mouseclick1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2000
First of all, a little background about our trip: We had just completed a 12 day road trip of the west. Before we arrived at the Broadmoor, we had spent 7 nights on the road in 7 different hotels (mostly Comfort Inn type accomodations with the exception of Yellowstone). Our 3 night stay at the Broadmoor was supposed to be our rest and relaxation part of the trip before our 2 day drive back to Michigan. I booked the deluxe room, with a balcony and view of either the lake or mountains. I pictured peaceful mornings of drinking coffee and gazing at the mountains from our balcony. Our party consisted of me, DH, and 2 DS's (14 & 15).
The first thing we saw as we arrived at the resort was massive construction all around. DH and I just looked at each other with an "oh no" type of expression. We had the bell people unload our luggage while I checked in. Our room was not ready, but "it will be ready after 4, which is when our check-in time is," I was told by the front desk clerk. Ummm, it is already 4:25. Well, it will just be another 25 minutes or so. The bell people assured us our luggage will be stored in a separate room if we want to leave and come back. Fine, we take off for the Garden of the Gods.
We return to the resort at 6:30, and we see our luggage sitting in the lobby, in the same place we left it 2 hours earlier. DH got nowhere when he questioned why it was not stored as promised.
I got our room keys from the desk, and we headed up to our room. I did receive a mountain view room, but what I didn't realize is that it also included a parking lot view, view of the drop off area, and the construction site view. It was very tough not to be disappointed at this point. We tried to be optomistic, and sat our balcony chairs in a way so that we couldn't see the construction site and looked toward the mountains. We both have a pretty good sense of humor and like to look for the positive, if not comical, side in most situations.
The next morning, we received our 6:45 wake up call. No, it was not from the front desk but from the sound of backing up construction trucks. We made our morning coffee and went out to our baclony. So much for the relaxing, peaceful mountain view I thought we were getting. Not only did we hear the trucks, but all the other sounds associated with a construction site. Remember the parking lot/drop off view? We also realized how many buses drop off tour groups and convention goers bright and early in the morning. I think the sound of running buses (sometimes there were 4 lined up just waiting to get to the drop off area) was even louder than the construction site itself. We called down to the front desk at 7:15 a.m. to see about a room change. We quickly learned that the lake view was the much better deal of the two views. No, nothing was available for us to move to, so basically we were stuck.
Well, the view never got better but the rest of the trip did. It was pretty quiet at night, and the view to the right of the balcony really was pretty. The balcony was very spacious, and a fine place to enjoy and evening bottle of wine, if you remembered to look in the right direction. The pool was absolutely the most beautiful pool I have ever seen. We even saw a mama and baby deer on our way to the pool. The grounds around the entire resort were magnificent, at least if you were around the lake area. Otherwise, there was almost no place where you could avoid construction.
Aside from the few issues we had, the service was top-notch. There was a bit of rain one day at the pool, actually a pretty heavy thunderstorm, where many guests took cover in the covered pool-side cafe. The temperature dropped significantly at this point. A pool employee came around with warm pool towels for any guest who was cold to use as a wrap. That is the type of service we found at the Broadmoor. Employees called us by Mr. and Mrs. So and So when they saw us. Either they have a fantastic memory or used a cheat sheet of some sort, but who cares, it was a nice touch! The room was beautiful with very comfy beds (even though they were only doubles). And the robes, these were the finest hotel robes I have ever seen!
The bottom line - DH and I both agreed we would like to return here some day, but definately not until after all of the construction is complete. It is truly a wonderful resort, probably just a matter of bad timing for us. I know we could have made more of a fuss, but it really wasn't worth it to us. We were on vacation and wanted to enjoy ourselves as much as we could. If you do happen to head over there sometime in the near future, request a lake view and NOT a mountain view room.
One final note- while my boys both liked the Broadmoor, they both prefer the Boardwalk any day!
The first thing we saw as we arrived at the resort was massive construction all around. DH and I just looked at each other with an "oh no" type of expression. We had the bell people unload our luggage while I checked in. Our room was not ready, but "it will be ready after 4, which is when our check-in time is," I was told by the front desk clerk. Ummm, it is already 4:25. Well, it will just be another 25 minutes or so. The bell people assured us our luggage will be stored in a separate room if we want to leave and come back. Fine, we take off for the Garden of the Gods.
We return to the resort at 6:30, and we see our luggage sitting in the lobby, in the same place we left it 2 hours earlier. DH got nowhere when he questioned why it was not stored as promised.
I got our room keys from the desk, and we headed up to our room. I did receive a mountain view room, but what I didn't realize is that it also included a parking lot view, view of the drop off area, and the construction site view. It was very tough not to be disappointed at this point. We tried to be optomistic, and sat our balcony chairs in a way so that we couldn't see the construction site and looked toward the mountains. We both have a pretty good sense of humor and like to look for the positive, if not comical, side in most situations.
The next morning, we received our 6:45 wake up call. No, it was not from the front desk but from the sound of backing up construction trucks. We made our morning coffee and went out to our baclony. So much for the relaxing, peaceful mountain view I thought we were getting. Not only did we hear the trucks, but all the other sounds associated with a construction site. Remember the parking lot/drop off view? We also realized how many buses drop off tour groups and convention goers bright and early in the morning. I think the sound of running buses (sometimes there were 4 lined up just waiting to get to the drop off area) was even louder than the construction site itself. We called down to the front desk at 7:15 a.m. to see about a room change. We quickly learned that the lake view was the much better deal of the two views. No, nothing was available for us to move to, so basically we were stuck.
Well, the view never got better but the rest of the trip did. It was pretty quiet at night, and the view to the right of the balcony really was pretty. The balcony was very spacious, and a fine place to enjoy and evening bottle of wine, if you remembered to look in the right direction. The pool was absolutely the most beautiful pool I have ever seen. We even saw a mama and baby deer on our way to the pool. The grounds around the entire resort were magnificent, at least if you were around the lake area. Otherwise, there was almost no place where you could avoid construction.
Aside from the few issues we had, the service was top-notch. There was a bit of rain one day at the pool, actually a pretty heavy thunderstorm, where many guests took cover in the covered pool-side cafe. The temperature dropped significantly at this point. A pool employee came around with warm pool towels for any guest who was cold to use as a wrap. That is the type of service we found at the Broadmoor. Employees called us by Mr. and Mrs. So and So when they saw us. Either they have a fantastic memory or used a cheat sheet of some sort, but who cares, it was a nice touch! The room was beautiful with very comfy beds (even though they were only doubles). And the robes, these were the finest hotel robes I have ever seen!
The bottom line - DH and I both agreed we would like to return here some day, but definately not until after all of the construction is complete. It is truly a wonderful resort, probably just a matter of bad timing for us. I know we could have made more of a fuss, but it really wasn't worth it to us. We were on vacation and wanted to enjoy ourselves as much as we could. If you do happen to head over there sometime in the near future, request a lake view and NOT a mountain view room.
One final note- while my boys both liked the Broadmoor, they both prefer the Boardwalk any day!
