Driving down I-15 to work last Friday, I glanced over at the snow-bound Wasatch Mountains and had a thought about my stay at the Montage Deer Valley the night before.
I had asked a lot of questions.
Usually, questions at a hotel arise when an unmet need requires looking after:
"Is there a room with a better view?"
"How much is that going to cost me?"
"Could I make a reservation for two?"
While less than other resorts, a role for functional interrogatives continues to exist. However, the questions replaying in my mind originated from genuine, child-like curiosity.
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At Buzz Coffee and Tea, with Mehgan, tasting locally-produced lavender, alfalfa, and dandelion honey.
In my head: "If I become an beekeeper what flower would I specialize in? Could I produce apricot, or chokecherry honey?"
To Mehgan: "How long do blossoms need to flower for bees to produce honey?"
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Petting Monty, the Bernese Mountain Dog, with Bob, in the lobby.
In my head: "Could I be a dog owner? Why don't I get a bigger apartment, or buy a house in the Avenues? Am I ready to settle down?"
To Bob: "Is Monty's breed is good with kids?"
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Riding a lift at Deer Valley with Andrew.
In my head: "Where else in the world could I work and live? Have I developed skills in my current job that would be valuable elsewhere?"
To Andrew: "How did you join Montage?"
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I suppose that with my creature comforts so exquisitely met, my inner child took over, and the world became a place full of possibilities and wonder. I felt somewhat like my seven-year-old self, the child who still believes he can grow up to be a man with a one-word job description: a cowboy, an artist, a writer, the president.
I'm convinced this "Montage curiosity" is partly born of the resort's culture of incorporating local food, art, craftsmen, and various other elements into each of their spectacular properties. Guests taste, smell, and experience a combination of elements, that on their own are often perceived as mundane. Stay long enough and subtle message is conveyed.
Montage to guest: "You too can incorporate the elements around you to create and become something innovative and spectacular."
undeniably beautifully curiously you ;) dig dig dig it. makes me feel all sorts of excited fun. for life. for the montage. for life at the montage ;) but really for all of life. ooo, yay ;) "one cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. never lose a holy curiosity." --edison. {good lovin' stuff.}
ReplyDeleteI have to admit this is probably one of the best hotel blogs I have ever read. I am proud to be Montage and proud that we have unique sense of place in a place that until recently I did not know existed. Sure, I have heard of Sundance but never knew what it was or where it took place. Sure, I have been in this industry for 16 years but until recently did not know this brand even existed. But what I do know is that Montage has "nailed it" on every level in a place that was lacking the uber casual luxury it deserved!
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