Review: Montage Big Sky, Montana

We recently spent a couple of nights at the Montage Big Sky, as we were in town to attend an event (unrelated to the hotel). I’ve been intrigued by this 139-room resort since it opened in late 2021. Not only was this my first stay at a Montage property, but I was also curious to visit Big Sky, as it was my first time.

So, what was my takeaway from the Montage Big Sky? To be honest, I’m conflicted. There’s a lot I like about this property, like the modern mountain lodge vibe, the cool amenities (like an indoor bowling alley), plus the location, as Big Sky doesn’t otherwise have many luxury resorts (at least not yet). It’s so cool to have a ski-in, ski-out property in winter, and to be in close proximity to Yellowstone National Park and amazing hiking in summer.

However, the reality is that hospitality in the United States often leaves a lot to be desired. You’re nickel-and-dimed at every opportunity possible, and service is inconsistent. So personally I wouldn’t pay to stay here in ski season, since I’d much rather redeem points for another property in the United States, or spend money at a property in Europe, like Airelles Courchevel or Airelles Val d’Isère.

However, I still think if you’re looking to stay in the United States, this might just be among the best ski and mountain resorts. Let’s get into the review.

Booking the Montage Big Sky

The Montage Big Sky is a year-round resort, and as you’d expect, rates vary greatly depending on when you’re staying. They generally range from around $600 per night in shoulder season (early spring and late fall), to over $1,500 per night in peak season (winter). We were staying in early September, which is still a gorgeous time to visit, and the rate was around $1,000 per night (which is what we paid).

Generally the best way to book the Montage Big Sky is through a Virtuoso travel advisor. You’ll pay the same publicly available rate available through the hotel, and receive extra perks, like a room upgrade subject to availability, daily breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom, and a $100 resort credit once during the stay. So that’s how Ford booked us. Ford is happy to help other people with these bookings, and can be reached at [email protected].

For what it’s worth, I find it interesting that Big Sky luxury hotel rates still seem to be a bit lower in peak season than what you’ll pay in places like Aspen and Vail, despite the limited inventory. There’s a One&Only coming to Big Sky soon as well, so I suspect this will become an increasingly popular ski destination for people.

Montage Big Sky location

The Montage is located up a hill from the town of Big Sky, in the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club development, at an altitude of around 7,000 feet. This is a larger development that seems to still have a lot of growth potential.

If you’re visiting in winter, the Montage Big Sky is ski-in, ski-out. Meanwhile if you’re visiting another time of year, the property offers endless hiking in the region, and you’re also under an hour drive from the entrance of Yellowstone National Park. This has to be one of the most luxurious properties in the United States in close proximity to a National Park.

When it comes to flying into Big Sky, the closest major(ish) airport is in Bozeman (BZN), which is a little over an hour drive away. In our case this was part of a larger trip to visit family in Wyoming, so we got there via rental car (we drove there from Cody, which was about a five-hour drive, mostly through Yellowstone National Park).

The Montage Big Sky offers valet parking, at the cost of $55 per night. That seems steep, but hardly surprising for a US resort, as they don’t leave any revenue opportunities on the table.

Lastly, the Montage Big Sky does offer complimentary transportation around town in Cadillac Escalades, and that shuttle service is available throughout the day. Alternatively, the hotel also has mountain bikes that guests can use to get around, should they prefer that.

Montage Big Sky lobby & check-in

I’ve gotta say, I really like the design of the Montage Big Sky, especially as far as mountain lodges go. The property has a modern design with Alpine charm. I love how the hotel feels really modern, while still using lots of wood, and having the “lines” of a mountain lodge, plus lots of fireplaces.

The hotel’s lobby is located on the second floor (as the hotel is built into a mountain), and as soon as you enter, you’re greeted by a gorgeous, big room, with high ceilings and expansive views of the mountains. There’s even outdoor seating with fire pits.

Reception is located inside the entrance and to the right, and there are two desks, where check-in formalities take place. Our check-in process was fairly efficient, though our room wasn’t quite ready. We were offered drinks upon arrival, though just had some water, as it was early in the day. I’ll talk more about service a bit later, since it’s something I found to be a mixed bag here.

Once our room was ready, we headed toward the elevators, located on the opposite end of the lobby. There’s more seating down the hall, and that’s also the same direction as most of the property’s food and beverage outlets.

Montage Big Sky studio king room

We were assigned room 1152, a deluxe vista view studio room, located on the first floor (one level below the lobby). We had actually booked an entry level studio room (it was the cheapest available for our date, but wasn’t that much more expensive than a standard room would’ve cost).

