The other day, I got to take an early look at a motel on Colfax that’s like a flashback to the kind of hotels we all remember staying in as kids, but way, way cooler. The La Vista Motel is located at 5500 E Colfax Avenue—that’s about 10 minutes from E. 29th Avenue Town Center, for one Central Park point of reference.
The motel was built back in 1956 but had fallen into disrepair when three years ago, developer Nathan Beal and his wife bought it and renovated it down to the studs. “All new plumbing, electric, flooring, walls, everything,” he says.
Beal and his wife lived off Colfax when they first moved to Denver in 2004 and always loved the area. “There’s all kinds of great little funky places, small mom and pop joints to check out,” he says. “So we’ve always wanted to do a project on Colfax and this one popped up and we took advantage of it.”
The design is by Melissa Friday of Xan Creative, who also designed interiors for Denver Biscuit Company and Snooze, and it’s the perfect cool but not kitchy retro style. Check out the old-school Frigidaire refrigerators, avocado tile in the bathroom, and alpaca blankets from Loom Colorado on the beds.
They’re turning the old lobby space of the motel into a coffee shop/cocktail and wine bar called El Piñon. “We’re utilizing that to be a coffee shop in the morning, then we’ll transition into a cocktail and wine bar in the evening,” says Beal. “We wanted to make it a space for the guests to come in and also the neighborhood to come in and experience the old La Vista in a new way.”
Exact room rates are still being determined, but Beal says they’ll be around $150 a night for a single room and around $200 a night for a suite. And if you’re wondering, the rooms are totally quiet once you’re inside—I couldn’t detect any street noise at all once the door was closed.
Beal says they aim to open in December. Check it out for your visiting family or friends or a night out for yourself!
