Inside The Exclusive $400 Million Hoback Club’s Ultra-Luxe Teton Village Homes

TETON VILLAGE — At first, the glowing crystal in the hallway outside the Hoback Club’s spa didn’t seem real. 

It’s 3 feet across and stands almost waist-high. Each of its massive spires jutting upward is bigger than a man’s forearm — bigger than my own arms — yet somehow flawless.

They look like giant quartz crystals, but I’ve never seen any this big.

Where, I wondered aloud to the spa hostess who was about to introduce me to Reiki, does one even find a quartz crystal this big and so perfect? And how much did it cost?

She didn’t know the answer to any of that. Later, when I’m given a tour of the Hoback Club and its 25 private club condominiums, I ask again about the large and beautiful stone. 

“That was purchased,” Nelson Veiga told me. He is the club’s sommelier and director of its food and beverage program.

“This beautiful piece of quartz was one of the first things in the club," he said.

It may have been one of the first, but it certainly was not the last treasure brought in to decorate this ultra-luxury space called the Hoback Club, which opened in January in Teton Village. 

Veiga wouldn’t say how much the Hoback Club cost to build.

Later I found it online, described in the Wyoming Engineering & Surveying Society’s annual Project of the Year awards as a 250,000-square-foot private, ski-in/ski-out residence club that cost more than $400 million to build.

That makes it “one of the largest and most expensive places ever constructed in Wyoming,” the project overview submitted to the Surveying Society states. 

Every inch of this complex is filled with custom, high-end touches.

They ranged from cinematic, black-and-white Knox Cronenberg images, which hung on the walls outside the residences, to that wondrously large quartz crystal. 

It lit up the entry way to the spa with a yellowish glow that felt vaguely space-age. Its price remained secret and mysterious to the end of my tour. 

Ultimate Deluxe Apartments

Jackson Hole isn’t a place that lacks for ultra-luxury experiences. But Hoback Club is on a whole new level. 

Its collection of 25 multi-million-dollar, 6,000-square-foot residences sit at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, offering a rare ski-in, ski-out property. 

The Gros Ventre Trail spills out onto a platform on the backside of the Hoback Club, where valets stand by to take your skies. Stay on the trail, meanwhile, and it takes you back to the ski lifts for another run.

“You don’t even have to touch (your skis),” Veiga said. “We will put them on the racks, the whole bit, and you tell them, ‘We’re going for lunch,” or, “We’re done for the day, but we’ll be back at 8 a.m.”

The valet will have the skis ready and waiting whenever you return. 

Not to worry if your skis hit a little rock and need some waxing, by the way. The valet will also ensure your skis are repaired in timely fashion for the next round of adventures.

Large lockers store boots and other gear near the ski jump-off point in roomy locker rooms that are near several hot tubs for that warming “apres” soak. 

Don’t forget to stop by the mini-fridge on the way out. There’s a choice of Fiji water, sodas, or juices. Grab a few snacks, too, from the basket of protein bars and other treats. 

This is an all-inclusive experience for members and their guests. It’s “free.” You won’t pay anything in addition to your annual membership or rental fee.

Sold Out Before Built

All 25 of the Hoback Club's residences were sold prior to construction. None are available now. Veiga said each residence costs upwards of $25 million for something with four or more bedrooms or in the low teens for something with two to three.

Memberships that allow one to visit and use the club’s amenities are still available at two levels, starting at $150,000 per year. That’s $12,500 per month, if you’re curious.

Mountain Membership will buy ski-in, ski-out access, as well as use of the spa, the pools, the gym, and a spot in the parking garage. The latter is the most coveted of all, because there’s not much open parking in the area.

Dining membership covers only the fifth floor, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served, as well as the right to book event spaces for birthdays or other private parties. No spa, no pools, no parking spot.

Residences As Money-Makers

Hoback Club has a unique marketing angle for its residential owners. Each suite has been designed with “lockable” bedroom suites. This means they can be closed off from the main residence and rented out as overnight stays. 

“Why not buy when you could rent and then it becomes income as opposed to expense?” Veiga asked.

The price for rentals starts at $9,000 per night and ranges to $20,000 per night for a minimum four-night stay, in a place that’s pretty swanky, even by celebrity standards. 

Each unit boasts polished Brazilian marble, as well as luxury brands such as Wolf ranges and Sub-Zero refrigerators and freezers. Warm wood trim outlines each room, and the finishes feel cozy and chic.

There’s obsessive attention to detail. 

For example, there are no drains in any of the bathroom floors. The water runs out through the tile itself, into small squares that have been cut flush with the stone. These are all but invisible, unless you’ve told what to look for. 

Blackout shades can close bedrooms down to pitch black at the touch of a button. A Lutron system runs the lighting throughout the residence, with a single welcome button at the entry that can turn the entire residence on or off. 

“It’s welcome and goodbye all at once,” Veiga said. 

