Going Places

Kessler Canyon, in DeBeque, Colorado, is the latest jewel in the crown of the Kessler Collection, an aggregate of nine ultra-high-end hotels and resorts in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New Mexico and Colorado. The canyon that houses the resort is a short drive along the Colorado River up Route 70 from the Grand Junction airport. The property consists of 24,000 acres, which is basically the whole canyon ridge to ridge. The canyon floor, at 6,000 feet, is verdant, whereas the forbidding-looking mountains on both sides rise to 8,000 feet.
    The entrance to the canyon gives you a taste of what’s to come. As you turn into the drive you are greeted by a stone-and-metal totem bearing the Kessler name, followed shortly thereafter by a full-size bronze of a bugling elk. A mile or so along, in the middle of seemingly nowhere, you drive past a half-dozen larger-than-life copper horse statues, frozen in full gallop, stretching across the open valley floor. Farther along the cairn-lined road you see other life-size bronzes around the lodge, which is set beside a pond and apple orchard.
    The lodge (aka the Orchard Lake Homestead) is most definitely not your typical hunting cabin. The recently completed lodge and guesthouse have rooms for 30 guests. The rooms, all with separate baths, are comfortable and tasteful. I judge my hotel rooms by two things: the quality of the bed and the shower nozzle. Your comfort depends on the former, but if there is any cost-cutting going on, you’ll find it in the latter. In this case both are deluxe. The rooms intentionally have no TVs. It would be an insult to the magnificent view out the window. Each room has a Bose stereo with a CD of Kessler-selected classical music for your enjoyment. The little touches make the big picture.
    The lodge also contains an exercise room with all of the latest machinery, plus his and hers spas with couples and singles massage rooms, a steam room and a sauna. This is clearly a great place for corporate types to rest their bottom lines, especially after enjoying the superlative and sophisticated food.
    The overall decor of the lodge is that of a museum of American Indian and African art. Original paintings, sculptures and other art are scattered throughout. And not just any art. It is of the highest quality. Wooden tables have turquoise inlays. The stairs’ newel post is a natural juniper wood sculpture from trees hundreds of years old. Chandeliers, doorknobs, chairs, andirons—everything is an individual piece of art in its own right.
    Which should be no surprise when you go to the main room beneath the guesthouse and find it to be a huge artists’ studio. When we were there it was complete with a complement of visiting painters and sculptors with their works in progress.
Outside you’ll find lakes full of willing brown and rainbow trout, and the canyon’s Brush Creek hosts a native population of Colorado River cutthroat trout. There are also hiking trails galore, both mountain challenging and valley-floor comfortable.
    Then there is the shooting and hunting. From the gun room (really a museum of functioning art) housing part of Richard Kessler’s fantastic collection of Fabbris, Purdeys, Hollands and more, including an extensive Colt revolver selection, to the state-of-the-art 5 Stand complex to another clay target range high on the mountainside, the shooting venue is high end but informal and relaxed.
    Big game in season includes elk and mule deer on the ridges, and Merriam’s turkeys can be pursued both spring and fall. For the wingshooter, there are thriving and accessible populations of chukar and pheasants on the valley floor as well as partway up the canyon sides. I saw coveys of more than 30 chukar. The birds are hunted with English pointers, setters, shorthairs and Labs from the modern 50-dog kennel, overseen by a full-time trainer and assistant.
    Kessler Canyon is one of those rare combinations of taste, vision and the financial ability to honor them. Expect a lot more than just good hunting.
    For more information, contact Kessler Canyon, 866-548-3267; www.kessler collection.com.