The Broadmoor

A Resort at a Scale Colorado Springs Rarely Sees

The approach to The Broadmoor sets the terms immediately: a lake, a mountain backdrop, and a campus of buildings whose European ornamentation signals a different era of American resort-building. This is not a boutique property calibrated around a single design idea. With 784 rooms spread across a main campus of 5,000 acres, plus an additional 2,000 acres through wilderness outposts including The Ranch at Emerald Valley, it operates at the scale of a small town. The experience of arriving and, critically, of staying, is shaped by that scale: the property demands time, rewards walking, and resists the kind of single-afternoon read that most luxury hotels permit.

Forbes Travel Guide has awarded The Broadmoor its Five-Star designation continuously since 1976, a tenure that places it among the longest-running recipients in the program. La Liste's 2026 ranking assigns it 95 points in the Leading Hotels category. Those two signals together locate the property in a competitive tier defined by longevity and consistent delivery rather than recent renovation buzz — a different category from newer design-led properties like Amangiri in Canyon Point or Ambiente in Sedona, which derive their identity from a singular architectural concept.

The Dining Programme: Range Over Signature

Large American resort hotels face a structural challenge in food and beverage: the sheer volume of guests demands variety, but variety tends to dilute culinary ambition. The Broadmoor's approach resolves this by segmenting its dining across distinct formats, each anchored to a specific register, rather than attempting one grand unified statement.

At the leading of the hierarchy sits Summit, where the menu takes a more composed, ingredient-forward direction. Below it, the property's dining sprawls through formats that are less about prestige and more about atmosphere: charming cafés serving coffee and sandwiches, a bar running specialty cocktails with shareable plates, and the Golden Bee, an authentic 19th-century English gastropub that fries fish and chips and hosts ragtime sing-alongs. The Golden Bee is the detail worth pausing on. In an era when American luxury resorts tend to offer a version of the same spa-adjacent wellness menu, a genuinely preserved Victorian pub — with the entertainment programming to match , represents a deliberate choice to preserve character over trend. Properties like Troutbeck in Amenia have built their identity around similar commitments to a specific historical atmosphere; at The Broadmoor, that sensibility is one thread among several rather than the whole identity.

The bar program at Bar del Lago in Broadmoor West extends into the grounds through informal rituals: s'mores around the fire pit are part of the property's deliberate attempt to create differentiated evening experiences across its footprint, rather than funneling all guests into the same venue. This kind of distributed programming is common at large destination resorts , Canyon Ranch Tucson and Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley both operate on the principle that the property itself is the product , but it requires careful curation to avoid feeling like a theme park. The Broadmoor's use of its historic art collection, including European ornamental works from the founders Spencer and Julie Penrose, and Western art from the current owner's personal collection, gives the campus its connective tissue across those distributed spaces.

For readers comparing this dining model against properties where food is the primary draw, such as SingleThread Farm Inn in Healdsburg or Auberge du Soleil in Napa, the difference is structural. Those properties are organized around a culinary identity that drives the entire stay. The Broadmoor's dining programme is one department within a larger resort operation, which means the ceiling at Summit is likely different from what a dedicated food-led property achieves, but the floor , across the cafés, the pub, the bar , is maintained at a consistency level that reflects the Forbes Five-Star accountability framework.

The Rooms: Category Breadth Across a Historic Campus

The 784 rooms span enough formats that the property effectively operates multiple sub-hotels within a single address. The Historic Broadmoor rooms carry a European sensibility in their palette , Colorado sky blue with camel accents , while the Broadmoor West premier rooms and suites prioritize views of Cheyenne Lake or the mountains, with many featuring balconies. The Penrose suite, the largest historic accommodation, includes three bedrooms, a dining room, a formal living room, and a glass-enclosed sunroom overlooking mountains, lake, and city simultaneously.

Beyond the standard room tiers, the Estate Collection introduces residential-scale options: Cottages with high-beamed ceilings and natural stone fireplaces adjacent to the East Golf Course, Brownstones with mountain or garden views, and an Estate House suitable for large family or group gatherings. This breadth positions The Broadmoor against a different competitive set depending on who is booking. For multigenerational family travel, the Estate House configuration competes directly with properties like Little Palm Island Resort in Little Torch Key or Kona Village in Kailua Kona on a sheer-experience-per-dollar basis, though the Colorado mountain context differs fundamentally from a tropical resort logic.

Beyond the Campus: Wilderness Outposts and Activities

The 2,000 additional acres through the Broadmoor Wilderness Experience properties extend the footprint well beyond what the lakeside campus suggests. Cloud Camp, The Ranch at Emerald Valley, and the Fly Fishing Camp represent a different register of experience from the main resort: smaller-scale, terrain-focused, and suited to guests who want a structural break from the campus while remaining within the resort system. This model of satellite wilderness properties attached to a flagship resort is something Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur and Sage Lodge in Pray approach differently, building their entire identity around immersion in the landscape rather than treating wilderness as an optional add-on.

