Unfolding across a vast site deep within Montana’s 3-million-acre Gallatin National Forest, One&Only Moonlight is a full-service, alpine-style resort comprehensively imagined by renowned architect Tom Kundig (cofounder of globally recognized practice Olson Kundig). Materials specific to the region and subtle nods to local structural typologies help its many buildings blend in, all while containing hyper-refined, monumental interiors. The strategy: “supporting the act of settling into nature.” The 92-key destination facilitates daily excursions — hikes, ski runs, and the like — but then provides guests with an expansive suite of “protective, elemental, and deeply grounded” amenities inside.
Nestled within this basin locale and framing sweeping views of Big Sky’s Lone Peak, with the Spanish Peaks farther afield, the highly crafted yet minimalist structures here offer the best of both worlds. Their dark metal rooflines, evoking a local agrarian vernacular, are anchored in place by quarried stone and timber sourced nearby. This earthy palette is framed and honed by steel, bronze, and copper accents.
Arriving along forest roads, guests first encounter a low-slung roof and timber-column-encapsulated porte cochère. A hearth where all gather before venturing out, the Main Lodge unfurls with a double-height lobby featuring a large-scale fireplace clad in roughly textured Montana Moss Rock and perforated steel. Mollifying the heaviness of this focal feature are carved oak wall panels, bronze detailing, woven textiles, and leather furnishings. It is a stylistic approach found throughout the rest of the resort. Nodding to Montana’s bootlegging past is the Dear Josephine Bar. The Wildwood Restaurant on the level below is accessed by a carved staircase wrapping a suspended bone sculpture.
Another “base camp” common area is the Sky Lodge. Perched on a knoll, this facility serves as the après-ski hangout. Its fully glazed window walls establish a near-seamless transition with the outdoors. And yet, exposed mechanics and steel trusses nod to a more industrial treatment. Saddle leather, wool, oak, and blackened steel reappear as grounding finishes. The adjacent Outfitters area is fully equipped with lockers and a pro shop. Its denim carpeting references the region’s hard-fought working heritage. The effect of moonlight on the waters of a mountain lake inspired the fit-out of the Landing Restaurant and Bar. The overall look and feel is refined: a contemporary interpretation of the standard, old-world mountain lodge.
The Spa pulls up from its slope-side siting, almost like a found ruin. Here, Moss Rock frames a breezeway accessing the reception area. Calming lichen grays and greens — slate floors, hand-troweled plaster, and sage porcelain tiles — frame the rest of the space. Wood-framed treatment rooms emerge as apertures along stone corridors. Other amenities include the tucked-away Moonshack, where reclaimed barnwood plays off corrugated roofing and copper gutters. Yet again, the design deftly coheres timeworn and pared-back aesthetic qualities.
The cabin-style guest accommodations — ranging from double queen rooms to larger king suites — also frame panoramic views. Items perhaps found on hikes feature prominently atop double-sided fireplaces, leather-wrapped headboards, and custom casework. These might include antlers, old skis, or maps. There are also 19 individual dwellings positioned deeper in the forest as even more secluded, cocoon-like retreats.
What: One&Only Moonlight Basin
Where: Big Sky, Montana
How much: From $1,075 per night
Design draws: A expansive resort nestled deep in a Montana forest, framing sweeping mountain vistas with large vernacular structures and a sober earthly material palette of woods, metals, and stones.
Book it: One&Only Moonlight
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Photography by Hufton + Crow and Charles Stemen.
