Taking Back Our Social Life at the Broadmoor

Note: This post is sponsored by Ecolab.

The Center of My Childhood

I grew up a block away from The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs. Our first family Christmas card, when I was 3 and my sister was 1, featured a photo taken at the hotel, and from that point onward, I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a non-travel week through high school when I didn’t visit the hotel at least once. I rode my bike to the old drugstore almost every day after school to hang out with friends and read comic books at the soda fountain. I saw hundreds of movies at the hotel’s theater. I routinely went back into the restaurant’s kitchens with friends to get day-old bread, and then we rode paddle boats out onto the lake and fed the ducks. I helped wrap presents during the Christmas rush at the hotel’s Jolly Giraffe toy store, and most of my clothes came from Merry Simmons just across the front lawn. My junior high cotillions and high school proms were all held at the hotel. And in college, I worked on the golf course for two summers. The Broadmoor was the literal and figurative center of my childhood. But I had never actually checked in.

Fast forward to June. I wanted to include Colorado Springs in our road trip to start the summer, and since we sold our house there last year (the reason for all of our 2020 road trips), we no longer had our own place to stay. It was finally my chance to be a guest!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Such a good feeling waling up to the front desk and checking in for the first time! — Such a good feeling walking up to the front desk and checking in for the first time!

Ecolab Science Certified™

While I was excited to visit The Broadmoor for personal reasons, I was also comfortable booking the hotel from a COVID-19 and cleanliness perspective, as the hotel has earned the Ecolab Science Certified seal. No matter what we were doing at the hotel (detailed below), we knew that every surface we saw was being cleaned and disinfected properly, and that staff were trained on current public health and food safety best practices. It’s a strange time right now as the world is starting to recover from the pandemic, and it’s tough to know how comfortable to feel as we’re taking off masks and starting to let our guard down. The nice thing is that when you book a hotel that displays the Ecolab Science Certified seal, you can be confident there will be science-based products and practices in place, and you can relax, enjoy yourself and feel comfortable taking back your social life!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: This letter was waiting for us in our room, detailing the hotel's commitment to cleanliness and talking about what Ecolab Science Certification means — This letter was waiting for us in our room, detailing the hotel’s commitment to a higher level of cleanliness

So how did we take back our social lives at The Broadmoor?

The Pool

The Broadmoor’s pool is gorgeous – I’ve walked by hundreds of times but had never gone in before. Guests only! It was so much fun spending an entire afternoon at the pool – relaxing, swimming and taking many turns on the water slides.

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Loved the Broadmoor's pool! — Loved The Broadmoor’s pool!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: We had a great time on the waterslides (totally undocumented!) — We had a great time on the waterslides (totally undocumented!)

Paddle Boats

I mentioned paddle boats above. As kids we always took them out onto the lake, but The Broadmoor stopped allowing non-guests to do that decades ago. Every morning right at nine (when they opened), my son and I were first in line for a paddle boat. It was one of his top highlights of our entire road trip, and it took me back to my childhood!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: On a paddle boat at the Broadmoor - our morning tradition — On a paddle boat at The Broadmoor – our morning tradition

Falconry

For 2+ hours my son and I learned all about hawks, falcons and owls, and the history of falconry, from Deanna, The Broadmoor’s head falconer. We started near the hotel, meeting several of the hotel’s birds, and then took a shuttle up to the hotel’s old South Golf Course (the Mountain Course) where Deanna let her Harris Hawk loose to fly from tree to tree and back to her arm as we walked. Note: this is the same course where I worked in college. It’s been closed for five years now and has now been largely reclaimed by landslides, trees and grasses. Amazing to see it in its natural state after all the time I spent there mowing and raking sand traps.

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Deanna introducing us to the hotel's falcons and hawks — Deanna introducing us to the hotel’s falcons and hawks

Broadmoor and Ecolab: My son holding a hawk — My son holding a hawk

Broadmoor and Ecolab: The overgrown Mountain Course. I used to mow these fairways! — The Mountain Course. I used to mow these fairways!

Exploring the Hotel

The Broadmoor has so many great rooms and areas. We explored some but left a lot for our next visit. We also walked around the lake several times, both with and without family, which never gets old.

