|
→ Twelve stylish hotels that are heavy with American Old West vibes and frontier spirit, from ghost towns and campgrounds to Gold Rush settlements, Silver Screen legends, and Native American aesthetics.
|
DUNTON HOT SPRINGS
Dunton, Colorado
Here, in remote southwestern Colorado, halfway between the ski town of Telluride and the Anasazi ruins of Mesa Verde, is an authentic ghost town, an abandoned century-old gold prospectors’ camp, renovated shack by shack and rehabilitated into Dunton Hot Springs, a truly unique luxury hotel.
|
THE RESORT AT PAWS UP
Greenough, Montana
Deep in the heart of the American West, the Resort at Paws Up is for the traveler who wants a wilderness escape to include all the comforts of civilization. The lodgings here come with full kitchens, laundry, and in most cases a fireplace or a wood-burning stove. The design may be rustic, but the comforts are modern.
|
THE HOLBROOKE HOTEL
Grass Valley, California
The California Gold Rush town of Grass Valley, in the Sierra foothills, is something of a waystation for travelers between San Francisco and the Sierra mountains. But the Holbrooke Hotel makes a compelling case as a destination unto itself. It’s the region’s longest-operating hotel, but it’s not stuck in the past.
|
PIONEERTOWN MOTEL
Pioneertown, California
Pioneertown was born when Hollywood Western stars got sick of traveling long distances to find Old West atmosphere, and established their own Westworld in the desert near Joshua Tree. Thanks to festivals like Coachella, the town, today, is for real. And in the Pioneertown Motel, it’s got its very own boutique hotel.
|
THE ARMSTRONG HOTEL
Fort Collins, Colorado
By the standards of Old Town Fort Collins, a classic Old West town, the 1923-vintage Armstrong Hotel is a relative newcomer. In advance of its 100th birthday it’s been thoroughly updated to modern boutique-hotel standards, with swanky, stylish rooms and a pair of highly regarded dining and drinking venues.
|
ROSEWOOD INN OF THE ANASAZI
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Inn of the Anasazi — named for the ancient civilization that built the region’s distinctive cliff dwellings — offers an unusually authentic and culturally sensitive New Mexican experience. The interiors are antique in style, and the work of New Mexican and Native American artists and craftspeople is featured throughout.
|
EL COSMICO
Marfa, Texas
El Cosmico leaves the traditional hotel world behind, trading in rooms and suites for trailers, yurts, tents and tepees, a sort of post-hippie hospitality commune on the outskirts of Marfa, itself something of an oasis of creativity in the vast expanse of West Texas. And for a nominal fee, you can even pitch a tent on site.
|
SUNDANCE RESORT
Sundance, Utah
Yes, Robert Redford’s Sundance. His is hardly a typical ski resort. It’s part eco-lodge, part artists’ community, which is not just ethically correct but also quite aesthetically satisfying; the lofts and suites are understated, with a certain hand-crafted quality, and the freestanding cottages are immersed in the landscape.
|
NEW SHERIDAN
Telluride, Colorado
It’s been a while since the New Sheridan was actually new — 1895, to be precise. If you want to see what sets Telluride apart from the Rockies’ bigger, busier resort towns, there’s nowhere better to start than a hotel with a generous helping of historic charm, right smack in the middle of this picturesque little downtown.
|
HOTEL JEROME
Aspen, Colorado
It was arguably the Hotel Jerome that kick-started Aspen’s upward ride from rough-and-tumble Old West outpost to upscale ski resort. During the silver boom of the late 1800s, Macy’s co-owner Jerome Wheeler began investing in the town’s properties — starting with what would become its most luxurious hotel.
|
ZION’S TINY OASIS
Virgin, Utah
The Zion in question is southwestern Utah’s spectacular Zion National Park. Zion’s Tiny Oasis lies just outside of the park proper, and while the oasis itself is tiny, so is each of its four units: they’re freestanding “tiny houses,” ranging in size from the 289-square-foot Guardian Angel to the 488-square foot King Solomon.
|
ALPINE FALLS RANCH
Superior, Montana
The mountainous western edge of Montana doesn’t quite call for edgy urban-inspired modern design. But there’s more than one way to make an extraordinary hotel. Alpine Falls Ranch takes a classic mountain-lodge aesthetic and simply executes it with commitment, with verve, and with a rare tastefulness.
|
|
