Aspen’s first major new hotel offering in a decade is scheduled to debut this summer, at the base of Aspen Mountain. Promising to cater to the cachet of Aspen-aspiring, affluent millennials, W Aspen’s modern chalet will also please locals with a chic public rooftop reminiscent of the property’s former iterations as the Sky Hotel and Aspen Club Lodge, both known for killer après scenes—no matter the season. Rooms from $449
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Marriott International (owner of the St. Regis and W luxury brands) now occupies both east and west sides of Aspen Mountain.
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The new hotel will feature four lodge bunkrooms outfitted with queen beds, a unique offering in Aspen.
39°
The property’s storied ground-floor “grotto” has been reinvented. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner served in the lobby lounge, 39º will have “electric bar bites, shots and cocktails... where Aspen’s red-light legacy comes to life.”
1881
“Our strategy was to layer various stories of Aspen throughout,” says Anurag Nema, principal of Nemaworkshop of New York. “Mainly, we drew from Aspen’s history as a silver mining town [beginning in 1881]. This informed everything from the lobby lounge, guest room corridors, miner-style lamps and the illuminated dioramas found in each of the standard rooms to the metallic silver palette in the rooms.”
400
The 88 guestrooms average 400 square feet. These small but efficient rooms are based on an industry design trend that makes the communal spaces and outdoor amenities the star offerings.
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The opening of W Aspen brings the total of ski-in/ski-out hotels in Aspen to two. Its neighbor, The Little Nell, is the other.
1940
“The iconic chalet style was first introduced to Aspen in the 1940s, and over time, the style has been slowly eroding,” says John Rowland, principal of Rowland+Broughton. “The opportunity to create a modern interpretation of the chalet speaks to Aspen’s ski heritage and the prominence of being at the base of the mountain.”
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The WET Deck, W Aspen’s public rooftop, will feature a heated pool, hot tub, cabanas, fire pits, a dance floor, bar and 360-degree views—the perfect gathering spot for locals and visitors.
147,000 square feet
The size of the property. “We were charged with interpreting the W brand in a way that is both specific to Aspen and yet strongly differentiated from the traditional high-end hotels in Aspen,” says architect Anurag Nema. “We broke up traditional bathroom/bedroom separation and introduced open bathrooms with exposed vanities; open oversize closets and bar stations; and four distinct bunk bed configurations. Throughout, we implemented clean, modern forms and palettes, and reflective and metallic surfaces—chrome, silver and glass.”
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The Sky Residences offer 11 shared ownership units (six three-bedroom and five two-bedroom) on the property. waspenskyresidences.com
Photography by: W Aspen