Broadmoor and Ecolab: The Broadmoor's library — The Broadmoor’s library

Broadmoor and Ecolab: My niece at the lake — My niece at the lake

Excellent Meals

We really haven’t dined out at all in 16 months, so it was a pleasure not only to be back in some of my favorite restaurants in the world, but to be dining in restaurants at all – it felt amazing!

Our first dinner was at the hotel’s Golden Bee, an English Pub that was actually moved panel-by-panel from England. We met up with my sister and her family for a night of fish and chips and drinks accompanied by the Bee’s piano player. Always so much fun!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: With my sister and her family at the Golden Bee — With my sister and her family at the Golden Bee

Both mornings we picked up pastries from Cafe Julie’s, took them back to our room and dined on our patio overlooking the lake. Absolute perfection!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Cafe Julie's — Cafe Julie’s

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Breakfast with a view! — Breakfast with a view!

Our first lunch was at the Hotel Bar, sitting outside by the lake. We both had French dip sandwiches. Our second lunch, between Falconry and departing for Cloud Camp, had to be fast so we grabbed ham and cheese croissants from Cafe Julie’s.

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Lunch at the Hotel Bar — Lunch at the Hotel Bar

Dinner our second night was at Ristorante del Lago, probably the best restaurant in Colorado Springs. It’s absolutely authentic Italian, and the bolognese is the best I’ve had anywhere (and I’ve been to Italy over 40 times). I loved our table by the window as well.

Broadmoor and Ecolab: Ristorante del Lago - always so good! — Ristorante del Lago – always so good!

Cloud Camp

We concluded our Broadmoor stay with a night at Cloud Camp at the top of Cheyenne Mountain, a 40-minute drive from the main resort. Cloud Camp is truly a camp, with log cabins, a main lodge, a fire pit, and activities like archery and branding, and the views are predictably amazing. The best part of Cloud Camp, though, was the communal dinner. If there are fewer than 33 guests, everyone sits at one long table. We had 38 the night we were there, so the long table was broken into four smaller tables. I LOVED our table and the conversation, and my son was remarkably patient given the dinner stretched past two hours. The food was excellent, but the best part was being social with other hotel guests for the first time since the pandemic started. We truly took back our social lives!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: The communal dinner at Cloud Camp — The communal dinner at Cloud Camp

More on Ecolab Science Certified

Knowing that The Broadmoor had earned the Ecolab Science Certified seal made us incredibly comfortable at the resort – in our room, in public areas and dining at the restaurants. I was confident in the cleanliness, which was such an amazing feeling! But what exactly does the certification mean?

Ecolab’s hospital disinfectants and other sanitizers use precision dosing dispensers to eliminate guess work for hotel staff – helping support a consistent level of cleanliness.
Hotel-specific training modules educate staff on important factors like how long to leave a disinfectant on a surface and safe laundry handling.
Enhanced public health training focuses on thorough and frequent disinfection of high-touch objects.
The Ecolab Science Certified program includes one of broadest portfolios of products proven to kill the virus that causes COVID-19.
The Ecolab Science Certified audit verifies cleaning practices and procedures are being followed across the property.

Broadmoor and Ecolab: My room in our Lakeside Suite. I've never felt more comfortable with a hotel's cleanliness! — My room in our Lakeside Suite. I’ve never felt more comfortable with a hotel’s commitment to cleanliness!

Look for the Ecolab Science Certified seal before you book a hotel, and wherever you eat, stay, shop and play. And when you’re heading to Colorado Springs, stay at The Broadmoor! Now that I’ve officially been a guest, I can unequivocally say that it’s my favorite resort in the U.S. I can’t wait to return!

Broadmoor and Ecolab: An Ecolab hand sanitizer station at the Broadmoor — An Ecolab hand sanitizer station at The Broadmoor

This post is sponsored by Ecolab, the global leader in cleaning and disinfecting expertise for commercial environments. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn how they are using scientific expertise to deliver a higher level of cleanliness. To view a list of some of the businesses that have earned the Ecolab Science Certified seal, visit sciencecertified.com/partners/.