Miramont Castle

We had the light tea and it was really filling. We ended up taking some home. It was 3 courses and the first course offered was scones with 3 different spreads, all delicious! The second course was a variety of finger sandwiches and the final course was a variety of sweets. All three courses were very good! The atmosphere was fun and although we could not take the tour, our waiter gave us a brief history of the place. We will go back for the tour and some more of the delicious tea and scones! My favorite tea was the chocolate peppermint tea… so good!

We came here for the restaurant and had the light tea. I am not a fan of tea, but I enjoyed my overall experience. There was a three course meal along with the tea. The first course was an apricot and pumpkin scone. It was pretty good and I liked the flavor. The second course was finger sandwiches and small pieces of bread with stuff on it. I also liked that course. The last course was small chocolates and chocolate covered strawberries. It tasted pretty good. I liked the atmosphere in the restaurant. It made it feel like I was in a royal place a long time ago. Nice waiter too.

I am not sure what is wrong with the Unilocalers that complained about the entry price (BTW they offer military discounts if you ask), or why people are so stuck up on the title of ‘castle’ for this residence. Yes, it is not a castle in the true sense of the word, but then again NONE ARE IN THE STATES really!!! What is really a manor or a mansion is often here referred as a castle. Is that semantically correct? No. Does that hurt my butt coming from a land of TRUE CASTLES that date back to BEFORE CHRIST era? NO! All I care is to find historically important places that are being preserved for the benefit of anyone who is interested in finding out about our history, being that remote or just recent history.
Ok, that said.
This museum is FREE FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY AND FIREFIGHTERS.
I found this mansion very interesting. I love that this home is being preserved and that I can go visit it whenever I feel nostalgic, or when I want to show off some history to guests. I did take tons of photographs, and of more than the tin ceilings. This goes to show that you should always read Unilocalers reviews and interpret them with a grain of salts. I am of the opinion that an image is worth a 1000 words… so here we go…

Active Duty Military Discount!
A fun way to spend a chilly afternoon. This «castle» has a fun history attached to it. Nestled in the tiny town of Manitou Springs, you can catch a glimpse of days gone by in this museum and tea house.
We stopped in on a whim so we missed the Afternoon Tea which I’m sure would have been cozy since it sits inside a dining room of a Victorian decorated home of a former French priest. I’m not expecting the Peninsula High Tea in Hong Kong (which is outstanding), this is Mantou Springs a small little Rocky Mountain Town, but a cup of tea on a wintery day would have hit the spot.
The first part of the museum devotes a display to honor firefighters, the upper level is the home where time has stood still. A chapel, bedrooms, living area, bathroom, stairs, stories of times past all historic and interesting.
Halloween is suppose to be fun here too-​at least that what Mr. G said when he came here many years ago to celebrate. I’ll be back to try out the tea next time.

I wasn’t to excited about going here. My mom was in town we have already hit all the tourist spots and I got out voted. It’s 9 bucks to get in and take the tour, which is kinda expensive. «But what the hell» tour was cool, Food was great! You can have high tea with a 24 hour reservation or lunch. We had lunch and it was great. The waiter was awesome. He cleaned and set our table in no time at all. My kids had the fanciest plater of chicken nuggets id ever seen. I had quiche, it’s made daily and is always different. Every thing was good. enough said just check out my pics.

After spending the morning driving to Pikes Peak, we decided to tour Miramont. To call this place a Castle is taking liberty with words. I’m not sure you could call this place a mansion either. It is a large house, in need of repairs. Looking back through my pictures, I didn’t even take one shot, the wife took one of the tin ceiling. So you can see we just weren’t impressed at all. I guess if you have never seen any castles at all this might be something you like.

This is a spectacular historical structure in a beautiful setting. Once you hear Margaret’s long plug for her book and her grumpy unwelcoming greeting, you meander through a nicely preserved piece of history. I did get a very odd feeling walking throughout this very large structure built primarily for just two people. Truly a delight to see. Yes, I would love to go back again.

