For the first time, White Elephant Resorts and Lola 41 have crossed beyond the East Coast. The 54-key White Elephant Aspen debuts today on the corner of Main Street and Garmisch Street, marking the Nantucket-born brand's first move into the Rockies and the first White Elephant property in the American West.
Owned by New England Development and led by company president Douglass E. Karp, White Elephant Resorts opens its third hotel here after the Condé Nast Traveler "Triple Crown"-winning White Elephant Nantucket and White Elephant Palm Beach, which debuted in 2020. The Nantucket flagship pairs with The Wauwinet — celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, with TOPPER's, Nantucket's only AAA Five Diamond restaurant and a 29-year Wine Spectator Grand Award recipient — and the Jared Coffin House and 240-slip Nantucket Boat Basin under the same parent.
The Aspen property delivers 54 rooms and suites, many with outdoor private terraces or balconies, and a roster of top-tier accommodations running from King Rooms and Luxury Hideaways to the Highlands Suite, the West End Suite, and the Ajax Penthouse at the top. The penthouse-level units carry two to three bedrooms, chef's kitchens, log fireplaces, and dedicated games libraries, with the Ajax Penthouse anchoring the building at 1,560 square feet with a private mountain-view terrace and fire pit overlooking Aspen Mountain.
The hotel was designed by Boston-based EMBARC with a mountain-contemporary interior signature of rust, cognac, charcoal, and warm-white tones layered over leather, wood, and stone, with Roman clay-washed walls throughout. A 125-piece curated art collection threads through the property, anchored by a rotating photography exhibit in the lobby and self-guided art tours that move through landscape paintings, drawings, and Pop Art-inspired works. Amenities include a year-round heated pool, two hot tubs, and a wellness recovery studio. White Elephant signatures carry through to Aspen, including the brand's long-standing BMW partnership delivering complimentary airport transfers and courtesy cars, pet-friendly rooms, and a brass doorknocker on every guest-room door — the same touch shared with the Nantucket and Palm Beach properties.
For dining, the hotel anchors itself on the Lola 41 partnership that first paired the two brands at White Elephant Palm Beach in 2020. Lola 41 opens its fifth location and first restaurant beyond the East Coast inside a glass-enclosed pool pavilion, designed by EMBARC to reinterpret the brand through an elevated Western lens with wooden accents, custom mosaic flooring, and brass ceilings.
The 41st-parallel menu draws from cuisines spanning Japan to Nantucket Sound — sushi and Asian-inspired dishes, Mediterranean fare, and classic American plates — led by Executive Chef Seth Halpin and leaning heavily on the surrounding Roaring Fork Valley for locally sourced seasonal produce. Aspen adds two firsts to the partnership: breakfast service, debuting at this property, and a new speakeasy concept tucked inside the hotel.
White Elephant Aspen leans into the town's two-season rhythm with curated guest programming on both ends of the calendar. Winter brings before-hour ski runs on Aspen Mountain, private snowcat backcountry tours through Aspen Powder Tours, winter fly fishing on the Roaring Fork River, and snowmobile rides to Maroon Bells. Summer turns the property toward gondola picnics, yoga sessions held at 11,000 feet above sea level, tours of the Smuggler Mine — home of the largest silver nugget ever mined — and priority tee times at three local golf courses.
The Aspen opening marks White Elephant Resorts' opening chapter in the Rockies and reprises the Lola 41 playbook the two brands first ran together at Palm Beach in 2020. For Lola 41, it is the brand's first move beyond the East Coast.