DIA Update
• The Denver City Council has given Denver International Airport approval
to issue up to $1.35 billion in bonds to finance the South Terminal
Redevelopment. A 23-mile rail connection to downtown will debut in 2016.
An open-air plaza also is being constructed.
• The project includes a 500-room Westin hotel, which will be connected to the terminal. It is slated to open in 2015.
• More than 53 million travelers passed through the airport in 2012, a new record.
• Several outposts of the city's much-loved book store, the Tattered Cover, will debut at the airport by the end of 2014.
Local Update
A $28 million renovation of the 516-room Grand Hyatt Denver is under way. The lobby will have a ski lodge ambience, with stacked fireplaces embedded in stone, hand-tufted rugs and a wood canopy ceiling. The 38th floor's Pinnacle Club will be refreshed; the Grand Hyatt Conference Center also will be updated. All guest rooms will be redecorated with natural materials and new furniture. Pub 17, which opened last summer, features a locally sourced menu. Also new is the Skycourt, an outdoor rooftop jogging track and tennis court, an extension of the already renovated indoor pool and 24-hour fitness center. The hotel offers 60,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Loews Denver Hotel, near the Cherry Creek district, has been sold. The Denver Business Journal reports that the new owner might be Hyatt Hotels Corp. The 183-room property closed in late February to be renovated and converted to its new flag.
The Colorado Convention Center is stepping up its dining options. Centerplate, which provides food services for the facility, is redesigning its menus with the help of local chefs. More locally sourced ingredients will be used. In fact, some of the produce, fruit and honey used by Centerplate's chefs will come from the convention center's own Blue Bear Farm, on the facility's grounds.
A $5 million renovation begins this month at the 451-room Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. The lobby will be redesigned, as will the public spaces, while a new gastropub, Root25 Taphouse & Kitchen, will open in the spring. All work should be completed by mid-April. The property offers 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
Sage Hospitality now manages the 403-room Embassy Suites Denver-Downtown/Convention Center. The LEED-certified hotel has 22,500 square feet of meeting space.
The 241-room Brown Palace Hotel has joined Marriott International's Autograph Collection. The property, which opened in 1892, includes 13,000 square feet of meeting space.
The 150-suite SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State opened last August. The property is connected to the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver, about half a mile from the Colorado Convention Center and across from the Pepsi Center. The hotel is applying for LEED Silver certification.
Construction continues on the 212-room Marriott Denver Westminster, northwest of the city. The property, opening this fall, will have 12,000 square feet of meeting space.
Meeting Hotels
More than 8,300 rooms are within walking distance of the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. Properties 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; 516-room Grand Hyatt Denver; 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; bit.ly/KBBEDV
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
Organic, local, seasonal and fresh are the adjectives espoused by the chefs at Root Down, right. Farm-to-table goes elegant here, and dietary requests such as vegetarian and gluten-free are cheerfully handled. A midwinter menu featured veggie burger sliders, bourbon barbecue tofu and roasted three-chili chicken. A private room holds 22 people for dinner; parties of up to 150 can take over the restaurant. (303) 993-4200; rootdowndenver.com
Need a stage for an evening event? Consider Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret, a few blocks from the convention center. For public events, the club-style venue often hosts alternative-rock bands and comedians. Private gatherings of up to 135 people are accommodated. (720) 244-9482; lannies.com
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum is a unique event venue for groups of all sizes. Set in a hangar on the former Lowry Air Force Base, the facility houses a B-18A Bolo, five Century-Series fighters and an RF-84K Thunderflash Parasite, among others. Groups of 150 to 3,500 are welcome. (303) 360-5360; wingsmuseum.org
Contact
Visit Denver, The Convention & Visitors Bureau, (303) 892-1112; denver.org