I find the room categories here to be a bit unusual. You have guest rooms, then you have studios, then you have junior suites, then you have one bedroom suites. It’s hard enough to figure out what a suite vs. junior suite is, so I’m not sure how how a studio fits into that.

The hallways at the Montage Big Sky are really long, and our room was located near the end of the hallway, on the left.

I don’t often comment on this, but I have to give the Montage credit for the art throughout the property, which was thoughtful, and had a good sense of place. So many hotels just put totally drab, repetitive art throughout public parts of hotels, but that wasn’t the case here.

Studios at the Montage Big Sky are marketed as being 680-800 square feet (63-74 square meters), so they’re nicely sized. I didn’t feel like the usable space in our room was anywhere near 800 square feet, so I suspect we got a room on the smaller side.

The room had a large entryway with the bathroom to the left, and the rest of the room straight ahead.

The main part of the room boasted a plush king size bed (which I found to be extremely comfortable), a loveseat, and a table with a single chair (I feel like a second chair would’ve been nice).

The room had a wall-mounted TV across from the bed, plus a fireplace underneath it, which could be turned on and off at the push of a button. It’s so nice to have a room with a fireplace!

Then along the wall there was a significant amount of closet space, plus the minibar setup. The minibar had complimentary coffee and tea, plus an impressive selection of drinks and snacks (and bottled oxygen!) for purchase.

Waiting on the table in the room was a lovely welcome amenity, with a charcuterie plate, bottle of sparkling water, tumbler, and two sinfully tasty chocolate chunk cookies.

The bathroom was a good size and elegant, with double sinks, a soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet in a separate room.

Toiletries were from GLOSS MODERNE (why they gotta yell?), and were in reusable containers.

Now, in the interest of being thorough, I was annoyed by some of the quirks of the bathroom (admittedly these are minor points):

• I found the shower controls to be poorly labeled, and for that matter, there was no way to turn the shower on without getting wet, which isn’t ideal, as the controls are underneath the shower head, on the opposite side of where you enter the shower (and there’s only one shower head, and not a handheld wand)
• The water pressure in the sink was really off, to the point that water would always splash all over the place; essentially the water pressure is strong but stream is concentrated, so water just gushes at a 90 degree angle once you put your hand under it

Now, I guess a key feature of our room was the large outdoor area, as that’s the difference between what we booked and the upgraded room we were assigned. While the outdoor space was huge, I didn’t really love it.

This definitely wasn’t the most exciting view, and for that matter, due to the amount of covered outdoor space plus the fairly small door, the room felt pretty dark. There also wasn’t much privacy from the adjacent room.

We actually saw a non-studio during our stay (a lower room category) of someone else staying at the hotel, and I have to say that I far preferred that room. It was brighter, had a much better view, and had the same amount of furniture, just arranged less awkwardly. So while our room was ultimately nice, I’d prefer a more basic room next time.

Montage Big Sky outdoor pool

The Montage Big Sky has a large, heated, resort-style pool, which is one of the bigger ones I’ve seen at a mountain property. In addition to a pool, there are also a couple of large hot tubs, which I imagine are lovely in winter.

The pool also has plenty of seating, plus cabanas that can be rented.

There’s lots of grass around the pool deck, with all kinds of games and other activities, plus a fire pit.

Montage Big Sky spa

The Montage Big Sky has an 11,000 square foot spa, located on the second floor. It really was one of the nicest spas I’ve seen at a resort in the United States.

The catch is twofold:

• Spa treatments are on the very high side priced — we’re talking $280-320 for a 60-minute massage, and that’s without tip (so you’ll pay closer to $350-400 for an hour massage)
• You can only use the spa facilities (including the indoor pool) if you get a treatment or buy a day pass, with the latter costing $75 per person

Look, I’m hardly the most price sensitive or price critical consumer, but these kinds of prices frustrate me. This really gets at how I feel like US properties nickel-and-dime to no end. Europe has some amazing luxury ski properties that are comparably priced (or maybe even more), but at least access to everything is included.

If you’re paying $1,500 per night in ski season to stay at a hotel, you shouldn’t have to pay an extra $75 to use an indoor pool or sauna, in my opinion. Anyway, if/when you get over the cost, you’ll be impressed by the facility. There’s a picturesque indoor pool and hot tub, plus a steam room, sauna, relaxation area, and more.

