A Completely Different Hotel in Colorado Springs: SCP Hotel

 Sitting in the hot tub I overhead a conversation about the hotel we were all staying in, SCP Hotel. 

“It’s really different,” said one of the women. 

“Oh yes. I was worried when we pulled up and it looked like a regular hotel, but I’m glad we ended up here,” said the other. “The kids are just loving this big pool.”

It’s true, SCP Hotel in Colorado Springs is a different kind of lodging experience. SCP stands for Soul, Community, Planet and SCP Hotel embraces each of these words to the fullest.

While it looks like a regular hotel from the outside (I think the building was once a Days Inn), once one nears the building an unusual wall of green near the front door catches the eye. Upon entering SCP Hotel, nothing resembles a chain hotel and the experiences here are far from traditional.  

While SCP Hotel does offer a place to sleep for the night, a stay is so much more. The lobby is filled with light and energy—a very creative space. There are no polo-clad, khaki wearing staff here. In fact, you will recognize hotel personnel by the SCP sticker they wear, and that’s not the only thing that’s different here.

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The “lobby” space is cavernous with a sort of warehouse feel. There’s a wall of plants, a check-in desk joined to a bar and a seating area that fills during live music on the weekends. There’s plenty of room for musicians to set up on the far end of the space. 

Behind the bar and check-in area, there’s a co-working space to the right, filled with tables, a whiteboard and even swings.

There is also a popular pool table that separates the co-working space and market. The market, behind the bar, is full of tasty Colorado-made goods including my favorite mint tea from Teakoe, a Denver company. This room also includes coffee and tea and a microwave and a variety of sandwiches, breakfast stuff and other snacks.

The entire hotel has been carefully curated and it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, SCP Hotel represents a $6 million renovation of the 98,000 square-foot property and it took nine months. There are 176 rooms here as well as a gigantic pool area complete with hot tub and incredible work out facilities (cross-fitters will love it). In addition, there are yoga and meditation rooms. 

This hotel represents our changing world. The concepts of using less and buying local are alive and well at SCP Hotel, and reusing and recycling are a big part of staying here. I would encourage every guest to read the laminated sheet in their room that outlines the hotel’s philosophies. Everything is done for a reason and this one-sheet explains the rationale behind each choice.   

Our room, located in the main building was spacious with a comfy bed. We’ve been running into a lot of comfortable beds, sheets, and pillows during our travels—I hope this trend continues. 

SCP Hotel is located south of downtown and just five minutes from Luigi’s Homemade Italian, which has been in town for 61 years. We had a fun meal in the tiny bar here during our Colorado Springs stay. 

While the hotel isn’t located within walking distance of downtown it’s an easy Uber ride away. Plus, there’s an airy bar located at SCP Hotel. With live music every weekend and a food truck on Friday, you might just choose to stay in. 

There is an impressive collection of local spirits behind the bar. It includes one of my favorite gins from Lee Spirits, a Colorado Springs distillery. They keep a lot of local drinks behind the bar. A stay comes with two free drinks so if you aren’t from Colorado try one of our craft beers.

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SCP Hotel is an entirely different lodging experience and quite frankly, it’s a bit startling at first. We are so acclimated to traditional chain hotels that tend to looks the same no matter where they are located. However, I like that SCP Hotel has remodeled a chain to be a one-of-kind, holistic approach to lodging. 

This is a super cool  offering in Colorado Springs. Ryan and I enjoyed our stay here and are always overwhelmed by how much is available to do in this area. If you haven’t visited Colorado Springs in a while (or have never been here), what are you waiting for?

Thank you to Visit Colorado Springs for hosting our visit.