The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals.
Spending a night in nature often involves wrestling tent poles in mountain winds, nursing a sore back from snoozing on a half-deflated sleeping pad, and wondering if that rustling outside is just a curious marmot or something larger. But Terra Vi is on a mission to prove that you don’t have to choose between sleeping under the stars and sleeping well.
Over the next few years, the new hospitality brand is opening a series of immersive nature lodges inside some of the West’s iconic national parks, including Glacier, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. On February 10, the brand debuted its first Boundary property: a hotel perched on the north end of Durango’s Main Avenue between city amenities and easy access to the outdoors. “We could not have hoped for a more perfect location,” says Terra Vi partner Kenn Fine. “Durango is a spectacular gateway to so many things. In moments you can be in multiple climatic zones, reaching rivers and mountains and ski slopes and lakes.”
The 47-guest-room hotel—a former Days Inn that the Terra Vi team stripped down to the bones and renovated—combines Fine’s love of design with his business partner Rajan Hansji’s desire for beginner-friendly accessibility to the outdoors. “The ultimate goal for Terra Vi and this Boundary property specifically is to attract those who are curious about the outdoors but might not have all the gear or the expertise,” Fine says. “And I’m bougie as all get-out—I don’t want to be in a moth-ridden shack. So it has access to nature, but it’s also a really fun, welcoming, comfortable place that leaves a lasting impression.”
Here’s what guests can expect from a stay at the new hotel.
A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Attitude
Rather than preplanning every hike and scouring Yelp for restaurant reviews, guests can curate their itinerary on the fly with help from the hotel’s on-site resources. At the lobby’s navigation table, travelers can chat with a trained “adventure scout” to plan a daytrip to the ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park (about an hour west of the property), book guided horseback rides or kayaking excursions on the Animas River, or simply figure out where to grab dinner. “We’re never going to send you down the street to a Starbucks,” Fine says. “We painstakingly curated all the best local spots in Durango and the surrounding region.” The table also includes a collection of regional maps, brochures for vetted local guides, and a shared adventure journal where hotel guests can jot down their favorite experiences and tips for future travelers.
Rustic-Modern Minimalism, Not Four Seasons Luxury
While Boundary by Terra Vi is certainly an upgrade from your dad’s hand-me-down sleeping bag, “I want to be really clear that it’s not opulent,” Fine says. A mix of mango wood furnishings and sleek black-metal fixtures sets an industrial tone, while artwork and decorative accents in bright orange and teal hues adds a playful punch. “All the colors that you see are the jovial versions of anything that you’d find on a nice long hike,” Fine says. The pared-down design creates an approachable atmosphere where you won’t feel out of place wearing your old hiking boots and cozy quarter-zip.
Practicality Where It Counts
Earthy finishes and utilitarian forms continue in the guest rooms, which start at $80 per night. Each space includes a gear storage rack for skis, boards, or hiking poles, a boot tray for stashing muddy kicks, and roomy, walk-in showers for rinsing off the day’s grime. King-size “story rooms” also include water-bottle filling stations, stocked snack bars, and a vinyl record collection to spin while you unwind.
A Neighborly Atmosphere
While you could retreat to your room after the day’s adventures, bumping elbows with other travelers at Boundary is not only encouraged, it’s embedded into the hotel’s design. Outfitted with several seating areas, a grab-and-go snack market, a cafe and bar, and a vinyl listening lounge—where guests can choose from a collection of records curated by DJ Cocoe of Arizona’s Grand Ave Records—the lobby is the hotel’s social hub rather than just a place to grab your room key. “The whole place is super cozy, and it’s meant to be a place that you want to stay for a while and mingle,” Fine says. In the evening, guests can swap stories at the Salamander Circle, an outdoor area featuring a stone fire pit.