We did not eat at the tea shop, it had closed when we arrived. We entered and the woman behind the counter was very helpful but tried to sell a weird book that has nothing to do with the house that I can figure out. The tour of the «castle» was pricy, but we paid and went in. The house itself is not air conditioned so we were about to die by the time we hit the air conditioned gift shop (2 window units). The «castle» is really a house but has a chapel inside it where weddings can be held (if you can stand the funky old house smell). The bottom level was a fire fighter museum (fire fighters and active military get in free and it may be worth it to them to visit), then we moved upstairs to rooms that had be refurbished but still smelled funky. The house was not worth the admission price and we would not go again. They do have their own parking lot which is a plus for Manitou springs. There are no grounds to walk around, the house takes up most of the lot except for the parking lot. So I paid $ 8 to walk around an old smelly house.

I’m not much of a tea fanatic but this place was really nice! Food was good and although they were small portions the «high tea» filled me up pretty well. It was a fun little trip with my wife. We then walked around the museum which was a little interesting. They had «restored» most of it so it didn’t feel very authentic. Some of it seemed pretty random and out of place.
Anyway it was a fun trip.

Fun location, very nice tea, the food was fine, but they don’t understand tea or tea service. Not a place to splurge or go fancy. I feel the Victorian tea service was overpriced.
To start, they serve The Tea Spot loose tea, which is a loose leaf tea packaged in Boulder, Colorado. A group of tourists at a table nearby asked the waiter if they had any green tea, and the waiter told them they only had one (he might’ve referred them to the Thin Mint, but I can’t recall). I opened my menu and saw at least three, including a sencha that would’ve met the table’s request for a «traditional Japanese green». He also struggled to explain to them what a «cream tea» was all about.
We ordered the New Moon Darjeeling to go with our scones, fruit, and sandwich courses. I asked the waiter what he thought of the pairing, and I could tell he was still lost. They weren’t skimpy with the leaves. Every time the waiter decided my group of four needed a new pot, we got a new bag of leaves to steep. Lovely, but really unnecessary and likely inflates the price of doing business. There wasn’t a tea timer provided for us, so we used our phones (which got loud when my husband forgot to turn his speaker down), and there was no plate or dish provided for our bag once we were done with the steep. I had to use my tea saucer. This was after I had to return my cup because it was dirty — dried tea definitely in the bottom. The rest of our cups and flatware were fine — generic and not china, but clean and sturdy. I wouldn’t be afraid to bring a child to this tea service.
There also wasn’t a sugar spoon. It’s a little thing… but when you’re drinking multiple cups of tea, it makes you wonder how many people are licking their spoons, then putting them back in the sugar bowl. Just sayin’. At least they were serving milk rather than cream.
The scones were cakey and supposedly lavender lemon (not especially distinct in flavor, but fine). They were served to us warm using a spatula I might use to flip burgers on a grill… $ 10 would get them a nice cake server… The toppings for these scones were a honey blended butter (hard and difficult to spread, but tasty), a blackberry jam, and a mint Devonshire cream. For the third time, I wondered if the proprietor had ever actually experienced their own tea service — the spoons for the cream and jam were miniscule and should’ve been reserved only for teacups. The mint Devonshire was unusual and bright green, but proved a fun pairing with the scones.
The fruit course came in martini glasses rather than compotes. A little thing, but it did feel a bit silly in the Victorian surroundings. The fruit itself was really lovely — balled seedless watermelon and cantaloupe, blueberries, a strawberry, and some kiwi, all served nice and cold.
The tea «sandwiches» were more like open-​faced appetizers. The salmon on pumpernickel looked refined but were a bit bland, the chicken salad with apple was quite delicious, and the deviled ham just looked disgusting. I had one, and it was fine, but really… deviled ham??? Two of my friends wouldn’t touch them.
To their credit, we were given fresh teacups for our dessert course tea. We chose the Meditative Mind — a white tea with jasmine and rose. Thankfully, I knew how long to steep it since that information was not provided. The dessert course was largely unremarkable — little homemade cookies you might get at a holiday exchange. The coconut macaroons were bright pink, which was cute.
I don’t think we’d go back for the full Victorian Tea again, but it would be a nice place to simply take tea and relax once tourist season is over (NASCAR t-​shirts and flip-​flops are apparently acceptable attire at tea these days). Our waiter was very nice, if undereducated about tea, and the ambiance was largely serene.

