Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks anticipate a busy summer. Nearly 88,000 people visited Grand Teton in April, a 48 percent jump compared to the same month in 2019 (it closed in spring 2020 for the pandemic), the National Park Service reported. Similarly, Yellowstone saw a 40 percent increase (more than 65,500 visitors) during the same period, according to park data.
The Cloudveil, a new Autograph Collection hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, opened May 26, just in time to accommodate the expected influx of summertime park adventurers.
“Last summer, while the bulk of the country was having challenges with occupancy and hotels were going through challenging times, Jackson was not,” says Erik Dombroski, The Cloudveil’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We were running at full capacity. We are all as a community, not just our hotel, prepared for this volume. Pretty much from Memorial Day weekend until the end of September, the destination runs at 100 percent capacity.
“This year we call it the ‘perfect storm,’ in a positive way, between everyone looking to travel again and international [travel not being] quite open — it is, but the timing is a bit late for summer trips,” Dombroski says. “We are about as ready as we can be to accommodate the guests.”
Here’s what you need to know about the new boutique hotel:
The Location
A convenient base for outdoor enthusiasts, The Cloudveil is the only hotel in Jackson’s historic town square. It took up an underutilized corner, replacing a Wells Fargo bank that was designed in the 1970s with multiple drive-through tellers, Dombroski says.
The locally owned and operated hotel also is a gateway to the national parks. It drew heavily from the destination for inspiration throughout the property, including its name. The Cloudveil references the Cloudveil Dome, a peak in the Teton Range, but also pays tribute to the veil of clouds that frequently shroud the mountains.
The Design
The Cloudveil hired interior designers at TruexCullins and architecture firms CLB Architects and the IBI Group to give the property a sense of place. The hotel’s two-story limestone facade was modeled after the oldest structure on the town square. “It’s built to look like its surroundings because we wanted to create a building that would be timeless and that would connect our guests to the destination,” he says.
“There’s a Western culture here in Jackson,” Dombroski says. “It’s not kitschy Western — cowboy hats, boots, stuffed animal mounts on the walls. It’s a true ranching town.”
To capture that aesthetic, the hotel interiors have subtle Western touches. The 100 accommodations (which include 11 suites) use saddlebags on the headboard, drawers have horseshoe-shaped handles and the bench at the foot of the bed resembles a saddle. The nature-inspired art and photography adorning the walls come from local and regional artists. And as a nod to the Tetons, the bathrooms are filled with granite. The Cloudveil encourages relaxation by replacing the traditional work desk with an L-shaped couch and table near a two-sided fireplace.
Like the rooms, the open-layout, 55-seat lobby also maintains a mountain vibe with lots of wood, stone, leather and warm colors. The front desk is made of 3,000 pounds of granite. Reclaimed wood lines the ceiling, handmade custom wood furniture was crafted in Jackson and Montana, and a stone fireplace provides a cozy focal point.
Even all of the wayfinding signs throughout the property gleaned inspiration from the locale — they bear the same font as the ones in Yellowstone and Grand Teton that point to trailheads, Old Faithful and geysers.
The Programming
The parks aren’t the only places to find activities. There’s a slate of programming for the 5,000-square-foot, guests-only rooftop overlooking Snow King Mountain and town square. You can head there throughout the day with a cocktail from the bar. But there’s also at least one scheduled event daily: it could be yoga and meditation in the morning, live music in afternoons or stargazing in the evenings.
In the future, the rooftop will host fireside chats to allow guests to learn more about the area, beer tastings with local Roadhouse Brewery and wine tastings with Jackson Hole Winery. And in September, the luxury hotel will partner with the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival and help kick it off with an event.
Downstairs, the lobby has its own programming. Once a week, a local jeweler, painter or other artist or artisan will take over a corner to showcase work and converse with guests. Recently, a hatmaker was there doing custom hat fittings.
If you do want to venture out, the hotel’s “pathfinders” are a resource. Essentially concierges, the pathfinders help guests discover what makes the area so special.
“Jackson can be very overwhelming with so much to do, especially in the summers with national parks and float trips and different excursions,” Dombroski says.
The pathfinders can share insider tips like the best place to grab a snack after visiting the parks, where to go stand-up paddleboarding and how to avoid crowds when hiking.
The Restaurant
One problem that Dombroski says guests may encounter this summer is securing restaurant reservations, since many of the in-town spots fill up quickly. Pathfinders are reaching out to guests before their stays to let them know if they want to dine at certain restaurants, they have to book by a certain time.
To accommodate fewer dining options, the Jackson hotel decided to keep its first-floor Bistro open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The French-style restaurant also handles room service.
The Bistro is overseen by restaurateurs Gavin Fine and Roger Freedman of Jackson Hole’s Fine Dining Restaurant Group. Here, they focus on seasonal French fare, from Grand Marnier French toast and eggs Benedict in the morning to steak au poivre and croque-madame at night. The eatery also offers a zinc bar, a fresh oyster bar and outdoor dining.
