Denver 8/20/04: Tell me what to do!
 

My wife and I will be getting in to Denver around 6:00 for a quick weekend. Those milehigh/5280 dwellers out there, any suggestions for things to do in terms of sporting events, music or theater? We've not decided if we're staying in the DTC/Park Meadows area or downtown as of yet.

Definately stay in Downtown Denver - as opposed to DTC. Nothing happening there. Downtown has great theatre and restaurants, especially Larimer Square and the LoDo Area. You can walk to everything. What are you interested in doing? You're only 1/2 hour from the mountains. A trip to Evergreen to eat would be fun. Stop at the "Little Bear" in Evergreen for a quick beer with the locals. Check out the concerts that are playing at Red Rocks that weekend. An unbelieveable venue! Under the downtown Denver Chop House is a bar called Sing-Sing with dueling pianos. Very fun!

Thanks Wendy. Do you have a link to concerts in the Denver area? I tried the Rocky Mountain News but that site is innavigable!

You might bid on Priceline for 4* downtown hotels however. Do I understand you will only be there one day? Check the Rockies schedule for baseball games. The Denver Botanic Gardens are very nice--and may have a musical offering outside--but it may be too late in the year.
You may get a very good hotel rated in the Tech Center area--it is a 20 minute drive to downtown.
Eat at Vesta's Grill--or for a real interesting experienc in Japanese Country cuisine, try Domo. Beautiful setting, marvelous food (very different). Make a reservation definitely.

Try www.5280.com . It may have turned into a registration site but it is good. Also I wonder if Westword has a site--it is the paper for what's happening in Denver. Also try the Denver Post.

Strongly suggest thaqt you take WendyLee's advice about staying downtown, instead of the DTC. While there might be a few fun restaurants in DTC, like the Trail Dust, Maggiano's, Landry's, and perhaps the Park Meadows Mall, the traffic up and down the Interstate (25) is a nightmare. There is a multi-year, now seeming like multi-decade highway reconstruction program going on from C470 on the south end of Denver all the way to Santa Fe Avenue, a distance of about 10 miles, which can seem like 100 on the bad days. Don't forget the 16th Street Mall if you are staying downtown.

Sorry for being lazy-- I've copied below some comments I'd written on another post. Hope they help you, too.

"I agree with the Embassy Suites recommendation. If you don't mind sharing a bath, the suite is big enough for four people-- the bedroom has a king bed, the living room has a sofa sleeper, TVs in both areas, a refrig and microwave in the living room. The breakfast buffet is good, and usually a complimentary cocktail hour is offered that includes a good spread of hors d'oeuvres, too. The Westin downtown is another "chain" one to look into. And The Warwick has been completely remodeled and is very nice. It's not immediately downtown, but just a few blocks east of it. Has free indoor parking, I think, too. The Hotel Monaco is a very nice boutique hotel; somewhat pricey, though. Personally, I wouldn't stay in the Tech Center as it's a business park and not with much to do or see. The Brown Palace, of course, is the Denver classic. And the Oxford has become very nice, too.

"I forgot to mention the Marriott downtown, and a new flagship "J.W. Marriott" in Cherry Creek, too, which might have grand opening

"The Renaissance on Quebec St. is a nice hotel, if you have a car so you can drive downtown, to Cherry Creek, etc. Its Quebec location is across the street from Denver's original Stapleton International Airport. Since that airport closed about 10 years ago, the Stapleton area is being completely restored to mixed-use residential/retail and is coming along nicely. Now there are lots of big stores there like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, a few breakfast and lunch restaurants (none are high end; best lunch spot there is Panera for sandwiches and salads), a grocery store, in addition to lots of new homes going in. (The neighborhood to the immediate west of the Renaissance can be iffy, but you wouldn't be driving into it anyway.) To cab downtown from the hotel would be about $15- $20, but maybe the hotel offers a shuttle service if you don't have a car?? To drive downtown from there would only take about 15 minutes or so. I think the Renaissance has an airport shuttle for about $10. The hotel is also close to another neighborhood being redeveloped, called Lowry, which was originally Lowry Air Force Base. That is due south on Quebec St. from the Renaissance, and now has some little shops and restaurants, lots of larger new homes. It's slightly more upscale than the Stapleton development. Then Cherry Creek North, a nice outdoor shopping and dining area would be close, too (I recommend you check it out for a stroll and lunch or dinner); as well as Cherry Creek Mall which is a larger, upscale indoor mall. So, if the location sounds good to you, and the price is the best, then you'd probably be happy there. It's a nice, relatively central location if you don't want to be downtown. It's close to I-70, but not too close, so you could go to Boulder or the foothills if you have time for a day trip and it's a quick trip to/from the airport. I personally think it would be a better choice than the Tech Center, which is further south and more suburban. The Renaissance hotel itself looks very nice. I think it caters to a predominantly business crowd. I believe it has a good Sunday brunch, too, but I could be confusing it with its nextdoor neighbor, which is a Doubletree.

"I hope you enjoy Denver and that our weather cooperates."

http://www.denver.org
http://denver.citysearch.com
I'd stay downtown. Agree with Gretchen Domo's is wonderful

From The Denver Post concert list: Aug 19, Josh Groban at Red Rocks; Aug 19, Marc Cohn at Boulder Theater; Aug 22, Loudon Wainwright III at Botanic Gardens; Aug 22, Los Lobos at Chautauqua Park, Boulder. Didn't see anything for the 20th, though.

Reggae on the Rocks is happening that weekend at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison - the best concert venue in the country!

http://www.redrocksonline.com/02_eve...l1.tml?id=3486

Thanks for mentioning Reggae on the Rocks. I forgot about that! Red Rocks is hands-down the best venue anywhere for music.

Downtown Denver is such a lively and fun city, I think it is definately worth the extra money to stay there and be in the middle of all the action.
I went to Reggae on the Rocks one year and it was lots of fun, not too crowded and gave you a chance to see the ampitheater and the surrounding landscape both during daylight and at night with the great overlook onto the city lights of Denver. Worth going to this concert that weekend even if you don't like reggae much. Otherwise I would go to Los Lobos at Chataqua park in Boulder. This park sits at the foot of the mountains behind boulder which are frequently photographed and recognized worldwide. Go up early before the concert and take a small hike in the park. There is also an old dining hall there that has great food for lunch (never ate dinner there). As for restaurants downtown, I would try Le Central if you like french food. It is not pretencious, more like a quaint french country place with decent prices. It was even featured on Food TV 's $40 a day.
As for sporting events, if the Rockies are in town, don't miss a game at Coors field right downtown in the Lodo district.