Dive Brief:
- A 68-room boutique luxury hotel, Mollie Aspen, has opened in the Colorado mountain town after nearly a decade of planning and development, hotel management group HayMax Hotels announced Thursday.
- The $50 million project features a lobby retail boutique, flexible event space, new dining concept Gin & Luck and a roof terrace spa pool, slated to open this spring.
- Situated in the heart of Aspen, one of the top ski destinations in the U.S., the hotel is the latest in a slew of mountain-town projects to open or be announced, as hotels look to cater to the increasing number of travelers seeking experiential trips and accommodations.
Dive Insight:
Mollie Aspen — named for historic Aspen silver miner Mollie Gibson, who contributed to the town’s early economic, social and cultural progress — offers guests a “unique, welcoming respite in the bustling mountain town,” HayMax Hotels said in the announcement.
The property features architectural design by local firm CCY Architects and interior design by Brooklyn, New York-based studio Post Company, which has worked on several other notable boutique hotel projects across the country, including La Playa Hotel in Carmel, California, and Inness in upstate New York.
Mollie Aspen was designed to embody a spirit of “enthusiasm for the outdoors,” according to HayMax Hotels.
The property opens as more travelers are seeking experiential getaways, particularly in mountain destinations, as well as boutique hotel offerings.
Other brands catering to this changing traveler demand include Choice Hotels International, which expanded its upscale Cambria brand to the Colorado mountains in July, opening a hotel in Copper Mountain.
Similarly in recent months, Margaritaville announced its first-ever ski destination resort to open in Lake Tahoe, and hotel and membership club Gravity Haus expanded its portfolio with a new boutique property in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
