Big news
Gaylord
Entertainment plans to develop an $800 million, 1,500-room resort and
convention hotel in Aurora, 10 minutes from DIA and 25 minutes from
Denver. Ground will be broken on the 85-acre property later this year.
Denver
Last December, the Regional Transportation District board approved plans to redevelop the city's Union Station, which include a new 130-room hotel. The property will be affiliated with Sage Hospitality's 80-room Oxford Hotel, across the street, and will share its 10,000 square feet of meeting space with the new hotel. The station is the downtown light-rail stop for lines running to the Denver Tech Center and Littleton; a new line is set to provide service west to Golden upon completion in 2013 and to Denver International Airport (DIA) in 2016.
Construction on the $500 million South Terminal Redevelopment project at DIA began last fall when traffic controls were installed on some of the facility's roadways. Work already is under way on the East Corridor Light-Rail Line, which will run from Union Station in downtown Denver to the airport; service is expected to begin in 2016. The project also includes construction of a 500-room Westin hotel connected to the terminal.
The 403-room Embassy Suites Denver-Downtown/Convention Center has earned LEED Silver certification, the first Denver hotel and first Embassy Suites to carry the designation. The property offers more than 25,000 square feet of meeting space.
Scheduled to open later this year is a new 230-room luxury boutique hotel carved from the landmark Colorado National Bank building, which dates back to 1915.
The Colorado Convention Center has gone green, having recently received a coveted LEED certification for existing buildings. In striving for the designation, the facility cut overall energy usage (the 30,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof helped) and now follows practices such as monitoring purchasing along sustainable lines, using green-cleaning techniques, conserving water, diverting waste and more. In the process, the convention facility's carbon emissions have been cut by more than 26 percent. In other news, the center now offers free Wi-Fi in all public areas.
The $29 million Clyfford Still Museum, showcasing paintings by the American abstract-expressionist artist, opened last November. In all, some 2,400 works are available for display at the striking 31,000-square-foot facility, which was designed by noted architect Brad Cloepfil.
A new 248-suite hotel is planned for Aurora, Colo., near Denver International Airport. The first in a planned chain, the Denver Woolley's Classic Suites comes from hotelier Robert E. Woolley. The property, opening in 2013, will offer a full-service restaurant and bar, approximately 8,000 square feet of meeting space, a 24-hour business center and free Wi-Fi throughout.
The $113 million History Colorado Center, the new home for exhibits from the Colorado Historical Society, opens on April 28. The facility also will house the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, as well as the Stephen H. Hart Research Library.
Meeting Hotels
The Colorado Convention Center is well served by downtown Denver, where more than 8,300 rooms are within walking distance of the facility. The top hotels include the 1,225-room Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, 1,100-room Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, 615-room Denver Marriott City Center, 512-room Grand Hyatt Denver, 430-room Westin Denver Downtown, 403-room Embassy Suites-Downtown Convention Center, 239-room Four Seasons Hotel Denver and 202-room Ritz-Carlton, Denver. For a more complete list of properties, visit mcvenues.com.
Convention Center
Colorado Convention Center; exhibit space, 584,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 63; (303) 228-8000
Airport Transit
Denver International Airport, about 24 miles northeast of downtown. Transfer cost by taxi, $54.50 to downtown and $60.50 to the Denver Tech Center; by Super Shuttle, $21
Taxes
Room tax, 7.5%; sales tax, 7.35%; total tax on hotel rooms, 14.85%
Group Venues
Oenophiles in the group? A Bottled Affair specializes in wine-themed events for up to 60 people. Come up with your own parameters, set up a wine-tasting or choose from the venue's menu of ideas, such as "Nibble and Swirl," "Bubbles and Bonbons" and "Let's Wine Together," ranging from $45 to $65 a person. (303) 534-1955
Tops on Zagat's list of Denver restaurants is Fruition, where the vegetables and fresh eggs come from the eatery's own Fruition Farm outside of town. Chef Alex Seide, a co-founder of the operation, hopes to produce cheese from his own goats in the future. The 50-seat establishment marries the fresh harvest with ingredients like Nantucket bay scallops, blue crab and lobster to create what the chef calls "sophisticated comfort food." Recent dessert offerings included warm toffee date cake. Fruition welcomes events for up to 45 people. (303) 831-1962
Contact
Visit Denver, The Convention & Visitors Bureau, (303) 892-1112