Gaylord Rockies hotel on schedule for late 2018 opening

AURORA — The biggest hotel under construction in the nation will open in about a year, according to a report in the Aurora Sentinel after a tour of the massive structure near Denver International Airport.

The Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center, visible from E-470 with 2 million square feet of space, will feature 1,501 rooms, 485,000 square feet of convention and meeting space and water park features to attract tourists and families of convention-goers.

Dave Bray, vice president of architecture and construction for RIDA Development, and the man leading the construction project, told press representatives Thursday that because of some shrewd building decisions and mild weather, the big hotel project is on track for its planned opening in a year.

Bray said contractors were able to speed construction by placing a false roof on the structure about half way up its height. That meant the work on the lower levels could go forward with some cover well before the actual roof was complete. The actual roof is now in place and the structure is closed in enough to permit drywall work on the 1,500 rooms.

Furnishing a hotel of this size will take months, Bray said, and already work is underway to get much of the furniture and equipment Gaylord needs ordered.

Construction has been challenged by the state’s low unemployment rate, which made it difficult for contractors to secure sufficient labor, Bray said. In the case of roofers, he said a contractor had to recently get 15 from Kansas City and another five from Phoenix to come to Aurora for six weeks to finish a stretch of roof.

The project has required 1,300 construction workers — plus a few hundred staffing the small city of construction trailers on the southern edge of the site — working on the project every day. Meanwhile, Gaylord’s temporary sales office has booked about 600,000 room nights for the hotel.

Michael Kofsky, director of sales and marketing for Gaylord Rockies, said about 85 percent of the clients who have booked Gaylord have never hosted their convention in Colorado.

Many of the groups that have added Gaylord Rockies are on what could be called the Gaylord circuit — they book their annual convention at one of Gaylord’s properties every year. They might do Nashville one year, the Gaylord Texan another, and now Gaylord Rockies.

But Kofsky said that isn’t really the goal for his staff. While they’re certainly happy to have those regular visitors, Kofsky said his team is aiming to lure new clientele.