History is quite fascinating. I can’t speak for the tea room there; didn’t stop to do that. The staff is ok. They weren’t the friendliest nor the rudest either.

When we were in Colorado Springs, my wife was excited to find out that there is a «castle» in the area to tour. In addition, she loves tea rooms, so the idea of touring a castle and having lunch in a tea room sounded like a real treat.
When we arrived, we realized it was not a castle but a big house, and the lady at the front desk used her role to peddle her strange looking book. We were both second guessing ourselves about taking the tour, but did it anyway.
The tour starts off in the basement with a small «firefighter museum» — pretty lame and has nothing to do with the history of the house. We then toured the house (it is NOT a castle). While the story of the priest who built the house and his mother is interesting, and pretty disgusting, the tour was not impressive. In refurbishing the home (it had various uses since it was the home of the priest and his mother), they made use of cheesy props and items that were not from the correct era. The tour ended in the gift shop, where the worker not only seemed disinterested in her job, but asked us if we knew how to give a neck massage because her neck was hurting. My wife, who usually loves gift shops was more than ready to leave.
So, we decided to head over to the tea room. We walked in, noticed the cheesy waitress costumes and the unappetizing smell, and we walked back out.
This is not a castle and truly a waste of time.

Beautiful castle with amazing views from every room. It is a self guided tour and they give you a piece of paper with information to help guide you. Remember to visit their website ahead of time and print off a coupon!

If this place hasn’t been investigated by Jay and Grant from Ghost Hunters, then it should be.
This place is perfect for either: would-​be ghost hunters or those who love history.
Firstly, there’s the strangeness of WHY Father Jean Baptiste would build such an elaborate castle for just a humble priest and his mother. That doesn’t make sense to me. Secondly, then for no given reason, he just abandons it in 1900? After all that work, construction and money? What gives? Why?
A local told me that legend/​rumor really has it that the priest was a pedophile. The townsmen found out and were going to give him a necktie party, so he fled but abandoned his ancient mother at the castle. If true, what a creep.
Quite a story, eh? You don’t find that legend written on the pamplet they give you for the tour, lol. According to the pamplet, after the priest fled, there was some mysterious fire then the Sisters of Mercy turned into a sanitarium.
The local also told me that one of the sisters there had committed suicide there by jumping out the window. He said to take copious amounts of pictures because over the years, friends of his had caught «weird things» in their photos. He even told me to dial in on the mother’s room.
Well, after talking to him, my buddy and I were as jumpy as kangeroos. I’d recommend finding their hours, and timing it so you’re the last people of the day. 1. the group will be smaller, and the local said there’s been many sightings especially in the late afternoon when not many people are there.
He was right. There was hardly anyone there, other than one older couple and my companion and I. I took about 50 pictures, and the local was right again because I got one picture from the mother’s room that was super odd.
I’d taken a picture of her dresser, but in the mirror, once I blew the photo up, was an outline of a face of an older man wearing round, dark glasses like the kind they wore a long time ago. The weird thing was, NO ONE was in the room when I was snapping my pictures but my companion and I, so how was that possible? It was the creepiest picture I’ve ever seen in my life.
Then, on the local’s suggestion, we proceeded to the top floor where there is a bookstore. I grilled the bookstore manager if she’d ever seen a ghost. She said she once saw a little girl, looking at the dolls in a glass case just disappear.
Local gossip made up just to drum up business? Possibly. But I did drop $ 47.50 in that bookstore on some awsome books on history.
This place is SO worth a visit, again, if you’re a history buff or ghost-​hunter. I hope to go back again some late afternoon and take more pictures.
As far as the high tea/​food, I was too creeped out to want to eat there. Plus, with such great places like the Jerusalem Café or the Adam’s Mountain Café, why eat there anyway?

