Colorado Vacations
Your Guide to Visiting Colorado with the Kids
Colorado's Historic Luxury Hotels
Colorado hotels with a sense of history make a family vacation to Colorado something special indeed.
Add a touch of nineteenth century elegance when you travel in Colorado with the kids.
At the Westin Riverfront Resort at Beaver Creek Mountain, the lobby wears an understated and elegant look during the day.  By night it fills with guests - families who come downstairs to socialize and relax. In short, for a luxury family ski lodge experience, the Westin Riverfront strikes the perfect tone. |
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Photo Credit: The Broadmoor Hotel
As far as historic
Colorado hotels go, the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs is a jewel.
However, it is also a 5-Diamond, 5-Star resort. (In fact, it is the only hotel anywhere in the world to receive those honors every single year since they started awarding them.)
To read more about the Broadmoor and the only other 5-Star resort in the state, read our article on Colorado's most luxurious lodges.
| Winter Lodging Options for your Colorado Ski Trip with the Kids From rustic cabins to five star resorts, Colorado offers families a variety of choices for tucking the children in. See our article about the Best Hotels for a Colorado Christmas Vacation with the Kids.  Photo: The Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs creates a fairyland of twinkle lights for the winter holidays. |
Photo Credit: The Brown Palace Hotel
Photo: The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa has occupied a prominent place in downtown Denver, Colorado since 1892.
Photo: The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa has occupied a prominent place in downtown Denver, Colorado since 1892.
ANTIQUE CHARM:
Family Fun in Fancy, Old Fashioned Hotels
Colorado has a long history of offering hospitality to travelers. And while modern lodges are always being built, original, nineteenth century inns are relatively rare.
Yet across the state, elegant grande dames remain, festooned with Victorian architecture and whispering of the fantastic events they've seen and the people they've hosted.
Historic hotels carry a special interest for kids on vacation in Colorado. The lodges give children a sense for the styles of bygone eras and you can sneak a bit of education about the state's (and nation's) history.
Here is a taste of some of Colorado's best historic inns for traveling families on vacation in Colorado:
The Brown Palace, Denver
In the heart of downtown Denver, this Colorado classic opened in 1892. Earning Forbes Four Stars and AAA's Four Diamonds for more than 30 consecutive years, the hotel is especially pretty during the Christmas season. Your kids (and your dog) can join presidents and rock stars to enjoy the tradition of elegance and service at the Brown.
For information, visit the Brown Palace online or call (888) 321-2599.
Hotel Boulderado, Boulder
On New Year's Day, 1909, the Hotel Boulderado opened her doors to a new era of refinement in hospitality for dusty little Boulder. Named for the words, "Boulder" and "Colorado", the hotel was meant to remain unforgettable to its guests. Each room is individually decorated, and many have outstanding views of the town and mountains.
For information, visit Hotel Boulderado online or call (303) 442-4344.
Hotel Delaware, Leadville
While gold camps were booming all over the Colorado mountains, Leadville outshone them all with its riches in silver. Folks like the Guggenheims and Charles Dow of the Dow Jones Industrial Average came to Leadville to make their money.
And the crown jewel of Leadville's Harrison Avenue was the Delaware Hotel, finished in 1886. Today a variety of room configurations, filled with antiques and period style furnishings, welcomes visitors with Victorian charm.
For more information, see the Delaware Hotel's website or call them at 800-748-2004.
Strater Hotel, Durango
This venerable inn was founded on a fib. The man who envisioned a grand hotel for the young town of Durango was also quite young, himself. In fact, he was underage. Undaunted, Henry Strater lied about his years, borrowed the money he needed, and built the hotel that became the gathering place for society in the region.
The Strater Hotel still offers hospitality in elegant, nineteenth-century style.
For more information, call 800-247-4431 or visit the Strater Hotel website.
The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park
Like a white frosted wedding cake with red accents, the Stanley Hotel rests gracefully against its mountain backdrop in fine Victorian style. Ornate furnishings and a huge curving staircase greet guests as they walk inside from the front veranda.
Most guestrooms often have a striking mountain view, and some have tall four-poster beds. The elegant Cascades Dining Room has an outside patio with a waterfall landscape. An outdoor unheated pool offers a place for a chilly splash in the summer. The nearby Sombrero Stables rents horses for trail rides, and the hotel plans to provide mountain bike rentals and adventure tours by the summer of 2006. The area’s abundant wildlife, which frequently wanders onto the sweeping grounds of the Stanley Hotel, is great entertainment for kids.
For information, read our feature article about Taking the Kids to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, or visit the Stanley Hotel online. Call them at (800) 976-1377 or e-mail the Stanley Hotel at info@stanleyhotel.com.
Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs
Near the edge of the Colorado River, just below the scenic ramparts of Glenwood Canyon, a hot springs gushes from the earth. No ordinary hot spring, this one’s flow approaches nearly 2500 gallons per minute. It fills a giant swimming pool and evaporates into the mountain air with billowing clouds of steam. Sometimes the hot moisture rises so quickly in the frosty night that ghostly whirlwinds form, skimming across the surface of the water, only to dissipate into thin air.
If you let your gaze follow the steam upwards, you’ll catch sight of the stately old Hotel Colorado, settled as if on a thrown, on the mountainside above the river. Built in 1893 in the style of an Italian Medici Palace, the wings of the building enclose a courtyard overlooking the springs.
The elegant Grand Lobby Café treats guests to a relatively formal dinner, although booster chairs are available for little diners. In the summertime, the outdoor Courtyard Café lets families eat in a less formal, but lovely garden setting.
Canyon Bikes, located on the lower level of the hotel, rents bicycles and provides advice and suggestions for great family bike rides. The Glenwood Canyon Recreational Trail lies a little over a block from the hotel, and the bike shop provides trailside assistance and shuttles for cycling families. Also in the lower level of the Hotel Colorado, Blue Sky Adventures outfits whitewater rafting day-trips through spectacular Glenwood Canyon.
One of the nicest features of the Hotel Colorado, however, is that children can stay free in their parent’s room. Visit the Hotel Colorado's website or call them at (800) 544-3998.
Related Pages at FamilyTravelColorado.com:
Luxurious Colorado Lodges
Colorado's Five Star Hotels
Best Colorado Christmas Vacation Lodges for Families
Colorado's Five Star Hotels
Best Colorado Christmas Vacation Lodges for Families
Other Recommended Articles at FamilyTravelColorado.com:
Recommended Trips
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