This is the only dude ranch under the Relais & Chateaux flag and is in fact almost too sophisticated for one to term it a dude ranch. "Civilized retreat" is more like it—a decompression chamber for urban executives who can unwind in the private whirlpools set on the porches of the individual cabins. The surrounding landscape is an idyllic composition of meadow, river and mountain.
Surrounding aspens create a scenic backdrop to the three-story log structure that houses the common areas and six guest rooms. A living room boasts a fireplace and a hand-painted piano (the place for evening sing-alongs). It is decorated in rustic-chic regalia with leather topped lodgepole pine furniture, thick rugs, throws and tartan drapes. There is a library upstairs, and a TV is available, but management likes to turn it on only for the Olympics or major wars.
The lodge houses a large, plank-floored dining room fitted with long tables for communal family-style dining before the roaring river-rock fireplace, a rather hoedown arrangement for the New American fare. In winter, breakfast and lunch are served buffet style, while dinners are a more formal affair with lovely presentations of three- to five-course candlelight meals. In summer, lunch
is often served poolside and, a couple of nights a week, cookout dinners are served after the hayride and before the nightly entertainment of barn dances and sing-alongs. Picnic lunches can be prepared for those on daylong trips, and guests come back to a fine glass of wine, beer or ale.
An outdoor lap pool abuts a recreation room equipped with a billiards table and a VCR. Guests also spend their time at the sauna, on two miles of private river frontage, at the trout pond and in the stables. The latter is a major focus here, with regularly scheduled special events revolving around trail rides, horsemanship lessons and clinics and even yearling sales. Fishing, hiking, riding and cookouts are all free; ballooning, massage and mountain bike rentals can be arranged for a price.
Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on 12 miles of groomed trails are the attraction in winter, though many guests prefer the downhill runs at Steamboat Springs 18 miles away (shuttles are included).
Children's programs are regularly scheduled as are separate dinner seatings, but no other child-care services are offered. An airport shuttle can be arranged—for substantially more than a weekly rental car rate.
Guest quarters are housed in both the main lodge and in eight free-standing log cabins that range in size from studios to the three-bedroom, three-bath Columbine. The six lodge rooms afford less privacy but are less expensive. Of these, the three south-facing rooms, Baby Doe, Lonesome Cow and Quickdraw, are the preferred choices in winter for their sunnier exposures overlooking the meadow.
All units adhere to high standards and are decorated in rustic Western style with wood, iron and natural fibers draping the surfaces and lending authenticity to the ranch feel. Navajo rugs add color, wood-burning stoves add warmth, and the knotty-pine furniture provides charm. Coffeemakers, refrigerators, ample toiletries and robes are standard amenities. Topped with patchwork quilts, most beds are queens.
Baby Doe and Hahn's Peak both have kings along with a twin bed tucked up in a loft. Nestled among the quaking aspen are the Birdhouse, Compromise, Kanga and Roo, with all but the last offering lofts with twin beds, well suited for a child or two. Sundown faces the Elk River Valley and has a twin-bedded loft as well, and Whistler looks out on a pond.
Perhaps the biggest draw of the cabins is the private hot tub nestled on each porch. Children older than 6 are always welcome, although pets are not (this restriction includes younger children during the Christmas holidays).
A minimum stay of at least two nights is required (three to seven during the holidays), and a service charge of 15% is added to the bill.
Rates are by the cabin and vary according to the cabin's capacity and time of year. A minimum stay is sometimes required.
As at the nearby Vista Verde, staff and management cater to no more than 40 guests at one time, assuring attentive service, yet this operation lacks the down-home friendliness of other dude ranches, operating more in the style of a grand European mountain resort. For those in search of a more authentic dude ranch that still pampers its urban cowboys, consider the nearby Vista Verde Ranch.
