GM aims to welcome locals, ‘add flavor to the community and contribute’ to Big Sky’s existing identity
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
Gravity Haus, a brand of “experiential and adventure-centric” hotels and social clubs, has opened its first Montana location and its ninth destination overall. The adventure lifestyle hospitality brand identified Big Sky as an “ideal four-season destination” and a “rugged playground in the mountains,” according to a press release announcing its opening in mid-July.
Based in Colorado, Gravity Haus purchased River Rock Lodge from Lone Mountain Land Company in December 2024, with plans to renovate the space and open this summer. In addition to hotel rooms for visitors and Gravity Haus members from other destination communities, Gravity Haus Big Sky offers a public-access café and taco eatery, and memberships for locals to use a gym, sauna, hot tub, cold plunge and “world-class” gear.
“Gravity Haus Big Sky will become a ‘center of gravity’ for locals and a regional hub for members and guests,” CEO Jim Deters stated in a Jan. 29 press release.
With renovation now complete, hotel rooms opened for booking July 14 and onsite amenities opened July 11. On July 16, a press release described updated offerings.
Terrain Taco, Unravel Coffee among Gravity Haus amenities
Gravity Haus Big Sky features 28 newly renovated, pet-friendly guestrooms plus one “Vista Suite,” and coworking space for Gravity Haus members and hotel guests featuring “hot desks,” a soundproof booth and conference table.
The Terrain Taco restaurant is a Big Sky spinoff of the original taco joint in Winter Park, Colorado. “This local favorite is humble in its roots, but features an explosive menu of tacos and margaritas,” the release stated. The Big Sky location and its accompanying bar is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Unravel Coffee is open from 7 to 11 a.m. daily serving lattes and breakfast items. The café “co-produces and imports some of the world’s best coffee straight from farms in Ethiopia and roasts signature taste profiles with a zero emission Bellwether roaster,” the release stated.
Gravity Haus’ fitness and recovery center offers “state-of-the-art” equipment and recovery amenities including cold plunge, hot tub and sauna for members and hotel guests.
Finally, members can attend events and meet-ups focused on adventure, community development and personal growth.
“With the opening of Gravity Haus Big Sky we bring a very unique approach and product offering to this increasingly popular destination,” Deters stated in the July release. “We are a community-led company and are thrilled to integrate into the vibrant Big Sky Town Center and open our ‘approachable luxury’ product to this world-class destination and outdoor community.”
GM Adam Lashinsky shares vision: ‘welcoming to all’
The Gravity Haus vibe is defined by its casual, laid-back dress code—some well-dressed guests, perhaps, but visitors are more than welcome in their ski gear or bike pads, according to General Manager Adam Lashinsky.
Bringing a background in five-star hospitality in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, Lashinsky looks forward to providing a “high touch but low key” experience for Gravity Haus members and guests. He said Deters’ phrase “approachable luxury” is a guiding principle and a reason he moved across the country for the job.
Furthermore, he values inclusivity.
“I think that people consider a high-quality service experience exclusive—our approach is the opposite,” Lashinsky told EBS in an interview in the Gravity Haus coworking space.
“It should be welcoming to all, it should be accessible to those who feel kinship and camaraderie with our approach to hospitality, and our approach to the outdoors in these communities,” he added.
Lashinsky has been waiting patiently for ski season since moving to Big Sky in May. For now, he’s giving mountain biking a go to complement his summer passion for hiking. He’s been grateful for community members who have spent time introducing him to the unique community.
Lashinsky is perceptive to Big Sky’s growing pains, but he’s been impressed by the collaboration and “heartfelt teamwork” within the community to navigate its own growth.
“That was striking, to me,” he said. He intends to do right by those local leaders and ensure Gravity Haus supports their existing visions for Big Sky’s future.
“Bringing in our approach to add value, and add flavor to the community and contribute—rather than any form of extraction—that’s the goal,” Lashinsky said. “We are here to listen, we are here to support the community, and to give people a new way to experience Big Sky with a little bit of our own personality and DNA, working alongside the people who are already here and have made this place what it is. It’s all about community.”
Lashinsky said he totally understands locals’ skepticism of a new player in a place like Big Sky which holds “a very dear identity,” and he hopes with time that the community will view Gravity Haus and its staff as welcoming neighbors with shared philosophy for the outdoors.
While Gravity Haus values its visiting hotel guests, he emphasized, “This is for everyone, this is for locals too… Come in, grab a taco. Talk to us, and you’ll see we have much more in common than we do different.”
The Big Sky location joins Gravity Haus peers in Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat, Winter Park and Denver, Colorado, as well as Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Truckee, California and Moab, Utah. The brand recently closed its Aspen, Colorado location which opened in phases between 2022 and 2024, according to reporting by the Aspen Daily News.
Memberships cost $200 per month for individuals—$140 per month for those under 27 years old—and $400 per month for families plus a one-time initiation fee and 12-month commitment, according to the website. Annual plans are available for a 10% discount, with additional benefits included.
Big Sky members will receive discounts on hotel rooms and food, with access to amenities at other Gravity Haus locations as part of the brand’s membership community program.
