THE LARGEST LOG CABIN IN AMERICA GETS A DESIGN OVERHAUL, USHERING IN A NEW CONTEMPORARY STYLE THAT CAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN WEST.
Guest rooms at The Ritz get new furniture, wall coverings and ceiling inlays. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE RITZ-CARLTON, BACHELOR GULCH
TWENTY YEARS hardly seems old, but The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch (ritzcarlton.com) at the base of Beaver Creek recently underwent an extensive makeover and culinary reinvention nonetheless. To refurbish the grand hotel’s 187 guest rooms and social gathering spaces—in time to celebrate the two-decade anniversary—the hotel tapped Mexico City-based Simon Hamui Design Studio.
“We wanted to find a warm, contemporary style that would be a good balance with the existing log cabin framework,” says Simon Hamui, the studio’s namesake designer. The refresh incorporates organic textures, natural stone and wood, and soft earthy tones. The great room retains its massive handhewn stone timbers and floor-to-ceiling stone fireplaces, but the furniture has all been updated. Hamui brought in classic midcentury designs and materials such as shearling and distressed leather. Underneath it all, Persian rugs from the owner’s collection were overlaid in a patchwork. “It’s cozy but contemporary,” Hamui says.
Throughout, the goal was to create a design that would connect to the region’s history and nature. Navajo prints can be found on pillows, and the organic pattern on hall carpets was sketched out by Hamui and custom-made. A curated collection of Colorado-inspired artwork adorns the walls.
Seating in the great room leans into a midcentury aesthetic. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE RITZ-CARLTON, BACHELOR GULCH
In guest rooms, ceilings are inlaid with reclaimed wood panels. The furniture, from modern leather chairs to cowhide ottomans, was custom built for the project to evoke the natural surroundings. To elevate spaces, the design studio used an embossed printed vinyl wallpaper inspired by handwoven grass-cloth wall coverings. “It gives it a contemporary mountain look,” Hamui says.
Since 2020, the hotel’s culinary venues have also been reinvented. Sushi lounge Sakaba serves sophisticated Japanese, and the menu at WYLD has been re-imagined under executive chef Jasper Schneider and chef de cuisine Manuel Gutierrez with locally sourced, hyper-seasonal ingredients and globally influenced flavors. Outside, two new terrace bars were added to an already expansive terrace—the perfect spot to sip a cocktail and take in front-row views of Beaver Creek’s slopes.
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