Working and Fine Dining

From tuesday to thursdaye we have spent busy three days at the Go West Summit - a tourism convention of 14 American States of the West taking place every year at another place. This year we were so fortunate to get a chance to stay at The Broadmoor, a historic hotel in a beautiful location: at the base of the Rocky Mountains, 6300 ft. (1900 m) above sea level close to Colorado Springs, originally a small mining town. Several hundreds rooms are spread out on beautifully manicured grounds, in the old Main Building, the South Tower and the newly opened West Tower, settled around the manmade Cheyenne Lake, with the Rocky Mountains to the back.


We were fortunate to stay in the newly opened west building and enjoyed it thoroughly. Our room was large, with a view towards the lake, a balcony, a seating area, a very comfortable bed, a bathroom with two sinks, bathtub and shower, separate toilet and - best thing I've seen for long - a TV built into the mirror! There is a superb, world-class western art collection, a historic wine bottle collection, an old library and a hall of famous guests, e.g. many presidents, famous actors and other celebrities and politicians and royalities, who stayed here in the past (see pic). This hotel is proud of 55th consecutive years of achieving a 5 star rating and service is impeccable.


Also, one of several restaurants - the Penrose Room - is the only Five-Star, Five-Diamond restaurant in Colorado and we were able to enjoy several delicious meals in the hotel. First evening was sponsored by Las Vegas and the hotel served a broad variety of items buffet-style, from pulled pork (whole pig on a plate) to prime rib, from oysters to ham. Second evening - tuesday - the welcome dinner was sponsored by The Broadmoor and took place in the ballroom, excellent food, too. Wednesday: "Taste of Colorado" in the Ivywild School in downtown Colorado Springs, a former elementary school turned into a brewery-bakery-butcher-store and bar, a very lively place. Enjoyed great spirits and beers from several local destilleries and breweries and snacks as well. On the same evening a media presentation of The Broadmoor took place on a smaller scale. They showed their other properties, the Ranch and Cloud Camp. Closing event was the Colorado Springs Reception with great wines from Grand Junction. Inbetween these evening events and "regular" lunches (see pic) we worked and had appointments almost all day wednesday and thursday (pic).

The founder of the hotel was a highly interesting person: philanthropist and entrepreneur Spencer Penrose (1865-1939, see pic) not only established The Pikes Peak Hill Climb, but also The Broadmoor Hotel and El Pomar Foundation. He was a successful entrepreneur and in 1918 he began to build The Broadmoor - visioning the "Grand Dame of the Rockies", designed after elegant European hotels. Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park NYC, designed the landscape. Penrose purchased Far Eastern and European artwork and antiques and an original English pub was reassembled at the resort. Golf course, spa, a polo field, a riding arena, an ice arena and a shooting school - run by Annie Oakley – were part of the hotel. National and world skating and hockey championships where held at the Broadmoor World Arena. A famous hotel with a lot of history!

Spencer Penrose also sponsored an auto and motorcycle race up Pikes Peak, the "Race to the Clouds", first competed in 1916 - the second oldest motor sports race in America. The course is over 12 mi long with 156 turns. In the Penrose Heritage Museum, which is part of the hotel complex, not only carriages but, also, race cars are to be seen.