TxTravelPro

I have business in the Tech area for a couple of days and then a couple downtown.
I'd prefer to stay in the Tech Area and take the light rail into downtown.
How far is it?
Is there a better area in Denver to stay with access to the light rail?
I want a hotel with great beds and free parking, if possible.
Thanks!!!

Gretchen

The light rail line isn't complete yet. Coming along, but you'll need to drive to downtown. Accomodations in the Tech Center are quite available and cheaper than midtown.

TxTravelPro

That contradicts what is posted on the website... It shows 2 stops in Littleton, one in Oxford and one in Englewood.
I am just not familiar with the area at all. I understand that it may be a bit of a drive to the park and ride.
So, how far would one of these stops be from the Inverness area?

Gretchen

They are "there" but the line isn't finished--or wasn't in May. My kids live in Littleton (basically). And the parking for these stops will be woefully inadequate--35 spots.

yale

The stop in Littleton would be closest. You would jump on C-470 and exit Santa Fe/US 85. It's still about a 30 minute drive from the Tech Center though. I think you'd be wasting quite a bit of time doing it that way.

wtm003

Tx - It would probably take you 20 - 30 minutes to reach a Park and Ride from the DTC. The problem I have found is the lack of parking at the stations. I don't know what time you are planning on leaving, but I recently arrived at the Mineral & Santa Fe (Highway 85) station at 10 a.m. on a weekday and there was not a single parking space available. I continued down Santa Fe to the Oxford and Englewood station where I encountered the same problem. I ended up driving downtown after wasting a lot of time and gas looking for a parking space. The light rail line at I-25 & Broadway is another option, but again their parking situation may also be tight.

Take a look at a map. If you are staying in the Inverness area you are near the Park Meadows Mall at I-25 & C470. The rail lines you mention are all off of Santa Fe (Highway 85). I probably won't try again until the rail line is completed along I-25.

yale

I think Gretchen and I are talking about 2 different stops. The one I am referring to is at Mineral and Santa Fe and has been opened for quite some time.

Gretchen

The light rail line is not finished, is it, which is what the question was. Are you talking about the bus?

jlm_mi

Gretchen - There is light rail running in Denver currently

http://www.rtd-denver.com/LightRail/

Perhaps you are thinking of the t-rex expansion?

http://www.trexproject.com/

Gretchen

Yes, of course that is what I am talking about--the person wants to come from the Tech Center. T-Rex ain't near finished, but is coming along better than I could have imagined a year or so ago.
The light rail in town is great. Our son used it when they lived in Wash Park, but he had to get to the parking lot on Broadway by 7:30 or there were no more places. They have done a really bad job of planning for parking in order to make it work maximally.
Our city council has even visited Denver to look at the light rail system.

jlm_mi

Sorry - I seem to have touched a nerve with you. What seems obvious to you is not so obvious to those less familiar with Denver. You said that "the light rail line isn't complete yet" which to me implies that there is NO light rail in Denver. Not that there is light rail, but that they're currently building a line that goes through the tech center, but it's not done yet.

I don't know if TxTravelPro is willing to drive from the Tech Center to Littleton to get the light rail or not, but that's certainly a possibility (with parking issues, apparently) even though the t-rex line is not done yet.

I was just trying to clarify things since clearly one side of posters was saying there is light rail and you were saying there is not. You were both right, but meant different things.

TxTravelPro

Excellent information!
Having heard all that can someone suggest a 'homebase' for the following itinerary:

9/14,15,16 - Working at Inverness

9/17,18 - On my own to explore and I plan to drive to the mountains, not stay in town but I don't mind driving a big loop back to the hotel at night

9/19,20 - Working Downtown

Hotel requirements: EXCELLENT BEDS
I would also prefer free parking, free B'fast and free high speed internet.

I can get all this at the Sheraton Denver Tech Center for 109.00 a night or I can get it at Radisson Graystone for 139.00, both Club Level accomodations.

Any other suggestions?
Thanks so much!

wtm003

I would not recommend the Radisson Graystone as it is north of downtown Denver and it would be a miserable commute to the Inverness area.