Mountain Modern | Jackson, Wyoming | USA
A roadside motel transformed into a playful basecamp for exploring Jackson Hole and the Tetons.
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● TruexCullins translated Jackson Hole’s outdoor culture into design, with oversized Teton landscapes, gear walls and a bold red, black and blond-wood palette.
● The 135 rooms work like compact basecamps, combining clever storage, kitchen facilities and adventure-ready practicality with a distinctly playful aesthetic.
● Two blocks from Jackson’s Town Square, it offers the informality of a motel with the pools, food and social spaces of a small mountain resort.
The Motel Goes Mountain Modern
Jackson Hole has no shortage of luxurious lodges and high-end ski resorts. Mountain Modern takes a more informal route. Burlington-based architecture and design firm TruexCullins reinvented the former roadside motor inn around a simple idea: what if the classic American motel became a genuinely useful basecamp for people who come to Wyoming to spend most of their time outdoors? The answer is contemporary without becoming polished beyond recognition. White walls and blond timber are punctuated by red and black, while graphic references to skiing, hiking and the surrounding wilderness give the property a strong sense of place. It is less mountain lodge than mountain clubhouse.
Rooms Built for Adventure
The 135 rooms are designed around what guests actually bring to Jackson. Gear walls provide dedicated space for skis, boots, backpacks and outdoor equipment, while open storage keeps everything accessible. Kitchen facilities make longer stays practical, and some rooms add platform bunkbeds that turn the compact layouts into particularly useful spaces for families and groups. Large-scale wallcoverings depicting the Grand Teton backcountry and National Elk Refuge bring the landscape indoors without resorting to rustic clichés. Even the smaller details have a sense of humour, from chalkboard word searches to the deliberately utilitarian display of outdoor gear. Subway-tiled bathrooms and simple timber finishes keep things crisp and functional.
A Basecamp, Not a Bedroom
Mountain Modern understands that in Jackson, the hotel room is only one part of the experience. The multifunctional lobby doubles as arrival point and informal gathering space, while communal areas encourage guests to compare trails, snow conditions and plans for the following day. An indoor pool and hot tub provide the obvious antidote to cold days on the mountain. The overall approach sits somewhere between motel, hostel and micro-resort: casual enough to walk through in hiking boots, but considered enough to appeal to travellers who still care about design.
Fuel for the Mountains
Food follows the same uncomplicated philosophy. Rather than creating formal destination dining, Mountain Modern surrounds the stay with casual places suited to an active day in the Tetons, including café-style options and barbecue. It reinforces the sense that this is a hotel designed around doing things rather than staying put — somewhere to eat well, warm up, reorganise your gear and head back outside.
Jackson on Foot, Wilderness Beyond
Location is one of Mountain Modern’s strongest assets. Jackson’s Town Square is just two blocks away, putting restaurants, bars, shops and galleries within an easy walk. Snow King Mountain rises virtually from town, while Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is a short drive away. Beyond them lies the real attraction: Grand Teton National Park and the enormous landscapes that have shaped the hotel’s entire identity. Winter means skiing and snowboarding; warmer months bring hiking, climbing, cycling, rafting and wildlife watching.
The Adventure Motel, Upgraded
Mountain Modern demonstrates how well the traditional American motel can adapt to a new generation of travellers. The exterior corridors, compact rooms and informal atmosphere remain perfectly suited to a road-trip town like Jackson. What has changed is the thinking behind them: smarter storage, stronger design, better communal spaces and an understanding that outdoor equipment deserves almost as much consideration as the bed. It is practical hospitality with personality — a modern mountain basecamp that knows exactly why its guests have come to Wyoming.
