Here are some of the new developments happening at mountain resorts in the Western U.S. and Canada.
California
Vail Resorts is investing $30 million in projects at Northstar-at-Tahoe (www.northstarattahoe.com) on the north side of Lake Tahoe for the upcoming winter season. In addition to new ski trails and a high-speed quad chairlift, a new mountain restaurant near the top of the Tahoe Zephyr lift will open with indoor seating for 500 and outdoor seating for 200. The retail complex is expanding with Patagonia and Burton shops and a larger North Face store. A signature restaurant will be added to the Village at Northstar.
Nearby is the The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe (www.ritzcarlton.com), which opened in December 2009, the first new resort for the Lake Tahoe area in several decades. It includes Manzanita, by award-winning San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins and a fitness center and spa, which recently expanded its treatment offerings. An inter-mountain gondola connects Village-at-Northstar and the 170-room Ritz-Carlton.
On the south side of Lake Tahoe, Heavenly Valley (www.skiheavenly.com), which like Northstar is also operated by Vail Resorts, opened Tamarack Lodge earlier this year. The 14,980-square-foot restaurant at the top of Heavenly’s Gondola offers spectacular views and 500 indoor seats and 250 outdoor patio seats.
As part of a five-year, $50 million improvement plan, Squaw Valley (www.squaw.com) this season is adding the New Village Restaurant & Bar offering views of the mountain. The existing restaurant, Blue Coyote, will be re-launched as a cocktail lounge with an outdoor patio.
High up on the mountain at Squaw, the deck at Olympic House is being redesigned with a bar, outdoor fire pits, stages for live music and “K-banas,” cabanas with slope views. The current Bar One space will be enclosed to create a new dining and beverage area that will include a “chef’s harvest table” with a seasonally inspired menu and space for afternoon wine-tasting events.
Colorado
A new table-service restaurant is opening at Colorado’s Vail (www.vail.com) ski area for the 2011-212 season. The restaurant is centrally located on the mountain at the base of the Look Ma and Challenge Trails.
Vail Resorts is opening Elway’s restaurant at The Lodge at Vail, A RockResort (www.lodgeatvail.rockresorts.com), for the 2011-2012 winter season. Elway’s, with 5,500 total square feet, including outdoor spaces, will have seating for approximately 260 guests. The restaurant will feature three separate interior dining areas, with a formal fireside dining area that can be reserved for groups. The restaurant, named for former Denver Bronco quarterback John Elway, is the restaurant company’s first location outside of Denver.
Colorado’s Devil’s Thumb Ranch (www.devilsthumbranch.com), a Western-themed property on 5,000 acres outside of Winter Park, is planning to open a small events and meeting space and a 6,000-square-foot addition to its Ranch Creek Spa that includes five new treatment rooms this fall.
The ranch also recently hired Executive Chef Evan Treadwell, formerly of Blue Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa on California’s coast, and Dale Mingo, formerly with the Sonnenalp Resort of Vail and M Resort-Spa-Casino in Las Vegas, as food and beverage director.
Breckenridge celebrates its 50th anniversary winter season this year. Last year, One Ski Hill Place, A RockResort (www.oneskihillplace.com) opened steps away from the BreckConnect Gondola that connects the property with the town of Breckenridge.
Recently, Hilton Worldwide and Vail Resorts signed a franchise agreement for the DoubleTree by Hilton Breckenridge (www.doubletree.hilton.com). Currently the Great Divide Lodge, the hotel conversion and renovation is expected to be complete late this year. The property will have 208 guest rooms, nine conference rooms, a business center, a fitness center, the 9600 Grill & Restaurant, an indoor pool and hot tubs.
Vail Resorts recently purchased Colorado Mountain Express (www.coloradomountainexpress.com), a transportation company offering service from Denver International Airport and Eagle County Airport to Vail and Beaver Creek, Aspen and Snowmass and Summit County destinations, including Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Frisco and Silverthorne. The company offers door-to-door shuttle business, point-to-point shuttle business with drop-off at transportation hubs, private chartered vans and luxury charter vehicles.
Idaho/Montana
Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality signed a management and operational agreement to run the Knob Hill Inn (www.knobhillinn.com) in the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area. Columbia, which also operates the Salish Lodge and Spa in Snoqualmie, Wash., took over the 26-room inn in late August. Columbia Hospitality also recently signed contracts to take over operations at the Rainbow Ranch Lodge (www.rainbowranchbigsky.com) in Big Sky, Mont.
Meanwhile, the Sun Valley Company purchased the Elkhorn Golf Club (www.elkhorngolf.com) in Sun Valley. Sun Valley’s courses are complemented by a 58,756-square-foot. clubhouse, 25-acre practice facility and 18-hole putting course. The 16,000-square foot Elkhorn Golf Clubhouse includes a dining room and teaching center.
In Greenough, Mont., The Resort at Paws Up (www.pawsup.com) is opening Bull Barn, a former cattle operation facility that has been transformed into a conference center with over 5,000 square feet of function space on two floors, accommodating groups up to 200 people. The second level of the conference center features a 3,500 square foot room with vaulted ceilings made from the barn’s original wood siding.
Utah
Utah’s Park City added luxury properties last year, including the Hyatt Escala Lodge (www.escalalodge.hyatt.com), a 178-suite property which opened in November in the Canyons. The Montage Resort (www.montagedeervalley.com) at Deer Valley Resort which features 17,000 square feet of indoor meeting and event space, opened December 2010. The resort recently was awarded silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, becoming the first LEED-certified hotel in Utah.
The openings of the Hyatt and Montage followed on the heels of the debut of the Waldorf Astoria Park City (www.waldorfastoria.com), which opened summer 2009. More recently, The Sky Lodge (www.theskylodge.com) opened a contemporary art gallery on property, J GO Gallery, which can be used by groups for meetings and events.
Western Canada
The Rocky Mountaineer (www.rockymountaineer.com), which operates trains in Western Canada, started a program entitlted “Meetings on the Rails,” which allows planners to reserve individual train cars for groups of 10 to 65. The private car can be fitted with custom seating, lounge areas, cocktail tables and amenities such as LCD screens for presentations, a full bar and services of a private chef.
Banff continues to expand its meeting facilities, including The Kinnear Centre for Innovation and Learning (www.banffcentre.ca), which opened in 2010 and The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre (www.banff.ca), the town of Banff’s only indoor ice facility, which has two arenas, two meeting rooms, and banquet space with scenic mountain views.
For planners looking for a unique and remote venue, Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (www.crmr.com) recently started a program allowing corporate groups to book the historic Deer Lodge near Lake Louise as their own private retreat. The lodge is open to groups of up to 120.
