Get A Glimpse Inside What Will Be The Largest Hotel In Colorado
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – A tour inside the Gaylord Rockies resort on Thursday gave the public its first glimpse into the massive project that is currently the largest hotel under construction in the country and will become the largest hotel in Colorado once it is complete.
"The goal of this hotel is to create a lodge inspired mountain retreat at the foothills," Michael Kofsky, Director of Sales & Marketing for Gaylord Rockies.
The resort in Aurora will have 1,500 rooms and nearly 500,000 square feet in meeting space when the project is complete. Staff selling bookings for the property before it opens say they have created a new experience for groups and conventions coming to Colorado.
"We've got two great options in Colorado," said Kofsky. "You have a group having the option of choosing a really great option downtown or a great option out here at the Gaylord Rockies."
Kofsky explains that some clients are looking for meeting space and hotel rooms all under one roof. It will be a new way to gather in the Denver area while located much closer to the airport. Gaylord Rockies is about 10 minutes away from Denver International Airport.
"Well I think short of the convention center downtown, there's nothing else this size," explained David Bray of RIDA Development.
Some of the features that will keep guests at the resort include an indoor and outdoor pool that can hold 1,200 people at once. It will also have a 40 feet tall water slide. Inside the Great Hall, there will be a vintage railroad caboose from the Santa Fe line that operated in Colorado. There will also be a lake and waterfall.
The sports bar will also have a 75 feet tall display that will allow guests to watch games on two different levels.
There will also be a lazy river that runs just outside of the property and it will be heated so guests can enjoy it most of the year.
"We have other convention center hotels and we have a lazy river at all of those," said Bray. "So we understood the value and the success of those."
Construction should be complete in late 2018 with the first groups set to begin using the resort in February 2019.
Shawn Chitnis reports for CBS4 News at 10 on weekends and CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the week. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.