The Broadmoor[1] is a 5-star[2]/5-diamond[3] luxury hotel and resort, located in southwestern Colorado Springs, Colorado.[4] Built in the early 20th century as the "Grand Dame of the Rockies", it was one of the finest resort destinations along the Rocky Mountains during the age of railroads.[5] It continues to be a popular conference destination for businessmen and government officials.[6] It also offers a tennis facility rated #3 by Tennis magazine[7] and three 18-hole golf courses; the East Course has hosted numerous USGA championships, most recently the 2008 U.S. Senior Open.[8] The hotel sits at an elevation of 6230 feet (1900 m) above sea level.[9]
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The resort dates from 1891, when it began as a small hotel and casino. The current resort was built in 1918 by Spencer Penrose, a Philadelphia entrepreneur whose brother was Senator Boies Penrose. Nicknamed "Spec" for skill at speculation, Spencer Penrose amassed a fortune from mining claims at nearby Cripple Creek, and after a grand tour through Europe's finest hostelries, decided to build one, with no expense spared. The hotel attracted a wealthy clientele in the early 20th century, drawn to the beauty of Pikes Peak, as well as to the mountain air which aided recuperation from tuberculosis. Penrose was so pleased with the Broadmoor that in 1937 he completed a monument nearby to its creator — his tomb, an 80-foot hilltop observation tower which overlooks the resort. Persuaded not to name the structure after himself, it is instead called the "Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun," honoring Penrose's friend who died in a plane crash in 1935, during construction of the tomb.
The Broadmoor resort was formerly the site of the Broadmoor World Arena, a historic ice arena which hosted the World Figure Skating Championships five times between 1957 and 1975. The original home to the Broadmoor Skating Club, for many years the rink was an important international training center for the sport, employing such notable coaches as Carlo Fassi. The rink was demolished in 1994 to make way for a new wing of the hotel. On the hotel grounds, there remains a memorial to the Broadmoor skaters who were members of the United States team killed in a 1961 plane crash. From the 1940s to the 1980s, a small ski area below Cheyenne Mountain, called "Polomar" or "Ski Broadmoor", operated but shut down due to lack of snowfall and insufficient funds to keep it running. The mountain was mostly beginner-oriented.
The Broadmoor has over 700 rooms, 18 restaurants and cafes, 3 golf courses, and a world-class spa.[10] The El Pomar Carriage House Museum[11] houses an extensive collection of vintage carriages and automobiles on-site. The Penrose Room, named after Spencer Penrose, is the only Five-Diamond dining in Colorado.[12]
The Broadmoor has received many awards over the years. In 2011 the Broadmoor received 110 awards. The hotel received 23 awards, the restaurant (Penrose) received 20, the meeting rooms 14. The golf courses 30, the spas 15, and 8 tennis related awards. The hotel also received 6 renovation honors[13]
AAA began rating hotels in 1976. Hotels and restaurants that are considered to be the "best of the best" receive a "Five-Diamond rating" In 2011[16], out of more than 60,000[17], 124 hotels and 55 restaurants received the Five-Diamond rating. Only three have consecutively made the list for 35 years:
The Broadmoor Hotel "Penrose Room" restaurant was added to the Five-Diamond list in 1977[18]
The hotel's name and logo is always officially presented as all uppercase with a small letter 'A' raised higher than the other letters: BROADMOOR. The reasoning behind this is surrounded by legend. One story is that Spencer Penrose had a friendly rivalry with the nearby Antlers Hotel, and for that reason, Penrose required the 'A' in "Broadmoor" to always be smaller than the other letters. In fact the hotel archives revealed that the alteration was necessary to obtain exclusive copyright due to other uses of the word Broadmoor for the nearby area since the 1880's. The original copyright documents were filed 12/15/1918 and are in the hotel archive.
The U.S. Women's Open has been held twice at the resort's East Course:
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Annika Sörenstam |
| 2011 | So Yeon Ryu |
Donald Ross, master golf course architect, designed the original Broadmoor Golf Club which opened with the hotel in 1918.
In 1948, Robert Trent Jones Sr. was hired to design an additional nine hole course. This redesign formed the famed East Course.[19] In 1963, an additional nine holes was added by Jones forming the West Course. In 2005, the Mountain Course was re-opened after a renovation and reconfiguration that was done by Nicklaus Design.[20]
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