Hospitality & Tourism  April 3, 2025

Deed shows new Hotel Boulderado owner paid $102M

The historic Hotel Boulderado. Christopher Wood/BizWest
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BOULDER — The Hotel Boulderado’s new owners paid $102 million for the historic Boulder property, Boulder County real estate records show.

A warranty deed recorded this week with the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder’s office indicates that GBCO Owner LLC, an entity registered with Colorado Secretary of State’s office to a Chicago address affiliated with Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners, paid nearly 59% of that sum to Boulderado Hotel Ltd. LLP and the remainder to Dia Dorado LLP. Both of those recipient entities are affiliated with previous Hotel Boulderado owner Frank Day. 

Hotel Boulderado — Boulder’s first luxury hotel, which opened in 1909 — was recently taken over by Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners, also known as AJ Capital Partners or AJCP, an investment firm that plans to renovate the lodge and bring it under the Graduate by Hilton portfolio. AJCP declined to provide financial terms of the deal when asked this week by BizWest.

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“A phased renovation is slated to commence later this year. Upon completion, the invigorated Hotel Boulderado will join the Graduate by Hilton collection,” AJCP said Monday in a prepared statement. “The hotel will remain open for business while repairs and improvements are underway, and the anticipated completion date is Spring 2026. The Hotel Boulderado name will be preserved, along with the property’s signature architectural elements and welcoming sense of place that shape its timeless appeal.”

Graduate is a collegiate-themed Hilton brand with locations in many college towns, including Chapel Hill, North Carolina (University of North Carolina); Palo Alto, California (Stanford University); and Tucson, Arizona (University of Arizona).

“We are thrilled and honored to partner with the Days, who have been passionate stewards of this beloved property for over four decades,” Ben Weprin said in a prepared statement. Weprin is the CEO of Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners and a founder of the Graduate Hotels brand. “Together, we look forward to honoring The Boulderado’s unmistakable spirit, celebrating its history, and introducing thoughtful touches that will elevate the guest experience for generations to come.”

Frank Day, the 92-year-old Boulder restaurateur who co-owns the Boulder-born restaurant group Concept Restaurants Inc., bought the Hotel Boulderado in 1980. Among the groups Frank Day and his wife and business partner Gina Day have owned or helped start are Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., Old Chicago, Walnut Brewery and the ChopHouse & Brewery; Colorado’s first microbrewery, Boulder Beer; iconic Boulder watering hole The Walrus; the Table Mountain Inn in Golden; Downtown Boulder Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on promoting downtown Boulder; and the Day Family Foundation.

“You can’t talk about the history of the Boulderado without recognizing the enormous and risky investment that Frank Day and his partners made in that hotel, which was in a dilapidated state,” Boulder Chamber CEO John Tayer told BizWest. “But they saw the future vision for a historic, renovated hotel becoming premier accommodations for our community.”

Frank Day was inducted last year into the Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame

“We have chosen to partner with AJ because of the magnificent work they’ve done with other historic hotels like the Chicago Athletic Association, Randolph Hotel in Oxford, and Rusacks in St. Andrews.” the Days said in a statement. “They have the wherewithal to take the Boulderado to the next level.”

The Hotel Boulderado’s new owners paid $102 million for the historic Boulder property, Boulder County real estate records show.

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A Maryland native, Lucas has worked at news agencies from Wyoming to South Carolina before putting roots down in Colorado.
Categories: Breaking News Hospitality & Tourism Sunday Weekly Today's News Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners Frank Day Hotel Boulderado
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