Construction is in its final stages at the Limelight Boulder as the $200 million hotel and conference center gets ready to accept its first guests traveling for the Aug. 29 CU Buffs football game against Georgia Tech.

The Limelight Boulder, 1295 University Ave., is on the University of Colorado Boulder campus and is a collaboration among the university; the city of Boulder; and Aspen Hospitality, which owns and operates the hotel. The hotel will be open by Aug. 28 for the CU Buffs home football season opener, but General Manager Joseph Steiskal said the hotel will open its doors sooner, if possible. “We want to be the community’s living room and the community’s focal hotel,” Steiskal said during a hotel tour on Monday.

In 2016, CU Boulder agreed to locate the hotel in the University Hill neighborhood at the request of city officials who wanted to promote the development of the area. City officials in turn agreed to dedicate 45% of the hotel’s lodging taxes to support the project’s financial feasibility for at least 20 years and an additional 10% of lodging taxes to support use of the conference center by community groups and nonprofits. In 2019, CU regents approved a lease of the land to the developer.

The six-story Limelight Boulder hotel and conference center will have 252 rooms, including 42 suites, and 210,000 total square feet. A sleek, modern-luxury design defines the hotel, with black, yellow, brown and blue tones repeating throughout the rooms and gathering spaces.

It will have 26,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event and meeting space, including a 15,000-square-foot ballroom to host conferences, educational groups, weddings and university events.

Additional guests are expected for CU Boulder football games, graduations, concerts and other Boulder events, including the Sundance Film Festival. Steiskal said the hotel could potentially host a Sundance event as part of the festival.

The hotel started accepting reservations in May, and Steiskal said so far, there’s a lot of demand for rooms during CU Buffs home games and CU Boulder’s Parents Weekend. The hotel will also host nonprofit events, and the first one will be the Museum of Boulder’s fundraising gala on Oct. 25.

The first-floor ballroom that can host up to 1,200-person events features floor-to-ceiling windows that let in plenty of natural light and is completely sound-proof. No road noise from cars driving down Broadway can be heard from inside.

Limelight Hotels Sales Director Angela Blackstock said there’s been a lot of interest already in reserving the ballroom. She said there’s been interest from tech companies, science-based programs and artificial intelligence companies. She said the goal is to bring in new organizations or “bring back programs that outgrew Boulder.”

Steiskal said the hotel will be 100% electric and is working to achieve LEED Gold certification, which is a worldwide standard for recognizing sustainable buildings.

A rooftop area that will have a pool, fireplace, seating areas and separate areas accessible from meeting spaces is seen during a tour of the nearly complete Limelight Hotel in Boulder on Monday.

The hotel will have a CU Bookstore and a full-service Ajax restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. More details about the restaurant, including its menu, will be released in early August.

Guests will also have access to a year-round heated pool, hot tub, games and an outdoor bar on the second floor terrace featuring views of the Flatirons. On the first and second floors, there will be outdoor fire tables, lounge spots, string lights and a water feature to complement the outdoor landscaping.

Every hotel room has built-in closets, small yellow retro fridges, 65-inch TVs and low-voltage lighting. Strip lights, located throughout each hotel room, provide automatic lighting through a motion-activated occupancy sensor in the ceiling. Each room also has various pieces of curated art, often featuring mountain imagery.

The hotel is also pet friendly. Pet packages will include a bed and water bowl, and treats will be given to all four-legged guests.

The Limelight Boulder has been a long-talked about project. Steiskal said conversations about bringing a Limelight hotel in Boulder started in 2005, and in 2015 talk started about having it at its chosen location on the Hill.

Aspen Hospitality has hotels in Aspen, Denver and Snowmass in addition to Boulder.

Construction on the hotel started in January 2023. The project was initially estimated to cost $130 million, but Steiskal said the cost is now $200 million due to additional touches, add-ons and construction expenses.