Basque in Telluride

Robb Report Vacation Homes

August / September 2006

By Nancy Ruhling

Photos by James Ray Spahn

In the plainest of terms, it is a stone house in the mountains. But that spare description does not begin to convey the simple elegance of the Basque Retreat, a magnificent jewel box nestled in a wooded setting looking down over Colorado’s Telluride ski resort and spa.

From the handmade Alaskan cedar inswing casement windows that define its friendly facade to the custom wrought iron railings that ring the sundeck like a crown, every detail of the 5,300-square-foot mansion was designed to embrace all who enter.

And there are many to welcome, as the Basque Retreat has not one owner, but 42. The estate is one of seven luxury properties, plus a yacht, that belong to members Solstice, one of the best of the new breed of private destination clubs.

Solstice, which was established just over two years ago by Graham Kos and his wife, Shay Austin Kos, caters to a select group whose members long for all the amenities of spectacular vacation homes but none of the responsibility of caring for exclusive properties. “What sets Solstice apart is that it’s the perfect balance of luxury, exclusivity and availability,” Graham Kos says. “It’s for people who ordinarily would buy two to four vacation homes that are each $5 million or more. Each of our homes is exceptional and is in the best part of the most desired locations. And because we allow so few members, they can visit the home of their chose virtually whenever they like.”

In addition to Telluride, Solstice members – who pay fees of $505,000 to $1.55 million and annual dues of $24,500 to $62,000 – have access to homes in Cabo San Lucas, Paris, Napa Valley, St. Bart’s, Aspen and Tuscany. Solstice I, the club’s 90-foot yacht, winters in the Caribbean (making stops at the islands of Turks and Caicos), summers off the coast of Cape Cod and spends spring and autumn in the Bahamas.

“Each home offers a different experience,” says Shay Kos, adding that they are all so beautiful that it is difficult to decide which one to visit first. “I go more for the home than for the town it’s in.”

The Koses, who, when they are not staying in a Solstice house, live in an 1895 Mediterranean-style home in Belvedere, Calif., founded the club because they were not making the best use of their own vacation home in Cabo San Lucas. “WE were only spending three or four weeks there, but our financial commitment was 52 weeks a year,” Graham Kos says. “With Solstice, there are seven fabulous home in incredible locations, and my investment is sized to how much time I have to actually use them.”

The Telluride home, which was built in the heart of shepherding country on the site of the fabled Aldasoro Ranch, is emblematic of Soltstice values, which place a priority on what Graham Kos calls the “wow” factor. Set atop a hill and nestled in a grove of sky-high evergreens, the Basque Retreat sees all but can be seen by none, save the occasional caribou that wanders through the grounds. Civilization is kept at bay but is close by. An eight-minute ride on a winding road puts club members in the heart of town, which offers a variety of cultural events, including art shows and film festivals, in addition to fine restaurants.

“It has the look and feel of a home that’s been here 50 years,” Graham Kos says. “Our members like to come to the same home each time so they have a connection –they get familiar and comfortable with it. And that’s what makes it feel like a second home.”

The craftsmanship and unique materials set the house apart. The quartzite sandstone of the exterior is paired with intricate interior details, including arches of circa 1850 chiseled stones salvaged from a barn in Mason, Texas; custom lighting fixtures; hand-pressed clay brickwork; 150-year-old hand–hewn beams from a barn in the Ohio River Valley; kitchen cabinets, bath vanities and mortise-and-tenon staircases made of antique longleaf pine; and doors and floors fashioned from Texas mesquite, a dense, colorful wood that develops a marblelike patina as it ages.

“The house is built like a fine piece of furniture,” says Ira Marin, project manager of Texas-based Tony Martin Inc., the architectural design firm that built the house. “It grows up from the landscape and catches the morning sunlight in the kitchen. It has a quiet silence. The wood is so dense that it muffles the sound.”

As she does for all homes in the Solstice stable, Shay Kos traveled the world searching for furnishings, and decorated the Basque Retreat with a mix of new and antique pieces that make themselves – and every club member – feel right at home. “I sought unique pieces with interesting stories that had a cozy and comfortable look,” she says. “I went with a fairly neutral palette that was rich and inviting, and used a sumptuous mix of fabrics and woods.”

The result is a subtle and sophisticated style that evokes the feel of a ski lodge or log cabin without courting stereotypes. “The ruggedness of the mountains is right outside the windows, so you don’t need constant reminders about where you are, “ Shay Kos says. “You don’t need antlers over the mantel or bearskins everywhere. I designed it so that after a day of hiking or skiing or playing golf, you can sink down into the sofas without forgetting where you are or what you did that day.”

Accents – a pair of wrought iron torcheres, a Michael Eastman photograph of a pair of wild horses and sculptural canopy beds of forged iron – evoke the pioneering spirit, if not the exact look, of the Old West. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the kitchen, which offers all the ambience of the past and all the amenities of the present. An arch of hand-chiseled stone becomes a frame of reference for the new bank of mullioned windows, an antique French harvest table complements newly constructed cabinets of antique longleaf pine and forms a counterpoint to the Wolf stovne, and a painted Russian dresser, circa 1860, basks in the light of new iron chandeliers.

Whether it involves watching the autumn leaves turn golden at Solstice’s Basque Retreat or people-watching on Ile St.-Louis – the site of Solstice’s 17th-century Parisian flat – the stay, notes Shay Kos, is always an adventure. “We can be a home in seven of the most gorgeous places in the world,” she says. “That was the original impetus for Solstice, and that vision never leaves us.”