Unwind
at Colorado's Luxury Mountain Resort
by
Mary Gostelow
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Inside
the Bathhouse
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Sit
at Dunton Hot Springs Saloon's main table any day of the year — winter or summer
— and by 8 a.m. the sun has come up over the rugged 14,000-foot Wilson Range in
the Colorado Rockies.
Over the
table, hang two red cartwheels turned into chandeliers, suspended from a ceiling
that is entirely beaten tin. The whole area of the room is about 75 feet by 20
feet. There is a pool table down one end and an open kitchen with a bar counter
around the back. The bar's counter is a 100-year-old plank heavily inscribed by
ghost names.
This is a ghost town, established in 1885 as the camp for
the nearby Emma Mine in the San Juan Range of the Colorado Rockies. Later Dunton
Hot Springs — named for local miner Horatio Dunton — became a cattle ranch run
by Joe and Dominica Roscio. In 1994, Christoph Henkel, who had been looking for
something in Telluride, was persuaded by a friend to take a look at Dunton Hot
Springs. When he did, he put in an immediate offer and took ownership of 187 overgrown
acres in flat pasture encircled by forested mountains that soar upwards. Since
then, Henkel has increased his landmass to 1,400 acres.
Christoph Henkel
found himself the master — he prefers 'sheriff' — of numerous dilapidated wooden
huts of assorted shape and size, with rusted corrugated iron roofs from which
protruded stove-pipe chimneys. He now
has 12 letting cabins with a few rusty, old trucks and tractors strewn around
for good measure. The houses are all wood with iron roofs and porches. They are
all unique, some single-floor, others with an upper floor. Total, the resort can
sleep up to 42 visitors at one time.
The Well House — my luxury cabin home
for a night — is about 25 feet by 12 feet. The stone-slab floor has a sisal rug
at the foot of the king size bed, made up with high-count white linens from Whitney
Street. Horizontally-set wood beams form the walls, and the ceiling is wood planks.
There are four windows with crewel-embroidered linen curtains and French doors
leading to a small porch with two wicker-loom chairs. The lighting is intentionally
rustic and soft.
I have a good shower with masses of Elemis toiletries,
thick towels with DHS embroidered on them and a pair of hooded green terry robes
from Cotton Palace. There is a radio, but no television, minibar or safe. However,
the highlight of the quaint Well House is its own inbuilt hot spring. There is
a 6-foot-long raised rectangular sandstone tub, letting in hot water near 102
degrees. When you fill an adjacent wrought iron bowl with cold water you can jump
between the two baths, repeating the process as long as you like.
However,
if you prefer company or are in one of the houses that does not have its own bath,
there is a separate bathhouse with an indoor and outdoor pool. There are two spa
houses, each neatly set out with a bed and Elemis supplies. There is also an open-sided,
tepee-topped wedding chapel, set near a 100-foot gushing waterfall. For the active,
the various seasons offer skiing, snowmobiling, ice-skating, fishing, kayaking
and hiking.
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Relaxing
outside in the Hot Springs
|
There
is a dedicated boxing house and an outside climbing wall. And if you want intellectual
stimulation, one house is a two-floor library, complete with a massive range of
local interest.
Downstairs are comfy chairs set on either side of a big wood fire.
There is a grizzly bear skin on the floor and on the mantel a Cape Buffalo
skull trophy gained by Christoph Henkel's wife Katrin rests.
Katrin Henkel
is an Old Masters specialist — co-owner of Colnaghi, in London's Bond Street,
and Munich — and her many other skills include interior design. At Dunton Hot
Springs she is responsible for such one-offs as the Rajasthan bed and hangings
in the Honeymoon House. She also worked closely with her long-time friend and
architect Annabelle Selldorf on the Henkels' own house — a five-floor wooden tower
conveniently hidden from the main Dunton Hot Springs village.
It is 60-minute
drive from the sleepy airstrip at Cortez past the small one-floor town of Dolores
to Dolores Road — a 23-miler that starts paved and then, thanks to local pressure,
continues as red sand. The winding Dolores River meanders down to the right.
After arriving, take a tour of the village and head up into the foothills
of the Colorado Rockies for a memorable 90-minute hike, which involves fording
several rushing streams over which beavers had conveniently been building makeshift
bridges. Then visitors can go for drinks with nearby neighbors and head to The
Saloon for dinner, which is always served family-style.
Chef Mario produced
individual crab rillettes with avocado salsa for our trip. Thick multi-grain,
home-made bread filled the gaps. We spoon creamy mash into green and white striped
bowls from the Austrian firm of Gmunden, helping ourselves to boeuf bourguignon
that has been cooking for six hours. Portioned dessert is a rich chocolate tart
with cream. Prices at Dunton Hot Springs include all meals, though alcohol is
extra.
We are waited on by the green polo-shirted, jean-clad crew that
is as passionate about Dunton as the resort's owner. Not surprisingly, I sleep
like a log, and as the sun comes up, I am back in the Saloon to use its excellent
WiFi. There is another guest already working there... but then, as owner Christoph
Henkel says, "luxury is space, and time and feeling at home."
And
the breakfast, with yogurt, mango, blueberries and bananas among the fruit and
home-made granola, is delightful. Make your own toast and a crew member will cook
you anything to order. Dunton Hot Springs is just like home should be — paradise.
If
You Go...
Dunton
Hot Springs
52068 West Fork Rd.
Dolores, Colo. 81323
(970)
882-4800 ~ Mary
Gostelow, Kiwi
Collection. Mary Gostelow
is Editor-in-Chief of WOW.Travel, the
Online Luxury Magazine of Kiwi Collection
Inc.
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