Luxury inn is at home on
the range
By Jim
Winnerman — Special to the Post-Dispatch
Sunday, Jul. 01
2007
STRATTON,
COLO. — Dave Dischner says he likes being an innkeeper because it allows
him to be creative in catering to guests. But his most creative idea
came 12 years ago when he built the Claremont Inn, a palladium-style
luxury boutique inn, in a farming community on the isolated eastern
plains of
Colorado.
"When everyone is home
there may be 700 people in town," he says.
For 18 years Dischner has also owned and managed a 68-room Best Western
motel
next to the Claremont, but he was always convinced there was a market
for a
boutique inn even in such a sparsely populated rural area. He was also
motivated to help with the economic development of the community where
he grew
up, and where his family has been in the grocery business since the late
1920s.
THE BASICS: "I knew I would need to manufacture my own entertainment,"
he says.
Weekend cooking classes are frequently held in the large open kitchen.
Two-day
romantic getaways and murder mystery weekends have also been
well-received.
Plus, the inn and the event facilities it offers make it a popular venue
for
wedding parties, small corporate retreats and family reunions.
Dischner also prides himself on the service provided. "I like to operate
like a
cruise ship. After a guest checks in, all the work is done for them," he
said.
His experience has led to yet another way to use his property. Some
weekends he
leads three-day workshops at his inn on how to be an innkeeper.
THE UNIQUE: The leather chairs and the stadium-style seating in the
downstairs
media room would be the envy of any Hollywood producer. Guests can bring
their
own movies, or select from the Claremont's library of more than 600
titles.
Guests can use inn golf carts to travel five blocks to play the nearby
Stratton
Country Club's nine-hole course.
THE ROOMS: The 10 spacious guest rooms are exceptionally well decorated
with
traditional décor that varies widely room to room. The popular Library
bedroom
is lined with bookcases filled with travel books.
The inn website advertises "romance is our business," and the Roman Spa
room
makes the statement a reality. It has an in-room sauna, a big-screen TV,
a
private selection of movies, a double whirlpool tub and a double
stand-up
shower.
Eight rooms have whirlpool tubs. All have walk-in showers. Two have
fireplaces.
THE GUESTS: Most travelers are from St. Louis and other major cities
west of
the Mississippi who rent or own condominiums in the Rocky Mountains.
They stop
at the inn so they can arrive at their mountain destination early the
next day.
However, people from Denver and a radius of 150 miles around the inn are
drawn
to the special events held there.
According to Dischner, repeat customers make up about 40 percent of his
business.
THE FOOD: Dischner studied at the culinary school of Peter Kumps in New
York,
and through a branch of the Cooking School of the Rockies in southern
France.
His flair for food is apparent each morning when a generous hot gourmet
breakfast is served. Included are French toast stuffed with citrus and
raspberries and topped with a raspberry sauce, chicken sausage or some
other
specialty meat, a baked egg dish or quiche, and homemade croissants.
Guests have a nightly option of enjoying a candlelight gourmet dinner in
the
inn's 1,200-bottle wine cellar, which concentrates on wines from small
Italian
wineries.
THE HIGH POINTS: The inn provides exceptionally luxurious accommodations
for
long-distance travelers passing through the midsection of America across
a long
and lonely section of interstate highway.
THE LOW POINTS: In eastern Colorado the wind is constant and the summer
heat
intense. The grounds surrounding the inn demonstrate the difficulty of
maintaining grass and ornamental plants. However, a step inside the
front door
and into the atrium living room dispels any concern that the Claremont
is
anything other than a quality inn.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Rooms with breakfast are $149 to $199. Special packages
are
continually posted on the inn website. Call 1-888-291-8910 or visit
www.claremontinn.com.
bawinnie@earthlink.net
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