Glenwood Hot Springs buying Hotel Colorado

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. -- Glenwood Hot Springs is buying the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.

The properties were originally owned by the same person, but over the years they have been sold individually and together, officials said.

"Hotel Colorado is an icon in the western United States and we are thrilled to reconnect it with Glenwood Hot Springs," Glenwood Hot Springs CEO & President Kjell Mitchell said. "We fully intend to preserve the character and integrity of the property."

The Hotel Colorado said it expects the sale to happen on January 31, 2017. Then the hotel will close for renovations.

“These two places are historically significant and we plan to uphold their legacy,” Mitchell said.

The Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs originally opened in 1893 with a spa, large courtyard and 185-foot fountain. The hotel claims the "teddy bear" was invented there.

In the early 1900s, President Teddy Roosevelt stayed at a hotel during hunting expeditions.

"To cheer Theodore Roosevelt after an unsuccessful day of hunting, Hotel Colorado maids presented him with a stuffed bear pieced together with scraps of fine material," the Hotel Colorado said.