Montreal Gazette - Phase I \'Tram Haus Lodge\'
Lodge puts Jay Peak into modern age
What kind of raw courage and business savvy does it take to open a major ski lodge in 2010? After all, the economy is capricious, tourism is in turmoil, and the annual snowfall is in the hands of a decidedly moody Mother Nature.
Just ask Bill Stenger, the president, co-owner and soul of the Jay Peak Ski & Summer Resort. Without any qualms about those risks, he presided over the recent opening of Tram Haus Lodge, Jay Peak's striking new $22-million slopeside hotel. And he has not stinted on Jay's policy of moderate family prices and accepting Canadian dollars at par; Jay is less than a 20-minute drive from the Canadian border near Sutton.
When guests at Tram Haus Lodge head for the hills, they don't have far to go. The hotel is adjacent to Jay Peak's Tram, a 60-passenger gondola.
Jay Peak is a downhill area with edge and guts. It is known for its harrowing off-trail chutes, killer glades and extensive advanced terrain and uses a slogan for children "Raise 'em Jay" that means "toughen them up on a challenging mountain." And Jay's signature ski tuque sports a skull-and-crossbones logo. Gutsy, right?
But surely the opening of its new Tram Haus Lodge is the boldest move in Jay's 55-year history. The lustrous, eco-conscious building has catapulted the area into the modern age.
"We are passionate about our mountain, our market and our sports - skiing and golf," Stenger said. "We have a great location that attracts Montrealers, New Englanders and New Yorkers. What we needed was something contemporary and high-quality. Now we have comfortable, cheerful rooms with services and a view - you can gaze at the mountain and the lifts from the guest rooms, the dining room and the bar."
Tram Haus Lodge is a smart lodge with a terrific après-ski bar, Vermont-style fine dining and nearly 60 family-friendly rooms and suites at attractive prices. Although Jay Peak prides itself on rugged outdoor experience in the northernmost Green Mountains, the new Tram Haus Lodge coddles its guests - a first for this funky down-home region.
The hotel has a three-room spa, a fabulous gym with $100,000 worth of high-tech equipment and valets who whisk your car to an indoor garage. The suites - studios to three bedrooms - are convenient apartments with fireplaces, designer kitchens and flat-panel TVs.
The look is modern, but Tram Haus Lodge sports lots of local infusion. Vermont wood-workers used recycled wood to create chunky butcher-block tables in the dining room. Designers integrated old chairlift cables, columns and wheels into the decor of the Tower Bar & Lounge. And the guest rooms have made-in-Vermont woolen blankets and coat hooks cleverly fashioned from maple-syrup tree taps. It's dairy country, so as an introductory gift, all guests get a box of sweets from Lake Champlain Chocolates.
"We tried to stay close to our community, which is mostly agricultural," Stenger said. "Tram Haus is unpretentious and tied to the mountain. Our core value at Jay is that we want to challenge the human spirit, to give skiers and riders the freedom to explore anywhere. And the hotel is relaxed easy living, too."
Jay loves kids. Tram Haus has free daycare for ages 2 to 7 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and free lodging and lift tickets for those 14 and younger. Everyone over 14 gets free ski lessons, mid-week. Jay also has had a generous hands-across-the-border policy in which the loonie is accepted at par on lifts, lodging and most food.
The food and drink menus at Tram Haus are enthusiastically local-vore, starting with the Vermont gold maple martini (featuring a local organic vodka) to the raspberry cheesecake. The Tower Bar serves Jay's signature Tram Ale, made by Long Trail. And Alice's Table, the dining room, integrates Vermont ingredients like apple cider, maple syrup and cheeses in dishes like poutine with smoked cheddar, grass-fed beef from Jasper Hill Farm, poultry from Misty Knoll Farm and venison from Holland Deer Farm.
The Tram Haus Lodge is the first phase of a $125-million, four-season development. An indoor NHL-size skating rink, a golf clubhouse and mountain biking trails are scheduled to open by June. A second hotel, with a conference centre, a larger spa and an indoor water park, is scheduled for 2011.
Jay will hold its annual Mountain Mardi Gras, Feb. 22 to 27, with live music, races, a costume parade and New Orleans jambalaya and crawfish.