Gravity Haus Blurs The Lines Between Hospitality And Social Club In All The Right Ways
The first Gravity Haus opened in Breckenridge in December 2019. Four years later, the brand has properties in Colorado, California, Utah and Wyoming ... and it’s not stopping anytime soon
Photos courtesy of Gravity Haus
It’s a gorgeous day in Winter Park: The sky is a piercing blue, a beer festival draws crowds down the street, and the Gravity Haus patio is filled with locals soaking up the sun.
Yes, locals.
In an industry that thrives on the transient and those “in town for the night,” Gravity Haus offers a different vibe. Granted, perhaps some guests came to town for the beer fest, or to tackle Trestle Bike Park at the near-by Winter Park resort. But you’re just as likely to end up chatting with a waitress from a restaurant down the street or a Gravity Haus member from Denver who’s visiting for the weekend.
Gravity Haus Vail is located just a short walk from Gondola One and the Ford Amphitheater, providing a complete retreat in the center of Vail Village.
And that is just how Jim Deters, founder and chief executive officer, planned it.
“A fundamental value and core to what we wanted to do is build something that is authentic and real and really grounded in the communities in which we operate,” Deters says.
But “building” doesn’t necessarily mean new. Instead, Gravity Haus’ modus operandi is to take underutilized gems—those places in a great location that need some TLC (and capital)—and revitalize them in the Gravity Haus model.
“In mountain resort properties … all the development was the shiny new 1 percent club places,” Deters says. “But all the new stuff was really not authentic by any means, and certainly very expensive for most normal-bud- get-type people.” By renovating instead of building, Deters can be more ecologically friendly while retaining properties’ authenticity.
The original Gravity Haus location is in Breckenridge; Deters and his group transformed the former Village at Peak 9 into a fresh, modern hybrid consisting of a hotel, restaurant, coffee bar, gym and co-working space.
“At the end of the day, if one of our core values is to be authentic and grounded in the community and be sustainable, the most authentic way to do that is to take and restore these amazing assets, like what we did in Breckenridge,” Deters says.
In Vail, which is Deters’ home base, the former Vail Mountain Lodge and Spa was the perfect project. It had the authenticity and the local following, Deters explains, but it was 25 years out of date. So the broken parts were fixed and modernized amenities like cold plunges, a co-working space and new fitness facilities were put in and, voila, you have a new experience that retains the local connection and community ties.
At the base of Breckenridge mountain, you can walk out the front door of Gravity Haus and explore Main Street.
Though there are plenty of former properties in metropolitan areas or rural communities that could use the Gravity Haus touch, the experience is the other piece that is fundamental to Deters’ vision. “In addition to revitalizing these old things and making them more suited to our modern work-life style, we really consider ourselves in the experience business and the community business—connecting people with things to do and helping people have these powerful moments.”
What does that look like? It might be the annual Snowpocalypse party that kicks off the ski season each November and brings more than 400 people together to celebrate the beginning of the ski season. Or maybe it’s the introductory avalanche-education class for those looking to venture into the backcountry. Or it’s the meet-up (via the Gravity Haus app) that offers local foragers an afternoon of mushroom hunting.
The newest Gravity Haus property in the heart of the action of Teton Village in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
These perks are possible because, in addition to the brick-and-mortar amenities, Gravity Haus is a social club with more than 5,000 members. By signing up for a monthly package, members can access benefits like discounted room rates, free fitness classes, special events and the Haus Quiver, an unlimited gear rental service.
It’s a concept that resonates: There are now Gravity Haus properties in Breckenridge, Vail, Winter Park and Steamboat; Truckee-Tahoe, Calif.; Moab, Utah; and (the newest) in Jackson Hole, Wyo. There are also hotel partners in Telluride, Denver, Silverton and Costa Rica. The Aspen Gravity Haus is slated to open in fall 2024.
Deters explains, “Some people in urban areas go to their tennis clubs or golf clubs. This is like the outdoor lifestyle Colorado social club, where you have gear and friends who can take you to the cool trails and teach you how to do a new sport … and come back and have great coffee or great drinks and know the food is going to be amazing, the people will be amazing. And if you need to, you can grab a place to stay and you can connect with it on your app. To me, it’s just obvious, right? It’s literally just how we, my wife Alicia and I, have lived and raised our children in Colorado now for more than 25 years.
“This whole idea is just, like, the easiest company I’ve ever built.”
Katie Coakley is a freelance writer based in Eagle County. She’s written for a variety of local and national newspapers and magazines. She is currently coveting the David Yarrow photos hanging in the Gravity Haus Vail lobby.
