Auberge to manage 80/50

Auberge Resorts, which manages a number of swanky properties, located primarily in the western United States and Mexico, will assume management of the 80|50 property in Mammoth beginning Dec. 1.

Auberge CEO Mark Harmon said Wednesday that the current plan is to stay the course and continue to sell fractional shares in the existing property.

What’s changed, however, is that you no longer have to be an owner if you’d like the opportunity to stay at 80|50.

“We want to get people in there to experience it,” said Harmon.

Transient rentals will have full concierge service and the same access as ownership units.

A new feature at the property will be the addition of a restaurant being opened on the ground floor in the Ski Surgeon’s old spot. The restaurant will be helmed by Matt Toomey, best known as the top chef at the Whoa Nellie Deli.

The restaurant will be for take-out only, with just a few tables for those waiting for their food.

Mammoth Lakes Community Development Director Mark Wardlaw says the restaurant is a permitted use under the North Village Specific Plan, and that dedicated parking is not required; the restaurant will use pooled parking for the North Village.

Harmon acknowledged that Mammoth is “playing a little catch up” in regard to catering to higher end clientele, but says, “I’m a believer … the Village has energy now.”

Sheet: Did the pending airport litigation settlement have any impact on your decision to do business in Mammoth?

Harmon: It didn’t play a part in our decision. Our belief was “this’ll sort itself out.”

A privately held, family-owned company, Auberge Resorts was established in 1998, creating a hotel management and development company to further pursue the development of resort properties outside of its flagship resort, Auberge du Soleil.

Since Auberge du Soleil’s opening in the Napa Valley (Rutherford, Calif.) in 1981, the Auberge group has grown to encompass hotel acquisitions, real estate development, and residence clubs. Corporate offices are located in Mill Valley and Los Angeles, Calif., and New York City.

Auberge Resorts operates hotels, resorts and private residence clubs in California, Mexico, New Mexico and South Carolina, with others currently in development.

Last month, Auberge Resorts took over management of the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colo., to increase its brand access to the world of affluent skiing. Formerly owned by Rock Resorts, the historic Hotel Jerome opened in 1889.

Auberge also recently assumed management of Element 52, a 33-unit, single-family residence/townhouse complex in Telluride in Dec. 2010.

Sheet: Is that in Mountain Village?

Harmon: No, it’s in the old town. On the banks of the San Miguel River … I don’t like Mountain Village. I’m not sure what they were thinking [when it was being developed].”

Auberge’s Chief Operating Officer Eric Calderon’s background includes a stint as General Manager of the Little Nell, a five-star hotel and private residence club, in Aspen.