We decided to take a short trip down south for one of our favorite things—- Staycation! We haven’t spent a whole lot of time down in Colorado Springs, and wanted to give it a go. We were surprised by all of the old architecture in the downtown area and hip spots for food and beverages! We started the night with dinner, grabbed some drinks at an award winning distillery and spent the night in the most adorable Bed and Breakfast.

503 W

This location was suggested to us by a local Co Springs blogger, and we were glad we checked it out! It’s a little bit outside the downtown area, but worth the trek. The menu was super unique, we would describe it as “asian influenced gastro-pub fare.”

Cocktails

First of all, this spot has an EXTENSIVE craft cocktail menu. Luckily, our server was able to point us in the right direction. We ended up choosing the 24 Carrot and the Jungle Bird, which were both delicious in their own way. I personally expected to enjoy the Jungle Bird best, since it’s a tropical cocktail and clearly so beautiful, but, the 24 Carrot stole the show with the fresh squeezed carrot juice and ginger. It was just so refreshing I felt like I could drink it for the rest of my life. We definitely need to go back to try out some of their other cocktails, we’d go back for that alone!

Appetizers

As we were drinking our cocktails, we decided that we needed something to munch on and of course the Firecracker Nachos caught our eye. These were super unique, because they’re on crispy wonton chips instead of your standard tortilla chips. They are definitely SPICY, with the sriracha chicken and the spicy sriracha mayo on top. These were a good sharing app and definitely not your typical nachos— just be sure to have a beverage close by!

Entrees

For our entree, we chose the Spicy Big Island Poke (we do LOVE spicy, let’s just make that clear). We were super impressed by this tower of rice, pacific ahi, wakame sea salad and of course the spicy sriracha aoli. This one was not only a beautiful presentation but also super fresh and amazingly delicious. So many different textures and flavors for the perfect Poke.

Dessert

As ya’ll know we are both dessert lovers! So we couldn’t leave before trying this sugar toast creation. This beauty is called the French Prince, and it has cinnamon sugar toast, sea salt and vanilla bean ice cream, lavender honey, strawberries and mint. 503 W was definitely was going for the sweet and salty combo— which is one of our favorites! You definitely could taste the lavender in the honey as well, which was an interesting touch.

291 Distillery

So, we didn’t initially realize, but we had tried some of 291’s whiskey at the Breckenridge Whiskey Festival this past summer. They have won people’s choice several years in a row and last year received the “World’s Best Rye” at the World Whiskies Awards. They definitely deserve that title! We had a full tasting of their Colorado Whiskey and Rye Whiskeys, which were all fabulous. Favorites included: The Fresh Colorado Whiskey, Single Barrel Colorado Bourbon Whiskey, and the Single Barrel Colorado Rye Whiskey.

They also made some great cocktails with their whiskey, this one (pictured above) was the Myers Lemon, which had Earl Grey infused American whiskey, lavender, lemon and Alpine Liqueur. So refreshing and delicious, you can really taste the Earl Grey infusion which complimented the maple undertones of the Colorado whiskey.

Finally, we wanted to comment on 291 Distillery’s lounge area. The tasting room itself is standing room and very small, but they also have a back area in the distillery which is available for sitting and sipping. They had some super funky furniture (like this sweet armchair) and those cool string lights strewn about the barrels. You can see all of the equipment used in the distilling process and it was just a really neat area to hang out after getting a cocktail.

The St. Mary’s Inn Bed and Breakfast

We loved the vibe of this Bed and Breakfast, located walking distance from downtown Colorado Springs. The inn was built in 1896 and, of course, has so much character. Check in process was extremely easy and there’s free street parking nearby which is always a plus. The room we stayed in had mountain views and vintage decor. It was super spacious and we loved the little sitting area to enjoy the view and sip some coffee!

Some may argue that the best part about a bed and breakfast is the breakfast, and we’d probably have to agree. We love the idea of home cooked breakfast shared by other guests. They have a formal dining area for breakfast which starts at 8 AM! It was fun to sit and chat with the guests and the owners of the St. Mary’s Inn, Jay and Pam. They had tons of suggestions for spots to check out in town and answered all of our questions about the historic home.

Breakfast at the inn consisted of strong coffee, fresh fruit, eggs and bacon, and my personal fave the french toast. The french toast was coated in corn flakes, which made the outside sort of crunchy and all sorts of delicious! It was a perfect start to the day and we spent some time relaxing in their sitting room afterwards. If we weren’t still full from breakfast, we definitely would have tried one of the cookies they have available throughout the day. The St. Mary’s Inn Bed and Breakfast was the perfect place to stay for an authentic Colorado Springs experience. We loved every minute of it.

We had an awesome time during our staycation in the Springs! We ran out of time to do some of the other things we wanted to (like the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the cog to the top of Pike’s Peak) so we’ll definitely be back soon. Have a favorite place in Co Springs? Comment below w/ suggestions for us to check out next time!