By Helen Olsson By Helen Olsson | July 5, 2023 | Culture, Food & Drink, Community, Drink, Apple News, Hotel,
WITH A COAST-TO-COAST EXPANSION OF THE LITTLE NELL AND LIMELIGHT HOTEL BRANDS, IT’S NOT JUST SKI-IN/SKI-OUT ANYMORE.
The Little Nell’s wine program, under wine director Chris Dunaway, will inform the service at the new property in New York. ROCKEFELLER CENTER PHOTO BY KEMTER/ISTOCK
THE LITTLE NELL has been an Aspen landmark since 1989. But the hotel’s cosmopolitan yet intimate vibe, haute cuisine, and five-star service may well have a place in urban destinations, including Rockefeller Center, Manhattan’s most iconic address.
A division of Aspen Skiing Company, Aspen Hospitality (aspenhospitality.co) has a portfolio of owned and operated properties that includes The Little Nell, Residences at The Little Nell and Limelight Hotels in Aspen and Snowmass, Colorado, as well as Ketchum near Sun Valley, Idaho. In May, the brand transitioned Denver’s Born Hotel to Limelight Denver. Those six properties have a total of 675 rooms and residential units, a figure that is expected to nearly double in the next five years.
Aspen Hospitality plans to convert vacant office space in Rockefeller Center into hotel rooms. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASPEN HOSPITALITY
Currently in development are two additional Limelight Hotels—in Mammoth, California, and Boulder, Colorado. Both properties are slated to open in 2025.
“We are focused on new markets that align with the brand’s deep-seated sense of curiosity and community and that give our guests the opportunity to stay with us across various geographies,” says Alinio Azevedo, CEO of Aspen Hospitality. “Our hotels offer an elevated casual ambiance that embraces all that each destination has to offer, whether it’s in a mountain or urban setting.”
The Little Nell is Aspen’s iconic five-star, five-diamond lodging PHOTO COURTESY OF ASPEN HOSPITALITY
In April, Aspen Hospitality announced a planned expansion that would convert 10 floors of vacant office space above NBC’s Today studios at Rockefeller Center into the world’s second Little Nell hotel. While an urban outpost might seem surprising for the beloved flagship mountain-town property, Aspen Hospitality is owned by the Chicago-based Crown family, which, not coincidentally, co-owns the Rockefeller Center complex. Since the pandemic, more New Yorkers are working remotely, and developers are looking for ways to re-imagine empty midtown office spaces. Entertainment and hospitality are increasingly filling the void—from speakeasies to dance halls to hotels. Aspen Hospitality’s plan is for a 130-room Little Nell property to open in 2026, seamlessly integrated within Rockefeller Center’s iconic art deco facade. “The proposed hotel will offer the same world-class service and attention to culture, art and design that distinguishes The Little Nell in Aspen,” Azevedo says.
Over time, Aspen Hospitality has also carefully been expanding its Limelight portfolio. “Boulder, Denver and Mammoth are characterized by their natural beauty, outdoor activities, cultural offerings and abundance of dining and shopping,” Azevedo says. “In brief, they are highly desirable destinations.” The Denver location, already up and running, is located in the heart of LoDo adjacent to Union Station, near shops, restaurants and museums and just a light-rail ride away from Denver International Airport. “It’s the perfect location for the urban visitor or business traveler or a quick stopover en route to a mountain getaway,” he says.
Just steps from the slopes, the hotel’s suites are spacious and sophisticated. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASPEN HOSPITALITY
Limelight Boulder is Aspen Hospitality’s first foray into the college town market, and the hotel, which will be all-electric with LEED Gold certification, is being developed in collaboration with the University of Colorado. Limelight Mammoth will also be an all-electric property, helping the company to reach its aggressive goals around sustainability.
Whether it’s sustainability or sophistication, the elements that define the hospitality experience at The Little Nell and Limelight Hotels promise to transition easily to urban markets, from Boulder to the Big Apple.
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