My husband and I will be in Vail 3 nights mid-July, attending a conference; we've never been there before. Since our flight from Denver leaves at 10:30 Sunday morning, we thought we would drive there on Saturday, explore the town and have a shorter drive to airport on Sunday a.m. We checked out Gregory Inn, which looks promising. We like exploring downtown areas, and are looking for interesting sightseeing and dinner suggestions, as well as a hotel/motel convenient to both downtown and airport for overnight -- need not be fancy; we're more interested in a good dinner than a high-end room.

Also welcome ideas for lunch or dinner in Vail. Thanks for any suggestions!

I live in Denver, which means I can't provide a lot of guidance on hotels. I've never heard of the Gregory Inn. The Brown Palace is probably the oldest hotel in town (it's in the downtown area); the rooms are decent and the main lobby is beautiful. I think the prices for the Brown are prety good as well - it's a nice place, but not luxurious. I've heard good things about the main restaurant there. As for other restaurants, I really like Nicoise, which is owned by Kevin Taylor, who also owns the restaurant "Kevin Taylor." Nicoise is less formal, but still good, and his other place is about as formal a restaurant as you'll see in Denver - and very good.

For a hotel/motel convenient to downtown and airport, you'll have to stay either downtown or a couple of miles from the airport; there's not much in between. The drive from downtown to the airport isn't bad, maybe 1/2 hour on a Sunday morning.

Depending on what kind of "downtown areas" you'e used to exploring, you might or might not find Denver interesting. It's pretty much like most other medium-sized American cities.

There are several museums, places like the Mollie Brown house (of Titanic fame), the 16th street mall (which mostly has touristy T-shirt shops). If you like fish, the Aquarium is pretty nice. I'm pretty sure the Denver Mint is closed on Saturday (it only recently reopened for tours). The redeveloped "LoDo" area, on the west side of downtown, has lots of new restaurants and bars. I have young kid, so don't get down there much.

An interesting place to eat is "The Fort," which is in the foothills west of Denver. The building is a recreation of Bents' Fort, which was located somewhat nearby. The Fort features unusual meats, and has a beautiful view of Denver to the east.

Keep in mind your travel times. Saturday afternoon heading east out of the mountains is likely to land you in a lot of traffic. Either head down by no later than 1 pm or so, or change your plans altogether and spend the afternoon in Vail (or Dillon, Frisco, Breckenridge or Georgetown)and head to Denver after 6 pm. Personally, I would vote for a lazy afternoon by the river in Vail, having a drink or some ice cream, over exploring downtown Denver.

As for diner/lunch in Vail, "Sweet Basil" always gets lots of votes. I like Blu's, down by the river, though I've only had lunch there, not dinner. My favorite is the "Left Bank," though I rarely hear much about it from anybody else.

I don't think the traffic out of Vail will be quite as bad as Lexma says--it is only a 2 hour drive. I enjoy Denver a lot--children/grands live there so we are frequent visitors. The Aquarium is nice, LoDo fun for shopping, eating. The Denver Art Museum is outstanding for Native American exhibits. Botanical Garden is interesting. Museum of Natural History is very nice. For dinner we love La Centrale for French food, the Chop House for outstanding steaks, PFChang's for Chinese food. You can stay downtown (you might bid on Priceline for a 3-4* hotel downtown). The airport is a long 30 minute drive and the hotels there are really isolated.
Another fun place for a drink is the Cruise Room of the Oxford Hotel (NICE hotel!)--martinis in an art deco room.
The Rockies might be in town--Coors Field is really great. Cherry Creek Shopping center/area is a shopper's destination!! You might consult 5280.com for ideas for dining.
Allow all of 2 hours to check in at the airport. The security check in Denver is thorough and if the "maze" is full it can take a while. However if you do not have a bag larger than a small backpack you go to the express line.
Oh, and if you have a few extra hours in Vail drive on I70 to Glenwood to see an absolutely gorgeous stretch of the interstate going through Glenwood Canyon.

Hi Harriett, agree with the Oxford Hotel. If that does not fit the budget there is a very nice Courtyard by Marriott on 16th that is a very good location too. Agree too with Sweet Basils in Vail, also "Up the Creek" for lunch, get a table outside.

For Denver we like Vesta's Dipping Grill for dinner, for lunch Rock Bottom Brewery, ok food but great ppl watching if you sit outside, would not go there if you prefer to eat inside.

The Gregory Inn is nice, great location but its a bit pricey.

Harriett,

Many good suggestions here that I would like to add my two-cents to.

Like Lexma90, I have never heard of the Gregory Inn--which surprises me since I used to work in hotels and restaurants downtown. I do know the Brown Palace, though, and it is a very nice four-star hotel. It's been open for 108 consecutive years and is known as the first atrium-style hotel in North America. The hotel features three restaurants: The Palace Arms, a beautiful four-star, four-diamond Napoleonic-style dining room with excellent continental cuisine and superb service; the Ship Tavern, a more casual restaurant/bar with lots of dark wood and (as you might imagine) a nautical theme, and, Ellynton's, a breakfast, lunch and brunch room.

I realize you said you aren't looking for a high-end place but I thought the Ship Tavern might be fun to do for a lunch. The Brown is definitely worth exploring on its own and the Tavern serves good food: out of town guests are always taken with its old-world charm.

I also agree with Lexma90's assessment of Nicoise, it's an interesting room wtih good food and great tapas--plus it's only two blocks from the Brown. Some other unique independent restaurants worth checking out are:

1. Vesta Dipping Grill (as Kima suggested)
2. Rialto Cafe (on the 16th sreet Mall next to the Courtyard by Marriot--which is a good place to stay (again, as Kima suggested
3. Delhi Darbar (Great Indian Food)

And if you wish to take a 15 minute drive to Cherry Creek you will find the best concemtration of quality restaurants in the Denver-Metro area.

As for Vail, All of the suggestions here are good and The Left Bank (which is only open for dinner) serves flawless French/Continental.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Davidcs

FYI David the Gregory Inn used to be the Lodo Inn, they have gone upscale.

Thanks so much, everyone, for all the great suggestions! And I just realized that my trip is only 3 weeks away, so guess I'd better get busy making some reservations! BTW, Gregory Inn (www.gregoryinn.com) is on Arapahoe Street . . .

PS -- If any of you can suggest a website with links and/or phone numbers for these hotels and restaurants, I'd be even more grateful!

http://denver.citysearch.com/ for general ideas

For both Sweet Basils in Vail and Vesta Dipping Grill you will need reservations. Vestas # 303-296-1970

also http://www.vailnet.com/ in Vail also look at www.snow.com for more events in Vail

Kima,

Ahhhhhh...that explains it. Thanks for the info.

Davidcs