The Little Nell

The Silver Queen Gondola leaves from a plaza at the bottom of Aspen Mountain, and the hotel that shares the plaza has its ski concierge standing at the door with the guests' boots warmed. The Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado, is the only hotel in the town where skiers step straight from the lobby onto the slope.

History

The name comes from a silver-mining claim and later a ski run on the lower mountain. The Aspen Skiing Company, owned since 1993 by the Crown family of Chicago, built the hotel on the site of an old base lodge and opened it in December 1989, giving the resort its first purpose-built luxury hotel in Aspen. It was conceived as the company's flagship, the place where its most loyal skiers and the town's winter visitors would stay, and it has been renovated several times since, most recently with a redesign of the rooms and public spaces in the 2010s. The company also built The Residences at The Little Nell, a block of privately owned apartments served by the hotel, on the plaza beside it.

Architecture and design

The building is a low, stone-and-stucco structure stepped against the base of the mountain, in keeping with Aspen's planning limits on height. Its public rooms open onto a courtyard with a heated outdoor pool and hot tub facing the slope. Interiors mix Colorado stone and timber with contemporary furniture and a sizeable art collection. The ski valet area connects the lobby level directly to the snow.

Rooms and suites

There are 92 rooms and suites, including a set of suites with private terraces towards Aspen Mountain or the town. Rooms have gas fireplaces, and the larger suites add dining rooms and outdoor hot tubs. Dogs are welcome, which is unusual at this level, and the hotel keeps a fleet of Audi cars for guest use in town.

Dining

Element 47, named for the atomic number of silver, opened in 2013 in the space of the earlier Montagna restaurant. Its cellar holds around 20,000 bottles and has held Wine Spectator's Grand Award since the 1990s; the wine team runs tastings and dinners through the season. Ajax Tavern, on the plaza, is the lunch spot for skiers coming off the mountain, with a terrace on the snow. Chair 9 is the après-ski bar inside the hotel, and the hotel also runs the Aspen Mountain Club at the summit for its members.

Wellness

The spa has treatment rooms and a fitness centre, with the heated outdoor pool and hot tub in the courtyard open year round. In summer the hotel organises fly fishing, cycling and hiking, and in winter its ski ambassadors take guests out for first tracks before the lifts open to the public.

Weddings and events

The Little Nell hosts weddings and meetings in a set of ballrooms and smaller function rooms on the lobby level, with the courtyard and the Ajax Tavern terrace used for receptions in summer. The hotel also stages events at the top of the gondola, where the Aspen Mountain Club and the summit restaurant give a venue at over 11,000 feet. Corporate groups use the hotel through the Aspen Ideas Festival and the winter conference season.

Location

The hotel stands at 675 East Durant Avenue, one block from the pedestrian streets of downtown Aspen. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport is about four miles away, with direct flights from Denver and several other cities in winter; Denver International is roughly four hours by road. The three other mountains of the resort, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass, are reached by the free shuttle buses.