New Sheridan Hotel

Built 1895, Telluride's original hotel. Twenty-six rooms above the historic Continental Divide bar where the silver-mining era still hangs — Victorian wallpaper, taxidermy, and a back room where William Jennings Bryan made the first speech of his 1903 presidential campaign. The New Sheridan is what people mean when they reference "old Telluride." Boutique-scaled, on the National Register, walking distance to the gondola.

Most Telluride lodging is condo, slope-side resort, or chain. The New Sheridan is the in-town historic alternative — and it's been in continuous operation since the silver-boom era.

The setting

The hotel sits at 231 W. Colorado Avenue in downtown Telluride, two blocks from the gondola plaza that connects Telluride to Mountain Village. Walking distance to most of Telluride's restaurants, bars, the historic San Miguel County Courthouse, and the trailheads at the box-canyon end of town. Bridal Veil Falls (the highest free-falling waterfall in Colorado) is at the eastern terminus; the gondola climbs west.

The drive in is the long part — Telluride's airport (TEX) is 10 minutes; Montrose (the regional airport) is 90; Grand Junction is 2.5 hours.

The building

A three-story Victorian commercial building from 1895, brick-and-stucco facade, on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel has been continuously operated since (with various owners and rebuilds) — the 1990s rehabilitation restored the historic bar and renovated the rooms. Materials are brass, velvet, dark wood, and stone, the Victorian-mining vocabulary the rest of downtown Telluride still partially holds.

Independently owned. The historic bar is a Telluride landmark in its own right.

The rooms

Twenty-six rooms across kings, queens, and a few suites. From around $545 in shoulder seasons; peak winter and Bluegrass Festival rates run higher. Rooms get Victorian-period furniture, four-poster beds, antique dressers, and updated bathrooms. Some rooms face Colorado Avenue; some face the side. Layouts vary in line with the original 1895 building geometry.

Food & drink

The Chop House at the New Sheridan is the on-property restaurant — a serious dinner program in the hotel, prime steaks, classic cocktails, white tablecloths. The historic bar (the New Sheridan Bar) is the property's social anchor and one of the most-used drink rooms in Telluride. Both open to non-guests.

On the property

A historic-hotel program at small scale:

• New Sheridan Bar (historic, on the National Register)
• The Chop House restaurant
• Concierge for festival tickets, lift access, hut-trip arrangements
• Walking distance to gondola
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Skiers and bluegrass-festival regulars who want the historic in-town stay
• Repeat Telluride visitors who've done the slope-side condos
• Couples who'd rather have a 1895 bar in the building than a contemporary pool
• History-minded travelers — Telluride is one of the better-preserved mining towns

Who it's not for

• Slope-side seekers — the gondola is two blocks, but it's not ski-in/ski-out
• Travelers expecting a modern boutique aesthetic — this is committed Victorian
• Light sleepers — it's a 19th-century building on Main Street

Nearby

The gondola (linking Telluride to Mountain Village) is two blocks. Bear Creek Falls trailhead is at the east end of Colorado Avenue, 15 minutes' walk. Bridal Veil Falls trail is at the box-canyon end. The Telluride Historical Museum is six minutes' walk. The 4x4 road to Tomboy ghost town leaves from the east end of town. Black Bear Pass and Imogene Pass — for the brave-with-a-Jeep — are summer day trips. Ouray (with the hot springs) is 50 minutes; Silverton, two hours.