Limelight Boulder Hotel

Bentel & Bentel Architects, HBA designed the Limelight Boulder Hotel in Boulder, CO, as a vibrant community hub that artfully integrates nature and academia through a curated artistic experience.

Firm
  • ,
  • area / size 26,000 sqft
  • Year 2025
  • Location Boulder, Colorado, United States,
  • Type Hotel,

    • Limelight Boulder opened in September 2025 as a 252-room property nestled in the heart of Boulder’s University Hill neighborhood on the University of Colorado campus. Developed under the vision of Limelight Hotels and Aspen Hospitality, the property was designed to serve as a genuine community hub at the intersection of nature and academia — a place where guests and locals alike can connect with Boulder’s creative spirit.

    The interiors were brought to life through a close collaboration between Limelight Hotels, Bentel & Bentel Architects/Planners (public spaces) and HBA (guest rooms, corridors, and suites), with an art program curated by Eaton Fine Art that runs as a connective thread throughout the entire property.

    In the public spaces, Bentel & Bentel and Limelight Hotels envisioned a gallery-like environment designed to spark curiosity and invite reflection. The lobby welcomes guests with commissioned works by Colorado-based artists — ceramic sculptures, large-scale paintings, and mixed-media pieces that draw from the surrounding landscape, academic culture, and the ever-changing Colorado River. Outdoors, Joe Norman’s sculpture series Air, Land, Water anchors the arrival experience with representations of native Colorado wildlife.

    In the guest rooms and suites, HBA established an uplifting aesthetic rooted in Colorado’s natural landscape — blending natural materials with modern lines and a neutral palette enlivened by bold accent colors. As Julie Frank, Vice President of Design at Aspen Hospitality, described it: “The art collection curated by Eaton Fine Art brings bursts of color and energy into the interiors, complementing the contemporary furnishings. Together, these elements celebrate the hotel’s role as a community hub at the intersection of nature and academia.”

    Eaton Fine Art’s curated art program — featuring an array of Colorado-based artists — serves as an integral extension of both design narratives, completing the hotel’s immersive artistic journey from the entrance sculpture to the guest room walls.

    Design: Bentel & Bentel Architects and HBA
    Photography: Rob Hammer