Cripple Creek
Hotel St. Nicholas
Cripple Creek's 1898 hospital, built by the Sisters of Mercy and restored as a hotel after 1995; ghost lore centers on a boy called 'Petey.'
- Built
- 1898Built 1898 by the Catholic Sisters of Mercy as St. Nicholas Hospital, Cripple Creek's first general hospital ($12,000); first patient March 12, 1898. Restored and reopened as a hotel after a 1995 purchase.
- Style
- Mixed (three-story brick)
- Architect
- Huddart (Denver architect; first name not given on the page read)
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Rooms
- 14
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district; National Historic Landmark
The story
Sister Mary Claver Coleman of the Sisters of Mercy arrived in 1894 to open a hospital in a wooden building, which narrowly survived the town’s two 1896 fires. The order then had Denver architect Huddart design the present three-story brick hospital, completed in 1898 with electric lights, steam heat and a surgical department. In 1995 the building was bought and restored, reopening as the Hotel St. Nicholas.
The ghost story
Guests and staff report paranormal experiences, and the hotel says it has a reputation as one of Colorado's most haunted places. The best-known spirit is 'Petey', said to be a boy once cared for by the Sisters, and 'Stinky' is blamed for an unexplained sewage-like smell near the back stairs.
Source: www.hotelstnicholas.com
Good to know
- Breakfast: included
- Parking: on-site free
- Pets welcome
- Address: 316 E Golden Ave, Cripple Creek, CO 80813
Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.