Montage Big Sky gym

The Montage Big Sky has a gym just off the lobby on the second floor, which can be accessed by guests 24/7. The gym has a solid selection of modern cardio and weight equipment, including Peloton bikes. The gym got a bit busy during some periods, especially in the weights area, but for a mountain resort, I still thought it was solid.

There’s also a yoga room just off the main part of the gym, plus some exercise bikes outside, for those who would like to exercise al fresco (presumably only for a few months per year).

Montage Big Sky skiing, golf, and activities

We were visiting Big Sky in late summer for an event, so we weren’t there to ski or golf. However, let me emphasize that the property offers ski-in, ski-out facilities, since I know the destination is most popular in winter. Big Sky Resort has 5,800 skiable acres, which get around 400″ of snow each year.

The Montage Big Sky also has an 18-hole golf course, which many people seem to like, though I’m not a golfer.

While I didn’t have a chance to check out all the activities, the Montage Big Sky really does offer a lot, from a kids club, to a golf simulator, to complimentary s’mores in the evenings.

Montage Big Sky dining

The Montage Big Sky has a pretty impressive array of dining venues. We weren’t there for long and were quite busy, so didn’t have a chance to actually eat or drink at most of them, though I’ll still provide a rundown. To cover the basics:

• Cortina is the Montage’s signature restaurant, serving Italian food, and it’s open for breakfast and dinner
• Alpenglow is the Montage’s all-day lobby bar, serving drinks and light meals
• Wildflower Market is the Montage’s grab & go market, where you can pick up a coffee, sandwich, pastry, or a variety of other things
• Beartooth Bar & Rec is essentially a sports bar with some cool amenities

Let’s take a closer look at these venues…

Montage Big Sky Cortina Restaurant

Cortina is open for breakfast and dinner. In the mornings, the restaurant serves standard breakfast fare, while in the evenings, the hotel serves traditional Italian dishes. The restaurant is located on the second floor, just off the lobby. I’ve heard some say that Cortina is Big Sky’s best restaurant in the evenings, though I can’t speak to that.

The restaurant is quite nice physically, if not a big generic. We had breakfast here both mornings (since it was included, as we booked through Virtuoso).

You can find the Montage Big Sky breakfast menu below.

Upon sitting down, we were offered tasty mini-muffins.

The drinks were quite good, including the cappuccino.

One morning, I ordered the house smoked salmon and bagel, while Ford had the shakshuka. Ford enjoyed his shakshuka, though my bagel wasn’t quite as good, as it didn’t taste like it had been baked the same day.

The next morning I just had the omelet, served with toast and potatoes (well, sort of… more on that below).

Montage Big Sky Alpenglow Bar

Alpenglow is the all-day lobby lounge, with plenty of seating, cozy fireplaces, and live music in the evenings. It’s a cozy space, and I wish I had more time to hang out here.

Montage Big Sky Wildflower Market

If you’re just looking for a quick drink or snack, Wildflower Market is for you, as it’s open from early in the morning until the evening. This is essentially a grab and go market, where you can get everything from a barista coffee, to a sandwich, to a bottle of wine.

This has an open kitchen concept, and it seems that many of the hotel’s pastries and other baked goods are made here. They really seem to put a lot of effort into this, and that’s also why I was disappointed by the bagel at breakfast, since it seemed like it could’ve been much better.

One thing I love is that Wildflower Market has complimentary coffee, tea, and muffins, from 5AM until 10AM. I wish more hotels would do something like this.

Montage Big Sky Beartooth Pub & Rec

Beartooth Pub & Rec is open in the afternoons and evenings, and is located on the first floor. This is a sports bar, with casual food options (burger, sandwiches, salads, etc.), plus a full bar.

There are a couple of things that make this space super special. For one, it has an indoor bowling alley, with four lanes. It’s not often you see that at a resort, so what a fun feature!

There’s also an area with billiards and arcade games, so this is fun for visitors of all ages.

Montage Big Sky in-room dining

We decided to order a pizza from in-room dining as a snack one afternoon. Well, at least that was the plan. So We chose the margherita pizza, described as having buffala mozzarella, san marzano tomato, and basil. Instead, we got an absolutely massive pizza in a box, which was a cheese pizza, and not a good one at that. It wasn’t even properly cooked, and the cheese was literally falling off the undercooked dough. You’d expect better from a luxury hotel, no?

Montage Big Sky service

Look, let me cut to the chase — the United States just doesn’t really have a service culture when it comes to luxury hotels. No matter how luxurious a hotel claims to be, I find that service is inconsistent at best. Perhaps this section is more a reflection of my general thoughts on service at hotels in the United States, as many of these issues aren’t exclusive to this property.

