In Brief: Prime Investment Properties has listed the Best Western Movie Manor, a Colorado motel known for its integrated drive-in theater, highlighting an opportunity for investors seeking properties with established experiential appeal.
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Best Western Movie Manor – Image Credit Hotel Brokers International
59-room Best Western paired with the twin-screen Star Drive-In on 41.47 acres along US 160 in Monte Vista, Colorado — a one-of-a-kind hospitality and entertainment asset with more than 60 years of history.
Prime Investment Properties LLC, a leading hospitality brokerage firm and member of Hotel Brokers International, is proud to announce the exclusive listing of the Best Western Movie Manor and the adjoining Star Drive-In Theater at 2830 US Highway 160 W, about 2.5 miles west of Monte Vista in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Offered together on 41.47 acres, the 59-room hotel and its two outdoor movie screens form a property that period Best Western postcards billed as “the world’s only movie motel” — a place where guests from a portion of the property can watch the feature on Screen 1 from their own rooms.
This is a rare chance for investors and owner-operators to acquire a flagged, year-round hotel and a seasonal entertainment venue in a single transaction — backed by a brand story, decades of national media coverage, and a multigenerational guest following that no new build could replicate.
The story began in 1955, when George and Edna Mae Kelloff opened the Star Drive-In on the site of an old airport along US 160. In 1964 they added the original 14-room Movie Manor, each room with a Hollywood theme, a four-by-eight-foot picture window facing the screen, and a speaker that brought the soundtrack inside at the flip of a switch. This feature continues today during the summer season to a portion of the rooms on property. A second screen followed in 2003, and the Kelloff family ran the property for more than 50 years. Today, each guest room is named for a movie star, and arriving guests pull in to cement outside the office with the names of stars and characters.
That heritage has made the Movie Manor a true destination. Couples who honeymooned or had a first date there return 40, 50 and 60 years later, and Roadside America describes it as a pilgrimage that travelers go out of their way to include. The property has been featured by Colorado Public Radio, Atlas Obscura, the Denver Gazette, Westword and Roadside America — earned media that gives the asset a brand moat few hotels can match.
“Best Western Movie Manor is one of the most unique hospitality assets we’ve ever brought to market,” said Dan Emert, Managing Principal, Prime Investment Properties LLC. “You’re buying a franchised, 59-room hotel with year-round demand from agriculture, highway travel, skiing and hunting — and a drive-in that turns summer nights into an experience guests plan trips around. People drive hundreds of miles to stay here, and they come back for decades. You can’t build that kind of loyalty or media presence from scratch. For the right buyer, this is a chance to own a true Colorado icon on more than 41 acres along the main route to Wolf Creek Pass and Durango.”
Year-Round Demand in the San Luis Valley
The Movie Manor sits on US 160, southern Colorado’s primary east–west route, carrying Front Range travelers over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs, Durango and the Four Corners. Roughly 6,100 vehicles a day pass near the property, according to 2026 CoStar traffic counts. Behind that highway traffic stand several deep and diverse demand drivers:
- Agriculture and agribusiness: Monte Vista is the agricultural center of the San Luis Valley, which grows more than 85% of Colorado’s barley — most of it malt barley for Coors — and is the highest elevation potato-growing region in the U.S. Equipment dealers, crop buyers, inspectors and harvest crews create a steady midweek base.
- Wolf Creek Ski Area: About an hour west, Wolf Creek averages more than 430 inches of snow a year — the most of any Colorado resort — and counts Monte Vista among its day-visitor communities.
- Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve: 432,498 visitors in 2025, about 54 miles from the hotel, with the Movie Manor a natural western-Valley base for travelers heading on to the San Juans.
- Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge: About 11 miles away, the refuge hosts some 20,000 migrating sandhill cranes each spring and fall. The Monte Vista Crane Festival marked its 43rd year in 2026, and the 2027 festival is set for March 5–7.
- Ski-Hi Stampede: Colorado’s oldest pro rodeo, first held in 1919, draws 10,000+ fans each July.
- Hunting and fishing: More than 1.8 million acres of public land and 17 miles of Gold Medal trout water on the Rio Grande fill rooms through fall, right as the drive-in season winds down.
- Veterans Community Living Center at Homelake: A 60-bed skilled nursing home and 48 domiciliary cottages generate steady family and staff visits.
Property Highlights
- Location: 2830 US Highway 160 W, Monte Vista, CO 81144 — about 2.5 miles west of town on US 160
- Hotel: 59 guest rooms across two stories, each named for a movie star; Best Western franchise; midscale class
- Restaurant – Fully leased free–standing restaurant on the property
- Houses – multiple homes included as well as large storage warehouse space
- RV Park – expansion opportunities in process
- Star Drive-In: Two outdoor screens, with Screen 1 visible from some of the hotel rooms; included in the sale
- Land: 41.47 acres
- History: Drive-in opened 1955; Movie Manor opened 1964; renovated 2011
- Amenities: Free hot breakfast, fitness center, business center, 700 SF meeting space, public Wi-Fi, 46 surface parking spaces
- Demand: Year-round mix of highway, agricultural, ski, park, wildlife, rodeo, and hunting traffic
For full property details, financials, and showing requests, contact Prime Investment Properties directly at 970.658.8098 orDan@primeinvestmentprops.com.
About Prime Investment Properties
Prime Investment Properties LLC, based in Steamboat Springs, CO, is a leading hospitality brokerage firm and a proud member of Hotel Brokers International, specializing in the acquisition and disposition of hotels, motels, and lodging properties across Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, South Dakota, Maryland, and international resort markets. Led by Dan Emert, Managing Principal, Prime Investment Properties delivers personalized, results-driven service for hotel owners and investors at every level.
About Hotel Brokers International
Hotel Brokers International (HBI), founded in 1959, is the hospitality real estate industry’s most established network of professional brokers, with over 11,000 successful hotel transactions. HBI’s website features an extensive selection of hotels for sale, attracting global investors and industry professionals. HBI is the founder and administrator of the Certified Hotel Broker (CHB) Program, the only professional designation recognizing expertise in hotel brokerage. The organization also provides affiliate memberships to professionals in related fields such as franchising, lending, appraisals, and investment services, fostering a comprehensive network of hospitality specialists. Visit www.hbihotels.com.
For more information, please contact:
Dan Emert, Hotel Broker
Prime Investment Properties LLC
Steamboat Springs, CO
970.658.8098
Dan@primeinvestmentprops.com
www.primeinvestmentprops.com
+1 970.819.4948 WhatsApp