Fodor's Expert Review Halcyon

One of the newest properties in Denver, Halcyon Hotel’s aim is to make guests feel like they’re staying in the very fancy house of a dear friend. The hotel is swanky and new, but contains the kind of high-end finishes you’d find in a custom-built home. One of a handful of properties in the Cherry Creek neighborhood, this area tends to attract both “old money” and “nouveau riche,” in addition to young professionals and recent retirees.

YOU SHOULD KNOW The Destination Amenity Fee is $30 per day and includes a personal styling consultation from an area boutique.

room

The 154 rooms feel more like bedrooms than hotel rooms. Both furniture choices and placement are deliberate, with a charcoal couch that feels like it was plucked from a design magazine and an actual console table nested under the wall-mounted TV. Upgraded rooms and suites have balconettes and patios, but all quarters include Nespresso machines, bars, and WiFi. Speaking of bar, in each room you’ll find bottles of the branded house rum available for purchase.

bathroom

Brass and quartz vanities are surrounded by white tile showers and filled with Côte Bastid Bath Products. Suites also have soaking tubs.

lobby

Playing on the idea that everyone gathers in the kitchen, in lieu of a front desk there’s a white quartz slab island, dubbed the Kitchen Counter. Here, guests check in and can find coffee and espresso, fruit and snacks, plus beer and wine in the afternoons. Tastings of the Halcyon brand house rum are also available. The adjacent space is set up, unsurprisingly, like a living room and provides easy access to the hotel’s restaurants. Like a library, guests can check out items from the Gear Garage, including GoPro video and Leica still cameras, board games, as well as vinyl records and players.

pool

The rooftop pool and hot tub is open seasonally from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. Private cabanas can be also be reserved.

spa

There’s no spa on-site, so guests are encouraged to book services with Spa VITAL at Pura Vida, a few blocks (8-minute walk) from the hotel.

gym

The options for fitness are abundant: There’s a 24-hour fitness center with weights, medicine balls, yoga mats, and cardio machines. Guests can also request complimentary passes to Pura Vida, a 30,000-square-foot, multi-level, full-service athletic club and spa a few blocks away. And then there’s the on-site Gear Garage boasting a bevy of equipment, including snowshoes and sleds for winter, cruiser bikes and helmets in summer, as well as adventure kits full of gear for hiking.

dining

Aside from the Kitchen Counter fruit and pastries, the Halcyon hosts two on-site restaurants, both of which have wowed critics and diners since opening. Departure cooks up elevated Asian fusion, with breakfast, dinner, and happy hour options. Quality Italian is an Italian-American steakhouse providing lunch and dinner.

drinking

The Departure Elevated rooftop bar is a glorious place to take in city views and enjoy an abbreviated menu of light bites from the Departure restaurant.