Need to know
Rooms
10, including two suites.
Check–Out
10am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in is at 3pm; it’s contactless, so you’ll receive details before arrival.
More details
Rates include breakfast, cooked in house by Vaquera’s chef (who does pancakes, waffles, eggs, granola and yoghurt, all made to order), plus a welcome drink, evening cocktails and canapés, kit for s’mores, and a thermos each.
Also
Vaquera House is wheelchair-accessible, with one room best suited to guests with mobility issues.
Hotel closed
The hotel will be closed from 1 April to 15 May and from 1 November to the week of Thanksgiving.
At the hotel
Roof deck with hot tub, library, lounge and games room with a TV and pool table, board and lawn games, garden with fire pit, ski and bike storage, free-to-borrow sports kit (townie bikes, basketballs, volleyballs, tennis racquets), and free WiFi. In rooms: 32-inch TV, Nespresso coffee machine, mini fridge, climate control, steam iron, and Malin + Goetz bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Rooms have been cosily outfitted with clay walls, quartzite finishes, Spanish tile, beams and wood and stone flooring that’s delightfully heated come winter. Most have a mountain view (after all, Crested Butte peak lords it over the area), and we like the third floor rooms for their loftier ceilings (the only ones which could be raised during the refit). In summer, you’ll want a balcony to sit out on, and groups should book out the sizable penthouse suites.
Poolside
There’s no pool, but we can’t complain because we’re too busy watching curlicues of steam rise from the hot tub on the roof deck as we melt into it like a marshmallow in hot-chocolate. And, it overlooks Crested Butte Mountain – so, that’s nice too.
Spa
If you want a little spa spoiling, the hotel has partnered with Native Nectar Botanicals, a five-minute walk away on Elk Avenue. It has a wide range of treatments, including altitude-adjustment facials, microneedling, LED therapy in an infrared sauna, sound healing, breathwork…and of course, CBD massages, incorporating the town’s other way to mellow out.
Packing tips
Crested Butte has ski-gear shops aplenty, and the hotel has some sports kit to borrow, which frees up some space in your luggage, unless you want to bring your own. Pack a mummy’s worth of layers, boots as strong and sturdy as a mountain man, and maybe some bear spray, just to be on the safe side. If you’re here for the fly-fishing, it’s best to book your permit in advance too.
Also
You can help yourself to tea and steamy mugs of local Camp 4 Coffee brews; and if it’s a very special stay, you might find a homemade cake in your room…
Children
While the hotel isn’t exactly a nursery (there’s no child kit or baby cots, and you’ll have to book babysitters locally), little ones will love the range of games and outdoorsy fun.
Sustainability efforts
Vaquera House uses solar panels to keep its roof deck and hot tub toasty, plus there’s LED lighting, no plastic bottles onsite (guests get a thermos to use), and the building is insulated in foam to make it more energy-efficient. Overall, they stay in line with Crested Butte council’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent in five years and reducing the community’s emissions by 25 per cent (comparable to those in 2017).