I first went to this «castle» when I was younger– I think 12? And after many years living in Colorado, finally dropped back in with some friends. It was exactly how I remembered it, right down to the narrow frame beds for the servants, and the picture of the extra large bed for the mother of the house (the bed supposedly belonged to Josephine, Napoleon’s wife). The grandeur of it shocked me then as it did now since it was owned by a priest.
I have yet to try the tea room but the architecture buffs will find this fascinating.

If you’re thinking of booking a high tea at Miramont Castle… do yourself a favor and DON’T. You can create a much more authentic Victorian tea setting with about 45 minutes of prep time at your own home.
The setting was fine (although rather small and somewhat crowded) but the service was lacking (what happened to the friendly voice I booked with over the phone?) and it was definitely the least appetizing food I’ve ever been served at a tea.
We had confirmed «kid friendliness» before we booked, since we have an annual holiday tea with mom, aunt, grandmother, and 2 granddaughters each year. We try a different location each year, so you could say we are quite experienced in the realm of high tea encounters.
When we arrived, we were brought a «sweet orange» tea for the children (storebought bagged tea, mind you) and «Earl of Grey» for the adults. Um, seriously? No choices? Sorry, but we didn’t pay $ 25 a pop to drink the most common tea in all of England (although, at least she didn’t call it «Early Gray» like a server at a different tea house, which shall remain nameless at least in this review.) She whisked away so quickly, we didn’t have time to protest. When she returned, we asked if we could choose something else since none of the grownups drink Earl Grey, and we were brought tea menus and strictly warned to choose ONLY ONE TEA for all of us.
OK fine. After some deliberation, we chose the Red Rocks — with hints of almond and vanilla. It was delicious. The kids claimed their orange tea tasted like water (what tea house doesn’t offer hot cocoa for the little ones? Next year, I’ll have to be more specific when asking the «kid-​friendly» qualifier question). Yes, they have hats, but not nearly as nice as I’ve seen at other tea houses. Nevertheless, the kids put peppermint sticks in their «tastes like nothing» water and were then delighted to have «peppermint water» to drink. Problem solved.
First course was a cranberry scone (served warm, excellent texture, quite delicious). Meal seemed to be looking up, until condiments arrived. What??? No lemon curd? Sorry, but high tea just isn’t high tea without lemon curd. Rather, we got orange marmalade (storebought, out of a jar), Devonshire cream, and lemon butter (seemed like regular butter to me, I couldn’t taste the lemon). NO LEMON CURD. *sigh*
Next course: vegetables. To be specific, celery sticks, carrot sticks, broccoli crowns, black olives, and halved radishes. Served with Ranch Dressing (which I’m pretty sure was our olé’ fave: Hidden Valley). I’ve never had crudités at high tea, but the kids devoured, so I can’t really complain about that.
Following course: fruit cup. This consisted of all fresh fruit (thankfully) served in a champagne glass: strawberries, honeydew, pineapple chunks and grapes. Again, children ate theirs and some of ours.
Fourth course: the sandwiches. And who doesn’t love dainty little tea sandwiches? Well, don’t get too excited. At the Miramont tea, the sandwiches all consist of bread with a thin schmear of herbed cream cheese. That’s it. Sure, you get plenty of them, but it’s nothing to write home about. Crab spread (obviously made with packaged Krab, not «crab») which definitely tasted «off», cucumber and dill, green olive, and jalepeno cheddar (which had an unmistakable Mexican flavor — not Victorian of course, but still the best tasting of the tea sammies). Kids actually spit out the ones they tasted.
And then dessert. Hands-​down the MOST disappointing high tea dessert I’ve ever experienced. Here’s the rundown: PB cookies (dry, bland), sugar cookies with red or green sprinkles (no shapes or cutouts, just kinds blobbed rounds), mini chocolate cake wedges (don’t get too excited — was definitely a box mix and not iced, filled or otherwise enhanced — even the kids took one bite and said «I don’t like this chocolate cake» — how often do you hear THAT statement from a 4 year old?) and then a positively dreadful bread pudding that had a nice flavor, except that the consistency was extremely dense and packy. Imagine you made a beautiful bread pudding, then just as it came out of the oven, you put it on a tortilla press and smooshed down with all your might. Then you took the compacted pudding, sliced it into little wedges, and served it with a caramel sauce over the top (which tasted like it came from a jar). That’s what we were served. (Nobody really ate dessert… brought that course home for daddy, who didn’t much like it either.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention: all of the desserts (sans cookies) arrived with a dollop of whipped cream FROM A CAN. Yuck.
The upside? Children are served the same menu and proportions as adults, but they pay only $ 14.50 instead of $ 25. When you book a tea, you get a $ 2 discount off the castle tour price. They have free parking. Um, yeah, that’s about it.
May I recommend instead the Golden Tea House in Golden, CO? It’s tiny, but quaint, dainty, well-​appointed, and the food is delicious.

