A Nantucket Hotel Favorite Makes Its Colorado Debut With White Elephant Aspen

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The beloved Nantucket brand brings its winning recipe of thoughtful design and doting hospitality west with White Elephant Aspen.

Sleek, European alpine chic furnishings by Arhaus set a sultry, neutral tone.

White Elephant Aspen’s curated collection includes 125 original works of art.

White Elephant Aspen is a small but mighty boutique hotel with amenities that rival those of mountain resorts with hundreds of rooms.

Half of the hotel’s 34 rooms are one-bedroom suites that convert easily into two bedrooms.

Lola 41 brings its 41st parallel menu, from Asia to Spain, to the mountains.

Lola 41’s lively, heated patio is already part of Aspen’s chic scene.

Aspen has never been short on coveted hotels, but there is now a stylish new kid on the mountain town block. White Elephant Aspen, which opened its doors this summer, has hit its stride just in time for ski season.

The White Elephant brand, known for its curated cool outposts on Nantucket and Palm Beach, has staked its reputation on doing smaller hotels well by putting thoughtful and stylish design along with doting hospitality at the forefront. In a town known for style and major luxury, White Elephant brings its winning recipe to join the ranks of the buzzy Aspen hotel favorites.

The Boston-based Karp family, who founded and still operate the White Elephant brand, have been vacationing in Aspen for years, so the move was thoughtful and rooted in passion for the locale. With patience for the right location and the right fit for their brand, the former Hotel Aspen, a Main Street fixture since the 70s, became available, and they rebuilt the property from scratch beginning in 2022.

A Boutique Hotel with a Powerful Punch

The result: a small but mighty boutique hotel packed with thoughtful amenities that rival mountain resorts with hundreds of rooms, but with the intimate luxury of a small, well-curated haven. There are 34 rooms and suites, half of which are one-bedroom suites that easily convert a living room into a second bedroom (with its own en-suite bathroom). The flexibility allows for families and groups to settle in without having to worry about small rooms or extra bookings.

Throughout the hotel, the interiors bring a modernity to cozy alpine surroundings. The team partnered with Arhaus on sleek, European alpine-chic furnishings in sultry neutral tones, with grey and black rustic wood combined with shearling textures. The spaces are contemporary cool without losing the warmth of a mountain town.

Amenity spaces include a state-of-the-art boot lounge with warmers and a pre-ski area in winter filled with breakfast and slope sacks, a fitness center, a pool, a hot tub and sauna, and a speakeasy bar. Afternoons bring complimentary wine and cheese, and mornings start with complimentary coffee and pastries in the lobby.

Art is where White Elephant Aspen really shows off its commitment to design details and artistic ambiance. Each White Elephant property has its own curated collection, and Aspen’s runs to 125 original pieces, including works by Alex Katz, Robert Peterson, and Orit Fuchs. Fifty of them come from Anderson Ranch Arts Center, a local Aspen art compound known for its residences for globally renowned and up-and-coming artists and classes for local adults and children.

White Elephant tapped New York-based art consultant Emily Santangelo to curate the art throughout the hotel and work with the nonprofit art center in Snowmass Village, founded in 1966 to collect pieces in a range of mediums that Anderson Ranch supports through its studios and workshop programs. White Elephant guests even receive special access to art experiences and classes at Anderson Ranch during their stay.

Aspen Adventures On and Off the Mountain

The beauty of the intimate concept of White Elephant Aspen is its doting service. The concierge team at the hotel is among the best of the best, with experience and expertise to completely cater to every guest’s whim, which is rare for a hotel of this size.

Like any good luxury mountain resort, White Elephant Aspen takes the exhausting logistics out of mountain adventures. For winter skiing, the basement boot lounge and coffee bar sit right by the parking garage, complete with a shuttle right to the base of the best Aspen slopes, so you can gear up, grab a coffee, and be on your way to the mountain without schlepping skis through a lobby.

In summer, the hotel’s bikes come courtesy of a partnership with Priority Bicycles, and the concierge can connect you to any mountain activity you could dream of. A partnership with BMW gives guests access to house cars to use for cruising and day trips.

Location-wise, the hotel sits on Aspen’s Main Street, just a few blocks from the town center and all the action. Its neighbors include Mollie Aspen across the street and the historic Hotel Jerome down the block.

Aspen’s Hottest New Restaurant: Lola 41

The hotel’s restaurant is Lola 41, a concept that started on Nantucket and has since landed in Boston, Naples, and Palm Beach. The name comes from the 41st parallel, which runs through Nantucket, and the menu follows it around the globe with dishes from Asia and Spain, including a plentiful sushi menu. Lola 41 has quickly become part of Aspen’s chic scene since its opening, with a festive bar and a lively patio complete with overhead heaters and warm siding for the cold seasons.

An expansive photograph of the beloved Maroon Bells by famed shutterbug Bob Tabor sits behind the front lobby desk, towering over the helpful staff to welcome guests. This work of art is rotated throughout the season with a new Tabor photograph each season to reflect the winter or summer. It’s this type of detail, along with the welcoming approach to design, that has successfully planted White Elephant Aspen as a major player in the Aspen scene, worthy of a mountain stay as soon as you can book your flights.