Boulder Best Western closes after 52 years

BOULDER — The Best Western Plus Boulder Inn near the intersection of 28th Street and Baseline Road has closed after 52 years in business. Ari Rubin, the hotel’s director of sales, told BizWest that the last guests checked out of the 99-room hotel Sunday afternoon. 

“I’m excited about how much we’ve accomplished in the Boulder lodging industry,” Rubin, who had been with the hotel for 19 years, told BizWest. “But yeah, it can be sad.”

The hotel is slated to be redeveloped into a 92-unit student housing complex dubbed Hub Boulder. That would add another offering to the row of student housing developments along that stretch of 28th Street, including the U Club on 28th, 104 28th St., Spanish Towers, the Lodge, the Lotus, and Kensington Apartments.

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Built in 1970 as the Royal Inn and Jolly King Restaurant, the hotel was converted into a Best Western in 1979. It was upgraded to a Best Western Plus in 2011 and had been remodeled as recently as 2015. 

The hotel was a hub for visiting parents, attendees of conferences at the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as visitors to the city’s federal labs. With the Best Western closing and the two hotels under construction on the Hill still years away, Rubin said that the CU campus area could face a “dearth of lodging choices” until the Hill hotels are finished.

Rubin added that most of the Best Western employees have found jobs at other Boulder hotels. 

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