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Do boutique hotels and housing make sense for RH?

Written by Tom Ryan

RH's "food, wine, art and design experience" in Yountville, CA - Photo: RH

RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, last week announced plans to invest $105 million in real estate in the ritzy mountain town of Aspen, CO. The project will result in a hotel, restaurants, residences, spa and retail. To support its “emergence as a luxury brand,” RH in recent years has opened a number of restaurants and wine bars across the country, and this year will open its first GuestHouse boutique hotel in New York City. RH will become part owner of the Aspen project, which will include its first residential complexes and represent its first “ecosystem.” The site will feature:
  • A RH Bespoke Gallery (store) offering two floors of retail along with interior design, architecture and landscape architecture services. The space will feature a transparent glass rooftop restaurant with views of Aspen Mountain, a Wine & Barista Bar, plus two private dining rooms with fireplaces and retractable roofs. 
  • An RH GuestHouse hotel featuring suites with fireplaces, a live fire restaurant, wine vault, private rooftop pool and dining terrace with views of Aspen Mountain and the brand’s first RH Bath House & Spa. 
  • Fully-furnished RH Residences in two locations: four bedroom homes located at Boomerang Lodge and six bedroom homes on Red Mountain.
“We believe Aspen represents a singular opportunity to elevate the RH brand by exposing the world of RH to the world’s most affluent and discerning customers in a single, walkable market,” said Gary Friedman, RH’s CEO, in a statement. “Additionally, we believe the education RH will gain from a real estate development and ownership perspective will be immeasurable as the brand builds its global ecosystem of products, places, services, and spaces.” Mr. Friedman has said ownership of hotels and residences will differ RH’s approach from such retailers as West Elm, Bulgari and Shinola that operate hotels structured as licensed arrangements. RH’s elevated aesthetic is expected to drive success. “Our vision is to move the brand beyond curating and selling product to conceptualizing and selling spaces by building an ecosystem of products, places, services and spaces that elevate and establish the RH brand as a global thought leader, taste and place maker,” he said.

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