Historic Hotel Boulderado

Last week was "Spring Break" for public schools in our area of Colorado, which meant our four grandchildren did not have school. When that happens, grandparents are often "on call." Our son's oldest children--our grandboys--were treated to a special Harry Potter event for a few days at the YMCA of the Rockies by our daughter-in-law. The YMCA of the Rockies is a fun family accommodation and activity center in Estes Park, Colorado, that I've blogged about in the past...click here to read that post and to see the giant elk stag we saw in town on our visit. It is located a short distance from beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park, so it is also a wonderful place to begin a family trip to that park. We only had to babysat one day for our youngest granddaughter, who was too young for the Harry Potter event, as our son was able to take care of her the rest of the time by working from home.
Meanwhile, our daughter was attending a work-related conference in Boulder, Colorado, that was taking place at the historic Hotel Boulderado.  We were babysitting our oldest granddaughter while our daughter was away and also her father was on a trip. Since Boulder is not far a drive from where we live we decided to drive up and also stay a night in Hotel Boulderado, so we could have dinner with our daughter and show our granddaughter where her Mommy was working last week. I always wanted to spend a night in this historic hotel and this was the perfect opportunity!

Hotel Boulderado is located at 13th and Spruce Street, in downtown Boulder, Colorado. In the early 1900s, Boulder was a Western frontier town growing into a small city and the Boulder City Council worked to raise the funds to build Hotel Boulderado, Boulder’s first luxury hotel. It opened its doors on New Year's Day in 1909. The hotel is listed on the National Register for Historic Places as well as Historic Hotels of America. It features 160 rooms and suites, 8,000 square feet of meeting space, and three restaurants and lounges.

As soon as we walked into the beautiful main lobby I knew that this was very deserving of its special historic ratings, and I very excitedly wanted to explore it more!

A close up of the amazing imported Italian stained glass canopy ceiling over the hotel lobby.

Hotel Boulderado was designed by local architects of the time, William Redding and Son.  The five-story brick building incorporates both Italian Renaissance and Spanish Revival features and follows a trend of open court hotels started by the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  The lobby floor consists of intricate 1908 mosaic tile and the wood trim and staircase is elegantly carved cherrywood.

As we were checking in with luggage we rang the bell to take the original 1906 Otis elevator in the lobby.  Next to the elevator was the elevator's interesting history.

Hotel Boulderado has 160 modernized guestrooms and suites, and my husband and I were fortunate enough to stay in one of the historic 42 that retain a taste of Victorian extravagance with modern amenities. Our granddaughter stayed with our daughter in a more modern but equally elegant room in one of the hotel's wings.

After unpacking, we went out of our room to explore more of the hotel. We did not have to go far as there was a mini-museum right outside a corridor of our room.  There were display cases with Victorian-era artifacts, one of which were ladies' fans...

Please click on to enlarge

...with this fascinating "The Language of the Fan"  description.

There was also a vintage icebox and description, which made me smile, as my parents often called our refrigerator an "ice box" when I was a child and I sometimes slip and call it the same, much to the hysterical delight of my children who then call me "old."

Vintage fire extinguishers were also on display in a beautiful antique hall stand.

More discoveries that we made were an antique organ, Victorian-era furniture, a peek at the top side construction of the lobby stained glass ceiling that was visible through an interior window, and many accent tables holding fresh flowers and plants.

Unencumbered now by luggage, we had fun walking up and down the grand five-floor staircase! 

We found more vintage hotel memorabilia on display in the lobby...

...including this fascinating water fountain that dispensed glacial water from the Continental Divide!  Of course, we all had to take a taste from the fountain. It was very cold and delicious water with a slight mineral after taste.  It seems historic hotels in Colorado all had their own water source, as the historic Brown Palace in Denver, has its own artisan well that is located 750 feet below ground to deliver water to all their rooms. You can see my post how I celebrated my 60th birthday at an overnight stay and formal tea at the Brown Palace on this link.

An antique cash register on display in the lobby.

While our daughter attended a meeting my husband and I took our granddaughter out to walk over a couple blocks to a pedestrian mall on Pearl Street.  As you can see, this part of Boulder retains much of its Victorian charm. 

In fact, this nearby Victorian-era, Queen Anne style, private home was used as the location shot for the 1978 to 1982 TV show "Mork and Mindy" That show lead to actor Robin Williams fame.  (This photo was taken on a different visit to Boulder we made last summer)

We knew our granddaughter would enjoy Pearl Street and she did, especially playing on a boulder playground,  posing with some art sculptures and enjoying an ice cream cone!

An interesting boulder on Pearl Street in Boulder.

Later that evening, we all had a delicious dinner in Hotel Boulderado's Spruce Fish and Farm Restaurant, where we also dined for breakfast the next day.  I am a seafood lover, so I had the special Seafood Paella for dinner, and the Eggs Benedicts with Soft Shell Crab for breakfast. Both were fabulous!

 Our brief stay at Hotel Boulderado was over--our daughter had a busy conference schedule for the rest of the week--and it was time for us to head home.

Our drive back to the Littleton area was filled with gorgeous views of the Flatiron Mountains and other front range foothills.  We enjoyed our visit to the Hotel Boulderado, and I hope you did too!

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