Rendezvous View Lodge is an absolutely spectacular mountain estate – a fairytale, turreted manor, grand in conception and design and perfectly harmonious in its proportions. The house is set in an aspen wood at the very feet of the mountains, and the approach is a journey through an alpine wonderland – for the property stands at the edge of Teton Village, less than a mile from Grand Teton National Park. A gated, tree-lined drive leads through a lantern-lit porte-cochere into a flagstone courtyard.

Rendezvous View is deeply romantic, with rich architectural details; it sits gracefully upon its site, as if it had been built a century ago. Its big windows frame vast mountain panoramas and magical little vistas: small, clear ponds rimmed with great boulders, waterfalls, manicured lawns, flickering woods of slender, pale birches and dark pines. Little streams wind through the grounds, crossed here and there by stone footbridges.

Inside, a sense of grandeur and repose predominates, an open invitation to gracious living. Formal rooms – such as the vaulted dining room with its long table, massive painted chandelier and rows of high-backed, upholstered chairs, culminating in a soaring alcove with floor-to-ceiling windows – flow naturally into more intimate spaces. Superb craftsmanship is apparent at every turn. The office is paneled in glossy painted wood, with built-in book shelves, a hand-carved desk and a rug of rich and vivid hues. In the living room, a magnificent stone fireplace has a hearth big enough to walk through. Arched doorways open out to the porch. Various places to sit, talk, and read are placed thoughtfully around the large space, each as inviting and comfortable as the next.

The kitchen is splendid, flooded with clear mountain light. Gorgeous appliances, custom cabinets and acres of polished stone countertop – as well as a full butler’s pantry – make the kitchen a pure joy. The breakfast room is steps away, where a huge round table is washed with light from garden-facing windows and a Tiffany chandelier.

A staircase with a railing of bronze branches climbs up to the second floor, and then the third; in the center of the stairwell, a glass-walled elevator offers another way to ascend. Rendezvous View has many places to play: a game room; a full, state-of-the-art gym and weight room; and a fabulous home movie theater, with “stadium” seating in twelve velvet reclining armchairs, a big screen, and a sound system that you can feel as well as hear.

Rendezvous View’s master bedroom is as regal and luxurious as a king’s chamber. A king size, four-poster bed topped with carved birds faces a robust stone fireplace that rises thirty feet to the vaulted ceiling. A flat-screen TV magically rises out from under the bed at the touch of a button. The private master bath is a destination unto itself. Here a deep soaking tub stands between a roomy glass shower and a dressing table. There are two sinks; the gorgeous nickel fittings on the tub, shower and sinks have the heavy, luscious feel of quality.

There are six more bedrooms at Rendezvous View, each one a charming, welcoming and unique retreat. One expansive, carpeted room has two full beds guarded by wooden squirrels on the bedposts. The beds look toward matching writing desks standing back to back, and a lovely stone fireplace. Rough-hewn beams on the ceiling are sprigged with painted flowers. Another bright, storybook bedroom has side-by-side carved beds and fanciful painted furniture. A sweet, single-bedded room is nearby, with creamy walls, a white armchair and antique, painted bedstead. A painting of a sunlit mountain on the wall brings to mind the glories outside the window.

A bedroom set high in the house incorporates the top of the great turret, where an antler chandelier hangs over a reading chair, framed by rough-hewn beams. This bedroom has a private bath suite clad in red-gold Mexican tile, with a soaking tub and separate shower. Another bedroom under the eaves is light and airy, with a queen bed footed by a magnificent antique blanket chest depicting a bears’ orchestra in high relief. Original artworks hang upon the walls, brimming with life and color.

Outside waits an enchanted garden of lawns, woods, little tumbling streams, clear ponds and the great, soaring, snow-capped mountains. Rendezvous View’s grounds are full of tempting destinations: a quiet sitting area on a stone terrace, fringed with birches and wildflowers. A tiny slate footbridge crossing a whispering brook. A stone-edged lap pool. A glorious stretch of open yard, big enough for a real ballgame. A jungle gym, and a big trampoline.

Nearby, a perfectly flat, well-tended lawn serves as croquet court when the seasons permit. After a high-stakes match – when champagne under the stars is in order – the hot tub is down a few stone steps from the terrace.

A grand outdoor dining area stands in the courtyard before the turret, stone steps cascading from house to terrace to lawns. A dinner party out here – with the stream providing music and the moon a big yellow lamp in the sky – exemplifies the fairytale feeling that is everywhere at Rendezvous View, the spellbound sense of living at a hidden castle. The quiet of the woods and the silence of the stars seems all the more magical when you pull out of the drive and find you’re mere minutes from Teton Village and downtown Jackson.

The Clear Creek Group can arrange any adventure you can dream up – from a horse-drawn sleigh ride to fly fishing lessons with the world’s best guides; from private chefs to a delivery of s’mores supplies. With Rendezvous View as your home base and The Clear Creek Group as your guide, this will be a vacation of a lifetime.


Keywords: Lodge