An 1874 stagecoach inn above the Manitou Springs mineral waters — its night watchman was murdered in 1913 and reportedly replays it every anniversary
306 Canon Ave, Manitou Springs, CO 80829
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Room rates vary by season; dining available separately. See website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic downtown hotel; renovated 1999–2000 with modern accessibility features
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1874 · Built 1874 as a stagecoach stop on the Leadville Stage route · Host to Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, P.T. Barnum, Clark Gable · Site of the unsolved 1913 murder of night watchman Albert Whitehead · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1980) · Member of Historic Hotels of America
The building that became the Cliff House was first constructed in 1874 by Canadian investors who wanted a boarding house for summer travelers arriving on the Leadville Stage Company's route through Manitou Springs. Edward E. Nichols, Sr., one of Manitou's founding figures, leased the property from the original owners in 1876 and renamed it the Cliff House — the name derived from the limestone bluff immediately behind the building. Nichols purchased the inn outright by 1880 and electrified it in 1887, a significant upgrade for a resort property of its era.
By the early twentieth century, the Cliff House had become the largest and most prominent hotel in Manitou Springs, accommodating up to 265 guests. Its guest logs included Theodore Roosevelt, P.T. Barnum, Thomas Edison, and Clark Gable, drawn partly by the area's reputation for therapeutic mineral springs and partly by the Pikes Peak railway, which made the town accessible from Colorado Springs.
The hotel's most documented violent incident occurred in 1913. One evening, night watchman Albert Whitehead was confronted in his office by two masked men who demanded he open the safe. Whitehead refused. The intruders shot him; he ran onto the front lawn before collapsing. He died two days later. No suspects were ever apprehended. The hotel's size and patronage made it a target for this kind of robbery attempt, and Whitehead's death was reported in regional newspapers at the time.
The property fell into disrepair through much of the twentieth century and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A thorough renovation between 1999 and 2000 restored the building and reopened it as a full-service hotel. It was subsequently recognized by Historic Hotels of America.
Sources
The Cliff House's paranormal reputation is almost entirely organized around Albert Whitehead's 1913 murder. Ghost-tour accounts describe the haunting as residual: Whitehead's apparition reportedly repeats the same sequence each year on the anniversary of the shooting — running from the building, reaching the lawn, and collapsing. Multiple accounts note that the event has occurred often enough that local police reportedly stopped responding to calls about a bleeding man outside the hotel.
The consistency of the anniversary claim is unusual in Colorado ghost lore, which more typically involves free-ranging apparitions. Paranormal accounts on sites covering southern Colorado place Whitehead among the better-documented historical murder victims tied to a specific commercial property.
Guests have reported additional phenomena not linked to Whitehead: cold spots in particular hallways, unexplained footsteps on upper floors, and a shadowy figure seen moving through the building at night. These accounts come primarily from guest reviews and regional ghost-tour documentation rather than any formal investigation.
The hotel itself does not market its paranormal history, and the building's thorough 1999–2000 renovation altered the interior substantially from its 1913 configuration.
Notable Entities
The Cliff House has operated since 1874 as a lodging destination in Manitou Springs, offering 55 rooms and suites in a restored Victorian building. It sits at the base of Pikes Peak within the Manitou Springs Historic District, one block from Manitou Avenue and the area's famous mineral springs.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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