Surrounded by nature in a gateway city to the Rockies, the Cheyenne Mountain Resort offers guests natural beauty and plenty of fun while practicing eco-friendly initiatives.
Long before “buying green” in Colorado meant legalized marijuana, residents of the Centennial State have been interested in eco-friendly practices. As the state with the highest average elevation, Colorado has long been a destination for serious skiers and attracts environmentalists year-round due to the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
Close to the Colorado Springs area’s natural attractions such as Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Cave of the Winds, and Royal Gorge, Cheyenne Mountain Resort is known for providing modern amenities amidst picturesque views and Rockies-inspired décor. It is the recipient of numerous environmental awards: International Association of Conference Center’s 2011 Code of Sustainability – Gold tier; Community Sustainability Top Award by the Catamount Institute 2010; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Environmental Program, Silver Partner 2010; and most notably a Colorado Environmental Leadership 2010 Silver Partner (Cheyenne Mountain Resort is one of only 44 organizations in the state to be a Silver Partner and the only independent resort/hotel among the entire membership of 134). In short, this resort takes sustainability and environmental responsibility seriously — from reducing utility consumption and reusing/recycling whatever it can to all of its purchasing decisions regarding chemicals, electrical/gas-powered equipment, and lighting.
Recently this upscale luxury hotel has completed a two-year $20-million property-wide renovation in celebration of the AAA Four Diamonds Award resort’s 25th anniversary. The update was handled by Greenwood Village, Colo.-based architectural firm Ricca Newmark Design and encompassed the 316 guest rooms and five suites arranged in eight residential lodges, plus 33,670 square feet of meeting rooms, ballrooms, and common areas.
What’s Different
The renovated hotel rooms have a high-end residential ambiance with luxurious appointments such as hand-finished furniture with European elegance, nature-inspired artwork, and oversized upholstered headboards. Integral to the guest room upgrade is the widespread use of multiple state-of-the-art LED energy-saving LED lighting fixtures from Jesco Lighting. In all, the design team specified 2,355 overhead ambient fixtures, accent spotlights, and adjustable bedside reading lights.
Ricca Newmark Design specified two different overhead LED downlights in the guest rooms to illuminate the tapestries from top to bottom and be integral with the ceiling-to-floor bed headboards.
Three JESCO LED Slim Disks (model PK613 LED 3830) are recessed into the top of each king-size bed headboard design to illuminate the headboard tapestry. For the queen-size beds, two adjustable gooseneck LED headboard spotlights (model HBL 40230 BA) mount over each headboard from behind to illuminate the tapestry on each.
Following the famous dictum “God is in the details” by the late renowned Minimalist architect Mies van der Rohe, the team at Ricca Newmark Design felt that, while the light quality of the LEDs for both types and the headboard design was consistent, design differences between these two models of headboards justified individual LED fixture models best suited to each.
Inside the vertical custom-wood borders on the left and right on each bed’s headboard are JESCO Mizar miniaturized flush-mounted circular, adjustable, aimable LED reading lights. These lights are affixed to the headboard woodwork at pillow height; they can be readily adjusted by the guests with a turn of the hand to project crisp, low-energy daylight-mimicking white reading light at user-selected angles.
Another reason LED light sources were selected for the headboard and tapestry guest room applications has to do with the fact that LED lights will not cause UV damage or fading to the headboard tapestries, headboard wood finishes, and pillow or bedspread fabrics over time. The 1.8- and 3-watt light sources are rated at 50,000-hour operating life and do not “burn out,” but merely grow dimmer before a replacement is needed. They also do not require maintenance except occasional once-over wiping or dusting by the maid service.
After the massive renovation, the Cheyenne Mountain Resort is ready for another 25 years of spectacular service – but don’t be surprised if those LED fixtures are still going strong.
