When Mike Art bought this "turn of the century" hotel 26 years ago, one fellow advised him to
capitalize on its previous bordello reputation by bringing in "gals and gambling."
Art opted instead for chintz and old furniture. "We've tried to stay in the 19th century,"
he says. Rooms in the older section have neither TVs or phones, and not all have private baths.
Natural hot springs feed two swimming pools and provide hot water for the main lodge. Cold
drinking water comes from a nearby spring, and Art says in the "old days" a resident doctor swore
by it. Chico is 29 miles from the north entrance to Yellowstone.
The lodge handles meetings and groups, mostly local, from Montana and the Northwest. Art is
adding another wing and building a new convention center, doubling his meeting space to handle
between 250 and 300 people. New additions will have computer modems, and there are phones in
some of the chalets and cabins. For the most part, however, it is a TV and phone-free zone for
fly-fishing, cross country skiing, and dogsledding.
A vegetable garden and spring-heated greenhouse provide Chico's restaurant with fresh veggies and
herbs. "We like to think that we're the first ones to bring fine food to this area," Art says.
"We have an excellent wine cellar and wonderful fresh fish but still serve good old steaks and
cowboy stuff."