If you ski west like I do about once a year, you might eventually see a Gravity Haus from your ski lift.
The relatively new brand opened its first property in Breckenridge, Colorado, in 2019 and has since grown to seven locations despite the pandemic-related downturn. The newest location opened last year in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Although the product varies at each location, Gravity Haus aims to combine “work, leisure and outdoor adventure in premier destinations” in a hotel and social club concept.
But unlike the members-only Soho House model, Gravity Haus’s 4,000 members share the brand’s accommodations, restaurants, co-working and fitness facilities with non-members, who make up the majority of guests. Members receive perks, including deep hotel discounts and exclusive activities.
If Gravity Haus sounds quite unique in the hotel world, its COO Eric Lent would agree.
“We don’t fit into any mold,” he said. “We’re kind of in a category of our own in the hospitality industry.”
Lent, a former executive on IHG Hotels & Resorts’ upscale hotel team, said Gravity Haus will open in markets with high barriers to entry, such as the next one in Aspen, Colorado, and will feature amenities that “rival any other hotel in the world in terms of excellence and scope.”
The Gravity Haus Winter Park in Colorado. Amenities there include co-working spaces and fitness facilities. Image credit: Courtesy of Gravity Haus
He pointed to the design of the rooms and public areas, first-class restaurants and cafes, co-working facilities, state-of-the-art fitness facilities and “leading recreational facilities”.
Lent zoomed with me from the Gravity Haus in Vail, Colorado, where he said he was looking out at the base of the mountain. The Gravity Haus properties in Jackson Hole, Breckenridge, Steamboat and Vail are all slopeside or steps from the base of those mountains, as will be the case in Aspen. The properties in Winter Park, Colorado, and Truckee, California, are both in town and offer proximity to nearby ski resorts. The property in Moab, Utah, offers access to two national parks.
I stayed at Gravity Haus Steamboat, which offers one of the best mountain locations in a ski area where there are few hotels and only two of those offer true ski-in, ski-out opportunities, including Gravity Haus. The Steamboat hotel is in the former Ptarmigan Inn; all Gravity Haus locations are conversions, which helps the brand establish itself in these locations with high barriers to entry: Ski resorts are often known for having strict restrictions on development, and mountain locations are particularly difficult to find.
Hotels with a common thread
Lent describes the portfolio as a collection of luxury and lifestyle hotels, each “tailor-made” but “weaving the threads of the Gravity Haus ethos”.
“They all feel like they’re from the same family,” he said. When I mentioned that a Gravity Haus member had told me the Steamboat hotel wasn’t as upscale as others the member had stayed at, Lent said that the Vail hotel, for example, was more upscale than some other Gravity Haus hotels, like Winter Park, which has an outdoor corridor and was remodeled to include co-working spaces, fitness facilities and a design package that took it from a mid-range hotel to an upscale one.
Vail is the brand’s most upscale property, and that’s reflected in the prices. (A search during Christmas week this year in Vail found the cheapest room was $999 a night, while in Steamboat it was half that.) Vail, for example, has a large spa with thermotherapy — hot tub, sauna, steam room and cold-water pool — and a salt lounge. The other hotels don’t have spas.
The Steamboat property’s public areas definitely match the brand ethos, with sustainably sourced coffee at Unravel Coffee and slopeside dining at the cozy White Rabbit Tavern. The property’s stylish and comfortable public areas definitely invite guests to linger. My family and I sat by one of the two fireplaces after a day on the slopes, playing cards and warming up with tea and hot chocolate.
A favorite with après-ski fans, the White Rabbit’s bar extends into the cafe and is open to the rest of the lobby, giving it a communal feel. The outdoor heated pool and hot tub were popular with families and adults alike.
White Rabbit Tavern offers casual dining on the hillside of Gravity Haus Steamboat, Colorado. Photo credit: Courtesy of Gravity Haus
Great value for money
For Gravity Haus, providing added value to membership is a priority.
This year will see the opening of AspenHaus Membership, an exclusive members’ club with dining options, co-working spaces and private offices, in addition to the restaurant and café open to the public.
“The positioning of the brand is really about insider access to the ultimate adventure lifestyle,” said Lent, who added that extensive research by the brand has shown that “people see Gravity Haus as an opportunity to come to a destination and have the opportunity to experience that destination while knowing the secrets, insider information, tips and tricks that will give you an almost sublime experience. We’ve structured our membership offering to take that to the next level.”
These include a range of experiential events, including a supper club in Vail, custom cowboy hat making and whiskey tastings. Mountain biking is available at all properties, and the company also offers overnight tours, such as dining at lodges and backcountry skiing, whitewater rafting and backpacking in national parks.
Gravity Haus membership includes 50% off hotel stays and one free night per year, late check-out and savings at the brand’s partner hotels, which extend to the Gilded Iguana in Nosara, Costa Rica.
Lent said the partner hotels are also “adventurous lifestyle” properties with similar activities and locations as Gravity Haus. Member benefits include use of on-site gyms and fitness classes throughout, the services of a concierge for adventure planning from Haus Guides and more than 15 monthly members-only events.
Gravity Haus pays travel agents commissions on bookings, but not on membership fees.
