Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs again named five-diamond winner by AAA

The Broadmoor
For the 40th consecutive year, The Broadmoor hotel is wearing diamonds - five of them.

AAA on Friday named the internationally known Colorado Springs resort as a five-diamond winner in its 2016 ratings of hotel and resort properties. The Broadmoor is the only hotel in North America to receive the travel organization's highest rating each year since the annual awards were launched in 1976.

Even though five diamonds have become as synonymous with The Broadmoor as luxury dining and valet parking, president and CEO Jack Damioli said he doesn't take the award lightly.

"This is something, when you look at industry awards, AAA and Forbes are the two benchmarks by which all hospitality companies are measured," he said, referring to the Forbes Travel Guide, which consistently awards The Broadmoor its top, five-star rating. "To have the honor and distinction of having our five-diamond award since 1976, for 40 consecutive years, it's a humbling honor for all of us here."

The nearly century-old Broadmoor, on Colorado Springs' southwest side, has 779 rooms, suites and other accommodations, and amenities that include golf, tennis, a spa, pools and shopping. In recent years, it's expanded its offerings to include wilderness retreats in the Pike National Forest and on top of Cheyenne Mountain.

The hotel plays host to presidents, foreign dignitaries and celebrities, and has gained a reputation as one of the world's top resorts. Still, when leisure travelers consider where to spend their summers or meeting planners research venues for conferences and conventions, a five-diamond rating will catch their attention, Damioli said.

"A good meeting planner will always do their homework and understand what industry awards a property has and then come and experience the property themselves," he said. "But normally, what gets your foot in the door for that site visit, is your industry awards. That's why, again, the relevance of AAA's five diamonds means so much to us."

Three other Colorado hotels also received five diamonds from AAA as part of its 2016 ratings: The Little Nell in Aspen and the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons in Denver.

Meanwhile, AAA on Friday named three hotels in the Pikes Peak region as four-diamond winners for 2016: The Cliff House at Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs and the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and The Mining Exchange, A Wyndham Grand Hotel, in Colorado Springs. All are repeat four-diamond honorees.

AAA also awards diamond ratings to restaurants. However, those ratings - which typically have accompanied the hotel announcements - won't be released until Feb. 5; AAA wanted to put more of a spotlight on the restaurant ratings, said Wave Dreher, a spokeswoman for AAA Colorado.

"We want them to get the attention that they are due," she said.

The Broadmoor is owned by the Denver-based Anschutz Corp., whose Clarity Media Group owns The Gazette.

Reported by:  Gazette.com