Last weekend, Stu and I had the most amazing weekend in Boulder celebrating his birthday, just the two of us, before all of the birthday plans with friends and family ensued. If I’ve learned anything in the first year of being married, it’s that- when you both run your own businesses- it’s important to schedule some intentional time together.

Stu and I decided to get out of Denver for a change and spent a night at Hotel Boulderado, Boulders first luxury hotel that opened its doors in 1909. This hidden gem is just a few blocks off of the Pearl Street Walking Mall- truly the most perfect place to spend a unique evening in Boulder!

The hotel has an absolutely beautiful foyer with a massive stained glass ceiling that is so incredible, it’s seriously hard to comprehend how it was ever created!

We took a ride up the original Otis elevator to get to our room on the fourth floor, which was truly a unique experience. We heard there are employees of Otis that come to the hotel specifically to learn about how the elevator works because it’s a genuine antique. There’s actually only a handful of employees from the company who even know how to fix the elevator and maintain it since there are no elevators built like this anymore.

We stayed in a historical suite that overlooked the Flat Irons- literally the most picturesque view in all of Boulder. Since we were in town right at the beginning of fall, it was absolutely stunning to see all of the fall colors coming in outside our window. Even though we were only 45 minutes away from home, it really felt like a totally different place to be so close to the mountains and it was SO nice to get away together for a night.

We came into town with no dinner reservations, so we decided to just get dressed for the night and head out to the Pearl Street Walking Mall. We ended up going to a few stores and bought cozy long sleeve shirts from a local shop since the temperatures were dropping more than we anticipated as the evening hit.

After receiving a ton of food and drink recommendations from friends who live in Boulder, we decided to walk down to Oak on 14th for an early dinner and DAMN I’m so happy we went here! Reservations were completely booked, but we showed up at 5:30 and sat at the bar instead of waiting for a table- great decision.

We started things off with a cocktail then ordered an absolutely amazing Farmers Market Salad (left) and the Key West Royal Red Shrimp appetizer (right). We decided to go big and get the Oak Grilled 22oz King Ranch Prime Ribeye with Whipped Potatoes and Broccolini Hash- and OH MY GOD I’m so happy we did. We started digging in before I could get a picture, so you’ll just have to go to Oak and order the ribeye for yourself.

After wrapping up dinner at Oak we walked down Pearl Street to scope out a place to grab some wine and dessert. We ended up wandering up a set of stairs off the mall to The Kitchen Upstairs– an amazing cocktail bar with DELICIOUS food. We snagged a glass of chardonnay and enjoyed their savory Butterscotch Pot de Crème- HIGHLY suggested! It was absolutely, insanely delicious. Cool fact: The Kitchen is owned by Kimbal Musk- Elon Musk’s younger brother! He’s a huge advocate for sustainable, farm-to-table restaurants in Boulder and he’s been kicking ass doing so.

Since we ate dinner so early and dessert was knocked out of the park, we made our way to one more cocktail bar in town that everyone told us we HAD to go to- Bitter Bar. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk from the center of Pearl Street, but totally worth it! I got Rosa’s Cantina mezcal cocktail and Stu got the Tin Man bourbon cocktail- both highly suggested!

We made our way back to Hotel Boulderado and made our last stop of the night at the famous License Number 1 speakeasy-styled bar in the basement of the hotel. This bar used to be a legit speakeasy back in the 1800’s during the prohibition era, and they actually received one of the first liquor licenses in Colorado after prohibition was abolished. License Number 1 still operates under that same liquor license that was given to them in 1969.

After a great night’s sleep in our historical suite, we woke up and had brunch at Spruce Farm and Fish, the farm-to-table styled restaurant inside of Hotel Boulderado. We both enjoyed the Boulderado Bowl with avocado- the perfect start to a relaxing sunday. We wanted to spend some more time in Boulder before going back home, so we wandered around pearl street again and ended up running into the Sunday Farmers Market just off of 13th street.

If you ever plan on taking a trip to Boulder, I highly suggest staying at Hotel Boulderado! It’s within walking distance to everything Boulder has to offer and is truly a one-of-a-kind place with so much rich history.

Stu and I had a blast spending a night at this hotel and we look forward to more fun nights in Boulder to come!

*This post is sponsored and paid for by Hotel Boulderado, a local hotel I truly love! All opinions are my own.