Death Valley Visitors Guide - 12th Edition

6 Death Valley Vistiors Guide • 12th Edition W ith a $100 million investment and a vision in- spired by the Old West of novelist Larry Mc- Murtry, Western art collector Phillip Anschutz and his Xanterra Travel Collection company recently trans- formed the resort properties formerly known as Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch in Death Valley National Park. Now known as the Inn and Ranch at the Oasis in Death Valley, both facilities were upgraded to reduce their carbon foot- prints, expanded, and in the case of the Ranch, almost com- pletely redesigned. The Inn at the Oasis has always been a luxury destination, said Trey Matheu, General Manager of the Oasis at Death Valley. Even when it first opened in 1927 without air conditioning, the Inn was designed for elegance and enticed Hollywood movie stars to vacation there. Perched at the edge of a low bluff, it overlooks a stunning view of the desert. Over the years, said Matheu, the Inn property has been upgraded and improved, but this most recent project was designed to take the already four diamond rated resort to the next level of luxury. Twenty two private casitas were added to the property and now two full-time health and wellness specialists staff the new Tranquility Day Spa. The historic main building was given a face lift in which the designers took everything “down to the studs and built it back up to that 1927-era type of luxury,” said Matheu. Subtle changes made a big difference in the overall ambience, said Matheu, such as using natural wood and leather in the decor and adding many works of art from the Anshutz collection. While amenities were added and the Inn expanded, it remained substantially true to its nearly 100-year-old original, classic design. A newly constructed wedding and events venue across from the Inn rose Phoenix-like from the ashes of a past structure. Now an old Mission style garden provides a stunning backdrop built upon the remains of a few historic adobe walls. “The Oasis used to be a place you’d stay to explore Death Valley. Now it’s becoming a destination resort that happens to have a national park as one of its amenities,” said Matheu. Meanwhile, back at the Ranch The Ranch at the Oasis underwent the most dramatic transformation during the remodeling process, especially in the entry area now known as the courtyard. This is the social center and the “heartbeat of the property,” said Matheu. In 2017 the old café, gift shop and buffet building was razed and rebuilt from the ground up in a style that evokes the kinds of Western places author McMurtry writes about. Xanterra’s Anshutz owns possibly the largest collection of Western art in the world, said Matheu, and is a fan of Western literature. After reading McMurtry’s Last Kind Words Saloon, released in 2014, Anshutz purchased rights to the name, hoping to use it for one of his properties. Death Valley seemed the perfect fit. The architecture, explained Matheu, is Spanish Colonial- inspired, built to resemble an old-fashioned plaza. The new building includes an ice cream shop, a buffet, a two-story sit down restaurant and saloon, complete with swinging doors, called the Last Kind Words Saloon, and an expanded gift shop (where you can buy McMurtry’s eponymous novel, among other things). The walkways have misters for the hot summer weather and the grounds offer plenty of outdoor park style seating, as well as a children’s playground and basketball and volleyball courts. The saloon is lavishly decorated with original works of American Western art and artifacts evoking a general southwest/Old West feel. While the theme is now more general Western nostalgia, “it’s always been our goal to keep the connection with the roots of Death Valley,” said Matheu. To that end, Xanterra kept the old Borax Museum open in its original location. All of the renovations were done with an eye toward reducing Xanterra’s footprint in Death Valley, said Matheu. Updating or rebuilding the structures at the Ranch significantly reduced water usage and improved efficiency in electrical consumption. This allowed Xanterra to provide more landscaping while still using less water than before. The world famous Furnace Creek golf course, adjacent to the Ranch, remains essentially the same, said Matheu, however some of the course was converted back to desert landscape. “It looks a little different but the green is the The New Oasis with an Old West Feel at Death Valley CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 The new courtyard in front of the historic Furnace Creek Inn is one of many upgrades at the iconic Death Valley “oasis.” PHOTO COURTESY XANTERRA The courtyard at the Ranch at the Oasis.