The Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa in Jackson, Wyo., is not exactly new. Ron Harrison originally opened the property in 1990, and his son, General Manager Brandon Harrison, said the hotel was a “pioneer” for luxury lodging in the Jackson Hole valley. “We were one of the earliest examples of a boutique hotel with food service and spa offerings in a small property,” he said. The family-owned business was a point of pride for the Harrisons—but in November 2019, a fire destroyed the 32-room building, and the Harrisons had to decide how to move forward.
The family knew they could rebuild the hotel exactly as it was, Harrison recalled, and would not need to conform to updated codes that had been implemented since the structure first went up. But if they wanted to make improvements that would meet new guest demands, they would have to go through the full design-review process with the town governments and incorporate all of their new land-development regulations into the design. “So we decided that it was worth the effort of going through that process to make those changes.”
Working with Jackson-based design firm WRJ Interiors and Denver-based Rowland+Broughton Architecture, the family spent a year figuring out what a new and improved Lodge could be like and securing the necessary permits. The next three years were spent bringing the concept to life, creating a new hotel (quite literally) from the ashes of the old one.
The Old and the New
While the new property has a new design, it takes up the same space on the same land as the original. The former hotel had a “very mountain-lodgy vibe to it,” Brandon Harrison said, with lodgepole pine beams and posts as well as river rockstone and pitch roofs.
The new building is reminiscent of the former one, Brandon Harrison said, with the same roof layout and rafters. “But everything is new and updated and improved quite a bit,” he added. “We incorporated all of the things that we learned in operating the old building for [nearly] 30 years into the design of the new building.”
Since the town had increased the maximum building height from 35 to 46 feet, the team was able to elevate the guestrooms to the top two floors of the three-story structure. “So the views from our guestrooms are vastly improved,” Brandon Harrison said. The full first floor is dedicated to spa and restaurant operations.
The new building increased the size of the property by 25 percent, adding eight accommodations to the previous room count and 12 seats in the Wild Sage Dining restaurant. The spa also got additional treatment rooms. “We've got courtyards and rooftop decks that are … a big improvement from what we offered before.”
The guestrooms have a residential vibe that Harrison credits to Rowland+Broughton’s history of working on private homes as well as hotels. “We very much wanted to have a homey feel and atmosphere in the building, so we really wanted a residential architect to work on the project,” he recalled. “That was important—to not just have a big-box, cookie-cutter kind of a structure.”
Among the biggest changes the family implemented were an underground parking structure with car stackers as well as a geothermal well for cooling and heating. “By moving the parking all underground, it freed up a lot of usable square footage,” Brandon Harrison noted. This additional space has been turned into additional areas for guest use.
“The thing that I'm most proud about is that we were able to capture the soul of the old building, and have a very inviting and interesting space for new experiences,” Brandon Harrison said of the entire rebuilding process.
The Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa
Location: Jackson, Wyo.
Opening : July 2024
Number of Rooms : 40
General Manager: Brandon Harrison
Owner: Harrison Hospitality Properties
Management Company: Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa
Website: www.rustyparrot.com
This article was originally published in the September edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.