Inexpensive Clean Places to stay in Denver and Rocky Mountains-Help! (Craig: rentals, condo)

[ArizonaMan]

Hello to all! I'll be in Denver for 1 evening on Aug 24 and need to find an inexpensive but clean place to crash for the evening. The next day I'll be traveling towards the mountains to stay near Frisco, Copper Mountain, Summit County. Plan to do some hiking and just take scenic drives to do a great deal of photograpy.

The duration of the trip is only 3 nights, 4 days. There are 2 of us traveling. The first night is Denver, then the remaining nights will be spent somewhere in the mountains.

I have found the following places in Denver that are inexpensive and would like feedback on which might be the best of the lot:

Budget Host Inn - Downtown
Valli-hi Motel - Downtown
Days Inn Denver Central - Downtown

All of the above are under $70. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.

Also, I'm checking Craigslist for potential places to stay in the mountains as well. There are so many condo rentals and they average about $90 per night. We'd like to have a base place to stay and do hikes one day and then travel some scenic routes the next during the day for photography and sightseeing. We'll end up checking out on Monday morning the the morning and afternoon free to run around Denver a bit before heading to the Airport.

Please let me know your thoughts...!

Thank you so much.

ArizonaMan

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Do you have to stay downtown? I work downtown and have never seen or heard of any of the places you mention, but for $70 I doubt that they would be a good choice. A decent place downtown will be expensive. If you have flexibility, there are more motels in the surrounding areas, such as Super 8, that would be better.

Choosing Dillon/Silverthorne as a base in Summit County sounds good. You should be able to find affordable accommodations. Frisco is at the next highway exit, so you could look there, too.

Enjoy!

[ArizonaMan]

Since I've never been to Denver I'm glad to know this. The photos on the websites always look so good. You just never know what the places are next to or the neighborhood condition.

Cheers!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ArizonaMan

Since I've never been to Denver I'm glad to know this. The photos on the websites always look so good. You just never know what the places are next to or the neighborhood condition.

Cheers!

I use Tripadvisor.com and other tools (Yahoo) for getting hotel reviews. Or, in general, just type "hotel reviews denver" in google for example.

[Fuzz]

If the mountains are your goal, I'd suggest getting a hotel in Dillon, Silverthorne, or Frisco -- they're pretty cheap in the summer (there's a Best Western in Frisco that's usually in the $70-$90 range in the summer). If you're looking for non-chain hotels, then there are some in Frisco as well. That'd be a good base for tons of hiking, photography, and sightseeing.

[Fuzz]

If you've never been to the area, and would like some recommendations for hiking, photography, or sightseeing, shoot me a PM with some info on what kind of things you're looking for. I do a lot of hiking, biking, and photography in the area (I've posted some pics I've taken here and here).

[tfox]

Don't know about Valley - Hi motel, never heard of it.

Avoid Days Inn - Central. It is not downtown nor is it in Central Denver; It's on the 6th & Federal interchange. Let's just say I don't get a good feeling about that place.

Budget Host Inn is at W 27th & Zuni. It's not downtown; it's in the Highlands neighborhood. It's a creaky, rundown place but no safety issues. There's a Hampton Inn right next door to it that is MUCH nicer and a much better choice in my opinion.

There a better hotels downtown; of course the suburban hotels will be much cheaper (location, location, location...) If you don't have any reason to be downtown, I think you're probably better off staying in the 'burbs and driving into downtown if you want to go out and have a look-see.

I'll put in a plug for the Lumber Baron Inn at W 37th & Clay. It's a B&B. I have had some out of town guests stay there; and the friendly owner does periodically hand out some amazing discounts particularly mid-week. Their regular prices are, of course, quite expensive.

[Nadine]

A different thing to do is stay in one of the historic hotels in Leadville. And do your thing out of there. Tennessee Pass and Fremont pass are close. Need to get reservation tho. They are popular. There is some picturesque areas out of there and not far from the area you are mentioning plus so much more.

Google-- Leadville, Colorado, hotels.