There’s a new boutique adventure lodge coming to Manitou Springs. The Outrider is a locally owned 39-room hotel scheduled to open May 1 at the gateway to downtown Manitou. Branded as “a launch pad for ambitious and approachable adventures,” the Outrider welcomes all who wander.
“We really want people to really be able to share the stories and the adventures that they’re going on,” says co-owner Jordan Malara. “We definitely wanted to create a place that was true to Manitou, but not too mountainy. We wanted to dig into, ‘What’s Manitou known for?’ There’s a wellness aspect of [Manitou]. There’s an adventure aspect that it has, and we want it to be kind of an upscale place here.”
In other words, outdoorsy but not rough.
Inspirations and Aspirations
I caught up with Malara at The Outrider recently as he prepared for its opening on May 1. He was busy unpacking furniture boxes curated by local Pasley Commercial Interiors while the crew from another local partner, Raine Building, was busy finishing their full-scale renovations of the former Super 8 and Manitou Cog Hotel. Outside, signage was up featuring its branded coyote logo created through a collaboration with Cognoscenti Creative, known for their work creating the Surf Hotel in Buena Vista. And a large mural covers the three-story wall facing Manitou Avenue.
Malara and his co-owner, Connor Gatlin, call themselves hospitality entrepreneurs, but they come from backgrounds in mechanical engineering with the U.S. Air Force/Space Force and software engineering, respectively. They broke into hospitality through Airbnb and other short-term rentals, and Malara co-owns The Adventure Inn in Durango.
Both owners live in the Springs, and Malara says their inspiration in creating The Outrider is rooted in their love for travel and in the positive experience and community they have experienced in places like Crested Butte and Costa Rica.
“We have the best memories from there because we met the most amazing people,” Malara says of backpacking through Costa Rica with his wife. “That’s where the community aspect comes in. We want to build that same community for people coming and visiting this area.”
Those who know the Kinship Landing story will recognize a similar desire to create a space that fosters community and connection. Malara also counts that downtown boutique hotel as a local inspiration.
“Bobby [Mikulas] is a tremendous guy, and he has built a great thing at Kinship and with Homa. We really love that concept, and we think the Mining Exchange is absolutely beautiful too on the historical side of things,” Malara says. “Those are the two [local hotels] that stood out to us and made us say, ‘These places do it really well. How do we do this really well for Manitou?’”
The Outrider Amenities
Toward that end, The Outrider will offer 30 standard rooms and nine suites. Those on the west side have surprisingly good views of Pikes Peak.
The lobby is not large, but it is designed with glass doors for easy flow onto a south-facing patio with a fire pit and comfortable outdoor seating. An adjacent enclosure will house a large barrel sauna and cold plunge, providing a bit of contrast therapy. That should be a welcoming spot after a day spent climbing the Incline or hiking in nearby Garden of the Gods or Red Rock Canyon Open Space.
“We want our front desk and the people that work here to be local experts, pointing people not to the same old trail, but to something off the beaten path, something a little more local,” Malara says.
To aid those adventures, a gear garage will provide bikes or e-bikes that guests can use, along with bike storage or repairs for their own rigs. Malara says some delays have pushed back the gear garage until later this summer.
The pool will open after Memorial Day, and its surrounding patio area will house another fire pit and an 8-foot wide cedar barrel hot tub. There will also be a putting green, cornhole and other games.
“We hope people come out, sit out by the pool, sit in the hot tub, sit by a fire pit and stare at the mountains and chat with each other,” Malara says. “This world is meant to be lived in community, not staring at a screen. So we hope to encourage people to do that.”
Elevating the Manitou Experience
When it came to naming their new hotel, Malara and Gatlin found inspiration in history. “The outrider would ride out in front of the people pioneering West,” Malara says. “They would scope out the view and say, ‘This is where you want to go. This is where you don’t want to go.”
While they hope to point guests to new adventures, they also hope to be on the leading edge of more elevated lodging options in Manitou. Earlier this year, new ownership of Manitou’s grand dame, The Cliff House, announced major updates to its historic hotel. And the Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort has created a thriving, bike-centric lodge and community since restoring its historic property a decade ago. But Malara sees the opportunity for more. He says he hopes to see more hotel operators invest in Manitou’s older or neglected properties.
For now, he’s excited to unveil The Outrider for visitors and locals looking for a staycation in Manitou.
“It’s been really, really fun and fulfilling to see it start to actually come to life,” Malara says. “And the last piece of that is going to be guest experiencing it. Hopefully one day soon I get to sit in the lobby and hear how much people are enjoying it.”
You can find The Outrider at 229 Manitou Avenue. Get details and watch for locals’ discounts at outriderhotel.com.
