Aspen Favorites

Do you know what keeps me coming back to this amazing place besides memories made over years of family trips?  It's the majesty of the mountains, the natural beauty of the alpine landscape, the amazing restaurants, the top tier culture and arts, the shopping!

The saying goes, you go for the winters and stay for the summers.  I can regale you with stories of how I have seen the town change over the past some thirty(ish) odd years, but I won't.  I'll just tell you my top favorite things to do or where to go when you get there. This is a very small sampling. There is so much more to this special place than meets the eye.

It wouldn't be a trip to town if I did not have a Paradise chocolate chip cookie (or several).  I play a game with myself to see how long I can hold out before going in.  I am learning to just taste the samples they have on the counter now.  There is a reason that the line is always out the door.  The cookies are addictive, the baked goods are moist and oh so flavorful, and the gelato style ice cream is heavenly!  The square right out front is a gathering spot in all seasons, but in the summer with the Aspen Music School hosting musicians from all over the world, it is especially entertaining.

MAX  is my first choice for fashion forward clothes and accessories.  I met Max years ago when he first opened his chic little Aspen location and am happy for his success.  He and his business partner Scott are fulfilling a dream and giving back to women's causes.  Good taste, smart buying practices and philanthropy always wins.

This is a super secret but I am sharing it with you.  A-1 Oriental Foot Massage is the place to go after a day on the slopes or hiking the backcountry.  It's pure bliss to just lay there and have your aching feet rubbed.  You can add a chair massage for a nominal fee.  It's the biggest bang for your buck in town!

Hotel Jerome is not a secret, but having a drink in the library is still on the top of my list.  The J Bar has the best burgers and truffle fries - FYI

I always love stopping into the world of McHugh's Antiques, but the antiques are being squeezed out by contemporary art.  With the likes of Hunt Slonem whom I wrote about here and here, Robert Kuo's menagerie of lacquered animals and fruit, magnificent mobiles by newcomer, Parisian designer Christal Sadde that I am crazy about, New Zealander artist Rob Tucker , museum worthy Rainforest baskets, RISD grad Lloyd Martin and a plethora of other goodies including a beautiful selection of jewelry, McHugh's has something for everyone.

There is no shortage of great restaurants.  Meat and Cheese has proven to be popular.  I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite restaurant (Aspen Kitchen), but this hip hot spot is great for a cheese board, charcuterie or salad.

Paris Underground has been part of many a project I have worked on.  A beautifully curated selection of furniture, accessories and objects from France and beyond.  The shop started out small with  Murano glass and a strong mid century vibe culled from the 30's, 40's and 50's has blossomed into a cross cultural, more modern aesthetic the is a "must see" destination while in town.

You don't need a boutique gym when you have all the outdoor activities out your door.  There is everything you could want including a Soulcycle pop up last season, but an easy walk with great views close to town is the Rio Grande Trail.  If you jump on a bike and continue down the path (up in some cases) you'll reach Woody Creek Tavern which is a fun lunch stop that Hunter S. Thompson made famous.

For a small town with a BIG town feel, there is almost nothing you cannot find.  It's as wonderful for children as it is for seniors.


I should be on the Aspen tourist board.  It is a subject I am quite passionate about.

Architecturally Aspen

I knew Aspen was originally a historic mining town and the adorable Victorian cottages were de riguer at the turn of the century.  I knew Jerome Wheeler settled here in 1883 after the nomadic Ute Indians moved on ~ they believed that movement was life.  What I didn't know was Mr. Wheeler (of the Macy's family fortune) settled here and invested heavily in the Aspen silver ore mining business. 

The town was so isolated there was no way to get the ore out, so Jerome was instrumental in bringing a railroad to town.  That solved the problem so well in fact that a second railroad came in and this little town was booming.  Women and families followed.  They say women bring civility.  Aspen became a very desirable, albeit a hard to reach destination.  It still is, but that's what makes it so special!

Prefab homes from kits from places like the Sears catalog and Pan Abode were pretty standard and efficient.  When men came into money they would add on a porch or bay window here, fish scale trim there.  The homes grew as the families' wealth did.

I love the original carriage stones.  Women would step on them to help lift themselves into carriages.  It is common to see hitching posts and old fashioned boot cleaners.

Subdued color schemes became popular and landscapers were soon picking up on the trend.  The colors of the home were repeated in the planting material to balance out the alpine landscaping.  Now we tend to see rock gardens and cottage style plantings bursting with many diverse blooms.

Life was good in Aspen till the panic of 1893.  The silver economy collapsed.  Ranching and farming  became the new normal.  People were happy, though.  The town needed to reinvent itself.  With a fresh infusion of money, skiing and snow sports became the next natural viable way to attract people to Aspen.  Elizabeth Paecpke persuaded her husband Walter to invest in the cultural ideas of the time and bring thought leaders to the valley.  Aspen has respected world class culture and art programs that are globally recognized.

The ski company was formed in 1946 and once again Aspen's population began growing like crazy. Brick mansions were springing up along side the Victorians and US Grant style homes.  Larger Victorians remained popular but bigger soon became better and controls and restrictions on growth and development needed to be put in place residentially and commercially.

To stop the creation of "new Vics" or faux Victorians, the historic Victorian homes must adhere to a strict code of building additions that are contrasting in architecture.  Often the additions were 3 to 4 times the size.  You can clearly see the original home and clearly see the addition. 