On the main campus, activity programming is notably broad. Guests move around the grounds on foot, by Jeep, or by mountain bike. Cheyenne Lake supports paddleboats and two electric boats. The pool complex includes Slide Mountain, a two-story waterslide setup, alongside a wading pool, two hot tubs, and a zero-entry main pool that creates the visual illusion of merging with the lake. A 950-space parking garage sits directly across from Broadmoor Main; valet is also available. Art and history-focused tours of the campus run every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for resort guests, reflecting the property's investment in its own collection as an interpretive asset rather than background decoration.

A dedicated kids' concierge team handles logistics for younger guests, a signal that the property treats multigenerational travel as a structural priority rather than an afterthought. The onsite movie theater rotates three family-friendly releases weekly, reinforcing that programming depth. For comparable Colorado activity-led resort logic, Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort in Colorado Springs occupies a more focused, single-pursuit tier. The Broadmoor spans far wider, at the cost of the specialization that properties like Amangani in Jackson Hole or Alpine Falls Ranch in Superior deliver by keeping their offer narrower.

Planning Your Stay

The Broadmoor sits at 1 Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80906. The resort arranges shuttle service to and from Colorado Springs Airport directly; transfers to Denver International Airport are handled through travel partner Gray Line using private sedans or SUVs, and must be reserved at least 48 hours in advance. The 950-space garage is available for self-parkers, with valet as an alternative. Given the property's scale and the variety of room configurations, guests planning around specific experiences , Summit dining, wilderness outpost access, or Estate Collection accommodations , benefit from reserving well in advance, particularly in summer months when demand for the mountain setting peaks. For broader context on where The Broadmoor sits within Colorado Springs' hospitality picture, see our full Colorado Springs restaurants and hotels guide.

Comparable Forbes Five-Star properties at this scale of American resort history include Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Surfside, though neither operates at anything approaching The Broadmoor's acreage or activity depth. For urban luxury at the Five-Star tier, The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City, Raffles Boston, Aman New York, and Chicago Athletic Association represent the alternative register: compressed, city-embedded, and calibrated around density of experience rather than breadth of terrain. Aman Venice and Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz offer the European heritage resort comparison at the international level, where The Broadmoor's lineage of European ornamental art and grand campus architecture finds its clearest conceptual peers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the most popular room type at The Broadmoor?

Broadmoor West premier rooms and suites are consistently cited as the most sought-after configurations, given their views of Cheyenne Lake and the mountains, with many featuring balconies or Juliet windows. The Penrose suite is the largest historic option, offering three bedrooms and panoramic views of lake, mountains, and city. The Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating applies across all room categories, but the West-facing rooms tend to command the strongest guest preference for their setting.

What's the standout thing about The Broadmoor?

Its combination of scale and tenure: 5,000 acres in Colorado Springs, a Forbes Five-Star designation held continuously since 1976, and a La Liste score of 95 points in 2026. Very few American resort properties have maintained that level of recognition across five decades while also running wilderness outposts, multiple dining formats, and a campus-wide art collection. The property does not specialize in one thing; its distinguishing characteristic is the depth of its offer across multiple categories simultaneously.

What's the leading way to book The Broadmoor?

The property manages bookings directly through its own reservations system. Given the Forbes Five-Star rating and La Liste Leading Hotels recognition, demand is consistent across peak seasons. Guests requiring specific room configurations from the Estate Collection, or access to wilderness outposts like The Ranch at Emerald Valley, should contact the resort well ahead of their intended travel dates. Denver International Airport transfers through Gray Line require a minimum 48-hour advance reservation.

What kind of traveler is The Broadmoor a good fit for?

If the stay involves multiple generations, or if the goal is a resort that can hold a group's interest across four or more nights without requiring external excursions, The Broadmoor's range of dining, activity programming, and accommodation formats makes it a logical fit. It is less suited to travelers seeking a tightly focused single-purpose stay: those prioritizing a landmark food experience above all else, or a minimalist design-led environment, will find the property's breadth works against the clarity they want.

Does The Broadmoor have options for guests who want a more remote, nature-focused experience away from the main campus?

Yes. The Broadmoor Wilderness Experience extends the resort's footprint by 2,000 acres across three satellite properties: Cloud Camp, The Ranch at Emerald Valley, and the Fly Fishing Camp. These outposts operate at a smaller scale and different register than the main resort, suited to guests who want terrain-immersive stays while remaining within the resort's service framework. Access and availability are managed through the resort's central reservations, and these properties are separate from the 5,000-acre main campus.