A view of Mount Princeton from the balcony of the Throne Room at the Shorehouse Hotel in downtown Buena Vista. Photo by Carly Winchell
The Shorehouse Hotel held an open house on Friday, April 26, giving the public a chance for a glimpse at the new boutique apartment hotel located in the middle of Buena Vista’s East Main Street. The hotel officially opened on Wednesday, May 1.
CKS River Supply and the Shorehouse Hotel are located at 426 East Main Street. Located above CKS River Supply, the Shorehouse seeks to embrace river culture and everything that makes Buena Vista (BV) unique while tailoring its services to the “traveler” not the “tourist.”
When asked how the traveler and tourist were differentiated, Account Director Bailey Wilson explained, “This one is a bit more. You’re immersed in the local culture. It’s education about the local culture, and a lot of people that come to visit, they’re here for the adventure. They’re here because they know Buena Vista exists.”
“They want a boutique spot that really speaks to the locality of the town rather than more your typical tourist that’s just looking for a chain hotel,” added Senior PR Account Executive Ashley Celis. “This customer is really looking to be a part of Buena Vista and visit the local spots and see what the town has to offer.”
“We need things like this to keep things moving here,” commented BV Trustee and County Commissioner candidate Gina Lucrezi, who stopped by to tour the new business.
Detail of the brightly colored crocodile wallpaper in the Daisy Chain room of the Shorehouse Hotel. Photo by Carly Winchell
Many of the products featured in the hotel are sourced locally. Many of the furniture pieces were “thrifted” and refurbished. Each room features a list highlighting the people who collaborated on bringing the rooms together.
For example, in the Daisy Chain room, cabinets, countertops, casework, and metalwork were completed by Moonhill Ironworks in Poncha Springs. Sean Geisler’s signature stars are visible in the detailing of the metalwork on the outside of the building.
Wallpaper and shower screen production were done by Frontier Graphics of BV. Glass installation was completed by Valley Glass in Salida. Body care products were provided by Sex, Plants, and Rock & Roll in Salida.
The Rooms
The “apartment” in “apartment hotel” means that each suite features a full set of amenities, including a fully functional kitchen, washer and dryer, and bathrooms. Cleaning products and other items selected by owner Megan Kingman are environmentally friendly.
The living room of the Magpie suite in the Shorehouse Hotel features a variety of textures evoking the American West. Photo by Carly Winchell.
The Shorehouse features four themed suites, each highlighting work by different local artists. Three suites are located on the second floor: the Layover Day, Daisy Chain, and Magpie rooms. The aptly named Throne Room takes up the entire top floor.
Each room is designed around a particular local or river-related “vibe” and features the aesthetic of a local artist, showcasing the artist’s original works alongside views of downtown BV and the surrounding mountains.
The artists themselves were selected by owner Megan Kingman. All are Chaffee-local female artists who Kingman selected based on her own appreciation of their style and their ability to match with her ideas for the design of each room.
Three of the rooms are ADA accessible via the elevator. No pets are allowed in any of the rooms. Kitchens are stocked with pots, pans, and anything a guest would need to call these rooms home for a night (or more).
Layover Day
The Layover Day room features work by artist Brynn Ronning Sandoval and is ADA-accessible. It features a simpler, laid-back aesthetic that embraces the spirit of a layover day during a rafting trip.
The living room of the Layover Day suite in the Shorehouse Hotel. Photo by Carly Winchell
Ronning’s painting of a snake representing the river is featured in the living room of the suite. When guests first enter the room, they’re greeted by a welcoming piece showing people floating lazily in the water.
A layover day, in river terms, is when a trip is paused to camp for two nights in the same location to relax and unwind, and the feel of the room embraces that idea with a calm aesthetic to make it all the easier to sit back.
The room has one king bed and one day bed, one bathroom, a living room, full kitchen, laundry, and an outdoor balcony.
Daisy Chain
The Daisy Chain room features work by artist Lindsay Sutton-Stephens and is ADA-accessible. It has a bright personality, with a 70’s feeling and a vibrant color palette.
