Vail’s Sitzmark Lodge, under new ownership, is ready to welcome old guests and a new generation

Correction: Steve Kisielica’s last name was misspelled in the original version version of this story. That’s been corrected.

The Sitzmark Lodge was 50 years old, with solid bones, when Steve Kisielica and his partners bought the Vail Village hotel in 2022. The property has now been refreshed, renamed the Siitzmark Vail and is ready for a new generation of guests.

Bob and Helen Fritch bought the lodge in 1974, and it stayed in the family until the Fritch’s daughters sold the property a couple of years ago. Kisielica and his partners then went to work looking at ways to improve the place. That work is nearly done, and the 36-room hotel is just about finished.

Kisielica and his partners did a “top to bottom refresh” on the outside of the building, but since the property is a Vail landmark, that came with some challenges.

The Vail Design Review Board asked some hard questions, Kisielica said. Members asked questions that come naturally through a small town rumor mill about whether the building would be torn down or turned into condos.

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“Once they got a chance to see what we were going to do,” the approval process took time, but went more smoothly, he said.

Renovation rundown

The result is what Kisielica called a “modest” upgrade that’s more “user-friendly for guests, and with colors that better fit with Vail Village’s current aesthetic.

Perhaps the biggest change is adding air conditioning to the building, something the original builders would never have thought necessary. The original shared balconies now have dividers to provide privacy for guests.

The most noticeable change to the building’s façade is a flip-out counter so the hotel can have an indoor-outdoor bar.

The work mostly took place while the hotel was open.

The lobby and public areas were done between November and Christmas of 2023, with guests using a temporary lobby. Work paused during the heart of ski season.

The building was closed down starting April 1 and cosmetic work started on the rooms, with some renovations in the mix.

Included in the renovations was the penthouse, which once was the owners’ suite, the Fritch family residence for nearly 50 years.

Jeanne Fritch had recently renovated the penthouse, so much of that work was already done, Kisielica said. The office in the penthouse has been turned into a bunk room for kids, and the entire suite can sleep an entire family, from grandparents to kids.

The renovation created another pair of suites that can sleep between eight and 10 people.

The feedback so far has been “overwhelmingly positive,” Kisielica said. “An older couple checked out this morning to drive back to Texas, and they hugged me as they walked out the door. They’re happy they can stay in a place like this.”

Staying relevant

The important thing, though, is to keep the Sitzmark attractive to both longtime guests and new generations. That requires amenities including air conditioning and wifi.

Kisielica and his partners are no strangers to high-end lodging. The group owns hotels including the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the Waldorf in Chicago. Kisielica said he and his partners looked at some of the attractive parts of those properties and practices and applied them to their boutique property in Vail.

Mark Herron is a longtime veteran of the valley’s lodging industry and is currently a consultant. Herron said upgrades such as the ones done at the Sitzmark are essential for boutique lodges to stay relevant in the market.

Herron noted that the Four Seasons has upgraded its rooms and amenities several times in the relatively short time it’s been in Vail. Smaller properties need to do the same, he said.

“You have to in order to attract that audience,” he said. If properties don’t have the amenities guests demand, “people won’t come back,” he added.