Chemical-free soaps are stocked for the rental program, and the bathrooms are all finished in northern European wood and sandstone tile. 

One master bath even has a soaking tub set inside the shower. 

“It’s very sexy to be bathing while you’re showering,” Veiga suggested. 

Every unit also opens onto its own keyed, smart elevator. Punch in your destination before entering the elevator, and it will do all the rest, sending you on your way to spa, to pools, to the restaurant — all without ever passing through a lobby of any kind. 

More Than Just Money

You cannot simply book a night to stay at the Hoback Club, even if your wallet can handle the minimum $36,000 four-night stay.

There’s a screening process before they’ll take your money. That’s partly because ultra-wealthy people and celebrities stay here, and the club wants to ensure their privacy is respected. 

“I guess the baseline is, if you know the owner, then of course, you’re more than welcome to rent, no questions asked,” Veiga said. 

But otherwise, there will be questions, and preference will be given to people who are members of the Platinum Clubs of America. 

“If you have a club culture, you’ll know how clubs are expected to be, how you dress, how you behave,” he said. “The club mentality is a conduct of rules and consideration of co-members who also share the same space that you’re sharing.”

That keeps club living a “better side of life,” he added.

Wellness Is Part Of The Air

Health and wellness are woven into life at Hoback Club, starting with the very air its members and guests breathe.

“We’ve got air scrubbers and all kinds of filters and UV filters,” Veiga said. “The water is extremely filtered.”

So filtered, Veiga likes to call it “Hoback Spring Water.”

“It’s purified,” he said. “But not reverse osmosis where you remove everything from the water. We want you to still have the natural experience, but we pull out all the harmful chemicals.”

The wellness concept doesn’t stop with air and water. There’s a showpiece spa that includes a multi-million-dollar Himalayan salt room. 

All four of the walls in the salt room are genuine salt brick, floor-to-ceiling. Guests can choose the color of light that illuminates those walls, but they are mostly show. The real work is not done by the salted brick. It’s done by a hidden machine that’s actively dispersing salt particulates into the air.

“It’s an unbelievable, therapeutic way to treat all of your external body, your hair, your eyes, as well as your skin,” Veiga said. “People love that Himalayan salt. People can’t see it, but it sure is comfy in there, and so I take them outside to show them the vent. We have to clean that on a regular basis because it’s crusted in salt.”

Everything about the spa, which includes sauna rooms as well as hot and cold plunges, is state-of-the-art. 

That doesn’t just apply to the equipment.  

“The Reiki is the best you’re going to receive,” Veiga said. “And our therapists are among the best, not only in the area, but in the world.”

Gold medal champions come to the spa for massage therapy, Veiga added, and they use the workout facilities, too, which includes specialized equipment such as a treadmill where one can both run and lift weights at the same time.

“We have U.S. ski team professionals who come here with their trainers,” Veiga said with a chuckle. “And they’re used to getting more massages in a month than I’ll ever get in my life.”

Exclusive Wines, Wholesale Prices

Veiga’s own department is the wine cellar. When he talks about it, there’s no underselling. 

“There isn’t a wine list like this in the West,” he said proudly. “We have the best vintages going back to the 1980s. I have ports going back to the 1960s.”

His collection features more than 500 labels, including Bordeaux and Burgundy from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leroy. 

His most expensive pour starts around $40,000, but there are also plenty of fine wines that won’t break the bank. That’s because the club buys wholesale and sells at what Veiga calls “club prices.”

“So, we’re below retail,” he explained. “If you were to go to a store and buy it, it would cost you more than the club price.”

Veiga has toured Brush Creek Ranch’s wine cellar and speaks of it admiringly. 

“It’s a very nicely done collection,” he said, but added, “They’re missing some of my wines.”

Dining at Hoback Club is equally special, Veiga added. The chefs are flying in tuna from Japan, oysters from Massachusetts, and halibut from Alaska. 

Culinary nights are held regularly to explore cuisine more deeply. The last was built around some of chef Thomas Keller’s famous restaurants: The French Laundry, Per Se, and Bouchon Bistro.

Moose Like The Club, Too

Keys are required for exterior ski-in, ski-out doors at Hoback Club. That’s not just for the sake of security. 

When the exterior doors were left open, moose were finding their way into the complex.

There’s no standard lobby or reception area on site, however. The Hoback Club team knows who guests are before they arrive. 

Veiga is often asked whether the founders of Hoback Club plan to build a similar club somewhere else.

“There will never be another one like this,” he said. “This one was built with a lot of care and expenses. This is what the founders and owners desired, so they put it in. Unless you’re building a home and want all of these types of amenities and have the means to do it, this is really not the way a residential property would spend money.”

Veiga, like other staff members who work at the Hoback Club, doesn’t live there. He lives in Wilson. 

“These units are out of my price range,” he said with a chuckle. “As you can imagine.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.