In a town where they joke that the millionaires have been run out by the billionaires, a $1 million holiday package at Aspen’s Hotel Jerome is hardly cause for sticker shock.
The hotel says its package is “for those who have been very, very good.” Or perhaps it’s for those who’ve been very, very bad. After all, I hear Enron’s Ken Lay is still seen romping in this exquisite mountain resort community as he awaits trial.
“Guests will be the envy of Aspen’s bevy of socialites, celebrities and luminaries,” the hotel boasts in a press release.
“The decadent 10-night ‘Holiday High Life’ package … includes … sumptuous accommodations with private butler, a masseuse on call and ‘his and her’ makeovers at Pascal Bensimon … unlimited mountain passes, entrance to the hottest New Year’s celebration in Aspen, daily VIP access to Caribou Club and a dedicated chauffeur,” the hotel said.
I’m trying to figure out a way to earn $100,000 a day for 10 days – plus tens of thousands more to pay the income taxes. Only then could I justify blowing all this loot on a hotel stay.
After all, you can still get a room at the Hotel Jerome for about $875 a night during the holiday season – or about $9,000 for a 10-day stay with taxes.
That sure beats $1 million. But you wouldn’t get the customized Maybach luxury automobile, which costs upwards of $375,000 and comes with the “Holiday High Life” package.
I wouldn’t know a Maybach from a Maytag. But it must be some ride if it can get celebrities to suddenly start envying its passengers.
Or is it the clothes that come with the package? “Rustic outfitting … with chic customized Lucchese alligator cowboy boots, distressed Stetson hats … alligator belts … and customized ‘his & her’ turquoise jewelry.”
The co-owner of Macy’s built the boutique hotel in 1889, with plumbing in every room, following a silver-mining boom. It now boasts 91 rooms with feather pillows and 300-thread-count linens.
Oklahoma Publishing Co., which owns The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, purchased the Jerome in April for a reported $33.5 million. That’s nearly enough for an 11-month stay at the “Holiday High Life” rate. The company plans to close the hotel for renovations between April and November 2007.
A guy I know in Aspen joked that the Hotel Jerome’s offering might be a steal considering that Aspen real estate knows no bounds.
“With the current rate of inflation, the same package might cost you $2 million next year,” said Ivan Lustig, 55, a private investor who lives in Aspen half the year and Miami Beach the other half.
“It’s what that town is really all about,” he said. “The more hype they create, the more revenue they generate.”
Jennifer Barnhart, the hotel’s senior sales and PR manager, said she hasn’t had any nibbles on the offer so far.
“I am hopeful somebody will” buy the package, she said. “It was so much fun putting it together.”
Perhaps folks are still thinking about it. After all, the hotel wants payment upfront and its 30-day cancellation fee still applies, Barnhart said.
“I don’t know whether anybody will ever do it,” said Ilene Kamsler, president of the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association. “It’s like the outlandish offerings in Neiman Marcus’ Christmas catalog. … But it’s all a matter of perspective. If you’ve got a million to blow, why not?”
The Westin Tabor Center used to put on similar promotions, though it never tried to charge as much as $1 million.
In 2000, the downtown hotel offered a $200,001 New Year’s package including his-and-her Jaguars and a Concorde flight to visit the Jaguar factory in Eng land.
“We could have said $1 billion,” said Susan Stiff, a Westin PR woman who helped assemble the packages. “We could have said anything.”
It didn’t matter because nobody ever purchased these packages, she said. They did, however, help fill the hotel. The Westin ended the promotions after 9/11.
“At that time, it sounded too excessive,” said Stiff. “People in the hotel industry were getting laid off. It just didn’t feel right … to send out a press release on a $200,000 package.”
Al Lewis’ column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Respond to Al at denverpostbloghouse.com/lewis, 303-820-1967 or alewis@denverpost.com.