I don’t want to suggest service during our stay was awful, but it just wasn’t great, and wasn’t what I’d hope for from a hotel of this caliber. This is also why I prefer top ski resorts in France, where service is actually flawless.

Most staff were well intentioned and friendly, so I want to be sure to acknowledge that. Most of the front office staff were American, while a majority of other staff were foreigners, coming from all over the globe, from Bolivia, to South Africa, to the Philippines. That’s not necessarily good or bad, but I’m just trying to set the general scene, as that’s common at these kinds of resorts.

The first thing I didn’t love about the service was that it felt highly scripted and canned, kind of like at a US Ritz-Carlton. It doesn’t seem like employees can really express themselves in an authentic way, and to me that kind of takes away from the concept of hospitality.

Just to give an example of the way that staff communicated, when asking for a signature at check-in, the front office associate said “may I have the pleasure of your signature?” Look, I get it’s supposed to sound nice, and maybe it’s personal preference, but this kind of service makes me roll my eyes. I’d much rather be treated with genuine warmth at a Waffle House, rather than this kind of insincere service.

Similarly, when we arrived, we were told that housekeeping was still working on our room, and that they’d let us know when our room was ready. Only after specifically inquiring whether the person had checked out of the room yet were we informed that the previous guest hadn’t yet left. Fair enough, but why not just give us the truth and help us manage expectations? In fairness, the room did end up being turned pretty quickly, and was ready within two hours.

On the second day, we left our room at 9AM, and called the front desk to ask for housekeeping to clean our room ASAP. That’s because we had gotten up really early (before 4AM, as usual), and wanted to be able to take a nap in the afternoon, prior to an event we were attending.

The phone operator said that she’d send someone right away to take care of it. We returned two hours later, only to find that no one had shown up. At this point Ford called again and spoke to the same person who had taken the initial request, and she said that she had put in the request, but had no further explanation. Fair enough, it’s not her fault, but at a true luxury property, they actually take care of something when you ask for it.

So Ford asked her if she could please check with housekeeping about when they could service our room, and to call us back ASAP so that we could plan our day. After two hours, she hadn’t called back. Eventually we just took our nap anyway, only to be woken up hours later, shortly after falling asleep.

Next, at breakfast I ordered a veggie omelet. I said “I’d like all the veggies, but none of the cheese, or other stuff.” When I cut into my omelet, I discovered there was bacon and other meat. The guy was apologetic and had a great tone, and they made me a new omelet. But when they delivered it, they did so without the toast or potatoes, which were on the plate they initially took away. Hey, I mean, I’m better off for not having the carbs, but it shows a lack of attention to detail.

This is of course all minor, but my point is that there’s a lack of attention to detail for a property of this price point.

Now, I do have to give credit to Albin, the assistant front office manager, who was really professional with how he handled the situation. He welcomed feedback and was apologetic. He even sent up an extra amenity in the evening to apologize (which wasn’t necessary, but was a nice touch regardless). Then when we checked out, another manager also met Ford, and removed some incidentals from our bill, without asking (again, not necessary, as we weren’t looking for anything, other than to hopefully give them training opportunities).

Anyway, a lot of reviews I’ve read of the Montage Big Sky reference hit-or-miss service, and that matches our experience. While staff are well intentioned, it just doesn’t seem like many US properties can actually deliver exceptional service.

In the case of the Montage, I feel like it’s a problem of both too much training and too little training. It seems many staff are trained with how they should structure sentences, rather than how to provide detail oriented service from the heart.

Bottom line

The Montage Big Sky is a great addition to the US luxury mountain resort scene, as it’s the first of what I’m sure will be many luxury hotels in the area. The Montage has a lot going for it, like a beautiful design, a big selection of food and beverage outlets, and an impressive array of amenities.

Big Sky is also awesome for what a year-round destination it is, whether you want to golf and visit Yellowstone National Park in summer, or want to ski in winter.

If you love skiing in the United States and don’t mind the prices, then the Montage Big Sky is a good option, and I’d say in many ways I prefer it to the hotels in Aspen and Deer Valley. It’s also fun to visit a different area, and I thought Big Sky was awesome.

However, personally I far prefer mountain resorts in Europe, where the service, inclusions, and restaurants, are simply in a completely different league. In this case we had to be in Big Sky, so I’m thrilled I had the chance to check out this hotel. But it’s not a property we’re looking to put on our list to return to for winter skiing. That’s an area where Courchevel simply can’t be beat, if we’re going to drop this kind of cash.

What’s your take on the Montage Big Sky?