Cliff House at Pikes Peak

The staff was professional and friendly. The PT Barnum bedroom did not have a working hot tub. The New Years Party was OUTSTANDING AND FUN!

A quintessential 150-year-old hotel in the heart of Manitou Springs, the hotel was recently renovated and has modern amenities in its rooms. Our room, unfortunately, overlooked the back side of the hotel with a view of a hillside a few feet from our bedroom windows. We did not feel safe opening the windows at night for fresh air. The staff was outstanding and friendly; however, on the last day of our stay, the valet parked our car in the grass and smashed the side mirror into a reflector. Parking was the one issue, as the only option is valet. However, the valets were quick in retrieving our vehicle, and other than the last day, we had no issues. The restaurant was good with fine cuisine; however, both my wife and I asked for medium, and the meat was cooked rare. The bar is another option for dinner with a few specific bar items on the menu, but it is clear they share the kitchen. The bartender spilled simple syrup on the outside of my glass, making my drink a sticky mess. Not acceptable for a $18 drink. It was an enjoyable stay, but for dinner and drinks, you can do better by going to a fine restaurant in Colorado Springs.

AVOID Room 409 An otherwise wonderful stay, EXCEPT spoiled by ... We were put into room 409. After dinner and returning to our room, there was a bad smell, but nothing too strong. Went to bed. At 10pm, woke up and the smell was TERRIBLE. It seemed to be coming from the bath, but there were no obvious sources. I turned on the fan and shut the bathroom door, and a while later, the odor was gone. It was definitely a sewer odor - the sort one might expect from a dried out p-trap, though that wasn't the case here as I tried running some water in both the sink and tub just in case. It turns out that the hotel KNOWS about this problem, and has attempted to locate and resolve it before without success. So why are they still booking guests into this room knowing there's the potential for a major stink? It even gets out into the hall where we note they leave the window open at the end in an attempt to mitigate it a bit for the other guests.