Teton Springs Lodge & Spa, Jackson Hole – Review

If you`re travelling to Jackson, Wyoming for the ski season or you`re en route to Yellowstone National Park you could be forgiven if you didn`t venture over the Teton Pass into Idaho. But you would be making a big mistake; missing out one of Small Luxury Hotels of the World`s jewels of the American North West, Teton Springs Lodge & Spa.

Location
Just over the Teton Pass from Jackson, Teton Springs Lodge & Spa sits at the Southern end of the plains that lie at the foot of the Teton Mountains. Surrounded on three sides by the vast, mountainous Targee National Forest this wild expanse provides every imaginable adventure from skiing to fishing, trail riding to white water rafting. This is country for exploring.

Staff, Atmosphere & Attitude
At the centre of Teton Springs you`ll find the main hotel building, with all manner of sporting facilities – basketball & tennis courts, 25 metre pool, luxurious spa and incredible on-site restaurant. And wrapped around all of this dozens of beautifully appointed traditional Western cabins pepper the manicured 18 hole golf course, lawns & fishing lakes.

Yet, as impressive as all of this appears as you pull off the highway and wind between the fairways to reception, I think its fair to say this destination`s crowning glory is not it`s facilities or its location but its staff. Attentive and interested they are, each and every one, the perfect host or hostess. You`re instantly made to feel like the a guest of a family in such a way as to put you completely at ease.

On-Site Facilities
This ability to put you at ease matters immensely at a property that also prides itself on being one of only three SLH Spas in the US and the spa staff are no different in their level of interest in your enjoyment and well-being.

The spa offers a complete range of therapies and, rather delightfully, your and your partner can opt to have your treatments together which was a wonderful experience. Just make sure that, having filled your stay with all the muscle aching activities the area has to offer you leave a day at the end of your trip exclusively for relaxation; not only will you need it but there`s no better place to unwind.

And it would seem that those activities are endless. In the summer you can explore the Targee National Forest and the Teton National Park, cross the pass to Jackson to go white water rafting or head just a little further north to Yellowstone National Park.

In the winter this is skiing and snowboarding country and the lodge offers heli-skiing as well as skiing at the nearby Grand Targee or Jackson Hole Mountain Resorts.

There`s also plenty to do right at the lodge. The lakes, just metres from the front desk, are teeming with fish which is perfect for absolute beginners like my wife and me. We chose to have a lesson – since this was our first expedition – but our charming guide had us casting within minutes and we both finished up extremely excited and satisfied with our catches.

For more the more traditional sportsman the lodge is surrounded by an 18 golf course that is both challenging and rewarding and there are plenty of tennis courts and a 25 metre pool. The Headwater`s Golf Club provides tutoring for golf, tennis and swimming.

Off-Site Facilities
Our favorite choice of activity though is horse riding and what better experience could you possibly have than riding up in to the Teton foothills guided by the Lynn family, based just a mile north of the lodge.

The Lynn Canyon Ranch is a magical combination of family hospitality, five star food and service and outdoor splendour. It`s all the more remarkable when you discover that it has all been made possible by the skill, craftsmanship and determination of the family themselves. In fact I have have so much to say on the subject of the wonderful evening we spent as guests of Peter Lynn, Tyson Phillips and their families that they will be the subject of another post very soon.

For now it just remains to say that a Sunset Dinner Ride at the Lynn Canyon Ranch is an absolute must excursion while you`re at Teton Springs.

Conclusion
Jackson, Wyoming is a very popular US destination and it`s obvious why: this really is quite an incredible part of the world, full of beauty, of awesome mountain ranges and forest and of all the wonders of the natural world.

But do all those travellers to Jackson realise that just a few miles away there is a place that has all that Teton Springs has to offer; its spa, its golf, its luxurious accommodation, its boundless adventures and above all its warm and welcoming staff?

I were you I would take the road less traveled. If I were you I would go the extra few miles, climb the pass and cross the border to Idaho and I promise it will make all the difference.