I had the chance to spend a day at Juniper, a 10-acre boutique lodge in Evergreen, Colorado that is quietly becoming something extraordinary: the state’s first-ever treehouse hotel.
What struck me most wasn’t just the craftsmanship of the treehouses, the thoughtful interiors, or the postcard-worthy spaces spread across the property. It was the story — and the resilience behind it.
Owners Alea and Ashley bought the property back in 2019. It was a traditional bed & breakfast with good bones, but not much else. No hospitality background. No investors. No roadmap for building a collection of modern, architecturally inspired treehouses in the Colorado mountains.
But they had:
- A shared vision
- A willingness to learn
- And a relentless commitment to guest experience
Six years later, that vision is becoming real — one treehouse at a time.
Designing an Experience, Not Just a Place to Sleep
Walking the property, it’s clear that nothing is accidental.
Every treehouse is crafted around a theme or an emotion — awe, ascent, grounding — the feelings you experience in the mountains. Their interior designer, Danielle Livingston, helped translate those concepts into architecture, material palettes, and sensory moments that stay with you long after checkout.
Alea told me something that stuck:
“Adults don’t get many chances to feel that childlike sense of magic. The treehouses give them that — but elevated, intentional, and deeply comfortable.”
That is experiential hospitality, distilled.
The Hard Stuff Nobody Sees
Behind the scenes, their journey mirrors many entrepreneurs who choose the long, difficult path instead of shortcuts:
- 18-foot-deep utility trenches carved into mountainside
- Multi-year planning and permitting
- Balancing operations while living on-site
- Re-designing systems to shift from a B&B to a boutique hotel
- Managing neighbors, regulations, septic, soundproofing, durability — the unglamorous but essential details of real hospitality
What impressed me most is their mindset:
“We could’ve done it faster. But we didn’t want to half-build the dream. We wanted to do it right.”
There’s a rare integrity in that.
Hospitality Is Storytelling
As someone who works in architecture and hospitality development daily, I’ve always believed design comes alive when paired with narrative.
Juniper proves this.
Guests aren’t just renting a room. They’re buying into a story — of grit, craftsmanship, and people willing to go all-in on creating something meaningful.
Alea and Ashley don’t hide behind the scenes. They talk to guests. Share the before and after. Celebrate wins. Admit the hard days. And because of that, people feel connected to the place long before they arrive.
In a world of transactional stays, that human connection is a competitive advantage.
The Advice Every Hospitality Entrepreneur Should Hear
When I asked what they’d tell someone starting a similar project, their answer was simple but profound:
Invite people along for the ride. Your guests. Your neighbors. Your county. Your team.
Transparency builds community — and community builds longevity.
And second:
Persistence beats expertise. You don’t need to know everything on day one. You need the willingness to keep going when the easy path tells you to stop.
Why This Story Matters
Hospitality is changing quickly. Travelers want something deeper than accommodations — they want meaning, connection, and intentional experiences rooted in place.
Projects like Juniper remind us that:
- Small can be powerful
- Design and emotion must co-exist
- Authenticity always wins
- And great hospitality starts long before a guest opens the door
Alea said something I’ll be thinking about for a long time:
“We want to be rooted and familiar — but we also want to go against the norm, because the norm isn’t good enough.”
That, to me, is radical hospitality.
If you’re curious to hear the full conversation — including the behind-the-scenes challenges, their philosophy on guest experience, and how they navigated six years of development — the episode is now live.
Would love to hear: What does “radical hospitality” mean to you?
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