Glenwood Springs, Colorado · Founded 1893 · Building: 1891–1893
An 1893 Glenwood Springs hotel known for Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 stay, a wartime Navy hospital conversion, and a Teddy Bear legend the record does not support.
Hotel Colorado opened in Glenwood Springs on June 10, 1893, after Walter Devereux began construction in 1891. The Italianate hotel became a destination for visitors to the town's hot springs and later served as a temporary presidential base during Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 bear-hunting trip. During the Second World War, the U.S. Navy leased the hotel as a convalescent hospital before it returned to hotel use.
Walter Devereux begins construction of Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.
Source: Historic Hotels of America, "History of Hotel Colorado"; Historic Glenwood Springs walking tour
Hotel Colorado opens to guests.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "History"; Historic Hotels of America, "History of Hotel Colorado"
President Theodore Roosevelt uses Hotel Colorado as a temporary base during a three-week bear-hunting expedition and conducts presidential business from the hotel.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "History"; Historic Hotels of America, "History of Hotel Colorado"
Former President William Howard Taft visits Hotel Colorado after arriving in Glenwood Springs by private railcar.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "History"; Historic Glenwood Springs walking tour
Hotel Colorado is commissioned as the U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Glenwood Springs, after the Navy leases the building.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "History"; Historic Hotels of America, "History of Hotel Colorado"
The U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital is decommissioned and the property returns to hotel use after the war.
Source: Historic Hotels of America, "History of Hotel Colorado"; Historic Glenwood Springs walking tour
Hotel Colorado is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: National Park Service, Colorado National Register listings
The Melville family purchases Hotel Colorado and begins a reported $10 million historic renovation.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "Fact-Checking Hotel Colorado's Colorful Past"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Hotel Colorado's stuffed-bear story is a local legend, and the hotel now labels it uncertain. It cannot explain the origin of the Teddy Bear because the name and commercial toy were already associated with Roosevelt after the 1902 Mississippi bear-hunt cartoon and were marketed by 1902–1903, before his 1905 Glenwood Springs visit.
The U.S. Navy leased Hotel Colorado and commissioned it as the U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital on July 5, 1943. Hotel history says the hospital treated more than 6,500 patients before it was decommissioned in 1946.
Hotel and regional-history sources say Roosevelt stayed at Hotel Colorado during a three-week bear-hunting trip in 1905 and used it as a temporary base for his staff and official presidential work. The title "Little White House of the West" is a historical nickname, not a formal White House designation.
The hotel has a contemporary haunted reputation, including stories linked to its former Navy-hospital use. This audit did not identify a reliable historical source establishing a particular nurse, death, elevator encounter, or upper-floor haunting; those specifics remain folklore.
The hotel says the Melville family purchased Hotel Colorado in 2018 and began a $10 million historic renovation. This audit did not independently confirm the current title-holding entity through Garfield County land records or Colorado corporate filings.
Everything below has been reported by two or more independent sources — this is an informational record of what's said about this place, not a verified account of paranormal activity. Still Open America doesn't certify hauntings as real.
A story associated with the hotel's Naval Hospital era describes a nurse called Bobbie, said to have been killed in a love triangle. Reports place her alleged activity on the main floor and in the Devereux Dining Room, where guests and staff describe floral perfume and the sound of dishes moving after service has ended.
No historical record confirming a naval nurse named Bobbie, the alleged killing, or the claimed cover-up was located in the reviewed sources.
Guests in Room 661, one of the bell-tower suites, report a woman in a floral dress standing near or over the bed and closing an open window. The story is commonly traced to an alleged 1993 stay, followed by similar reports attributed to later guests.
The alleged 1993 guest incident and the identity of the reported woman were not independently confirmed in the reviewed sources.
Guests and staff have reported seeing a young girl dressed in Victorian-era clothing playing with a ball in hotel hallways and other areas of the property. Some versions connect the story to an alleged fall from a balcony while chasing a ball.
No historical record confirming the alleged fall or identifying the reported child was located in the reviewed sources.
A recurring lobby report involves the unexplained odor of cigar smoke despite the hotel's no-smoking policy. The presence is commonly called Walter and is associated in hotel lore with founder Walter Devereux.
No evidence was located that establishes whether the reported cigar odor has a paranormal cause or confirms that it is connected to Walter Devereux.
Guests and staff have reported elevators moving between floors and opening or closing without an apparent passenger. Some accounts group the elevator reports with unexplained sounds and door activity elsewhere in the hotel.
The Teddy Bear was first created at Hotel Colorado in 1905.
The Hotel Colorado story is a later local legend. Teddy Bears were named and commercially sold in connection with Theodore Roosevelt's 1902 bear-hunt controversy before his 1905 stay in Glenwood Springs.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "Fact-Checking Hotel Colorado's Colorful Past," 2025; KKCO 11 News, July 3, 2026
Hotel Colorado was the official White House during Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 trip.
The hotel was a temporary base for Roosevelt, his staff, and official work during a three-week hunting trip. "Little White House of the West" was a nickname, not a legal or formal designation.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "History"; Historic Hotels of America, "History of Hotel Colorado"
The Navy hospital's history proves a specific naval nurse haunts Hotel Colorado.
The Navy hospital is documented, but the alleged nurse and related elevator or upper-floor ghost stories were not verified by historical records reviewed in this audit.
Source: Hotel Colorado, "History"; Hotel Colorado, "Fact-Checking Hotel Colorado's Colorful Past," 2025
Hotel Colorado has remained relevant by repeatedly adapting to the needs of Glenwood Springs tourism. It began as a grand nineteenth-century resort, hosted presidential visits, became a Navy convalescent hospital during the war, and then returned to hospitality. The Melville family says it acquired the hotel in 2018 and invested $10 million in a historic renovation, continuing the cycle of reinvestment that has kept the 1893 property operating.
No. Hotel Colorado has a local legend that staff made Theodore Roosevelt a stuffed bear during his 1905 stay, but Teddy Bear history predates that visit. The toy's name and commercial origin are tied to Roosevelt's 1902 bear-hunt controversy and early 1902–1903 toy sales, so the Hotel Colorado story cannot be the original invention.
Hotel Colorado was called the "Little White House of the West" because President Theodore Roosevelt used it as a temporary base during a three-week Colorado bear-hunting trip in 1905. He stayed there with staff and conducted official business, but it was not a formal White House relocation or a campaign headquarters.
Yes. The U.S. Navy leased Hotel Colorado during the Second World War and commissioned it as the U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Glenwood Springs, on July 5, 1943. It treated more than 6,500 patients before decommissioning in 1946.
Hotel Colorado says the Melville family purchased the property in 2018 and began a historic renovation. This audit did not independently verify the current legal title-holding entity through Garfield County property records, so deed-level ownership remains open.
526 Pine Street, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
(970) 945-6511
Check the hotel directly for current access to the lobby, Roosevelt display, courtyard, restaurant, tours, and events.