of Elysian Worldwide LLC.
From the Aspen Times, September 27, 2009: "An unpaid loan balance of $36.3 million has put the historic Hotel Jerome on the auction block.The 92-bedroom Main Street hotel, built in 1889, is scheduled go to a foreclosure auction sale on Jan. 27, Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said Monday.The Pitkin County Treasurer's Office opened up foreclosure proceedings for the 92-bedroom Main Street property Thursday, when it filed a “notice of election and demand for sale.” The notice says that LCP-Elysian Aspen Owner LLC has an unpaid balance of $36,292,781 to Jerome Property LLC, which holds the deed of trust on the property. . . .Deputy Treasurer Desiree Wagner said the hotel owners can take steps to stave off foreclosure by filing an intent to cure. No such notice had been filed as of Monday, she said." The read the entire story, click here.
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