Top 25 Places to Stay in Colorado, Cont.

Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge
Glenwood Springs
Reputation: The world’s largest, natural mineral hot springs pool, with seasonal waterslides, a spa, an athletic club, restaurants and mini-golf all adjacent to the hotel.

The iconic Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge has just undergone a multi-million dollar remodel, updating all 107 of the guest rooms and bathrooms with granite-topped mahogany vanities. Enjoy unlimited access to the hot springs and a full breakfast at the Poolside Grill, so whether you’re looking for a vacation with the whole family or a romantic getaway for two, your options are covered.

What to Do When You Get There: Glenwood is nestled in the crook of the valley along I-70 between Vail and Aspen. At the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Tour, tour the Glenwood Springs fairy caves, the largest show caves in Colorado, take a leap off the side of the mountain or zoom down the first Alpine Coaster in the US.

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Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
Avon
Reputation: The ultimate luxurious mountain getaway in a ritzy town.

Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch sits like a gorgeous Swiss chalet in the splendor of the Eagle River Valley. This is a true luxury hotel. Nearly every room offers outstanding views, a walk-out balcony, 400-thread count Frette linens and four-piece marble bathrooms; many have their own fireplaces. Every guest has access to the sauna, steam rooms and wet therapies, as well as an outdoor heated pool, a game room with a Wii, a state-of-the-art fitness center and more.

What to Do When You Get There: The hotel offers golf and fly-fishing packages as well as children’s programs and activities. Once you book a room, the hotel Guest Relations team will help you customize your trip with outdoor activities, spa services, dining reservations and pretty much anything else you can dream up.

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YMCA of the Rockies
Estes Park
Reputation: Seriously, it’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!

The YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park Center offers more than a dozen different lodging options—from cabins for small families all the way up to 88 people. For $15 a day, you can participate in an entire summer camp’s worth of activities: archery, arts, crafts, disc golf, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mini golf, mountain biking, rafting, zip-lining, swimming. That’s just at the Y itself! And you can find fine dining in the Pine Room restaurant.

What to Do When You Get There: How about being mere minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park and some of the most amazing scenery and outdoor adventure Colorado has to offer?

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The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs
Reputation: The luxury hotel in Colorado.

It doesn’t get much better than this: five-star accommodations, dining and spa all in one location. Known as one of the finest hotels in Colorado—and in the country—The Broadmoor offers the absolute ultimate in luxury accommodations. The crème de la crème are the Broadmoor Cottages, offering configurations from one to eight bedrooms and up to 6,300 square feet of luxury. These homes-away-from-home offer living spaces for families or large groups to come together, with high-beamed ceilings, wood-accented chandeliers and wood floors. Natural stone fireplaces and custom stone and ceramic baths feature five-fixture baths and heated floors. Basically, if your own home was this amazing, I’m not sure why you’d ever want to leave.

What to Do When You Get There: The Broadmoor offers swimming, paddleboats, a five-star spa, fitness centers and tennis courts, and world-renowned golf courses. But Colorado Springs is a gateway to more family-friendly activities than you can shake a stick at. Take a walk through the Garden of the Gods, ride to the top of Pike’s Peak on the cog train, or feed the giraffes at the charming Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

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Ghost Ranch
Abiquiu, NM
Reputation: Georgia O’Keefe’s inspiration.

If you really want to get away from it all, Ghost Ranch, about 65 miles northwest of Santa Fe, takes you into the sandstone landscape of northern New Mexico, made famous by the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe. O’Keefe lived on the ranch property during one of her most prolific phases and extensively documented the surrounding “lavender hills” and sandstone escarpments. The ranch offers O’Keefe landscape tours where you can compare her iconic paintings with their real-life inspiration. Today, the ranch is owned by the Presbyterian church, which offers lodgings onsite and dozens of courses covering everything from painting to photography to writing, yoga, life skills, hiking, spirituality and Southwest history. The ranch offers family weeks with simultaneous programs for all ages— like summer camp for the family. A stay at Ghost Ranch is sure to be an experience to remember. Accommodations are relatively rustic, in keeping with the surroundings of a working ranch. Visitors can stay in a variety of rooms, from well-appointed suites with attached living areas to dormitory style rooms to RV and camping facilities.

What to Do When You Get There: The ranch is home to the Ruth Hall Museum of Palentology and the The Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology, as well as a library, and often plays host to art exhibits and musical events. For outdoors enthusiasts, the ranch offers a range of trail rides, a ropes course, and kayaking and canoeing at Lake Abiquiu. Trails cross the property, offering miles of land to explore.

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