Jun. 23--Can the world's No. 1 golfer play better? Just watch Tiger Woods the next time he tees off. 

Can high-end automobiles be more luxurious? Cadillac hasn't stopped trying. 

Can The Broadmoor hotel -- the Tiger Woods and Cadillac of five-star resorts -- become more elegant? Hotel managers think they've done just that. 
 

As part of renovations that will last into next year, The Broadmoor recently opened its new state-of-the-art outdoor pool complex, part of $70 million in renovations under way at the 83-year-old, internationally known resort on Colorado Springs' southwest side.  The complex includes a so-called "infinity-edge" pool, in which a new pool and the hotel's centerpiece -- Cheyenne Lake -- appear to blend into a single, seamless body of water. The northern portion of the lake was drained to make

Outdoor pool complex renovations included an 11,000 square foot "Infinity Edge" pool, two waterslides built into their own mountain, two hot tubs, a children's pool, 13 private cabanas, a new Pool Café and a relocated paddleboat dock.

"What we really wanted to do was create one sensational pool," said Steve Bartolin, The Broadmoor's president and chief executive officer. 

The pool complex opened Memorial Day weekend. 

While the pool is central, other amenities include a pair of water slides in an adjoining children's area; a full-service restaurant, bar and locker room; outdoor seating areas; private cabanas for rent that have telephones with access to high-speed Internet and food service; two whirlpools; a kiddie pool; a playground area; and landscaping. 

Besides physical upgrades, the renovation allows guests to gaze beyond the pool to the lake, a hotel golf course, the hotel and the mountains. 

A 21-suite, two-story building next to the pool complex will open July 14. 

That building is key to another portion of Broadmoor work. Its 21 rooms will offset the loss of a similar number of rooms in the main building, which will undergo renovation starting Oct. 22, Bartolin said. 

A big part of the main building work will include guest-room upgrades: larger bathrooms, spruced-up amenities, new phones and phone lines, high-speed Internet access and CD players, among other upgrades. 

The overall building will get two new guest elevators and a service elevator; new heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical systems; and upgraded art and architectural features at the building's entrance. 

The main building -- including the lobby, theater and Tavern Restaurant -- will close during the work, and retail shops will be temporarily relocated. It's scheduled to reopen May 1. 

The Broadmoor is continuing a project to install a wrought-iron fence and landscaping around the area. While it will remain open, guests and visitors will be required to pass through checkpoints so that hotel personnel can monitor who comes and goes. 

The landscaping and fencing are intended to improve security and reduce vandalism, Bartolin said. 

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(c) 2001, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.