Colorado Springs, Colorado, is that rare destination that blends the majesty of the mountains with top-shelf meetings resorts and plenty of offsite activities and special-event options that impart a distinctive feel.
Located about 85 miles south of Denver International Airport (with Colorado Springs Airport only a little more than five miles from downtown), this Rocky Mountains enclave is noted as the home of the United States Air Force Academy as well as convention-ready luxury resorts such as historic The Broadmoor as well as Cheyenne Mountain Resort, a longtime member of IACC.
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“The diversity of the city in and of itself is exponential,” said Krista Heinicke, director of public relations at The Broadmoor. “There’s so much to do and so much to see, and it appeals to those who appreciate the outdoors. When you come here, you feel like you’re truly in the mountains, and we have the meeting space to back it up. There’s a natural blend of business and recreation, and attendees really seem to enjoy transitioning from their meetings into something more adventurous and scenic, or they can just relax and take in the views.”
Heinicke summoned the destination’s biggest claim to fame, the 1893 Katharine Lee Bates poem “America the Beautiful,” which would in effect become a second U.S. national anthem after being combined with music.
“She remembered being up at the summit of Pikes Peak—that view is what inspired the poem,” Heinicke offered.
Because of its stunning scenery, the destination offers ample—really somewhat obligatory—opportunities to bring attendees and programming out into its vast natural expanses.
“Where do you start?” she asked. “The natural fit, of course, is hiking, whether going on a leisurely walk or a strenuous hike. Directly south of Colorado Springs there’s whitewater rafting and hot-air ballooning. The world is their oyster depending on what they want to do. And of course, they can always go to Seven Falls and ride the Cog Railway, which a lot of groups do.”
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A convenient aspect of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the world’s highest cog railway and which has been in operation since 1891, is that the train station is located in nearby Manitou Springs, an authentic historic mountain village ripe with boutique shopping and dining opportunities.
“And the thing about Pikes Peak is that there’s many ways to enjoy it,” Heinicke offered. “One, of course, is the cog, and one is to hike up and then bike down, which groups take advantage of.”
Other standout nature-based activities include Garden of the Gods, a dramatic 1,300-acre park studded with towering red rock formations composed of 300 million-year-old sandstone; and The Broadmoor Seven Falls, a series of waterfalls set in a box canyon and home to The Broadmoor Soaring Adventure zipline course. Since The Broadmoor owns the property, renting the facilities for a special event is seamless, with venues that include the Eagle’s Nest platform and Restaurant 1858, located at the base of the falls.
Heinicke said groups also often visit the Olympic & Paralympic Museum—especially popular with sports buffs—and downtown’s Weidener Field to catch a soccer game or use as an offsite event option.
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Major Colorado Springs Meeting and Event Properties
Notable Colorado Springs meeting and event properties include:
Cheyenne Mountain Resort The 316-room Cheyenne Mountain Resort, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel, with 40,000 square feet of IACC-accredited meeting space
- The Lodge at Flying Horse, a luxurious option with 10,000 square feet of meeting space and 102 guest rooms
- The Mining Exchange, a Wyndham Grand Hotel, with 128 recently redesigned guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space
- The Hotel Polaris, a 375-room property with 40,000 square feet of meeting space that opened in late 2024 near the United States Air Force Academy
- The Cliff House at Pikes Peak, a AAA Four Diamond hotel located in the historic town of Manitou Springs, with 54 guest rooms and more than 6,000 square feet of meeting space across five meeting rooms
Popular Colorado Springs event venues include:
- Pikes Peak Center, a downtown venue offering nearly 23,000 square feet of exhibit space across five meeting rooms
- U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, which can accommodate groups of up to 100 for meetings, including a boardroom boasting the 1984 Miracle on Ice scoreboard, or up to 700 for a reception buyout of the facility
- Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers, a popular live-music venue for headliner acts that can be rented for private events of up to 500
- Flying W Ranch, located in the foothills and which has entertained guests since 1953 with Western-themed entertainment and chuckwagon dinners; groups of up to 2,000 can be accommodated here
- Glen Ayrie Castle & Conference Center, an alcohol- and cannabis-free religious venue that offers retreats and private event rentals, and which has 17 guest rooms and more than 16,500 square feet of meeting space, including the 2,152-square-foot Great Hall
Latest Colorado Springs Meetings Venue News
Hotel Polaris opened in November 2024. Located outside the United States Air Force Academy, the 375-room resort-style hotel offers six food and beverage experiences, a boutique spa and wellness center, and 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including a 12,000-square-foot ballroom and 6,000-square-foot junior ballroom. The property also features the only flight simulators at a hotel in the U.S.
The General Bradley and Zita Hosmer Visitor Center at the U.S. Air Force Academy opened in May as part of Colorado Springs’ City of Champions Project, along with U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, the William J. Hybl Sports Medicine & Performance Center, the Ed Robson Arena at Colorado College and Weidner Field, home of the Switchbacks FC soccer team.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, is set to open a 12,000-square-foot giraffe barn this summer. The barn will feature a space with garage door windows for attendees to feed the giraffes from the meeting room. Capacity information was not available at publication time.
The Cliff House at Pikes Peak, a circa-1873 historic property, is under new ownership and embarking on a renovation project to preserve and upgrade the property, including all of its restaurants, bar and more than 50 guest rooms. Completion is anticipated by the end of 2027.
The Mining Exchange, a Wyndham Grand Hotel wrapped a renovation in June 2024 and joined the Wyndham brand the following September. Set in the historic stock exchange, the renovation focused on maintaining the 1902 hotel’s historic charm while updating the 128-room property’s guest rooms and meeting spaces, as well as introducing a redesigned living room-style lobby.
Call of the Wild: The Broadmoor's Cloud Camp
One interesting option for small meetings such as executive retreats traveling to Colorado Springs is the Wilderness Experience properties owned by The Broadmoor, the main campus of which is the destination’s most iconic property, opened in 1918 by mining tycoon and philanthropist Spencer Penrose.
While the 784-room The Broadmoor offers everything and more when it comes to hosting meetings, adding the state-of-the-art 125,000-square-foot Bartolin Hall conference center in 2021 that brought its total amount of meeting space to 315,000 square feet, the storied property also operates three mountain retreats about an hour away.
[Related: The Broadmoor’s Cloud Camp Facilitates Lofty Goals for Executive Retreats]
The most exclusive, and stunning, of the three is Cloud Camp, a mountaintop aerie that boasts 360-degree views of Pikes Peak, the inspiration behind what many consider the second national anthem of the U.S., “America the Beautiful.”
Perched more than 9,000 feet on the summit of Cheyenne Mountain, Cloud Camp offers a timber-and-stone main lodge decked out in Western art, artifacts and Navajo rugs. Groups can savor panoramic views of Colorado Springs and the Rocky Mountains from the 1,500-square-foot The Overlook space or mingle in front of one of two stone fireplaces and take part in activity options such as archery, mule rides, pickleball and hiking.
For a bigger thrill, attendees can fly through the forest on The Broadmoor Soaring Adventure zipline course on the Sunrise Trail. While Cloud Camp offers an all-inclusive pricing structure, including its gourmet meals, the zipline is not included in the price.
