Hotel Boulderado is a historic hotel located in Boulder, Colorado. The hotel is incredible & you need to check out the reasons you should visit Hotel Boulderado
Disclosure: We were invited to Hotel Boulderado. All opinions are our own.
Visiting Hotel Boulderado
A few weekends ago, my daughter and I took a little girls staycation about an hour from our home in Boulder, Colorado. We stayed at the beautiful and historic Hotel Boulderado and were immediately enamoured with the decor, details and sense of nostalgia.
Hotel Boulderado is located pretty centralized in Boulder and was built in 1909. It cost $131,000.00 to build which was a hefty sum of cash back then, but it was built by the community. They wanted a place for guests to stay that was classy and upscale for sophisticated visitors either passing through or doing business in the area. Original shares of the hotel cost just $100!
William Redding designed the hotel intermixing Italian renaissance and Spanish colonial styles to create a stunning space that was also very ahead of the times. The current entrance to Hotel Boulderado is actually a remodel of the original entrance which is still easily accessible and the hotel historian is working on restoring.
The hotel is gorgeous on the outside with its brick exterior, windows, balconies and even some gargoyles, however, entering the main lobby of Hotel Boulderado is absolutely stunning. It was very clearly the town point of pride likely over a hundred years ago and today. The incredible stained glass ceiling, cherry wood grand staircase and touches of historic artifacts throughout the hotel truly make the hotel a must see space when visiting Boulder.
We toured the entire hotel, learning about the history, its role in the Boulder community and so much more. Hotel Boulderado has done an amazing job of both preserving history and also ensuring that the modern needs of our current society are met. You can see the original front desk, complete with boxes for each room and the original safe above. The entire hotel is not only a wonderful place to stay, but also makes for a very informative and interesting museum.
Rooms at Hotel Boulderado
I was REALLY excited to stay at Hotel Boulderado. As a child, my parents loved to take us to historic places and so when I learned about the tale of the hotel, I was so ready. We checked in seamlessly and were handed our room key at the new front desk. The staff then offered to take us upstairs in the elevator.
Initially, I was not sure why we needed an escort into the elevator…that was until we walked in. Hotel Boulderado has a manual elevator! The elevator is original to the hotel and was made by Otis Elevator. It is small and a bit dark, but the staff are professional operators and assured me that there are 3 systems of back up braking that are regularly checked. It was honestly, such a cool experience to see history literally in action and move through the hotel the same way guests did over 100 years ago!
We arrived at our room, which was the Historic Double Queen Suite. Opening the door took us back in time where everything was well made and luxury was at the center of the space. We had a sitting room, with a wet bar, a fully bathroom as well as a bedroom with 2 queen beds.
Our room overlooked Pearl Street Mall and was very comfortable. Hotel Boulderado was originally built with 90 rooms. Over the years, they have built an addition and remodeled the historic wing. The current hotel has 160 rooms total with 42 of them residing in their historic wing. You can check out the room options here if you are interested.
Dining Options
It was dinner time when we got to our room. We initially walked down the grand staircase to the lobby to look at the dining options, but it was the dinner rush on a Friday night and the staff told us we could order room service. That was all we needed, because immediately we rushed up to our room and threw on a PJ’s, ordered dinner and started a movie.
My daughter ordered the mac n’ cheese but I went for the Santa Fe chicken salad and boy were they massive portions and oh so good. Everything was fresh, homemade and super flavorful and the service was fantastic.
However, we definitely wanted to try out at least one of the restaurants on site. Yes, restaurants; there are actually 3 on site. The Corner Bar, Spruce Farm & Fish and License No. 1. The Corner Bar is literally on the corner of the hotel and was actually the restaurant that our room service came from. It has two levels and is a bit more, laid back atmosphere.
Spruce Farm & Fish was where we actually decided to eat the next day. We had both breakfast and dinner there and it was truly a great experience. The serving staff was very attentive and the food…oh THE FOOD. It was incredible. I wish I would have written down what the name of this plate was called. It was a special on the menu, but I ate literally every single bite and as I looked around, a vast majority of the guests dining in were also greatly enjoying this same dish!
The final restaurant that we did not visit (due to my daughter being a minor) was License No. 1. It is a speakeasy style bar with food options and the history behind it is super cool. Boulder was a dry county until 1969…even prior to prohibition. License No. 1 was one of the first liquor licenses issues in the basement of Hotel Boulderado…which had to be HAND DUG out from the exterior of the hotel so it had a separate entrance from the main Hotel. All the dining options have great menus and are open to the public.
Why You Should Visit Hotel Boulderado
I could list a massive amount of reasons that you should visit Hotel Boulderado. However, I think there are truly 3 main reasons that you should visit:
- Immersive History: Hotel Boulderado is part of the Historic Hotels of America and they are proud of that. They have worked exhaustively to ensure that the hotel is pristine, the history is thorough and that guests are able to truly live in the time.
- Food & Service: I have been to a lot of different hotels, but the service at Hotel Boulderado was some of the best I have ever had. From the moment we walked in they were not only friendly but were effortlessly making sure that we were well taken care of. At one point, I realized that I had left my coat in my car and the Valet offered to grab it and bring it to me. The food was a huge highlight and I can tell you that we plan on dining there in the future even if we are just hanging out in Boulder for the day.
- Location: Hotel Boulderado is only a block or so away from Pearl Street Mall. This is a major gathering area for people from all over Colorado. There is an eclectic collection of stores, various events, music and street performers among many other things. We literally didn’t need to leave the hotel for a thing, we could walk to any area and enjoy shopping, snacks, and more.
Our experience was fantastic and truly such a great girls weekend away. I cannot wait to take my entire family there! If you are interested in learning more about Hotel Boulderado, their event spaces, dining or booking a room, please click here.
