Visiting Denver: Where to Stay

LoDo sits between Union Station and Coors Field, packed into about 25 square blocks of red-brick warehouses turned hotels, restaurants, and bars. You can walk from Union Station down 16th Street Mall to Larimer Square in 12 minutes. The Rockies play at Coors Field on Blake Street, and Ball Arena (Nuggets, Avalanche) is a 10-minute walk west. Wynkoop Brewing on 18th and Wynkoop is the original Denver craft brewery from 1988. Trains from DIA pull right into Union Station, so you can land and be at your hotel without renting a car. Streets get loud Thursday through Saturday near Market and Blake.

Best for

First-time visitorssports fansanyone arriving by train from the airport

Walk times

Union Station: 2 8 min
Coors Field: 5 10 min
16th Street Mall: 1 5 min

Skip if: You want quiet sleep on weekends or you're driving and hate paying $35 a night for parking

Local tip: Take the A Line train from DIA to Union Station for $10.50 instead of a $65 Uber. It runs every 15 minutes and takes 37 minutes.

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$202per night

RiNo Art District

Murals, breweries, and the food scene that actually matters

Mid-range $160-$280/night

RiNo (River North) runs along Brighton Boulevard and Larimer Street northeast of downtown, roughly between 25th and 40th. Larimer Street between 27th and 30th has the dense cluster: Work & Class, Cart-Driver, Ester's Neighborhood Pub. Crush Walls every September repaints the murals, but the rotating street art is there year-round. Ratio Beerworks, Our Mutual Friend, and Epic Brewing all sit within a 6-minute walk of each other on Larimer. The Source on Brighton is a converted 1880s foundry with a hotel, restaurants, and a bakery under one roof. The neighborhood is rougher around the edges past 38th. Stick south of there at night.

Best for

Food and drink travelersart and design crowdsecond-time Denver visitors

Walk times

Larimer St food strip: 2 8 min
38th & Blake light rail: 5 12 min
Downtown LoDo: 18 25 min

Skip if: You want to walk to Coors Field or the Capitol, or you need a hotel pool and gym

Local tip: The free MallRide bus on 16th Street doesn't reach RiNo. Use the 38th & Blake light rail station or budget for Lyfts (about $8 to LoDo).

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$179per night

Cherry Creek

Quiet, polished, and built for shopping

Luxury $220-$380/night

Cherry Creek North sits about 3 miles southeast of downtown, organized around the Cherry Creek Shopping Center on 1st Avenue and the tree-lined retail blocks between 2nd and 3rd Avenue from Steele to Detroit Street. The Cherry Creek Trail runs along the creek and connects to downtown by bike in 20 minutes. Restaurants like Matsuhisa and North Italia cluster on Fillmore and 2nd. The hotels here run upscale: Halcyon, JW Marriott, Clayton Members Club. It's residential after 9 pm, which is the point. You're across the street from a Whole Foods and a quiet park, not a bar district.

Best for

Couplesbusiness travelersanyone who wants spa hotels and quiet evenings

Walk times

Cherry Creek Mall: 3 10 min
2nd Avenue restaurants: 2 8 min
Cherry Creek Trail: 4 7 min

Skip if: You want to walk to downtown attractions or you're on a budget under $200 a night

Local tip: The free Cherry Creek Shuttle loops the neighborhood every 15 minutes. Most hotels also run free downtown shuttles, so you don't need a rental car.

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$246per night

Capitol Hill

Budget rooms near the museums

Mid-range $110-$190/night

Capitol Hill spreads east of downtown from Broadway to Colorado Boulevard, centered around the Colorado State Capitol on Lincoln and Colfax. The Denver Art Museum, History Colorado Center, and Molly Brown House are all within a 10-minute walk of the Capitol building. Colfax Avenue cuts through the middle and has cheap eats: Pete's Kitchen for diner food, City O' City for vegetarian, Voodoo Doughnut. The blocks south of 13th Avenue between Pennsylvania and Pearl are quieter Victorian streets. Hotels here are older and cheaper. Some blocks of East Colfax past Downing get rough at night, so stay west of Pearl Street and use Lyft after dark.

Best for

Budget travelersmuseum visitorssolo travelers who don't mind walking

Walk times

State Capitol: 5 12 min
Denver Art Museum: 8 15 min
16th Street Mall: 12 20 min

Skip if: You want a polished hotel experience or you're nervous about urban grit

Local tip: Free museum day at the Denver Art Museum is the first Saturday of each month. Get there before 11 am or expect a 45-minute line.

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$123per night