A rooftop telescope: The Observatory, A Viceroy Resort opens in Ketchum, Idaho, from €665

The Observatory, A Viceroy Resort opened its doors on 30 October 2026 in Ketchum, the town at the foot of the Sun Valley ski resort, in Idaho. Its signature feature, a domed telescope on the roof, is not yet open to guests, and neither is the spa. The rooms, however, can be booked from €665 ($743) a night for two, taxes included.

☰Contents

1. Open since 30 October in the heart of Ketchum
2. A 43 cm telescope on the roof
3. When will the spa and residences open?
4. 73 rooms and the photographs of Dick Durrance
5. Joan, Jerry’s Bar and a café: where to eat
6. From €665 a night, with the First Light offer

Open since 30 October in the heart of Ketchum

The hotel’s official website gives 30 October 2026 as the opening date; the brand’s opening press release is dated 2 November. The resort stands at 300 River Street East, in the heart of Ketchum, the small town that serves as the gateway to Sun Valley. When Viceroy Hotels & Resorts unveiled it in May 2025, the project was still called The Harriman, a Viceroy Resort.

The architecture is by de Reus Architects, with Hornberger+Worstell as executive architect, and the interiors are by FDG Design Group, led by Fatima Silva. The developer is Jack Bariteau, with Andrew Blank as majority shareholder. The brand is also preparing the Viceroy Park Avenue hotel in New York, and has brought Anne Semonin Paris into the spa at its Viceroy at Ombria Algarve resort, in Portugal.

A 43 cm telescope on the roof

The hotel takes its name from its observatory. On the roof, a 12.5-foot rotating Ash Dome, about 3.8 m across, houses a 17-inch PlaneWave telescope, about 43 cm, paired with astrophotography cameras. The website places it beneath the skies of the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, and sessions are to be led by the hotel’s resident astrophotographer, Travis Amick.

For now, however, the observatory is not yet open: the official website states that these experiences are coming soon and are not yet available to guests. In the meantime, the rooms stream a video feed of the night sky.

When will the spa and residences open?

The 5,000 sq ft spa, about 465 m², is still under construction; the hotel says it will open later this autumn. It will bring together an indoor thermal pool, a cold plunge, a dry sauna, a steam room and six treatment rooms, with massages from about €233 ($260) for 60 minutes. The hotel also lists a Technogym fitness room of about 111 m².

The 12 single-level penthouse residences announced by Viceroy are marked ‘coming soon’ on the website, as are meetings, events and weddings. For swimming, the resort has a hot tub and an outdoor pool heated all year round.

73 rooms and the photographs of Dick Durrance

According to Viceroy, the resort has 73 rooms and suites. Guests choose between six room categories, including the Deluxe King of 32 to 37 m² and Mountain View Kings with or without a balcony, and three suite categories, from the Studio Suite to the Durrance Suite. All combine natural materials, bespoke artworks and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Photographs by Dick Durrance, son of an alpine skiing pioneer, hang throughout the hotel and in every room; one suite category is even named the Durrance Suite.

Joan, Jerry’s Bar and a café: where to eat

The Joan restaurant is named after Joan Blank, an artist, philanthropist and horsewoman from Ketchum. From 5pm to 9pm it serves refined American cuisine, based on local produce and cooked over a wood fire. Next door, Jerry’s Bar is open from 4pm to 10pm, with live music on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In the morning, the Odin’s Corner café serves Intelligentsia coffee from 7am to 1pm, and Andy’s Watershed doubles as the pool bar. Room service runs from 7am to 10pm.

From €665 a night, with the First Light offer

On the official website, a Deluxe King can be booked from €665 ($743) a night for two, taxes included, for the night of 9 to 10 December 2026, at the prepaid rate; allow €830 ($927) at the flexible rate. Prices checked on 9 November 2026, converted at the ECB rate of 6 November 2026 (€1 = $1.1165).

For the opening, the First Light offer gives 20% off and a daily dining credit of about €22 ($25), for a minimum two-night stay. Elsewhere in the United States, another mountain resort is also enjoying its first winter: Kindred, in Keystone, Colorado.