May 4, 2023. Aurora, CO. The Benson Hotel and Faculty Club, a new boutique hotel, has opened as the hospitality center for the nationally recognized University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. Long considered the gateway to the Rockies, Aurora has evolved into Colorado’s biotech hub and a health and life sciences research center. The Benson Hotel, a Preferred Hotel & Resorts member, lies conveniently between downtown Denver and Denver International Airport. It is adjacent to the Fitzsimmons Innovation Community, the new business and residential district focused on medical and bioscience.
The Benson Hotel has been expressly designed to accommodate the needs of the hospitals and the University by offering luxury guestrooms, a full-service restaurant, spacious light-filled meeting facilities, and an elegant ballroom and Rose Garden for large social functions.
“We’re proud to introduce a remarkable luxury boutique hotel and a fine dining experience to the medical campus, our neighbors, and greater Denver,” said Peter Walterspiel, General Manager of The Benson Hotel and Faculty Club. “We offer unprecedented guest accommodations for the Aurora area, world-class meeting facilities, and a stylish restaurant serving creative cuisine. The Benson Hotel promises to be a game-changer for anyone working in or visiting the area.”
The Benson’s 106 accommodations include a mix of guestrooms, suites, and an entire floor of apartment-style suites with kitchens. The guestroom designs incorporate sophisticated color schemes and textiles that vary across four different room motifs, each designed to celebrate Colorado’s natural beauty, some with warm wood paneling and others featuring whimsical botanical wallpapers, with contemporary hardware in all the bath areas.
Standard Queen and King accommodations include a sitting space and work area. Expanded Studio and Premium King accommodations offer more room, a view of the mountains or garden, and a small kitchenette area. Finely appointed spacious suites offer views of the Front Range, the Rose Garden, and the Anschutz Campus, some featuring gas fireplaces and balconies.
The Common Good
The Common Good, The Benson’s 100-seat restaurant, serves a menu of freshly prepared cuisine created by Executive Chef Donovan Davis, a Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts veteran. With wall-to-wall windows in the dining room and a wraparound outdoor terrace for alfresco dining, it promises to serve as a community gathering space, featuring seasonally-driven comfort food using locally-sourced ingredients.
Meetings & Weddings
The meeting spaces include an elegant 3,800-square-foot ballroom on the hotel’s second floor, accommodating up to 250 guests. It features abundant natural light and two massive marble fireplaces. There will also be seven windowed boardrooms, while the 4,000-square-foot Rose Garden will host weddings and other outdoor events.
The Art Collection of The Benson Hotel & Faculty Club
Visitors to The Benson Hotel & Faculty Club will experience a premier Western art collection featuring over 100 original new works by a selection of contemporary Colorado artists led by William Matthews.
The new collection is evocative of the living West, showcasing myriad facets of light and season, agriculture and nature, and the human condition. Each painting, photograph, sculpture, mural, and mosaic was commissioned for a specific location in the hotel. The works explore unique themes while working together to reveal the expansive Colorado landscape.
Experienced in the hotel’s public spaces, guest rooms, and suites, the collection highlights the land and its people from varying perspectives. The Benson Collection is curated by Matthews and long-time art curator John Grant. The Colorado artists featured in the collection are represented in top galleries and museums throughout North America.
The Faculty Club at The Benson Hotel
The Faculty Club will serve as an off-campus, private environment for Aurora’s leaders, influencers, and the Anschutz medical community to gather socially. The members-only space provides a discrete setting with indoor seating, intimate conference rooms, and a full-service bar. Members will have priority access to the services offered at The Benson Hotel.
The Benson Hotel is named for Bruce Davey Benson, the longest-tenured president of the University of Colorado (CU) system, from March 2008 to July 1, 2019. Olympia Hotel Management will operate the hotel, which was developed by the Denver-based Aimco.
The Benson Hotel & Faculty Club is the central gathering place for the burgeoning University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and the Fitzsimmons Innovation Community, proximate to all Aurora offers and just 15 minutes from Denver International Airport and half an hour to downtown Denver.
