Denver Hotel recommendations

The Brown Palace Hotel. Had tea there once. Historic and centrally located.

R1 way overpriced for what you get,but beautiful. The Clio is superb.

Depends on a number of things - where are you going? What's your budget? What are your expectations?

The nicest hotel IMHO is the Art Hotel. It's relatively new. If you want to be somewhat right in the middle of things, that would be a good choice. I really enjoyed my stay there. The Curtis is OK but a little loud and trendy (literally loud, walls are paper thin). The Curtis and most other downtown hotels are adjacent to 16th Street, which is somewhat fun to walk around on during the day, but it's also overrun with homeless people at night. (Proceed with caution along 16th or Colfax.)

There's also a number of mid-price hotels in Cherry Creek, which is a bougie area of Denver known for lots of shopping - it's sort of a giant mall-slash-business park. The Jacquard, Halcyon, Moxy are all there.

If you think you'd be going to Boulder during your visit, or heading anywhere farther out or farther north (e.g. Estes Park & Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park) I would consider a hotel in Broomfield - Aloft is there and usually quite affordable, nice for what it is and then you're a 20-30 minute drive to both cities.

The Brown Palace's rooms are closed to guests for a while. There was a fire in the basement.

The Brown Palace is also one of those old "dowager" hotels - pleasant enough if one appreciates history, but not without some issues (mold, mildew, outdated basics).

Thank you for the recommendation r3. I ended up choosing the Oxford because I liked the walking distance to Union Station and I thought the aesthetic was more “Colorado” than some other options.

Great R6. I'd never heard of that one but you reminded me of the Crawford, which is also nice (if pricey) and in Union Station.

Anyway, it's a nice neighborhood and you'll have plenty of food/drink options.

I have a bit of a thing, now much more discerning, for 'those old 'dowager' hotels' as R5 calls aptly calls them. I worked for some months in Wyoming and spent every weekend at the Brown Palace built in 1892. Even in the 1980s when it had less competion and was still --I think-- independently owned, it had less charm than it might have had. The building suffered from a long series of piecemeal modernizations that saw a lot of original features lost. The restaurants the lobby, the corridors, the rooms, all had elements of different periods yet the galleried interior with its cast-iron railings and massive central skylight was a great sight. There was a 22-story annex, the Brown Palace West built in 1959, with all of the elegance one would expect of that era; it was run independently or mostly so. The Front Desk was something of a mess, friendly but always in chaos. Room service, though, were young and horny.

Whatever you do don’t listen to the DLer pushing $600 a night rooms in Bozeman, MT. Sounded shady….

[quote] Room service, though, were young and horny.

do tell! Denver beef is quite delectable.....

Don’t let them book you into room 320, OP.

Oh thanks r11 that’s so exciting! Especially since I’ll be going to the Stanley as well on my trip!

The Stanley is a bit fun but if you really want the experience of the old hotel make sure they don't put you in one of the other buildings.

We made that mistake accidentally (didn't realize it when we booked) and while it was newer and cleaner, it also didn't have much character.

PS Estes Park is fucking cold in December and a lot of the fun, charming shops/cafes/restaurants are closed then. We thought we were having a fun, romantic overnighter and we ended up eating a soggy Filet o Fish because it was either that or a bag of Fritos from a convenience store.

I live in Colorado (but not in Denver).

When I have stuff (family, concert, gay pride weekend, general Caligula-ish weekend) in the "big" city, I stay at the Oxford Hotel. I really enjoy it.

R14 this is for May

[quote]THE OXFORD HOTEL

[quote]Denver's oldest boutique hotel, The Oxford, is located in the trendy LoDo neighborhood and offers top-notch amenities and a luxurious spa. This 123-year-old hotel is also known for its haunted past, from tales of locked bathroom stalls to sinks that turn on and off during the night. But the real mystery lies behind the door of Room 320. In 1898, a woman named Florence Montague shot and killed her lover before taking her own life in that room. Since then, single male guests who stay in Room 320 have reported sheets being ripped off the bed and their arms being pulled by an unseen force. But the unexplained terror doesn't end there.

[quote]The hotel's Cruise Room bar is known for its martinis, its iconic Art Deco style — and a mysterious postal worker. Bartenders routinely report a man walking into the bar wearing an old post office uniform. He always orders a beer before muttering "the children, I have to get the gifts to the children." Then he appears to drink the beer and leave. However, when the bartender picks up his bottle, it's always full. Research has revealed a story of a postal worker from the 1930s who was on his way to deliver Christmas presents to nearby Central City, but the gifts were never delivered. That spring, his decomposed body was found on the way to Central City with all of the Christmas gifts still with him. That single beer at the Cruise Room may have been his last, and it may explain why he keeps coming back for one last sip.

By the way, The Cruise Room is the coolest bar in Denver.

My choice has always been the Cosmopolitan!

The Art is truly lovely, though I stayed before it was apparently bought/taken over by Hilton, so, not sure if anything has been compromised in that change.