Rates: From $1,500 during high season (December through March); from $1,100 during off-peak season (June to September)
The Afar take
One&Only Moonlight Basin is a compelling new year-round base for nature lovers who appreciate comfort and design without giving up the wild. Considerable thought has gone into the guest experience, even when at times it doesn’t feel effortless.
Set on 240 acres in southwest Montana just outside the Big Sky resort community, the property is Dubai-based luxury hotel group One&Only’s first U.S. venture and first alpine resort. It’s backed by Lone Peak on one side and the Spanish Peaks on another, and sits within the 3-million acre Gallatin National Forest. Thanks to thoughtful design from Seattle-based architectural firm Olson Kundig, the wilderness stays front and center.
Design aside, the big draw is access to outdoor activities, especially in winter. I grew up in Germany skiing in the Alps, which tend to have smaller and more interconnected resort areas than the United States, and was delighted to see how seamless an experience One&Only’s hotel-to-slope experience was. Big Sky offers 5,850-skiable acres, making it one of the largest ski resorts in the country, and One&Only’s heated gondola whisks guests from the Sky Lodge to the Madison Base ski area in less than five minutes.
Who’s One&Only Moonlight Basin for?
One&Only Moonlight Basin’s 19 freestanding cabin accommodations all have private outdoor spaces.
Courtesy of One&Only Moonlight Basin
Families and nature-focused travelers who value outdoor pursuits as much as they do great design and fine farm-to-table dining.
Who it isn’t for
Travelers who prize independence and spontaneity. Transportation by electric buggy around the spread-out grounds is free and can be arranged via text or call with reception or via each guest’s dedicated two-person host team, but be aware that there can be a wait during peak hours. While some heated walkways make on-foot navigation possible, several venues, including the Moonshack bar and observatory, are set deeper in the woods and aren’t accessible on foot.
The location: Big Sky, Montana
At roughly 7,000 feet in elevation, the retreat is in the Big Sky mountain resort community in Montana, 90 minutes by car from the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) and an hour’s drive from the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. About half of the guests arrive via their own transportation, but those without a car can arrange private transfers through the hotel (from $450) or book with third-party companies such as Big Sky Country Transport.
One&Only sits within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems on Earth. Staff recounted moose, elk, and bear sightings to me, and one of the highlights of my trip was relaxing in my hot tub, only to see a fox out of the corner of my eye casually sauntering past.
The resort’s heated gondola whisks guests from the Sky Lodge to the Madison Base ski area in less than five minutes.
The rooms, suites, cabins, and private homes
The private home terraces with firepits allow travelers to connect better with nature in comfort.
Courtesy of One&Only Moonlight Basin
Accommodations include 73 guest rooms and suites in the central lodge, plus 19 freestanding cabins; four- to six-bedroom private homes are available for rent on the property, too. Designed by Olson Kundig, all feature local stone and wood finishes, private outdoor space (either a balcony or terrace), and a generous walk-in closet designed for outdoor gear, such as ski boots or fly-fishing waders.
In my cabin, floor-to-ceiling windows framed views of the Spanish Mountains, while staggered placement ensured privacy despite close proximity to my neighbors. The layout is well planned: The bedroom-lounge occupies most of the footprint and the kitchen and bathroom are set to either side. The bathroom was generously sized with double sinks, a soaking tub, a separate toilet stall, and a shower room offering both a handheld nozzle and rain shower. The latter, however, was mounted so high that even at almost six feet tall, I still was about four feet from the showerhead and found the pressure underwhelming.
The food and drink
Much of the dining is centered on Montana ranch cuisine.
Photo by Rupert Peace (L); courtesy of One&Only Moonlight Basin (R)
Moonlight Basin has three restaurants, two bars, and a grab-and-go café. At the Sky Lodge, the social hub where guests catch the heated gondola, the Landing serves seasonally driven American dishes for breakfast, lunch, après-ski, and dinner, with a focus on Montana sourcing and products. (Look for the list of farmers on the menu.) Its open kitchen, long bar, and slope-facing windows make it a lively après-ski hub, and a post-slopes schnitzel with cucumber salad was one of my best meals this winter.
Wildwood, the Main Lodge restaurant, leans even more into Montana ranch cuisine, spotlighting such ingredients as river trout, bison, and elk. The “head-to-tail” ravioli (made with beef shank, short rib, and oxtail) is a worthy staff recommendation. The space—which evokes a California coastal aesthetic thanks to blond wood, seafoam-colored seating, and driftwood galore—doubles as the breakfast room, where a generous buffet (house-made granola with Montana honey and berries; cinnamon rolls) is complemented by à la carte options like wild-mushroom omelettes.
Akira Back has the most buzz of all the restaurants. A modern Japanese Korean fusion dining experience, it is led by the chef and former professional snowboarder who shares the restaurant’s name; his previous Dosa in Seoul was awarded a Michelin star. (It’s now closed.) Here, you’ll find everything from dry-aged beef and prime wagyu steaks to fresh sushi.
For drinks, Dear Josephine, named after a historic Montana bootlegger, is a sleek and quiet cocktail bar in the Main Lodge, while Moonshack, a rollicking cigar and whiskey cabin hidden in the woods, requires a buggy ride and remains guests only for now.
Staff and service
The majority of staff members are drawn to the property for its outdoor lifestyle (many told me they were skiing or snowboarding on every day off they had.) Service was warm and welcoming in the main lodge and restaurants, but it rarely felt proactive on their part: I regularly had to approach the front desk to find someone to speak with and flag down a waiter, despite there always being a number of employees positioned at various points in the room. My two dedicated hosts were more intentional: After a day of skiing, I texted to ask if they would turn on my hot tub, and when I returned to my room, found that they’d also switched on the fireplace and filled the bath.
Accessibility
Rooms and suites across accommodation types are ADA compliant, and most public areas are step-free, with paved, wheelchair-accessible paths and elevators in major buildings. Getting to and from the Moonshack and observatory, both uphill and unpaved, would be challenging. For more details, call 406 993-3400.
Dark sky viewing
One&Only Moonlight Basin offers stargazing sessions with a state-of-the-art telescope system.
Courtesy of One&Only
Above the Moonshack sits an observatory offering guided stargazing sessions. In the 16-foot dome is a PlaneWave CDK700 telescope system that can be programmed by remote control. (There are only around 10 in use across the country, mostly at research institutions and colleges such as Harvard and Penn State.) On the night I visited, we sat inside the wood dome with hot chocolate, taking turns looking through the telescope at Saturn and its moons, the Pleiades, and Castor and Pollux of the Gemini constellation.
Make a trip of it
While winter travel here revolves around skiing at Big Sky—one of the largest ski resorts in the country, with direct gondola access from the property—the resort’s proximity to Yellowstone National Park makes it an easy base for spring or summer exploration, with fly-fishing towns like Ennis offering a natural extension to the trip.
Afar was a guest of One&Only Moonlight Basin. Our coverage is independent; the hotel did not review or approve this story.
