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Sunday, March 31, 2019

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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35 comments:

  1. Another lovely post from you, full of information and wonderful photographs.
    Your grand-daughter looks adorable.

    All the best Jan

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  2. Looks so grand and elegant! Bet you had a lot of fun!

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  3. Pat - Boulder has many special memories for me, considering that my oldest brother went to school there as part of Air Force ROTC, and we visited there with our son when he was considering it for college. The ceiling of the hotel is spectacular, and I can see the parallels to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, which we visited with our daughter a couple of summers ago. And I used to work for UTC, which owns OTIS elevators! Oh my goodness! Thanks for linking up to Mosaic Monday. Have a wonderful week!

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  4. Oh.my.goodness. I loved every word and every photo!
    Thank you for sharing such a wonderful experience!
    I love Colorado and miss the seasonal visits I used to make in another life.
    You have such a gift for shring your experiences. Thank you.

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  5. I love Boulder. Well, Colorado in general. My family took many summer vacations there and my parents had property in Estes Park which my mom wound up selling when they got divorced. Such a shame. My son went to Adams State in Alamosa and now lives in Denver. Pearl Street has much to offer. It's been several years since I was there, don't recall if I saw the Boulderado from the outside but definitely would love to visit one day when I'm back in the area again. Great pictures!

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  6. I enjoyed your Post, thank you for sharing... happy MosaicMonday. Have a good week.

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  7. Hello Patrica, what a lovely hotel. The details are beautiful, the stained glass canopy is gorgeous. Your food looks delicious. Cute photos of your granddaughter. Love the views of the mountains from your drive home. Happy Monday, enjoy your day! Wishing you a great new week ahead!

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  8. What an amazing old hotel. It looks like you soaked up all the ambiance and history. And what a neat memory for your sweet granddaughter and thoughtful of you to give her a little time with her mom.

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  9. Now that's a hotel I would love to stay in, so filled with history and so beautifully appointed. I love Boulder (it has a great art co-op!) and the area is so pretty but this spot is really a treasure. Maybe if I make it out there (looking dicey for spring) we can at least have lunch or dinner there!

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  10. Wow, what a beautiful hotel! I love exploring historic places. I had no idea this was in Boulder. Thanks for sharing at #heartandsoullinkup

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  11. That hotel is amazing! I love the elevator and the canopy glass. How gorgeous. I'd go just to stay at the hotel!

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  12. ...beautiful, but the Queen Anne style house is my favorite!

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  13. I loved reading your post. The hotel looks amazing especially the glass ceiling.

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  14. That old hotel is gorgeous! It's so interesting that each hotel had its own water source. Love that beautiful old cash register too!

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  15. That looks like a fascinating hotel - I'll need to add it to my list of nearby places to stay.

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  16. What a stunning building Hotel Boulderado is! The glass mosaic roof is really amazing and all the antique furniture. Just great.

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  17. Wow - love these photos.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/04/somethings-squirrely-on-april-fools-day.html

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  18. Oh yes Pat, I loved this visit! We are very familiar with Pearl Street and have visited the Brown Palace , but did not know about Hotel Boulderado. How very interesting to stay there and it was a great idea to take your granddaughter ! Our Boulder County family (I just have to stop calling them kids) like to take us to out-of-county points of interest for short stays when we visit, but next time I will have to lobby (!) for at least a drop -in visit to the restaurant and public areas of this fascinating historical hotel.

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  19. Oh my goodness, I'm so happy to find your blog for sure. This is an absolutely wonderful Post and you don't miss a thing. How absolutely grand. I love your trip to this historic hotel & bringing your granddaughter, but you must tell me. During your stay didn't you wish if walls could talk!!! Oh my, the stories they could tell. All the antiques and all so very well preserved. Fantastic and the Church outside and the neighborhood and the house regarding Mork & Mindy... oh I must tell my husband about this place I simply have to go visit there. I'm so happy Spring is here, which is a step closer to summer and a step closer to vacation! Woo Hoo... this one is first on our list. Thank you so very much for sharing. Great photos.

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  20. The glass canopy ceiling is stunning and all of the little touches are wonderful. I like the phone that's labeled, "Taxi," I bet kids will soon wonder what a taxi is along with that old phone. Mmmm, Eggs Benedict and soft shell crab, hey, I'm on a diet.

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  21. What a beautiful old hotel! Looks like you had a wonderful time.

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  22. Beautiful and grand historic hotel and the Victorian house is amazing. Looks like you had a fantastic time. Thanks so much for sharing the history and the photos.

    -Soma

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  23. I love that hotel! I stayed at one in San Diego that had a birdcage elevator. It was pretty cool. I love how you explored as much history as possible there too. Thanks for sharing with us at #OMHGWW!

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  24. What fabulous shots! I love victorian buildings and Mork and Mindy, too. So much to see and you shared such diverse scenes. I'm so glad you linked up at My Corner of the World!

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  25. It is as beautiful as I remember it when we stayed there a few times from 2001-2003. Unfortunately, 9/11 occurred during our daughter's first freshman month in school at the University. She did stay through her sophomore year but was terribly homesick so finished school back home. One of her freshman dorm roommates was from Littleton ;)

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  26. I love historic hotels like this one, with so much character. The imported stained glass ceiling is quite an attraction!

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  27. What great grandparents you are. This hotel looks fabulous. So glad you could spend a night there and see the sights around it, too.

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  28. That's a beautiful vintage hotel. Impeccably maintained. I like the color... reminds me of the color of the red rocks in the area.

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  29. It must have been like staying in a living museum. It sure is a beautiful hotel. I love the ceiling.

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  30. What a fun feature! I'll have to check out the hotel the next time I'm in Boulder. Sounds like we are neighbors in the Denver metro area - so happy to come across your blog today!

    www.paperandvine.com

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  31. WOW!! What an amazing post!! Filled with so much eye candy!! Loved seeing that stunning hotel! Thanks for sharing and thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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