hotelHotel Impossible · Season 2, Episode 13 · Aired March 25, 2013
Western Riviera Lodge
Grand Lake, Colorado
This one survived. It remains in business.
What happened after
Colorado's only lakeside motel, per official site; live booking, open year-round, 16 rooms recently fully remodeled.
What happened on the show
Grand Lake, a Colorado mountain town on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, gave Melchiorri a small lakeside motel with a claim few competitors could match: a position right on the water, billed as the only lakeside lodging in town. A 16-room property with that kind of unique asset should never struggle to differentiate itself, which made any shortfall a matter of operation and presentation. Anthony toured the grounds and sat with the guest experience at 419 Garfield Street, then pushed ownership to sell the lakeside location as the singular draw it was and to lift the property to match the setting. His guidance tracked the show's spine for a location-blessed small property: own your one great advantage, deliver a clean and confident stay, and give travelers a concrete reason to pick the lodge on the water over the ordinary rooms up the hill.
After the cameras left
The Western Riviera is thriving on its lakefront. As of our 2026 verification the property, now marketed as Western Riviera Lakeside Lodging in a minor name variant, is open year-round with a live booking system, and it still bills itself as Grand Lake's only lakeside lodging. Its 16 rooms have been fully remodeled since the show, the kind of reinvestment that signals a business moving forward rather than treading water. The one great advantage Melchiorri told them to sell is still front and center. Confirmed operating as of 2026.
Sources
Confidence: high. Last checked 2026-07-19.
What is there now
Street imagery via Google Maps. Location approximate.