The Classiest Hotel in Silverton
The newly remodeled Wyman Hotel dollops a big dose of modern to an authentic mountain town.
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Opening the door to my hotel room at The Wyman, I am confused that such a place exists in the quaint mountain town of Silverton, Colo. The walls and sheets are crisp and white, the décor is straight out of a hip boutique hotel one might find in a coastal city, and the vibe is modern-yet-welcoming. It’s definitely not what I expect to find in a tiny former mining town—with about 600 year-round residents—that transforms into a veritable Mecca for freeride skiers every winter.
Granted, the entire town has seen a lodging revitalization over the past few years. Just down the main street—the only paved street in town, mind you—The Grand Imperial Hotel underwent massive renovations earlier in the decade, catching up with the world beyond the 13,000-foot mountains that ring the town. Just off the main drag, the Avon Hotel reopened in 2018, providing another hotel option in addition to the standard motels on the west side of town. The worst option? Lodging on the wrong side of the mountain passes that guard Silverton. (Our advice for those with reservations at Silverton Mountain? Always stay in town.)
But The Wyman is certainly the most interesting hotel in Silverton at the moment. Rather than keep things rustic like most of the other hotels in town, or “mountain-traditional” like the Grand Imperial, owner Shane Fuhrman and his partner Haley Morgan have designed a perfect place for skiers on every budget looking to explore the famed terrain of Silverton Mountain, but also for the people who stay in town during the brisk days of winter.
“My very first trip [to Silverton], I stayed at a quaint B&B and I brought a date who wasn’t going to ski at the mountain,” Fuhrman tells me in the hotel lobby about how the idea for The Wyman was first planted. “I thought it would be a nice, quiet mountain getaway. I left to go ski… had a ‘best day ever’ experience, and I came back to find she was sitting in a room shivering with all of the clothes we had both collectively packed in our suitcases, just waiting for me to come back. So, I drove her to Telluride, checked her into a nice hotel, and came back [to ski Silverton Mountain] for the next three days.”
More lodging: Jackson’s Mountain Modern
In a town like Silverton, where the mountains dominate every part of life, The Wyman hopes to provide a modern, urban feel inside, but still have plenty of great mountain views in every room. “In terms of design, Haley helped open a vintage furniture store in Brooklyn and has this crazy depth of knowledge for style and design,” Fuhrman says. “She picked out everything and put this whole place together.”
The duo invested heavily in insulation and soundproofing, something a number of other hotels in town lack (something visitors not skiing at the crack of dawn will especially appreciate).
More Silverton: Moguls meets Big Mountain
While The Wyman certainly the hotel of choice for private Silverton Mountain heli parties on weekdays, economical groups of 4 can comfortably split a room for less than $100 per person. And for the future, the hotel is planning on a full food and beverage service, and a 10-bed shared bunk room on the ground floor as another economic option.
Fuhrman hopes to create not just the nicest hotel in town, but also make sure The Wyman meeting space for both residents, visitors, and the outdoor industry, all year long. “We’re hoping that, through this space, the rooms upstairs, and always trying to be ‘industry-focused,’ we’ll create that,” he says. Based on how they hosted the opening weekend party for Silverton Mountain, the hotel is well on its way to being exactly that spot. [From $200 per night, TheWyman.com]