The bedroom of the Daisy Chain suite in the Shorehouse Hotel features bright colors and a fun and whimsical aesthetic. Photo by Carly Winchell.
A bright wallpaper featuring a repeated pattern of crocodiles catches the eye immediately and can be found again in the bedroom. The titular daisy painting is located in the kitchen. There is an almost Pop Art feeling in the living room, with a “disco party” painting and a series of photographs hung above the television.
Some bright clothes hang on the wall, offering the opportunity for guests to put them on and take a picture.
This room has one king bed, one bathroom, a living room, full kitchen, laundry, and an outdoor balcony.
Magpie
The Magpie room features work by artist Jenny Noreen and is ADA-accessible. The room’s theme was inspired by the pet magpie of Cockeyed Liz, a local madam of the historic brothel, House of Joy, which is located right next door to where the Shorehouse now stands.
The kitchen of the Magpie suite features a unique brown splashback and art of a hummingbird. Photo by Carly Winchell.
The design of the building incorporates the brothel between the CKS/Shorehouse building and the Buena Viking (a burger restaurant). The “hole” in the middle creates an open space for a patio.
States the Shorehouse website:
“This history wasn’t something to erase, but instead embrace and incorporate. Working with local architect, Steve Carr, this historic building on Main Street has been given a new chapter. Speaking in river terms, keeping the ‘hole in the middle’ creates an eddy, or a way forward. This historic building became the poetic link that we needed to set our vision into motion. And it doesn’t hurt to have a little historic town gossip to talk about,” states the website.”
An old newspaper article is framed and hung in the Magpie room, recounting the history for guests of the suite.
The Magpie room leans into a variety of textures, including the exposed concrete brick of the elevator shaft. The art in this suite is inspired by nature and animals. It includes various birds, such as a hummingbird in the kitchen, an owl in the living room area, and the featured screen print of a magpie in one of the bedrooms.
This room has two king beds, two bathrooms, a living room, full kitchen, and an outdoor balcony.
Throne Room
The Throne Room features work by artist Darcie Smith and is not ADA-accessible. It is the largest of the four suites, and takes up the entirety of the top floor of the building.
Darcie Smith’s painting of the Grand Canyon’s Throne Room hangs above the stairs ascending to the suite. Photo by Carly Winchell.
The room gets its name from the Grand Canyon. The Throne Room in the Grand Canyon is accessible by whitewater rafting. It features boulders set up made to look like chairs. The aesthetic of the room leans into the colors of the canyon. The titular painting itself could be missed upon first entering the room, but hangs in a place of prominence over the stairs directly in the eyeline of anyone headed back down the stairs.
The painting was also used to create a wallpaper that decorates the back wall of a small restroom off the kitchen of the suite.
This room features the best views of the four options. The added height is enough to see over the tops of other buildings downtown for a panoramic view of the Collegiate Peaks to the west, Sangre de Cristos to the south, and Fourmile to the east. The bedrooms have large open windows that embrace the views for an undoubtedly beautiful place to wake up.
This room has two master suites with outdoor patios (two king beds, one queen bed, and one daybed). Two bathrooms, a living room, a full kitchen, and laundry round out the suite.
Details about each room and their featured artist are available at ShorehouseBV.com.
Local company Cloud Level Media, also produced short video introductions about each artist that are available (or will be available) on YouTube:
Layover Day, Brynn Ronning Sandoval
The Daisy Chain, Lindsay Sutton-Stephens (not available at the time of writing)
According to the booking website, the standard pricing starts at:
$770 per night for Throne Room
$385 per night for Magpie
$352 per night for Layover Day
$275 per night for Daisy Chain
Prices are subject to change depending on the time of year and exact dates of visits. The Shorehouse Hotel will begin taking reservations as of May 1, 2024.
Now that the Hotel is on the cusp of being officially open, Megan Kingman hopes to spend more time with her kids and enjoying The Narrows (one of her favorite places on the Ark for river surfing).
Guests will be given a code with which to access the rooms. While there isn’t a traditional “hotel front desk,” guests can direct questions to employees working at CKS River Supply downstairs during business hours.
Recent Comments