Where is the best place to spend the night between Denver and Vail?

It's a very short drive, are you sure you really have to spend the night? If you are arriving very late in Denver and then planning to drive to Vail, I would stay in Denver, probably near the airport, and then drive to Vail the next morning in the daylight for the views.

Thanks for the reply. Our plane is due in about 6:00 P.M. Do we have time to collect luggage, rent a car and arrive at Sommenalp in Vail before dark?

Figure 2-2 1/2 hours to Vail. Don't know about collecting luggage and renting the car. Also don't know what time "dark" is at what time of the year in Colorado. Maybe some natives could help. If you think you're going to be really tired and this will stress you, stay the night in Denver and start out the next am. Hope this helps, but I'm certainly not an expert.

You'll be arriving on the northeast side of the city and then heading west to get the Interstate to Vail. Your options are one of the new hotels near the airport (new rooms, some deals, very few restaurants), tons of motels of various quality along the Interstate across the north and west sides of town, and a few motels in the small towns out west of Denver.

UntilI read a detailed map to use the local street to cut west from the airport and pick up the Interstate there, I would book a room on the west side of Denver when arriving in the evening to avoid the morning traffic across the top of the city. I don't have one hotel/motel to specifically suggest on that side of town--our experiences have just been OK.

We seem to often have a long wait for our luggage at Denver. If you don't have the preferred auto pickup and have to go to the desk you can usually do all that before your bags arrive. Then you'll take a shuttle bus for a 5-minute ride to where all the rental cars are. It just seems to take a long time to get out of the Denver airport.

Agree with the last post, stay on the Interstate , West of Denver, then get up early in the morning and drive during daylight hours. It is all interstate but mountainous, safer to drive during the day.

C:
Figure 15 minutes to disembark and catch train to main terminal. Go to car rental area when you get off escalator - another 15 minutes. Go to baggage claim - 15 minutes more (if you have golf clubs - they come in on the standing racks against the wall, not the regular baggage claim) + 15 minutes leeway - minor delays, catch bus to car, etc. You're looking at an hour to get out of the airport. 7pm. Hop on I-70, to main Vail exit,2 1/2 hrs. Its about 9:30 when you pull into the hotel - gets dark around 9. So you'll have the last 1/2 hr at dusk. Also, you're driving west into the sun at that time for almost the entire drive. Sonnenalps has a great location. b

In re my request for travel between Denver and Vail, I have been finally successful in obtaining reservations at the Comfort Inn in Golden and the Blackhawk Lodge in Blackhawk. Any comments?

Unless you want to go to casinos I would skip Blackhawk. Central City/Blackhawk are old mining towns, now almost entirely casinos. Blackhawk will be some 1-1 1/2 hours from the airport. I am not sure where the Comfort Inn in Golden is, but would assume it is near the West Colfax exit from I-70. This would be a good choice for location. There is also a Marriott West Denver and several other chain motels in western suburbs.