Beryl • What do a Broadway singing star, a mixed martial arts fighter and secret-keeping Mormon wives have in common?
As unlikely as it may seem, they all have taken a shine to an otherworldly 240-acre retreat for sci-fi adventure and solitude seekers that Idaho businessman Travis Chambers has carved out of the remote Utah desert 50 miles west of Cedar City.
Welcome to Outpost X, which opened last March and The Salt Lake Tribune profiled earlier this month.
Stellar visitors
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Damien Haro drives a cart made to look like a landspeeder at OutpostX near Beryl on Tuesday, Nov 26, 2024.
As new as it is, the Star Wars-like resort has already attracted a number of stellar visitors. Kristin Chenoweth, an acclaimed singer and Tony Award-winning actress, has stayed there, according to Chambers. So has Jorge Masvidal, a former professional fighter who won a symbolic Ultimate Fighting Championship “BMF” Championship belt in 2019, Chambers said.
When producers of the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” called to explore the possibility of filming an episode of the hit Hulu show there, however, Chambers balked.
“I told them, ‘Look, I don’t think that is on brand for us,’” he recalls.
So what is Outpost X’s brand or niche in the hospitality business? A former social media manager for 20th Century Fox, Chambers said it is about converting movies like “Star Wars,” “Dune” and “Max Max” from reel to real.
“The Hollywood film industry is dying and epic movies are becoming less common because of the streaming [services],” Chambers said. “I’m basically building movies that people can immerse themselves in real life. This is not a hotel. It is an experience.”
Guests’ imagination is the limit when it comes to experiences or adventure at Outpost X. They can zip around on Star Wars-style landspeeders, duel with foam light sabers, throw pottery on an outdoor clay wheel and cosplay as a fictional character of the planet Namaajin by dressing up as smuggler, mercenary or an eco-priestess.
Guests with a ken for zen can heat up in the resort’s sauna or hot tubs, chill in the cold plunge or clay pools and scale the Stairway to Heaven to perch on a platform for meditation or stargazing. They can also hole up in their rooms – upscale caves and glass domes chock full of modern amenities – for some solitude and to decompress.
As befitting a singing star like Chenoweth, the Outpost X experience can’t be had for a song. Nightly rates range from $320 to $475. Renting out the entire resort will set visitors back $5,000 a night. As posh as the rooms are, they are not too pricey for the scores of families, movie buffs and solitude seekers flocking to the site from as far away as France and Germany.
According to resort officials on the website, Outpost X is “a post-apocalyptic sanctuary where the world has ended and we’ve started over. Our aim is to reignite the imagination, to reconnect with your inner child, to re-learn how to play, away from the BS of society.”
To that end, the resort employs a skeleton staff – to avoid detracting from the property’s secluded and extraterrestrial ambiance. Lest anyone deem indulging one’s inner geek to be too out there to appeal to the masses, Chambers notes that Outpost X is often sold out two or three months in advance.
Luxury in Utah defined differently
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A glass dome, one of two types of accommodations at Outpost X near Beryl on Tuesday, Nov 26, 2024.
Eccentric as it may seem, Outpost X is squarely in the mainstream of a global post-pandemic surge in adventure travel. According to a 2024 State of the Adventure Travel Industry report, operators of such resorts have seen a 384% increase in the number of travelers served since 2021.
While Utah doesn’t stint when it comes to conventional luxury hotels and amenities, state tourism officials say it shines when it comes to outdoor grandeur and recreation opportunities. With its five national parks, 46 state parks, unparalleled skiing and nonpareil redrock cliffs and canyons, they add, Utah is becoming a haven for travelers seeking luxury and adventure.
“Only luxury takes on a different meaning in Utah,” said Anna Loughridge, public relations manager for the Utah Office of Tourism. “Luxury in Utah is about seeing the Milky Way for the first time, having a peak solitude experience or feeling the desert sand between your toes. Our adventure-lodging resorts are making those experiences much more accessible.”
Click here to learn more about Outpost X and its stellar qualities that are drawing movie buffs, filmmakers and other visitors from across the country and around the world.