Apparently, there are castles in Colorado. Who knew?!! It’s not like you would ever associate Colorado with castles. Colorado and skiing? Yes. Colorado and cowboys? Yes. Colorado and castles? Uh, hell no. I don’t think many people know about them, but I just happened to come across a book named, «Castles of Colorado: Scandals, Hauntings, and Tales of the Past» by Ann Westerberg. The tour was actually quite interesting. Gourmet G.‘s review is a perfect brief snynopsis of what to expect.
So I guess if you’re tired of skiing the slopes or hiking the trails and are looking for something different to do in Colorado, Joe Bob says check it out!

Miramont Castle does tea events in their Queen’s Tea Room throughout the year. Reservations are required, and a deposit is necessary. I took my mom and my aunt for Mother’s Day for some High Tea. The room was cute, and the gardens outside of the castle were just starting to bloom. The tea itself wasn’t really what I was expecting having been to other tea rooms. They had their tea of the day, but anything else was just hot water and you picked your tea from a basket. They’ve got boas and hats for dress up. The tea sandwiches and scones were decent.
The service was alright… since there were only two girls working the tables in a room of about 40 people, we had to wait a little while for a glass of ice water toward the end. The staff was dressed up, and at the end of the tea we were offered a discounted tour of the castle with a guy who was dressed as Buffalo Bill Cody and his wife. Of course, we did the tour, but I do have to mention that it was a bit difficult for my aunt who is older. There are a TON of stair cases to go up to see it all, and it was pretty hard for her.
The castle’s history is very interesting, and it was great to see all of the work that has gone into making the rooms look like they would have back when it was first built. It was very warm on the day we were there, so I recommend going on a day when you know it will be cooler and maybe less humid outside so that you won’t overheat on all those stairs.
The society of volunteers that is currently running this place is wonderful, and are working very hard to preserve and restore it. I can’t believe this place was nearly torn down at some point. If you go for no other reason then to make a donation to a local historical attraction please go. Little girls might enjoy the dollhouse collection that is downstairs in the basement, it is very intricate. There are dolls from all over the world housed there.

This place is worth it just to chat with the woman working at the front desk. Talk about eerie and something out of a 19^th century horror flick.
I didn’t actually take the tour ($ 6 was too spendy for me) but after reading the other two reviews on here I wished I would have. I’d definitely take a pal along for the tour, though, as this place gave me the creeps!

When I heard about how many different kinds of architecture were used in making this house, I thought it had to be the work of a crazy person. Possibly filled with secret passageways, dungeons, or at least, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse-​like furnishings. Outside, it looks neat. Inside, it’s like a lot of other houses, really, except for the tiny chapel, and the room where the walls are covered in siding. The saving grace is the museum in the basement. It’s a collection of dollhouses that used to belong to the former owner. That’s where things start to get weird…