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Aspen View Lodge changes hands as new owners renovate rare county property

The Aspen View Lodge at the base of Rabbit Ears Pass recently changed owners, and will drop the bed and breakfast aspect and become a full-time vacation rental with 10 bedrooms and a newly renovated kitchen. The Boulder-area owners Jeremiah and Chelsea Brodal bought the property, which also has an owner-caretaker unit, from John and Diane Overstreet who moved to the Front Range.
Colorado Group Realty

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The Aspen View Lodge at the foot of Rabbit Ears is now a nightly vacation rental and will no longer offer the bed and breakfast experience under new owners. 

Chelsea and Jeremiah Brodal of Erie, east of Boulder, fell in love with the 10-bed, 12-bath lodge on their first visit this Spring.

“When we stepped onto the property, both Jeremiah and I were both sold on the views. We thought it was incredible,” said Chelsea.



The Brodals are making the Aspen View Lodge a family affair. Chelsea’s parents will be the on-site managers and live in the caretaking unit after moving from North Dakota. The Brodals will be able to see her parents a lot more and bring guests any time the lodge isn’t rented.

In fact, Chelsea’s parents retired a year early from their jobs in North Dakota so they could be closer. They’re looking at running the large vacation home rental as a new adventure.



“We’ve had nothing but good experiences with everybody. All the guests have been amazing, from all around the U.S.,” said Chelsea’s mother Cheryl Gamel. 

The Brodals have already remodeled the kitchen and Chelsea’s parents can often be seen working on the lodge’s beautiful exterior and landscaping during their spare time. 

In North Dakota, Chelsea’s mom worked in federal court while her dad was a welder fabricator, but she said her parents are naturals for the job and are getting good reviews from this summer’s guests.

Bruce and Cheryl Gamel moved to the Rabbit Ears area from North Dakota to help run the Aspen View Lodge, recently bought by their daughter and son-in-law Chelsea and Jeremiah Brodal. The Brodals remodeled the property’s huge kitchen and installed pro appliances to better serve large groups of vacationers.
Frances Hohl

“You know … that ‘North Dakota nice.’ It’s their nature, and my mom is very much a caretaker,” said Chelsea.

“They’re getting better reviews than the property itself,” added Jeremiah.

Since the Brodals are renting out the whole house and not just single rooms, they’re targeting group gatherings like weddings, corporate retreats, family reunions and recreational groups that travel together.

“The house has good bones, but we plan to continue to do updates for the entire property,” said Chelsea. “Nothing major, just a little facelift, and furnishings will be updated in the near future.”

The house includes a floor to ceiling fireplace in the great room, a hot tub and outdoor pit where moose, deer, fox and bears can be seen passing by.

Chelsea said the Aspen View Lodge is one of the few rental properties in Routt County that is zoned commercial, and is legal to rent out via VRBO or Airbnb. They say it’s a great way for visitors to be out in the “country” but only 15 minutes from town.

“The layout is great for groups, and the views sitting on the couches and looking out, seeing Steamboat through the aspen trees … it’s quite amazing,” said Chelsea.

The Aspen View Lodge was first built in the 1970s as a dorm for a private boarding school on Sky Valley Drive just off U.S. Highway 40. The lodge is 8,640 square feet, including a 3-bedroom 3-bath caretaker unit that sits on 1.64 acres. The Brodals bought it for $1.24 million from John and Diane Overstreet who now live on the Front Range.

The new owners, Chelsea and Jeremiah Brodal moved to Colorado 13 years ago for jobs and never left.  

Ironically, Jeremiah stopped skiing in Colorado once he moved to the Boulder area, but said the new property is all the reason he needs to get back on the slopes.

“As soon as you move to Colorado, you think ‘it’s easy, I’ll do that next week, oh I’ll do that next week’ and pretty soon it’s July,” said Jeremiah.

Visit aspenviewlodge.com for more information.

Frances Hohl is a contributing writer for Steamboat Pilot & Today.


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