Fort Collins seeing a hostel takeover

You'd always wanted to see Colorado. So you mapped out a trip by way of plane, train, automobile, hovercraft or hot air balloon.

And now you're here — more specifically in Fort Collins — where you heard of trails winding through picturesque foothills and beer flowing like cheap wine.

So what's next? Especially for someone like you, who never wanted a "normal" vacation, but an experience instead.

Behold, weary travelers, Fort Collins's newest trend in non-traditional tourism: the hostel.

Two hostels located within two miles of each other have opened in recent months in Fort Collins, a city where travelers have mostly counted on hotels or motels for their lodging needs.

Both hostel owners were inspired to open the businesses by their time spent abroad. Chelsea Gressman, 31, bought the former Atrium Health Spa at 706 E. Stuart St. with her mom and sister last year before revamping it, naming it Solarium International Hostel and opening some rooms to nightly guests two months ago.

Kelsey Schwager, 27, bought the historic Sheldon House — formerly the Sheldon House Bed and Breakfast, 616 W. Mulberry St. — in June and opened it up as Fernweh Inn & Hostel in October.

"It's kind of a new thing," Gressman said. "...Maybe not for the entire United States, but for our area."

Hostels, known for being budget-friendly and welcoming to young people, students and backpackers, are scattered across the world. There's several in Colorado — including Denver and Boulder. Many, like Solarium and Fernweh, feature shared accommodations with dormitory-style rooms complete with bunk beds.

Other spaces — like the kitchen — are shared among lodgers, too. For Gressman, it gives the business a more community-like feel, compared to traditional hotels where guests are fully separated.

Gressman, who's traveled to 40 countries and "slept in more hostels than in my own bed," said after coming back to her hometown of Fort Collins from her travels, she realized the city would be the perfect place for a hostel.

And the timing, she said, was perfect, too.

"I feel like there's this kind of Colorado fever happening. People are excited about Colorado," she said, adding that, as a city, Fort Collins has become a sort of "symbol for health."

"...(It's) a city where we have a lot of fun," she added, mentioning New Belgium's annual Tour de Fat bike parade, the Poudre River and buzz-worthy breweries.

"Fort Collins is really hot right now, and I feel like where as Boulder and Denver have been on the to-do lists, Fort Collins is just now making it onto those," she said.

The building that houses Solarium International Hostel was originally built by for a photographer so it would be big enough to house his photography studio in one wing and his family in the other, Gressman said. More recently, it was the Atrium Health Spa and then converted into a bed and breakfast. Before Gressman, her mom and sister took it over, the building's rooms were broken up and rented out on a month-to-month basis.

Now, two of the seven rooms have been converted into hostel rooms for nightly lodging. Those two rooms are known as "dormitory rooms," with four bunk beds in each and lockers for guests belongings. One room will be converted each month, Gressman said, until the hostel is fully complete in June, including the two dormitory rooms and a mix of semi-private rooms with two beds and fully private rooms.

The building also boasts an atrium with glass ceilings, that gives guests a distinctly tropical vibe, Gressman said. A yoga school and waxing room is also housed out of the building's commercial side.

Solarium International Hostel is currently taking reservations for the dormitory rooms, which are open to travelers and cost $29 a night. Once open, the private rooms will cost $59 a night.

Fernweh Inn & Hostel has nearly identical prices for its shared and private accommodations. It has four rooms — one female bunk room, one male bunk room and two private rooms. Bunk rooms cost $29 a night, the smaller private room costs $59 and the larger private room will set you back $69.

At Fernweh, lodgers are allowed to stay for a maximum of two weeks. At Solarium International Hostel, Colorado residents can stay a maximum of one week, while there's no limit for out-of-state visitors.

Schwager, who studied tourism and business at Colorado State University, went on her first big trip when she was 19, stayed in hostels when she traveled and, "Thought it was crazy that they didn't exist in Fort Collins."

After working at Wanderlust Hostel in Gunnison for three years and keeping her eye on Sheldon House, she got the opportunity last summer to purchase it. After "about 100 hours" of ripping down wallpaper and renovating the space, she and her hostel dog Cash — "the star of the show" — opened Fernweh, which is a German word for "a longing for far-off places."

Since then, Schwager said she's seen a variety of guests, from families to college students and people visiting CSU.

There's a misconception that hostels are just for 18- to 22-year-old backpackers, she added.

"It's not like that at all," Schwager said.

Fernweh Inn & Hostel, 616 W. Mulberry St.

Price range: $29 to $69 per night Contact: 970-219-9493

Solarium International Hostel, 706 E. Stuart St.

Price range: $29 to $59 per night Contact: 970-599-3817