The Rally Hotel / Nathan Hindman Photography
In cities as large as Denver, planners are challenged with the task of dialing in the neighborhood that best suits their group’s size, needs, demographics, and budget. We selected three districts that are quite different but share the trait of perpetually delivering something new and unique.
LOWER DOWNTOWN
Gold was discovered at the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek in 1858, setting the stage for this area to become the birthplace of the city. Fast forward to 1988, the Lower Downtown Historic District was established to inject economic and social vitality, and to encourage historic preservation of one of the American West’s finest collections of late 19th- and early 20th-century commercial buildings.
Today, Lower Downtown (LoDo) is a mixed-use neighborhood with urban housing and nearly 100 restaurants, clubs, galleries, and shops. At the heart of LoDo is Coors Field and the beautifully restored Denver Union Station, which serves as a transportation hub and market hall with shops, eateries, bars, and The Crawford Hotel.
Adam Bove
“LoDo, Denver’s oldest neighborhood, continues to reinvent itself with exciting new offerings. The new hotels in this neighborhood, The Rally Hotel and Thompson Denver, have added inventory to an already bustling area filled with shopping, dining, nightlife, and other activities for attendees,” says Jason Lusk, CMP, associate vice president of convention sales for Visit Denver. “The close proximity to Union Station and the A Line provide easy light rail access from Denver International Airport.”
Other additions to the LoDo hotel and meetings and events scene over the past five years alone include Hotel Indigo Denver Downtown-Union Station, The Maven, and Kimpton Hotel Born. If a taste of history is desired, check out The Oxford Hotel that opened in 1891 and the Dairy Block, once the location of Windsor Dairy and now a multiuse block containing The Maven, Denver Milk Market food hall, the Alley at the Dairy Block, shops, and office space.
For one company, Snooze, The Rally Hotel was an ideal location for a leadership conference from June 20-23 for 140 attendees. Two brothers, Jon and Adam Schlegel, launched Snooze in the district 16 years ago, and the company now has restaurants in 10 states. The gathering utilized nearly all the function spaces at The Rally, including the adjacent McGregor Square.
Catbird Hotel
“Snooze started in the historic Ballpark neighborhood, one-fourth of a mile from The Rally Hotel,” says Brianna Borin-Lygizos, senior vice president of people. “The Rally Hotel represents all that the neighborhood is in a new and vibrant way. It shows the growth Denver has had in the past few years but also gives homage to its history.”
In LoDo, groups can benefit from the proximity to amenities and attractions, as well as the energetic vibe, she says. “There are a lot of local restaurants and eateries, entertainment via the baseball stadium and Tom’s Watch Bar, and shopping at Market Station, Dairy Block, and 16th Street Mall. LoDo is where downtown Denver comes alive.”
RIVER NORTH ART DISTRICT
Lonely Planet has named River North Art District (RiNo) among the top 10 neighborhoods to visit in the United States, and it just keeps getting more vibrant. Two new hotels, Catbird and Vīb Hotel by Best Western, opened in the past year and “place attendees in the middle of this hip and active area complete with dining, shopping, live music, breweries, distilleries, and fantastic street art around every corner and literally down every alley,” Lusk says.
Cherry Creek North
More new hotels are in the works but early groundwork for groups to gather and stay in RiNo was set by The Ramble Hotel, The Source Hotel + Market Hall, and Zeppelin Station, a food hall with multiple culinary outlets and two bars.
Marley Medical, a small startup company, held a quarterly meeting in June at Catbird, bringing a group of remote employees together. “We looked at various areas, and Denver was high on our list due to direct flights from various locations and the scene itself,” says Chelsea Biel, director of clinical operations and one of two organizers of the meeting.
Clayton Members Club & Hotel
RiNo as a neighborhood was highly recommended due to the restaurants, breweries, artistic vibe, and walkability, she says. “We looked at a few hotels, and Catbird is so unique, interesting, and fun. The space is beautifully designed and functional along with amenities such as The Playroom, The Rooftop, and other activities.”
The group met in Catbird’s Media Room for two days and walked to Zeppelin Station and The Denver Central Market for lunch and Source Market Hall for dinner. A more low-key meeting was held at a brewery, Our Mutual Friend, and a casual night out that included miniature golf and dinner was spent at Urban Putt. The group utilized the A Line train to the airport as Catbird is an easy walk to the 38th and Blake Station.
Cherry Creek North
“Just being in a creative space was really important to us for brainstorming and thinking outside the box. … Catbird and RiNo are not cookie cutter,” Biel observes.
Catbird General Manager Courtney Griffith appreciates being part of a thriving district that “is quickly developing right in front of all of us,” she says. “RiNo is such an eclectic neighborhood with not only a great art scene but some of the best culinary spots in the city such as The Greenwich Denver, Himchuli, Uchi, and Safta. The phenomenal music scene also has taken off with big acts filling Mission Ballroom almost nightly.”
CHERRY CREEK NORTH
Located only 3 miles from downtown Denver, Cherry Creek North has long appealed to groups but was short on accommodations and meeting and event space until Halcyon opened in 2016 to join JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek, which was fully renovated and reopened this year as Hotel Clio. To follow, Moxy Denver Cherry Creek launched in 2017, The Jacquard Hotel & Rooftop in 2018, and Clayton Members Club & Hotel in 2021.
Like RiNo, Cherry Creek North is flush with diverse shopping and dining options and is located along the Cherry Creek Regional Trail. The neighborhood offers many options for putting the outdoors on the agenda by booking rooftops and patios at Halcyon, The Jacquard, Moxy, and various restaurants and bars such as Forget Me Not, Del Frisco’s Grille, and Toro Latin Kitchen & Lounge.
Considering the appeal to the area, Cherry Creek North hotels are collaborating with the district to host larger groups, giving attendees a choice of where to stay among a variety of gathering spaces. For example, technology company Medable hosted a corporate summit July 24-28 and booked 50 guest rooms at Clayton Members Club & Hotel, 20 at The Jacquard, and 20 at Halcyon.
With one gathering at The Jacquard under her belt, Ashley Kassis, event planner with Kassis Consulting, decided to return to Cherry Creek, this time with Medable. She chose this region because of the district’s walkability and higher-end hotels with approachable room prices and affable staff.
Meetings and lunches took place at Clayton Members Club & Hotel and activities included optional morning exercise bootcamps at Barry’s, a dodgeball session at Archery Games Denver, and a short hike from Lair o’ the Bear Park to Dunafon Castle for a barbecue. Attendees received a sampling of culinary options in Cherry Creek North with dinners at Forget Me Not and the restaurant and rooftop at Halcyon.
“Cherry Creek North has been a longtime destination neighborhood in its own right, and it only gets better,” Lusk confirms. “With five boutique hotels nestled among 600 businesses in just 16 blocks, including the newly renovated and rebranded luxury addition, Hotel Clio, attendees can step out the front door of any property and find myriad dining and shopping options in either direction.”
cherrycreeknorth.com
lodo.org
rinoartdistrict.org
