Rebuilding an iconic Jackson lodge gave owners the opportunity to elevate the Rusty Parrot with modern touches while salvaging its treasures and preserving its nostalgia.
The Rusty Parrot’s grand staircase was central to the post-fire renovation, encouraging guests to wander. Paintings and sculptures were rescued from the ashes, but the lobby’s antler chandelier had to be rebuilt. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUSTY PARROT LODGE & SPA
A BLUE LION, A WHITE BUFFALO, A MANGY MOOSE.
The Wyoming town of Jackson and nearby Teton Village are home to a host of whimsical spirit animals. But if you want to know the legend of the rusty parrot, you’ll have to visit the namesake hotel and track down general manager Brandon Harrison to tell you the closely guarded backstory. You won’t find it on the Rusty Parrot Lodge’s website (rustyparrot.com), and the details are shared with journalists strictly off the record. “It’s an opportunity for us to meet and interact with people,” says Brandon, whose dad, Ron Harrison, founded the venerable hotel off Jackson’s town square in 1990. “For us, that personal relationship with guests is an art form.”
UP IN FLAMES
In 2019, after 30 years under the Harrison family ownership, the Rusty Parrot burned beyond repair in a devastating fire. It took five years of rebuilding, but the hotel reopened last summer, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. In a fitting metaphor, the hotel’s rusted metal parrot sculpture—looking not unlike a phoenix itself—was literally rescued from the ashes. It now hangs triumphantly in the lobby.
The ground-up transformation spans 38 rooms and two suites, a revitalized Body Sage Spa and the Wild Sage restaurant. While the new building was entirely reimagined and modernized, the Rusty Parrot remains true to its original Western lodge roots. “We had the opportunity to start from scratch and fix anything that wasn’t perfect,” Brandon says. “We wanted it to be reminiscent of the old property—but improved.” The hotel’s architecture, from the facade to the rooflines, retains the original building’s aesthetic but with subtle shifts to make it feel more upscale. Round timbers were replaced by square ones, and river rock with square-cut stones. “The intent was to have a traditional timeless mountain lodge feel with lots of texture, but we made it more current,” he says.
The renovation included adding underground valet parking and flipping the floor plan so Wild Sage’s kitchen and dining room are visible and inviting from the lobby. “The kitchen is the heart of the home, so it was important to the vibe that you’d be able to see the chefs working,” Brandon says. With the new configuration, some of the rooms and a new wildlife viewing deck capture vistas of Saddle Butte and Flat Creek behind the property. (Ask for binoculars at the front desk.)
“WE FOUND THE COUGAR COVERED IN ASH BURIED UNDER THE COLLAPSED STAIRWAY.”
Spa-goers can enjoy a serene moment on the terrace after a treatment. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUSTY PARROT LODGE & SPA
A CURATED ART COLLECTION
“We were able to pull most of the artwork from the old building and have it restored,” Brandon says. Ron is an art collector and the driving force behind the hotel’s collection of Western art, including Frederic Remington sculptures and paintings from G. Harvey and Howard Terpning. You’ll also find a framed pocket watch belonging to Ron’s great-grandfather and an original painting of comic book character Alfred E. Neuman, which Mad Magazine editor and perennial hotel guest Al Feldstein gave to Ron.
Stone fireplaces keep the guest rooms cozy. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUSTY PARROT LODGE & SPA
In the original hotel, a cougar head sculpture by Kent Ullberg sat on a landing halfway up the stairs. “It had a shiny brass spot on its nose where people rubbed it for good luck,” Brandon says. “We found it covered in ash buried under the collapsed stairway.” The cougar is back, but the restoration evened out its bronze patina. The Harrisons hope guests will start rubbing the cougar’s nose again.
The new architecture evokes the original, but square timbers and stone give it a more modern feel. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUSTY PARROT LODGE & SPA
The hotel’s new grand staircase, which spirals up two stories, played a central role in the rebuild. Its first landing is once again devoted to Ullberg’s cougar. And the broad steps invite guests to meander through the hotel’s shared spaces, including the bar, lobby, library and a heated rooftop deck with lounge seating for stargazing or sipping a handcrafted cocktail by the outdoor fireplace. “We wanted to encourage a quirky vibe with spaces where you could wander and explore—and to use the stairs instead of just getting in the box of an elevator,” Brandon says.
As part of the lodge’s turndown service, housekeepers stage bears in a new and delightful pose each night. PHOTO: COURTESY OF RUSTY PARROT
INDULGENCES
The Body Sage Spa, previously located in a building behind the hotel, now occupies a two-floor space inside. Here, you can enjoy an energizing massage based on quantum physics or a Glo2Facial, which stimulates oxygen production to rejuvenate cellular growth. The secluded outdoor courtyard with fire pit and 12-person hot tub also features a spa terrace where guests can sip herbal tea while wrapped in plush white robes.
As part of the lodge’s turndown service, housekeepers stage bears in a new and delightful pose each night. PHOTO: BY ERIK TRINIDAD
The Wild Sage’s intimate dining room is separated from the bar by a double-sided stone fireplace and floor-to-ceiling glass wine cellars. The Harrisons brought in Hugo Goodwin, who’d been cheffing at The Yellowstone Club (and before that, at Nobu in Santa Barbara, il Buco in New York and Moulin de Mougins in the French Riviera), to curate a menu of seasonally inspired dishes made with locally sourced ingredients, from beef tartare with chili oil, lovage and balsamic to smoked creme brulee served with a side of local whiskey. The housemade focaccia is not to be missed. The restaurant’s open-kitchen design invites diners to catch a glimpse of Goodwin’s process. “The size of this restaurant and the open kitchen is really conducive to creativity,” Goodwin says. “We’re using tweezers and little spatulas. It’s a delicate preparation.”
The Rusty Parrot Lodge is the perfect Jackson basecamp for a Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski vacation. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JHMR
NOSTALGIA
With interiors designed by local firm WRJ (wrjdesign.com), the new guest rooms are cozy yet sophisticated, combining flannel curtains and fur pillows with leather accents and Western charm. You’ll find fireplaces, luxe Italian bedding, Amouage bath products and private balconies.
The Rusty Parrot’s concierge can help guests plan a wildlife safari in Yellowstone or Grand Teton national parks, where you might see moose, bear, elk, wolves, bighorn sheep and bison. PHOTO COURTESY OF JHMR
The decor has been updated, but what remains blissfully unchanged are the hotel’s nostalgic traditions. Nightly turndown service is a highly anticipated event. Guests come home to a small plate of chocolates set on a cowboy poem, but the pièce de résistance is the teddy bear tableau. Housekeepers stage the bears in different poses—working at your laptop or chilling beside the cast iron cowboy lamp with sunglasses on. It’s the kind of imaginative touch you’ll only find at a family owned and operated hotel.
Each afternoon, chefs set out plates of freshly baked cookies on the second floor near the library. The origins of the bear hijinks are unclear, but Brandon can trace the cookie ritual back to the kitchen. In high school, Brandon lived in the hotel’s room 302. Every morning, he’d sit at a barstool in the Wild Sage eating breakfast with the chef before catching the bus to school. “I was always hungry when I got back, so the chef started baking me cookies every afternoon,” says Brandon. Today, stays at the Rusty Parrot, the Harrisons say, are measured not in days—but in cookies.
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