David S.
Yelp
Friends were visiting from St. Paul Minnesota for a weekend, so I planned a Colorado staycation to show them around. Our first fun night was Boulder, CO, so we decided to pick Basecamp Boulder for its close proximity to Pearl Street. Basecamp Boulder is a fun hotel, somewhat like an older motor lodge that has been converted into a mountain style boutique hotel. I believe the desk said that the hotel was about 20 years old, and had previously been a Quality Inn...one of the top 5 Quality Inn locations in the United States.
Walking into the front office and the desk, I knew this was going to be a fun hotel with lots of kitsch and style. The window behind the front desk was filled with horizontal planters, like a ladder of greenery up to the top of the window. To the side of the desk was a coffee and tea station and a small rack with Basecamp Boulder merchandise, and to the other side was a large sitting area and bar where guests could sit and relax, read, or order food and drinks during serving hours. The front desk and seating area are separated by very large ropes anchored into the ceiling and half wall, which I thought was a cool idea. And the steel cross beam light over the dining area was great. I want one for my dining room at home! Out the backdoor of the front office is a large outdoor seating area with a beautiful large fire pit, perfect for enjoying the evening. Further beyond the front office was the recreation room, with ping pong tables, picnic tables, and the entire wall is a climbing wall. The recreation room also has large garage doors that can be lifted to let the outdoors in. Beyond the recreation room is the indoor hot tub and sauna area. Huge hot tub.
The hotel has the feeling of an older motor lodge simply because the rooms have exterior doors, and you can park along the hotel within very close proximity to your room. Our room was a king room, second floor, directly across from the front office. The room met our needs perfectly as we were in Boulder for a night out wondering Pearl Street. It's a very standard hotel room, large square, one large window next to the door, a king bed, nightstands on each side made of stacked wooden boards similar to giant Jenga, a large chair by the window, a large credenza with drawers, a closet in one corner, the bathroom located in another corner, and the television and coffee maker sat atop the credenza. Between the closet and the bathroom was a single sink vanity, so the vanity/sink area was within the room rather than inside the bathroom. The bathroom was small with room only for the toilet and the bathtub shower. This is not a bathroom in which someone would get ready, as there's not enough floor space in the bathroom to get dressed.
Sticking with a camp theme and a boutique hotel feel, the décor of the room was definitely fun, with the giant Jenga night stands, the camp style lantern lights, the hipster "antler" art cracked me up and was definitely typical of Boulder...using bike handle bars as antlers vs. animal antlers, and the headboard was a large canvas map, printed in black, showing funny directions and points of interest in Boulder. Rather than refrigerators in the room, there are old styled aluminum coolers sitting in the room. Our room didn't have a cooler, however our traveling companions had a cooler in their room. Pretty funny, as I remember camping when I was little and using these same types of coolers as a chair.
The hotel is close walking proximity to Pearl Street, which was great. We'd planned on using Lyft to get around town, but were happily surprised that the hotel is only a few blocks away from the center of shops, restaurants, and bars. No need to move the car, since parking was free, and no need to use Lyft since the location was awesome and we could easily stumble back to the room after a great night on Pearl Street.
I definitely liked Basecamp Boulder. The hotel does offer made to order and pay breakfast, however we weren't up early enough to have breakfast, or to order coffee. Thankfully there is a convenience store about a block from the hotel. I would suggest Basecamp Boulder to anyone who is looking for a fun, relaxed hotel in the center of Boulder. Now, if you are the type of person who checks into a hotel and begins to nit-pick all of the little details, such as the appearance of the grout lines in the shower, then your eyes are going to find things that you might not like or might cause you to disagree with the price you are paying for the room. But remember, this is a camping themed hotel, the rooms are adequate and nicely appointed, it's a very central location right in the middle of Boulder, and Basecamp Boulder should really bring about a feeling of just having a good time.
