The Over 30 Girly's Edit

Happy 2025! It’s quite crazy that we’re already in 2025, considering I started this blog (with very few blogs, but I’ll do better!) sometime in mid-2024 when we had so many travels on the calendar. At some point in July 2024, I genuinely felt overwhelmed with the trips we were still going to take for the back half of the year, mostly because two of them were international and sort of back-to-back. Nonetheless, here we are, new year, new travel plans!

Before we start what looks to be a busy first half of mostly leisure travel in 2025, I need to talk about our last trip of 2024: Missoula, Montana. The trip was definitely spontaneous as we decided to book it while sipping a few cocktails on a Friday or Saturday sometime in either October or November – I can’t remember. Someone we know knows someone who recommended the Green O resort, and there we go, figuring that we could maybe do a true winter getaway for once.

The Resort

The Green O is part of The Resort at Paws Up, which is advertised as a luxury ranch resort in Montana. The ranch is a truly working one, housing a variety of activities that resort guests and members can participate in, as well as two different types of resort: a more family-friendly accommodation in the main Paws Up, and the Green O – an adult-only area with a modern mountain living style.

We chose to stay at the Green O because it sounded quieter (ha!) and more exclusive. Also, modern mountain living surely fits my style a lot more than just a traditional mountain home. We did stay in a super cool “haus” though – the Tree Haus. And yes, you guessed it, it looked like a tree house but… luxurious.

There are 2 stories in this haus, and those stairs are very steep, so if you have mobility concerns, the tree haus is definitely not for you. But it’s high; it does give us the magical snow globe view of the area with the snow. Sipping hot tea with a fire going and looking out onto the snowy white wonderland, it is a vibe.

The tree haus’ first floor is where the main living room & small bar/kitchen counter is located, along with the main bathroom that has a bathtub, shower room, and a toilet equipped with a bidet. There is also a washer and dryer inside the bathroom if anyone needs to wash & dry their clothes, which I do find efficient, although we didn’t need to do that at all. (Overpacker, hello, it’s me!)

There are different “haus” types at the Green O that will certainly meet everyone’s needs and vibes. We chose the Tree Haus because it looked super cool in the snowy winter pictures we had seen online. But there are also Round Haus, Light Haus, and Green Haus, with a few of those for each type throughout the property. When we go back next time, I think we would try out the Round Haus. Tree Haus was definitely cool and magical in the snow, but the bedroom, which was on the top floor, got really cold (makes sense, the fire surely did help). If you have never been to the Green O and want to try the Tree Haus as your first time, it’s a definite yes.

The Green O’s only restaurant and also their main gathering area is called Social Haus, and it truly lives up to its name. The gorgeous centered fireplace is the focal point of the place, but their decorations throughout create this free, modern, luxurious, but cozy environment at the same time. This is where they serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anything in between. Guests at The Green O do have choices to dine at other restaurants within the Paws Up property (all included in the nightly rate; you just need to make a reservation so they can plan); however, only guests at The Green O can dine and hang out at the Social Haus. Pretty exclusive, if I have to say so myself.

The Activities

Sitting on 37,000 acres of land, there are plenty of activities to do here even though it’s an hour or more away from Missoula town. Well, we’ve only done 2 of all the things in the winter activities guide, but there were quite a few more we could have done. Their website, as well as the concierge team, will have all the information you need if you want to know what those activities are, but if I recall correctly, some of the winter activities were: horseback riding, arena lessons, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding, dog sledding, sporting clays, fly fishing, and more.

We chose the area lesson, horseback riding, and sporting clays as our breaks in between eating, drinking, and napping on this trip. It was cold outside, everyone! Jokes aside, we had the best times with all these activities. Our guides for all were very knowledgeable, attentive, funny, and super patient, especially with me as it was my first time on both horseback riding and sporting clays. Both of the days were cool and crisp, with snow on the road but still perfect weather, especially for when we rode the horses.

Any outdoor activities are additions to the nightly rates, so you do have to pay for those. I’d say they are all worth it! Especially in this giant ranch, what else would anyone do?!

Besides these activities, there is a spa for massages and, of course, a fitness “center.” It was quite small with very few machines that were outdated. Although I wasn’t allowed to run due to knee pain, so I wasn’t looking for a very responsive treadmill, if I had wanted to keep my running high, that would have been very disappointing. The fitness “center” was called “Huff & Puff,” very funny.

The Food

Here we are, the main reason (kind of) for this blog. The infamous food at The Green O’s Social Haus, and yes, it does live up to the hype.

First off, before we arrived, the resort sent out a form to note any dietary restrictions. I, unfortunately, have way too many of them (G.E.R.D, it’s you!) so I was very adamant about letting them know, assuming the F&B team would be annoyed at this guest already.

