Short Visit to Denver

[Jaybee]

I thought I should follow up for those who provided hotel recommendations.

My wife had a minor injury that caused us to postpone our Denver trip. Was unable to rebook a few weeks later at the Oxford Hotel or others that were recommended by responders. Settled for the Thompson Hotel Denver. Chose it since it was in the vicinity of the Oxford.

We were quite happy with the light rail from the airport to downtown. The Thompson Hotel was just 4 blocks or so from Union Station. Turns out, the "16th Street Mall" was under renovation/reconstruction, and the free bus service was diverted to 15th Street. So, that was a minor inconvenience. The neighborhood seemed to have very few shops, even in Larimer Square. We were disappointed about that. There were a few homeless folks milling about, but they were not aggressive.

We had a wonderful dinner at Ocean Prime, a short walk from our hotel. Service was impeccable and the food was first rate.

We rode the free bus down to the state capitol area. Visited the Denver Art Museum near there. We weren't terribly impressed with it and it's high admission fee.

We really enjoyed the (privately owned) American Museum of Western Art on Tremont Place. The admission fee was only $5.00. Incredible art by well-known artists like Chas M Russell, Frederick Remington and Maynard Dixon. It's near the Brown Palace Hotel, which is a place we'd love to stay on our next trip to Denver.

We enjoyed a beer or two at the Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, next door to our hotel. Very friendly people working there.

We loved Coors Field. Watched the Rockies play the Giants. (It reminded us of AT & T Park in San Francisco) We're surprised at how reasonably priced the food was there!

Now, about the Thompson Hotel. The place seemed quite sterile. The room was dark, with few lights. The AC had trouble keeping the room cool. The coffee kiosk was closed two of the days we stayed. The bartender couldn't make the simplest of cocktails. The restaurant menu was very limited. There is a $25 daily room fee called a "destination fee". It would have been helpful if the desk clerk who checked us in would have told us about the fee and the "services" it covered. He didn't. And he was not busy when we checked in. We found out about the fee as we checked out.

We enjoyed our short visit to Denver and will revisit at some point in the future. We will not be staying at the Thompson Hotel.