Anvil Hotel

One block from Jackson’s Town Square, Anvil Hotel began life as a straightforward 1950s motel. Studio Tack — whose founders brought experience from the Ace Hotels world — saw something more interesting in its modest bones. Rather than turning it into another plush mountain resort, they kept the scale and informality of the original property and rebuilt its identity around a modern interpretation of the Western lodge. The dark mountain-green exterior feels appropriately rugged against Wyoming’s landscape, while the interiors bring in timber, brass and carefully chosen pieces that make the hotel feel established rather than newly styled. There is a nostalgic quality to it, but very little nostalgia-for-nostalgia’s-sake.

The General Store Returns

The lobby is the clearest expression of the idea. Instead of a conventional reception space, Studio Tack looked to the old general stores of the American West. Wood panelling, a burning stove and simple furniture create the feeling of a place where travellers naturally gather before heading out into the mountains. Coffee comes from Snake River Roasters, pastries from Jackson favourite Persephone Bakery, while contemporary outdoor goods and small provisions reinforce the sense that this is somewhere between hotel lobby, trailhead and neighbourhood store. It is warm, functional and sociable — exactly what a mountain hotel lobby should be.

Alpine Modern, Without the Gloss

The 49 rooms are restrained rather than luxurious in the conventional ski-resort sense. Two-tone walls in white and deep navy, parquet floors and slim metal beds create a simple architectural backdrop. Custom Woolrich blankets bring texture and warmth, while Allied Maker lighting, locally minded details and carefully selected snacks and drinks keep the rooms connected to the hotel’s wider design language. There are no chandeliers, faux-fur extravagances or attempts to imitate a fantasy chalet. The appeal comes from proportion, material and atmosphere. The result is what the hotel calls Alpine Modern: Western enough to belong in Jackson, contemporary enough not to feel trapped in the past.

Italian Food in Cowboy Country

A short walk from the rooms, Glorietta Trattoria gives Anvil an unexpected culinary identity. Rather than doubling down on steaks and saloon imagery, the restaurant serves rustic, wood-fired Italian cooking in a warm, convivial setting. Grilled vegetables, handmade pasta, roasted meats and dishes touched by smoke make perfect sense after skiing, hiking or simply wandering around Jackson. The contrast is part of what makes the hotel work. Anvil respects the Western character of its setting without turning every element of the experience into a piece of frontier theatre.

Jackson Outside the Door

Anvil’s location is another part of its appeal. Jackson’s galleries, restaurants, bars and shops are within walking distance, while the landscape that defines the region begins almost immediately beyond town. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort provides the skiing, while Grand Teton and Yellowstone put some of America’s most spectacular wilderness within reach. That combination gives Anvil an unusually balanced personality: part downtown motel, part mountain basecamp, part design hotel.

The New Western Lodge

What Studio Tack understood is that a Western hotel does not need antler chandeliers, wagon wheels or acres of distressed leather to feel authentic. At Anvil, the references are quieter: the colour of the mountains, the warmth of timber, a stove burning in the lobby, a Woolrich blanket folded across the bed. It feels new, yet somehow as though it has always belonged in Jackson — perhaps the best compliment a contemporary reinvention of an old motel can receive.