Well, let’s start with the lunch options! Our first time ever eating there was lunch on the day we arrived. Cold, hungry, and tired after a very early morning flight, and not having had breakfast, I was starving. And when I am hungry (or anyone for that matter), I usually go for the heartier options (read: heavy on carbs and protein ha). So we did just that; both my husband and I ordered the same main: Braised bison short rib tacos, and I got a side of the “greens” salad so I could feel less guilty. The bison tacos were great, but I didn’t expect two taco shells per taco, with melted cheese nested in between. I’m strictly non-dairy, but with my skillful self removing the cheese piece off the non-cheese piece, it was delish.

However, the star of the show was the side salad. Simple: mix spring greens, their dressing, and then a ton of nuts/seeds on top. It was so delicious that my husband and I, for the next 3 days, ordered the “side” green salad for lunch, with a side of just the bison meat and the jus. I did say then and I will still stand behind it now: this is the best salad I’ve ever had, period. With or without the bison, but obviously, the addition of meat made it more exciting to eat. I must say though that we may have added a new lunch item to the menu for them. The staff was happily accommodating us every time.

Now, dinner time.

Just to say it again for the people in the back, food & drinks are included in the nightly rates. And the way they do dinner here is that the menu is different every night, all 8-course meals. And although they may reuse the dishes here and there, their idea is that for every guest, there will not be a repeat meal. Crazy, right? Right. We were there for 3 nights, with the last night being New Year’s Eve, and below are the menus for those.

The food was phenomenal. Truly phenomenal. Every dish was flavorful and stayed true to the origin of the dish. For example: the “Albacore & Coconut” on the first night was a play on Tom Kha, a Thai coconut soup. Now, I’m clearly not Thai, but I’ve had a fair share of their food, and without the chefs telling me it was a play on Tom Kha, I could already tell it was Tom Kha.

Similarly, corn dog. My husband loves hot dogs, and he would eat hot dogs over anything if it were an option. “Duck & Medjool” was on the second night’s menu, and Toby was delighted—so much that they gave him another portion of it before the dessert courses.

Another highlight for us, more so for me, was the “Venison & Daikon,” also on the second night. Being the Vietnamese I am, I could smell the dish as soon as it was presented. Venison Pho was what it was supposed to be, and it was that. The broth was definitely a lot denser than what Pho broth would be, but the flavor was there. Noodles were just daikon, which was fine by me knowing I may not have wanted overloaded carbs anyway. Back in Saigon, there was a Pho restaurant in District 5 where we frequented all the time, and they served mainly Venison Pho. This was a full-circle moment for me.

Another surprise for us was the “Crudités,” also on the second night (whoa!). Just veggies and tofu dip, but somehow it was one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten. Toby also had his first-ever lettuce wrap with this dish; if you know Toby, you know it’s a big deal for him to eat a veggie dish with a tofu dip.

Every other dish throughout the 3 nights was delicious, delicious, delicious. We were always full at the end of the meal, but didn’t think it was too overloaded, except for the last night when they pulled out all the stops for New Year’s Eve as expected. Although 3 nights of 8-course meal dinners would be the right amount of time; one more night, I may not have been able to make it.

Drinks are also provided with the nightly rates, and it’s literally whatever you want and they have: cocktails, mocktails, wine, champagne, dessert wine, beer—anything. For NYE, they were pouring Dom Perignon 2015 Vintage at the champagne toast hour after the fireworks. Nothing can close out the night & 2024 quite as well as a good Dom Perignon (still my most favorite champagne).

Remember the dietary restrictions I had to enlist prior to coming here? Besides the very first lunch (with cheese nestled in between the tortillas), the dinner menu was modified for me based on those restrictions. They swapped out any dairy, chocolate, or extremely acidic ingredients to make it friendly for my sensitive GI system. We could spot some differences from our table/menus with others, and it was sort of fun to see the creativity and adaptation in that kitchen.

Conclusion

This was my very first time in Montana, and to my surprise, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Well, mostly the Green O & Paws Up properties than the actual town of Missoula, as we didn’t get to explore the town at all. That being said, the tranquil setting of the ranch and the magical moments of winter wonderland made this trip the perfect ending to 2024 and a wonderful start to 2025 for us. The property, the friendly people, the weather, the activities, the experiences, and FOOD, and drinks, all of those justified the high price we paid.

If there was 1 thing to criticize, maybe 1.5 things, they would be: a) they need to upgrade the gym, and b) the service, while great, could be better. The gym is a no-brainer, personally. Yes, there are a lot of activities to do at the ranch, but if you are anyone like me, I’d still like to have a sweat session first thing in the morning before we do anything. The machines are so old in there, and there’s no restroom available (and it’s not like you can just run back to your room for a bathroom break), just little things that can really set them apart from other “ranch” style luxury resorts. And the service, I didn’t come there expecting the Four Seasons or the Aman level of service, so I am not bothered as much. That said, it could be better, like the consistency in taking my dietary restrictions for all the meal services, not just dinner.

If you have stayed at the Green O or the Paws Up before, I’d love to hear your experience and what activities you’d recommend us doing next time we’re there. If you have been thinking about giving it a try and can afford it, what are you waiting for? If you have never heard about this place and are a foodie, this will blow your socks off!