Colorado Springs' Broadmoor hotel opens Cloud Camp wilderness retreat
The Broadmoor hotel on Friday opened Cloud Camp, a wilderness retreat built atop Cheyenne Mountain on the site of Broadmoor founder Spencer Penrose's Cheyenne Lodge of the 1920s.
Cloud Camp - like the Ranch at Emerald Valley that The Broadmoor opened last year in Pike National Forest - is intended to continue the hotel's tradition of elegant accommodations, yet deliver them with a rustic look and feel and in a majestic, outdoor setting.
At an elevation of 9,200 feet, Cloud Camp has breathtaking views of the city and Pikes Peak. It includes an 8,000-square-foot main lodge built on the foundation of Penrose's original building, and featuring a cavernous great room decorated from floor to ceiling with western artwork, Native American artifacts and mounted wildlife; stone fireplaces at each end; a dining table for 28 people; and a wrap-around deck.
The lodge has seven guest rooms, including a honeymoon suite with a copper soaking tub, fireplace and private balcony. A short walk from the lodge are 11 one- and two-bedroom cabins and a separate, two-level suite built on top of an historic fire tower and accessed by walking up 145 steps. Cloud Camp will accommodate a total of 56 guests.
While Broadmoor guests enjoy golf, a spa and other amenities on the hotel's 3,000-acre campus below, Cloud Camp offers hiking, archery, basket weaving, rock hunts, stargazing and yoga, among other activities.
"What we're doing is offering an experience that goes beyond the boundaries of typical resorts," said Steve Bartolin, Broadmoor president and CEO.
Guests take a 35-minute Broadmoor shuttle through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and up the Cheyenne Mountain Highway to reach Cloud Camp. The paved road turns to dirt just beyond the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun; the road includes 18 switchbacks past that point.
More adventurous guests can hike to the top of Cheyenne Mountain or ride one of eight mules the hotel will have in a stable near the Will Rogers Shrine.
Cloud Camp guests will have to go without a few creature comforts: There are no TVs in guest rooms, no air conditioning and no room service. But there is Internet and Wi-Fi and concierge service.
Rooms feature hickory floors and hickory paneled walls, feather beds and, like the lodge, are decorated with western and Native American paintings, rugs and bedding. Depending on the time of year, they'll go for $800 to $1,400 a night, which will include all meals and most beverages, said Tina Harlow, Cloud Camp general manager.
Harlow said she expects guests to "disconnect" from day-to-day concerns and take advantage of outdoor activities, the scenery and the like.
"It's important for people to come here and to reconnect either with other people or with their environment," Harlow said. "And I think that's what they're going to do here."
Generally, Cloud Camp will be open from May through October, although it could stay open longer depending on weather, she said.
Reported by: The Gazette
Cloud Camp - like the Ranch at Emerald Valley that The Broadmoor opened last year in Pike National Forest - is intended to continue the hotel's tradition of elegant accommodations, yet deliver them with a rustic look and feel and in a majestic, outdoor setting.
At an elevation of 9,200 feet, Cloud Camp has breathtaking views of the city and Pikes Peak. It includes an 8,000-square-foot main lodge built on the foundation of Penrose's original building, and featuring a cavernous great room decorated from floor to ceiling with western artwork, Native American artifacts and mounted wildlife; stone fireplaces at each end; a dining table for 28 people; and a wrap-around deck.
The lodge has seven guest rooms, including a honeymoon suite with a copper soaking tub, fireplace and private balcony. A short walk from the lodge are 11 one- and two-bedroom cabins and a separate, two-level suite built on top of an historic fire tower and accessed by walking up 145 steps. Cloud Camp will accommodate a total of 56 guests.
While Broadmoor guests enjoy golf, a spa and other amenities on the hotel's 3,000-acre campus below, Cloud Camp offers hiking, archery, basket weaving, rock hunts, stargazing and yoga, among other activities.
"What we're doing is offering an experience that goes beyond the boundaries of typical resorts," said Steve Bartolin, Broadmoor president and CEO.
Guests take a 35-minute Broadmoor shuttle through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and up the Cheyenne Mountain Highway to reach Cloud Camp. The paved road turns to dirt just beyond the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun; the road includes 18 switchbacks past that point.
More adventurous guests can hike to the top of Cheyenne Mountain or ride one of eight mules the hotel will have in a stable near the Will Rogers Shrine.
Cloud Camp guests will have to go without a few creature comforts: There are no TVs in guest rooms, no air conditioning and no room service. But there is Internet and Wi-Fi and concierge service.
Rooms feature hickory floors and hickory paneled walls, feather beds and, like the lodge, are decorated with western and Native American paintings, rugs and bedding. Depending on the time of year, they'll go for $800 to $1,400 a night, which will include all meals and most beverages, said Tina Harlow, Cloud Camp general manager.
Harlow said she expects guests to "disconnect" from day-to-day concerns and take advantage of outdoor activities, the scenery and the like.
"It's important for people to come here and to reconnect either with other people or with their environment," Harlow said. "And I think that's what they're going to do here."
Generally, Cloud Camp will be open from May through October, although it could stay open longer depending on weather, she said.
Reported by: The Gazette
