The Broadmoor at 100: what drew celebrities, presidents, royalty to this Colorado Springs resort

What is it? Opened in 1918, the “Grande Dame of the Rockies” has 784 guest rooms and suites, including those in two brown­stone homes and 44 cottages.

The resort’s 5,000 acres also encompass three wilder­ness properties. Hollywood stars, presi­dents, foreign dignitaries and royalty have all stayed here, but perhaps the most storied figure in The Broadmoor’s history is its founder, Spencer Penrose, a mining entre­preneur and local legend. His passion for sport and nature shape guest experiences to this day.

Tell us more about this fella. In 1920, Penrose pulled off a publicity stunt that put his resort on the travel bucket lists of the wealthy. He invited 60 East Coast hoteliers for an all-expenses-paid stay. Dubbing themselves the Hundred Million Dollar Club, the group’s spirited sporting events and soirées are documented in the Hotel Bar, in framed thank you notes, photo­graphs and murals.

Look for Penrose’s pet monkey playing with … um, a marble? Nope. That’s one of the man’s glass eyes. He had two for the same socket; a clear one for business dealings and a bloodshot one, which he popped in ahead of drinking bouts. The eyeballs are now on display in the lobby, near Bottle Alley, an exhibit of 1,100 empty bottles from Penrose’s pre-first-world-war liquor stash. He stored bottles in under­ground caverns and beneath floor­boards in his home, El Pomar, which is in the grounds and open for guided tours.

What else is there to do? Golf, tennis and swimming are all well catered for, and guided, outdoor adventures include falconry, fly fishing, biking, rock climbing and horse riding. The longest zip line at Broadmoor Soaring Adventure measures 550 metres and propels human missiles across rugged South Cheyenne Canyon at more than 45 miles per hour.

A complimentary shuttle takes guests the 15km to Seven Falls, next to The Broadmoor’s Restaurant 1858 (a log cabin whose name references the year the Colorado gold rush started). An easy walking trail leads to the falls, which tumble down 380-metre canyon walls.