Susan E. Bauer
Scottsdale, Arizona
Recently I had the good fortune to be
invited as a guest at Keyah Grande in
Pagosa Springs, Colorado and wished
to share my experience with you.
This property is the perfect mix of
luxury and elegance combined with the
outdoor Colorado adventure experience.
The setting is very peaceful and tranquil.
The Lodge itself has a certain richness
marked by the refined furnishings and
the owners’ private collection
of art. At the same time, there is a
warmth and coziness that makes you feel
as if you are in your own home.
All of the staff of this property truly
practice "Service Excellence".
Each one of them, from the general manager,
Michael Chaffin, to the men on the elk
ranch, is very in tune to the likes/dislikes,
needs and desires of their clients.
Nothing misses their attention and the
service is very individual and personal.
It became very obvious that there was
excellent communication among all of
the staff with regards to the guest.
They truly strive to make your stay
memorable.
And then there was the fine dining!
Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa are, without
a doubt, two of the finest chefs I have
ever met. Each meal was customized to
our liking and we eagerly anticipated
their creations. The cuisine was made
even more enjoyable by having Alex visit
with us to describe each course in detail.
His enthusiasm for cooking became contagious.
There was a wide range of adventure
type activities available and you felt
comfortable doing as much or as little
as you pleased. I was fortunate enough
to be able to try my hand at Skeet and
Trap Shooting with Scott, who provided
excellent instruction. The horseback
ride was one of the best I have been
out on in years. The guide gave each
rider leeway to ride at whatever pace
was comfortable, in my case, at a full
gallop through the fields. The motto
of Keyah Grande is "Where Dreams
Become Memories". They certainly
achieved that goal! I would strongly
recommend this property to all of my
discerning, well traveled clients who
are looking for a serene and intimate
setting where they can be pampered while
enjoying the natural beauty of Colorado.
Sincerely,
Susan E. Bauer
Travel Consultant
Scottsdale, Arizona
Jeri
Pollyea
Sherman Oaks, CA
I just returned from the most fabulous
resort called Keyah Grande. It is 50
minutes from the Durango Airport. We
were picked up by Scott, who took care
of our luggage and gave us some history
of the area as we drove the 50 minutes
to Keyah Grande. As we entered the gates
of the 4000 acre site I was excited
to see the elk grazing along the way
as we drove up to the Lodge. The Lodge
is a 15,000 sq foot home and I immediately
felt like I was entering an oasis. Michael
Chaffin, the General Manager, greeted
us at the steps of the Lodge. Our luggage
was taken up to our rooms and we were
taken into the bar/living room for a
late dinner of scrumptious baked chicken
and delicious vegetables. After talking
a while, we went to our rooms. There
was a lovely candle burning and soft
music playing. I was so relaxed by this
time, I was ready to go to bed. The
room was huge with a wonderful walk-in
closet and fabulous bathroom big enough
for two to take a jacuzzi bath. The
bed was turned down with home-cooked
chocolate chip cookies to top off the
special evening. My bed felt like I
was Goldilocks climbing into the most
comfy, warm divine bedding. I snuggled
in sleepily and fell fast asleep.
In the morning, I awakened to the most
georgous site! There was snow everywhere
on the San Juan mountains and I had
a view of this right from my room. The
San Juan mountains are part of the Rocky
mountain range. We went down to breakfast
in the sunny breakfast room. Oor chef,
Alex, came out to explain our incredible
breakfast of scones, baked carmel apples
and eggs benedict. INCREDIBLE! This
is food from the gods. I loved the fact
Alex explained where he got everything
and how it was made. The butter comes
from a special place in Vermont and
Keyah Grande is only one of three places
in the country getting this creamy,
delicious butter.......so good you could
eat it alone. After breakfast we were
invited to do so many things--from skeet
shooting, snowshoeing, snowmobiling,
fishing, hiking, horseback riding and
on and on. I have a bad back, so we
decided to go into the town of Pagosa
Springs and look around and then see
how the day went. The town only has
2000 people, but the stores are fabulous!
I saw stores that could be in Beverly
Hills and was very surprised to see
this! After shopping for a while, we
made our way back to the Lodge. Lunch
was waiting...........another wonderful
meal explained by Alex. Our tummys were
full but we had an unexpected fun job
ahead. We were invited into the kitchen(which,
by the way, is left open at night for
some who might get hungry for an extra
piece of chocolate pie) to learn how
to make home-made pasta! I love to cook,
so this was truly a fun thing to do.
We had a great time making the pasta,
filling it and knowing we had participated
in part of our dinner for the evening.
By this time it was time for my massage.
Oh, what a great masseuse Christine
was! At the end of her massage my back
felt perfect. I will need to back just
to feel this wonderful feeling again
and again! Dinner was at 7pm and I decided
to take a jacuzzi before dinner. Even
my head got to feel better---the jacuzzi
has a head attachment! Dinner was the
best meal I have ever had even in the
finest restaurant! We started with tuna
tartar with a smoked salmon caviar.
We then had our pasta we made, which
was even better than I thought it would
be. The filling consisted of a pumpkin
mousse, but ever so light, your mouth
was filled with delight. Onto our Kobe
beef from a private purveyor and just
picked vegetables. Our homemade rolls
were out of this world. After eating
for an hour, or rather dining for an
hour we were all full. But our dessert
was again amazing. We were very content,
but looked outside and could see the
most beautiful star-filled sky and had
to venture out into the 10 degree weather.
Even though it was cold, it felt so
refreshing. We walked by the hot, steamy
outdoor Hot tubs, but decided to forego
them at this time. We just stood on
the wide circular deck looking at the
aray of stars across the sky and we
were speechless. As stars streaked across
the sky and fell, we must have counted
20! What a night to remember. We forgot
all about our troubles and just gazed
at the wonderment of our wonderful universe
and what it provides for us----aren't
we lucky to see this! After an hour
of sky-gazing two of the guests stayed
outside smoking Cuban Cigars and drinking
an after-dinner drink. I decided to
go in and watch some television and
relax. We all sat on the couches in
the den and enjoyed our last night laughing.
Bedtime was late, but welcoming me again
were the delicious chocolate chip cookies.
I decided to save them until the next
day........my tummy was very full.
In the mornning we woke up early to
get to the airport to go home. Our breakfast
was, as usual divine, and we were sent
off to the airport with sandwiches made
just to what we had talked about the
day before. We had no idea they were
sending us off with a wonderful packed
lunch. This was the most incredible
two days I have ever had in the United
States. I can only say, it is a secret
right now, but I will make sure all
my clients know how wonderful Keyah
Grande is and how much fun they and
their families can have there. I am
sending a list below to show all the
ammenites it has and how much I have
to look forward to the next time I am
there. I can't wait to return!
Jeri Pollyea
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