New owners renovate Craftwood Inn in Manitou

There is a lot of curiosity in Manitou Springs about the future of the 102-year-old Craftwood Inn on El Paso Boulevard.

Two investors bought the facility last month and have pledged to spend more than $200,000 on improvements such as a wedding garden, waterfall and wood flooring.

According to previous reports, the inn closed last March because the previous owner was unable to recover from the economic impacts of the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest wildfires and succeeding floods.

The new owners plan to reopen in March 2015.

The inn has a rich history. It was built in 1912 in the English Country Tudor style of architecture, according to the inn’s website. It originally was a coppersmith’s shop and converted into a restaurant in 1940, famous for quality food.

Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Lawrence Welk and Liberace were among the frequent guests at the restaurant.

Two moving vans were parked on the property Friday, but there was little activity.

“It’s a big deal that someone is taking it over again,” said a woman riding her bicycle past the inn. “We wondered what would happen to it.”

The inn’s builder also built two other noteworthy buildings in Manitou Springs: the nearby Onaledge Bed and Breakfast — said to be haunted — and the Rockledge Country Inn.