Luxury ski resorts boom with One&Only and Montage opening
Do you have cash burning a hole in your back pocket? Come skiing at Big Sky Montana this winter. Although it is, this is not the new slogan of the ski resort; Nowhere in the North American Rocky Mountains stands out for high-stakes bets like Big Sky.
This is not a suggestion organised skiers are being removed from the mountain. I’m just saying: if you’ve got the money, Big Sky has a suite for you. To tell you the truth, I barely recognize this place. When I visited in the late winter of 2019-20, a month before COVID-19 halted world travel, luxury digs weren’t even an option, except for the Yellowstone Club, a legendary private community that includes Bill Gates (good luck getting in there).
Now two of America’s most prestigious mountain resorts have opened right here on the slopes. One&Only Moonlight Basin is one of the most anticipated North American on-snow lodging openings of the past decade. This is the first One&Only Resort in the United States and the first Resort anywhere on a mountain in the world.
Famous for its one-off resorts in the world’s best destinations, it’s easy to see why the company chose this location. I balance in a golf cart along a ridge as we pass villas built among pine groves at the northern edge of Big Sky Resort’s massive 2,400-hectare ski area. Beneath me – beyond the basin – lie the protected lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. If I look long enough I might see a grizzly bear down there.
There will be six restaurants and bars on site, but I’ll settle for one for now. I arrive at The Landing Restaurant expecting a snooty country club atmosphere, but the atmosphere is as chilled as the dress code (resort casual). Locals sit at a long bar — open to all — and gaze out at the area’s peaks through floor-to-ceiling windows while a guitarist plays old Neil Young faithfuls. The food comes straight from the farm, and when the sun comes out I sit on the sky deck and see the herds of deer below.
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This is one side of the “new” Big Sky Resort. The other is home to the US$400 million ($620 million) Montage Resort, one of North America’s most exclusive luxury resort brands. The ski area is so large that it takes me 40 minutes to drive from One&Only to Montage Resort, built at the southern end of the resort. But new gondolas connect guests to four Big Sky resort areas.
Montage Big Sky still feels mostly realistic – although apres bar Alpenglow has caviar on its snack menu. But I don’t see any fur-lined coats. And skiing should still get you here. There is no cable car line even during holiday times and this is priceless. And although there are slopes here that will scare you, half the mountain is designated as beginner or intermediate terrain.
A new luxury brand is expanding in Big Sky. Even at the oldest inn—Lone Mountain Ranch, built in 1915—I discovered a new members-only supper club. We only have 180 members, but tonight, as their guest, I’m sharing the space with just 15 people. I sit in a hut wrapped in calfskin, under velvet curtains and a tin ceiling. Lone Mountain Ranch also has plans to build a four-bedroom cabin in its prime location overlooking the Rocky Mountains, with a hot tub on the deck and its own private chef and butler service.
I have a room at the Rainbow Ranch Lodge, which is a 30-minute drive from the resort. It starts at $295 a night ($425) and comes with breakfast, and I have a slow-moving stream on my back porch where I can catch trout and search the woods for grizzly bears. Big Sky still works for every budget.
DETAIL
TO STAY
Options at One&Only Moonlight Basin include rooms, cabins or private homes, starting from US$1169 ($1815) per night. To see oneandonlyresorts.com/moonlight-basin
Rooms at the Montage Big Sky start at $670 per night. To see montage.com/bigsky
Rainbow Ranch Lodge rooms start at $295 per night. To see rainbowranchbigsky.com
FLY
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines fly directly to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport via hubs such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Big Sky is an hour’s drive away by rental car or ground shuttle.
MORE
Visit bigsky.com
bigskyresort.com
The author traveled courtesy of Visit Big Sky and Brand USA.
Craig Tansley is a Gold Coast-based freelance travel writer with a specialty in adventure and a background in the South Pacific.
