The Baldpate Inn

Historical resort, rustic yet very comfortable and enjoyable. The Powell Family are great hosts. Located above Estes Park with wonderful views of the town and valley below. Mark, Meredith and their children treat their guests as Family and provide musical entertainment most nights.

Seven Keys Lodge is a fantastic place to spend time in Estes Park! Whether you are hanging out on the deck with an appetizer and drink, or having dinner or brunch, the owners and staff treat you like one of the family! To top it off, the Songwriter Retreat events are second to none - what a fantastic time if you are a music lover.

This should be on your bucket list if you ever to to Estes. It is just on Hwy 7 right outside of Estes Park and across from Lily Lake in RMNP. The history of this Inn is incredible. It used to be the Baldpate Inn Keys Resort and the story behind the keys is fascinating. The Inn was built in 1917. Many many famous people have stayed there over the years and played music there too. It started with two brothers, one was a writer and his brother challenged him to write a book in one night. He took the challenge. The brother gave him the key to the Inn and told him it was the "only" key. Then his brother also gave keys to 7 other folks to try to disrupt his writings. (So lots more story about the keys)- it is a great story... The Inn is unbelievably unique -like no other place ever! The new ownership is fantastic. They have upgraded the menu to a first class restaurant with a great chef from Texas that prepares and does all the food - no sous chef. I am vegetarian and found enough to eat. The grits were fantastic!! The bar has all the keys (over 20,000) hanging from the ceiling, there is the quaint dining room by the windows and a larger dining room by the big stone fireplace where the provide weekly entertainment. The outdoor patio is lovely and comfortable and hummingbirds galore. The new owners are going to be building an amphitheater as well for outdoor concerts. We met the new owner and his daughter (he also plays guitar and she plays and sings as well) The service was a tad bit slow but I was so mesmerized with the place it didn't seem to matter. They have rooms for rent as well as a few cabins as well. But definitely go here for dinner- you will be glad you did. If this was helpful, I hope you will give me a thumbs up. I love to write reviews that are helpful as those are the kind I like to read when I am traveling. Thank you. enjoy this place.

In 1970 I managed the Baldpate Inn (now Seven Keys). It was a wonderful place with a very caring staff. Ethel Mace, the original owner, was still alive and just loved to chat with everyone who came by - whether or not they were guests. A few years ago my wife and I traveled back to Estes and I couldn't wait to show her the Inn. What HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!! The current owners couldn't care less about anyone. The place was running down. The famous Key Room was a bare shadow of its former glory. In short, it was a mess and a disaster. We both felt very sad about what had happened to this once wonderful Inn.

I had just the most horrifying experience of my life today. Walking to check out the lodge and I see a big brown dog running at me that seemed to come out of a cabin on the property. I have my 4 month old puppy with me. I quickly pick him up. I have a battle with this dog as he lunges at me and Tries to take my puppy out of my hands! It was a night mare! I barely escaped this dog! I was screaming at the top ip my lungs help and ran up to the office but it was closed. A woman who seemed to be drunk and passed out was sleeping out on the deck. The dog chased me up there and I was screaming for help! I couldn’t get in to the building. The woman finally woke up and was out of it but said I’ll distract him. I had my puppy in my arms and tears running down my face and ran without out looking back from the seven keys lodge. This is insane! I live in Estes but wanted to find a place near Lilly lake for my family to stay when they visit. I will never return here! How the hell can you have a dog this agressive running around the property! This is a huge liability! Get it together!

We went for brunch with over 20 people, at $28pp plus extra for Mimosas. The food on the buffet was completely cold. We told them and they did come back and said they had restirred everything so please get a new plate. We all did get another serving, and everything was just as cold. We spoke with one of the owners about our concern, since so many in our group had the same complaint, and he truly couldn’t have cared a less! After our group spent over $600 on this breakfast it was very disappointing that they really weren’t concerned.

We went for buffet mimosa brunch today and it was excellent. Wide variety of meats, salmon, salads, fruits, cobbler. Both the inside rooms and the outdoor patio have lots of ambiance. Priced at $28 pp plus mimosa. The property has incredible views and the owner family is lovely. We understand this brunch only runs to season end, Oct 16. The hostess was great, so was the staff.

The definition of a rustic mountain lodge: nothing is square, the bathrooms are shared and the view is amazing. The lodge shows its age (it’s a victim of some…deferred maintenance…I hope the new owners will attend to), but it’s conveniently close to a number of good trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, making it a perfect hotel to hike from and to, and its promise of food and drink service means its remoteness shouldn’t be an inconvenience. Unfortunately, one night of our two-night stay the owners closed food service for the night so the family could attend a sendoff without giving us a heads up (they’d posted it on social media a couple days before and a hand-written sign appeared sometime between our afternoon arrival and when we planned to eat). It was disappointing to learn last minute we would have to get into town for food after a long day of hiking. The food we did have was fine, thought the menu the night we were able to eat at the lodge was limited to smaller items, and the drink inventory seemed limited, too. The included breakfasts were tasty and were a hardy start for a day on the trails. This was our second stay (previously we’d visited it as The Baldpate Inn about five years ago), and I’m happy the humming bird feeders remain. It feels as though the new owners are still figuring out the finer points of running a hotel, restaurant and bar, though the entire family was enthusiastic to a fault.

This place was built in 1917. I stayed here years ago when it was known as the Baldpate Inn. I can't speak for what the rooms are like now, but the rest of the public areas are great. The upper covered deck has amazing views of the valley and the lights of the town of Estes Park. There's a double swing and some great chairs to hang around and have cocktails on. We came up for cocktails and the tasting menu (offered from 4 to 9) in the tavern. (They also have dinner and brunch in the dining room.) In the tavern are all the THOUSANDS of keys hanging from the ceiling. Definitely something to see! They are from people all over the world who inadvertantly (or intentionally) walked off with their hotel keys. That said, I had the tastiest cocktail in my life -- the Campfire. That a mac n' cheese with pulled pork -- yum!