MOLLIE Aspen officially open

After a fifteen-year process, that included years of planning, followed by construction of a new boutique hotel, MOLLIE Aspen located at 111 S. Garmisch Street opened for business on Friday afternoon.

“The opening of MOLLIE is a testament to our roots in Aspen and is a truly locally-owned and operated hotel, created in partnership with the best-in-class partners across interior design, architecture, food and beverage, and retail. Our experience owning and operating businesses in Aspen for over 20 years allowed us to deliver a new property created for locals by locals who love this special place we call home and share that with visitors who will discover the charm Aspen has to offer all under one roof,” said Michael Brown, cofounder of HayMax Capital, in a prepared statement.

Located at the corner of Garmsich and Main Streets across from Paepcke Park and on the location of the former Mollie Gibson Lodge, the hotel features 68 guestrooms and a selection of public spaces including a lobby retail boutique, roof terrace spa pool set to open in Spring 2024, and event spaces.

The hotel’s namesake is inspired by Mollie Gibson, a local figure known for her restless enthusiasm for the outdoors and ability to bring people together, the company said, adding, “The hotel pays homage to her significant contributions to Aspen’s early social, artistic, and sporting fabric.”

Designed by Post Company, MOLLIE’s interiors can be best described as “Japandi” a term used to indicate a marriage of Japanese and Scandinavian design elements, which lean toward a calm, organic, and understated luxury aesthetic.

Harris Berlinsky, who is a director at HayMax Capital and has been working on the project for 6 years, said that was intentional.

“One thing that makes our property unique is that when you’re coming back from dinner in town, when you walk past Paepcke Park, you are in the West End, and you’re surrounded by homes,” he said. “It’s a very quiet, comfortable neighborhood, even though it’s only two blocks from Restaurant Row. We wanted to make something that’s really Zen and residential and comfortable, so it does feel like coming home, and that was something that was that we were thoughtful about.”

For the architecture, HayMax Capital turned to the locally-based, internationally-recognized firm CCY Architects, which have been on board with the project since its conception. The partnership between CCY and HayMax was a natural fit from the beginning, with both parties recognizing how their approach to a project like this was in sync, prioritizing working with and enhancing the natural beauty of Aspen as well as an emphasis on sustainability.

“The chance to recreate such a long-standing Aspen icon was a great opportunity to look forward and also embrace Aspen’s history,” said John Cottle, FAIA, partner of CCY Architects. “We’re very proud of being part of the MOLLIE team from the first conceptual sketches; it was a pleasure to work with HayMax Capital, who charged the entire team to create an environment that would be welcoming, smart, and rejuvenating. The collaboration with HayMax, Stan Clauson, Post Company, and Shaw ConstrucIon was integral to bringing the new MOLLIE to life.”

To that end, the new hotel holds a commitment to a reduction of excess waste and employs sustainable efforts throughout the property and its operations, including materials sourced from Aspen and Western U.S. regions, thermally-modified wood siding and brick, and high-performance glass windows.

“Early in the process, we looked at the city’s original plat, to find a scale and rhythm of MOLLIE’s facade reflective of the historical grain, like many Aspen landmarks,” said Cottle. “We also designed MOLLIE to continue Aspen’s legacy of inspired modernist design, in a way that creates a memorable place for visitors, friends, and families to get together.”

Another exciting addition to the hotel and Aspen’s culinary scene will be the food and beverage program, which is led by the award-winning Gin & Luck (behind Death & Co) and includes a lobby restaurant and bar with year-round heated outdoor seating, an all-day café, and a serviced roof terrace. The restaurant will offer mountain-appropriate small bites to main dishes that will include Wurst Bites with bratwurst, kielbasa, roasted cabbage, horseradish mustard, lamb meatballs, as well as Colorado lamb, soft polenta, stout reduction, winter herbs.

Gin & Luck will also be showcasing their creative cocktail program with unique offerings like the “White River Spritz” (Alsatian white wine, blanche armagnac, elderflower, Suze, seltzer) “Summit Sour” (Woody Creek bourbon, stone pine, raspberry, lemon juice, egg white), and the “Vanguard Martini” (Ford’s gin, aquavit, Douglas fir, dry vermouth, cacao).

“I want the locals to love this place. Because everyone who’s coming to visit here invariably knows somebody here already. And they always ask, you know, ‘Where should we go?’ And people recommend the places that they like going to. It’s important to me that people locally feel welcome here and feel like it’s for them, too,” said Brown.

Sarah Girgis is the Publisher for The Aspen Times. She can be reached at 970-429-9151 or sgirgis@aspentimes.com.