"Peach blow" sand stone from the quarries in Basalt (the town next to Aspen) brought over on the railroad were used for the home foundations back then.  Today you can tell if a home (or part of a home) is an Aspen original if you can see the peach blow stone foundation of days of old.

This house is presently getting a little face lift.  It is not unusual to see original homes that may be, shall we say, " little off balance." I have talked to people who seem to either love it or hate it but...

that's what makes this small town so charming and endlessly fascinating!!

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Elle, The Sultan and Me

A couple years back I was in Aspen for the Food and Wine Festival, see story here, and my girlfriend invited me to a TYKU sponsored party at an estate on Starwood Mountain.  I jumped at the chance because Starwood Mountain is VERY exclusive, and I was dying to get a glimpse at whomever or whatever presented itself.

A driver brought us up to an almost hidden entry way.  A thick grove of Aspen trees barely giving way to the stairs down,  and unfolding in front of me was the Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan's or the Sultan of Brunei's home.  Honestly I am not sure which now ~ but seriously, does it really matter?

This 66 acre mountain hideaway, or as Elle Macpherson calls it Star Mountain Ranch, looks an awful lot like a small part of the estate I was visiting.  She and her husband must have bought it from the Sultan and it is now on the market for a cool $35 million; which sadly, sounds somewhat reasonable given the cost of real estate in this very special little town.

The party was not in the main house, but was in what I would call an entertainment lodge on the grounds.  It was magical ~ filled with stuffed wild game, a pool table, amusement games, guest suites, etc., decorated exactly as you would imagine a magnificent, no expense spared, authentic game lodge would look out west!

Elle must have redecorated the place, but I never did see the main house.  The great room features a floor to ceiling hand carved Italian limestone fireplace with French limestone floors to match throughout.

The 14,000 square foot main house boasts seven bedrooms, ten baths, a spa with juice bar, 2 pools (indoor and out) 2 elevators, gym and home theatre.  There are plenty of guest cottages on the property to keep those near and dear close, but not too close.  I found 2 sets of pictures, so this house was redone several times

Arched ceilings and paneled white oak walls give it that authentic chic ski chalet feel that you would expect from such an estate.

Party Time ~ on the wrap around deck

The Roaring Fork Valley is laid out before my eyes ~  magical!

I think of this as a little piece of heaven.

photos via Curbed, CLI, Douglas Elliman

Art Elevated

About 8,000 feet above sea level, in the Rocky Mountains, blessed by Buddhist monks, in a special little valley that I call my happy place, Aspen, Colorado, is a new sight to behold.  An art museum that is as much about the building site as it is about the art.  The Pritzker prize winning architect Shigeru Ban was a gutsy choice to design this small museum that has deep pockets, a philanthropic cadre of world class art connoisseurs and assorted interested parties with strong views; all the while still keeping a sense of the small town feel, because he is known mostly as an architect of temporary disaster relief shelters.

The building is described as "ugly-beautiful."  A boutique museum with no permanent collection, keeps it "light on its feet" with the ability to reinvent itself anew.  It is a three story glass cube encased in recyclable treated paper lattice, that when entered is supposed to mimic the experience of skiing.

You go up to the top of a stairs (mountain), enjoy the view ~

 (to the left is the outer staircase, to the right the inner staircase)

The grand staircase is divided into 2 parallel parts, one on the outside, one on the inside.  This in- between space is called "engawa"in Japanese.  The ability to see those going in the opposite direction or almost anywhere within the walls of the museum creates an active and alive environment.

The ski slope view is charming and a highlight of the restaurant and roof garden.

Then you go down the stairs (mountain) ~  You did get a sense of expansiveness; much more so being on the inside looking out as opposed to being on the outside looking in.

The Tom Freidman's "Green Rock" hanging above the reception desk reminds us that what hangs over our heads can be ignored or consume us.  I will have to remember this visual for my life coaching practice!

When I visited, the street floor gallery featured Mexican artist, Gabriel Kuri.  His works examine the banality of everyday items taken for granted, then discarded.  The residue of daily life, elevated in size and proportion, the things we take for granted asking, "What is our role in everyday consumption and waste?"

Among other things, Mr Kuri's receipts; some tapestry, some sculpture, as well as collages and photography make his installation compelling

My friend told me that teenagers in town (after one too many) take to climbing the trellis or outdoor cage as some call it.  A big no no that comes with a hefty fine!  So funny ~ there are pictures of people attempting the climb and bets are taken on how high one can reach before getting caught.

It's a far cry from what the original art museum looked like!  Originally a hydro-electrical plant, just out of the main part of town, that had a grassroots approach.  Many say this environment is more in keeping with the character of the town; on land that allows for sculpture and outdoor events.

I understand both points of view: the need to modernize and bring forward thinking international artists to this small upscale town, and a cultured, philanthropic crowd but personally, the placement of the museum and the look in relation to what is around it feel awkward, forced.  I think if it was a little further away on land that enhances it, it would set a better tone.  It lacks the charm of the setting of the old location down a wandering path by a stream.  To me, that's the Aspen of old, the Aspen I love, and the Aspen I miss, because over the many years I have been coming here the quaint mom and pop stores are being replaced by the likes of top designer outposts from Madison Ave.  I guess you can't stop change, or progress, or greed.

Sometimes starchitecture is not better architecture, or keep it in context.  What do you think?






* ph:Shigeru Ban