Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/93399
Haute Property NEWS, STARS, AND TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE The exterior of the newly renovated Hotel Jerome still exudes the same Victorian charm. gilded-age glam S ince opening in 1889 on Aspen's Main Street, Hotel Jerome, with its classic red-brick façade, has been a mainstay of Aspen hospitality. Silver miners and skiers, aristocracy and Hollywood, locals and wannabes alike, were welcomed equally to take shelter under its roof and celebrate (or commiserate, accordingly) at the venerable J-Bar. If its walls could talk, they'd tell volumes about a colorful past that included every- thing from galas to ghosts. Recently, talk around town turned to the fate of the historic hotel, which was shut tight for a thorough renovation. Sure there was confidence that Auberge Resorts—w hich added the hotel to its portfolio of high-end proper- ties and took over management in November 2011—w ould do things right. But would the hotel retain its beloved quirks and charms? Would its Victorian- era legacy be respected and preserved? Would it still feel like the Jerome? THE CROWN JEWEL OF ASPEN'S VICTORIAN ERA, A NEWLY REDESIGNED HOTEL JEROME BEAUTIFULLY DISPLAYS ASPEN'S PENCHANT FOR HISTORIC MODERN LIVING. BY LINDA HAYES Well, thanks to an intensive effort by a hand-picked team—including Aspen-based Rowland + Broughton Architecture and Urban Design, and Todd-Avery Lenahan, a regular visitor to Aspen whose Las Vegas-based TAL-Studio is renowned for progressive hospitality design—town is cer- tain to heave a collective sigh of relief when the hotel reopens this December as Hotel Jerome, an Auberge Resort. No one can speak to the matter better than general manager Tony DiLucia, whose previous 20-year career at Hotel Jerome resumed when Auberge Resorts took over and COO Eric Calderon (formerly of The Little Nell in Aspen) asked him to re-up. "I can't tell you how many times I was asked about the renovation at cocktail parties," DiLucia laughs. "T here was a perception that it was going to be very contemporary, and what did that mean? It's an eclectic mix, but it's still very much like the Jerome and feels continued on page 190 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM 189