Bill's Views on Most Everything

 

Recently we were at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs for a family celebration.  I used to live in the Springs and we would go there for dinner or a Colorado College hockey game at the old World Arena.  I saw some world class figure skating there as well.  Over 20 years ago we were there for the Christmas package deal.  A room, show, and dinner for a good price.

Back then, the Broadmoor was five star, but beginning to get a bit frayed around the edges.  It is not frayed now.  Millions have been spent on renovations, a new golf club, the Broadmoor West hotel, amazing landscaping, new restaurants, attentive and helpful service, and a host of other amenities.  The old World Arena is gone, but the Broadmoor now owns the new World Arena about five minutes from the hotel.  There is a new golf course, a big back country lodge, and bird shooting along the South Platte River.

The Penrose Room, the formal dining room, the Golden Bee pub, and the Taverna remain for the traditionalists.  One of my guidelines for assessing a facility is the attitude of the staff.  The Broadmoor is five star.  The staff is trained to be friendly with guests, but their attitudes seemed genuine.  I think they like their jobs.

The setting is outstanding as well.  Cheyenne Mountain is the backdrop and in this wet summer is just beautiful.  The neighborhood is beautiful as well, upscale homes with mature manicured landscaping.  Colorado Springs is a fine city, with that mountain looking down on everything.

Room rates are somewhere from $300 per night up, with charges for everything.  It costs $24.00 per night to park your car.  Entrees in the dining rooms start at $15.00 and go up.  Way up.  The food is excellent, although I had a fennel dish that did not measure up.  There was also some confusion with our room reservations which should not have happened.  The bed in our elegant room was the best I have slept in.

We had dinner in the Italian Restaurant in the west hotel.  We were lucky to have perfect weather, and the dining room opened up to the lake that was staggering in its beauty.  Truly a world class setting for a world class resort.  We had drinks on the patio at sundown and listened to the bagpipes.

The Broadmoor’s history is connected with the Pikes Peak region history.  The gold from Cripple Creek made Spencer Penrose’s fortune, and mouth of it went into the hotel. A few men made a lot of money from the mines, and a lot of it went into making Colorado Springs a lovely city (at least the older parts).

A lot of that history is depicted in the photographs and art in the hotels.  The hotel also has a good collection of Western art.  For example there is a painting from the 1840’s that depicts a wagon train just ready to go on the trail.  For this history buff, I learned some things from that painting. The bronze sculptures range from famous Fredrick Remingtons to romantic kitsch, typical of western art in general.  There is a fascinating display of wine and liquor bottles dating from the  prohibition era.  It seems that if you were rich enough, the rules didn’t apply.

I have stayed at the Brown Palace and the Ritz-Carlton at Half Moon Bay.  I prefer the Broadmoor.  I think we will have to go back at least once.