Hotel Boulderado — Hotel in Boulder

This is a beautiful, historic hotel with gorgeous skylight and lobby. The historic rooms are lovely. I've stayed in those about 10 times since moving to Boulder in 1982. The staff have always been helpful & friendly. Food delicious (Spruce) and beds comfy. But this time, I chose the handicapped room. I had 3 rounds of chemo & feel too weak to deal with low toilets & no handrails in the historic rooms. The staff did provide a shower chair which is a big help & made me feel safe. The bed is awfully hard (I like soft beds). I did not know the handicapped room (room #456) is right next to the housekeepers' closet. I came here to rest & recover from the chemo & also to work on a project that requires focus. I paid for 2 nights & thought I'd get a lot done during early evening & daytime. But all day long 10 am - 4pm, carts were rattling, doors were banging, dishes crashing. Workers talking at the top of their lungs in the hallway, right next to my room which kept me on edge. I could not focus or rest. Finally, around 3:45, I called the front desk. The person was polite & really seemed to care. She put me through to the manager. He apologized & let me know the housekeeping closet was right next to the handicapped room. ?? Do they think that people with handicaps can't hear?? He was very apologetic, said cleaning goes on from about 10 am - 4 pm Why not hire more cleaners? Finish by Noon so guests can enjoy some peace & quiet, which we are paying for. My husband & I stayed in a hotel resort for a week & it was SILENT the entire time. I don't know how they handled cleaning there but it was quiet. I tip the elevator person, the bag carriers, the cleaners. I know it's hard work. The manager sent up a coupon for a free breakfast/drink which was nice & helps but I really hope he instructs the cleaners that guests are right next door & to PLEASE talk quietly. Or go inside a room they are cleaning with the door shut to talk. I worked as a cleaner for 2 years & as a low-wage worker in many of my jobs. So I understand that cleaning is not a silent process. But the work could happen for fewer hours & much less yelling. Thank you

Next day. Heading to breakfast. Cleaner with her radio on loudly. Singing at the top of her lungs right outside a guest’s room. Please let workers know that not everyone loves that choice of music. If I came to her home and blasted Jimi Hendrix, would she enjoy that? Earbuds!! Invented 30 years ago. Distribute to all workers and allow them to use their cellphones for music. I overheard a couple talking about this same topic at breakfast. Why so much noise. When I was a cleaner, we were taught to be as quiet as possible. Breakfast was delicious and my server was lovely

A week later. A manager refunded my room cost. This is a great outcome. I’m so appreciative. Good...

DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL unless (1) you know it is haunted, and (2) you are okay with being haunted. I was NOT aware of this fact when I booked the Boulderado for a work conference. Upon entering the room I was assigned, I put my bags down and immediately felt uneasy, as if I wasn't alone or that someone could appear in the mirror behind me as I was washing my hands. Thinking that I was being illogical, I went back to the conference hotel to meet my friends and I told them that I suspected my room at the Boulderado might be haunted. Instead of telling me I was being ridiculous, they said, "that's the whole point of staying there - the hotel is haunted." At first I didn't believe them, but my gut feeling that something was wrong and the numerous reviews on Trip Advisor that said people saw a figure appear in their room and other strange occurrences immediately traumatized me and I knew there was no way I could sleep at the hotel that night, especially because my room (514) was right beside the "most haunted room," room 517 (where a suicide took place). I ran back to the hotel and collected my stuff, and went down to the front desk to explain the situation and ask them to cancel my reservation. I was hopeful that they might empathize with my situation, given that my bag had been in the room for less than 30 minutes, I had not touched anything in the room, and I was clearly visibly distressed. Further, I told them I could not stay in the room because my biggest fear in life is to be haunted. Despite this, they were incredibly rude - especially the manager - and did NOTHING to try to make the situation right. I booked the hotel room under false pretenses and in any other situation where the hotel room is unsuitable to stay in, or the guest feels unsafe, you'd expect that the hotel employees would do something about it to rectify the situation. Instead they were patronizing, rude, and simply said there was a cancellation policy and sent me on my way and charged my card for the full amount of the room ($300). I honestly am shocked by their lack of humanity. Sure it may be a ridiculous fear that I have, but I would NEVER have booked this place if I had known it was haunted. Furthermore, to completely disregard someone's fears and treat them so poorly when they are clearly distressed, demonstrates the lack of customer service. So if rude employees and ghosts are your thing, then this hotel is for you. But if you don't want to be haunted by ghosts or haunted by the horrible customer service they offer at this hotel, I highly recommend you go somewhere else. The St. Julien is fabulous, and for a cheaper price, Basecamp Boulder on Arapahoe is...

Thank you for ruining my birthday Hotel Boulderado. It's 11:30pm and I am not able to fall asleep because there is a huge and extremely loud ventilation unit below my widow - in result the whole wall, as well as the window, are buzzing. I feel like I'm sitting next to a running plane at the airport and am on the verge of crying - I picked your hotel specially for my birthday, and I kindly asked for a quiet room while checking-in.

When I inquired if they can change my room I heard that "they know it's loud" and offered me earplugs (which I can't use due to my medical condition). Then they said they can't give me another room because I booked it through Expedia, even though I was willing to pay for an upgrade (they had available rooms). The "manager on duty" (Brianna) said the only thing I can do is to call Expedia and cancel my reservation through them to get reimbursed (I paid $611 for two nights...). So I immediately contacted Expedia and they called the hotel to confirm it, but this time the manager said that she will not reimburse me for the first night at all ($250)... I simply can't afford paying for another hotel, so I decided to stay.

After an hour in the room my head started hurting due to the noise and I realized I will not be able to fall asleep. So I called Expedia again and asked them if they could call the hotel again, and somehow try to convince the manager to change my room. This time Brianna told Expedia that everything is booked (they had rooms available an hour ago).

I travel a lot and have never experienced anything like this... My special evening turned into a horrible and really sad experience. It's also unacceptable that this hotel charges you $250 for a room which is so unbearably loud (even receptionist said so...).

When I will look back at this birthday, I will remember a sleepless night in Hotel Boulderado, pretty bad headache and a manager who did everything she could to make this experience "unforgettable".

Update: After a sleepless night I had a conversation with a proper manager. She said there is some discrepancy in what I am saying and what Brianna told her... When I addressed the fact that they charge $250 for a room that is so unbearably loud I was informed that my rate for this room was low - sometimes people pay $500 (!!!!) for it. It's unimaginable that this hotel has the audacity to charge so much money for it. She offered to "buy me a breakfast" to make it right. I'll repeat that: she offered me a BREAKFAST for a sleepless $250 birthday night... Stay away...