Lodge at Chama

There's an extraordinary ranch in New Mexico where the guest list is a who's who of congressmen, senators and Fortune 500 CEO's. The Lodge at Chama is beloved by political figures as well as Hollywood names such as Kevin Costner and Larry Kasdan. It's the rare ranch that keeps high profile individuals very happy and yet also manages a vigorous business in corporate meetings and retreats.

"It's about fifty?fifty between individuals and corporate business," estimates Frank Simms, the Lodge's general manager. " But it's all connected no matter how you slice it. There's a great deal of overlap. We get a lot of people who are very successful in business. Henry Ford might bring his son or grandson here and it's not a corporate visit. But then he might come back and bring the executives with him. So there's a very fine line between the two kinds of visits. And you never know who you're going to run into."

On any given week, the Lodge at Chama is hosting executives from Anheuser Busch, ReMax, Prudential, Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter. There are lots of celebrity guests and people that Simms characterizes as "very important players in the international community, including former French Prime Minister Giscard d'Estaing. They all come seeking privacy, exclusivity and service."

"We all know it as a lodge, " Simms says. "But it's a lodge that features hunting, fishing, farming, cattle and timber production, not to mention one of the world's largest private elk herds. We do it all."

And the "we," in this case, includes the owners of the Lodge at Chama, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, who took over the 36,000 acre ranch on June 5, 1995.

"I'm president and general manager of their federal corporation," Simms explains. "They are very connected to the land. And it's been fun to be a part of their program."

The Lodge at Chama strives to be a model of multiple use land management system, blessed with what Simms refers to as "a great heaping of natural resources. The diversity pleases me the most. We're managing for bio?diversity. We like to parlay all of our natural resources. It's critical to operate as a viable, self?sustaining business. It requires that all of the components must be in balance. And it's one of the secrets of our success."

Located about 90 minutes northwest of Taos, The Lodge boasts 27,000 square feet and offers 21 luxury guest rooms, four of them suites. There are two great rooms, each with 20 foot wide river rock fireplaces. Its offers fine dining and an exemplary wine list, best enjoyed after a day in the saddle or angling for trout.

Simms has been at the ranch since 1990. A New Mexican by birth, Simms says he comes from " a relatively well?motivated political family."

Understatement indeed. His uncle was governor of New Mexico and his grandfather was a New Mexico Supreme Court Justice. Simms' family has farmed and ranched in New Mexico and Colorado since the early 1900's. And it was his father and uncle who sold the legendary Trinchera Ranch to Malcolm Forbes.

"I've been exposed to a broad range of experiences in my life, "Simms says. "I've dealt with a lot of people and that's helped me entertain the caliber of clients who come to the Lodge. It's been very rewarding."