Denver – More than a stopover destination

Graham McKenzie travelled to Denver, Colorado recently and found lots of  devlopmenst to keep tourists in town.

In a nutshell

It is not all mountains, rivers, Bear and Moose in Colorado. The Centennial state has a lot more to offer but like most have had city tourism challenges with the lack of visitors and office workers alike.  Denver, the capital city, is doing its best to redefine its product offering and attract a new market sector. This a new, younger, affluent clientele to which it is appealing with a typically relaxed, warm, inclusive and open welcome.

Why your clients should go

Denver is the biggest city in Colorado and for visitors that arrive by air for a touring holiday or for the ski season it is THE gateway. The city is however worth an investment of time as the innovations to make it a great place to visit and live are impressive.  The district that perhaps best illustrates this new look is RINO (River North) which in itself is part of the better-known neighbourhood of Five points once known as the ‘Harlem of the West’ as it featured a heady mixture of African American culture including regular gigs by jazz greats such as Duke Ellington , Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, Unfortunately venues such as the Rossonian are no longer functioning but the heritage is there and one can feel it emanating through the many bars and restaurants.

RINO is in many ways the gentrified area of Five Ways with older warehouse properties turned into upmarket clothing shops, eateries and cocktail bars. Many of the walls are adorned with fantastic artwork using the full spectrum of the colour palette. Others are decorated with every promo sticker Denver has seen in the last 10 years. For an in depth and very local perspective on this area and indeed of Denver more widely I can highly recommend an E-TUK tour. Jordan my host was very informative and very open about some of the challenges that face the city plus whizzing around in an electronic tuk tuk was very cool.

What to see and what to do

Given that nowhere is that far in Denver its very easy to access all that the downtown area has to offer from wherever you are staying. The city offers the top four main sporting franchises with Basketball, Ice Hockey, Baseball and American Football. All four stadia are within easy reach of each other and whilst its relatively easy to get a ticket to the notoriously ill performing Colorado Rockies (Baseball) entrance to the Mile high stadium to see the Broncos (American Football) might be more of a challenge. I happened upon an invitation to the opening game of the 2021 season and it was the 392^nd time in a row that the stadium had sold out. Fear not however as McGregor square awaits. The centre of a new downtown development you can sit outside, drink beer, eat burgers and watch almost any sport from around the planet on giant screens. Just across from Coors Field (home of the aforementioned Rockies) it offers a lot in terms of the essentials to have a good day. Once the sport is complete you can go to somewhere a bit more sophisticated or walk to the station and slink off back to your hotel. Either way it is a very cool place to spend an afternoon and early evening.

In addition to sport the Union Station area of the city not only offers a transport hub, but it also gives access to the nightclubs, theatres and art centres which throughout the year offer the sort of entertainment and stars that a state capitol would have.

Food and drink

At the heart of RINO though are the cool bars, restaurants and music venues of which I availed myself of several. First up on cocktail time was the Honey Elixir Bar where you can slake that thirst with a non-alcoholic ‘Kin High Rode’ or ‘Love Lixer’. Once that’s out of the way move onto something more intoxicating such as a ‘Tropic like its Hot’ or my choice ‘Emerald Green Triangle’ which consisted of green chartreuse, agwa coca leaf liqueur, chareau aloe liqueur, Morrocan green tea and lime.  Such is the popularity of this bar that the owners ask you to limit your visit to two hours to give others a chance to enjoy. Good marketing!

If a honey-based cocktail is not going to give you an appetite nothing will so next up was dinner at Il Posto. Like your mother used to make is somewhat of a cliché but here it may well be true as the quality, taste and service was difficult to fault. Although it is an area of intense competition the restaurant was full to bursting and once you tasted the food it was no wonder. A charcuterie board, followed by a pork based ragu sauce over freshly made Pappardelle and all topped off with homemade affogato was fabulously delicious and I felt as if I did not need to waddle back to the hotel. Lovely!

Where to stay

The main hub of RINO was all-walking distance from my cool for school brand new hotel – The Catbird. It has its own rooftop bar and restaurant to gaze over to the Rockies plus is about 200 yards from the metro station, which is easily the most efficient, and probably cleanest environmentally, way of travelling not only to the downtown hub of Union Station but also the airport (single fare $16). Set up as long stay accommodation it is ideal for those who want to stay a bit longer and have a few cooking facilities within your room. One exceptionally cool feature in some of the rooms is the using the blinds as a huge projector screen (at least 6ft by 6ft) for the TV.  Rooms start from around 200 US dollars per night.

Don’t Miss

If you get offered, can access or beg for a ticket to a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, some ten miles west of Denver, DO NOT MISS IT. Opened in 1941 the music venue is hewn out of the natural assets of the region. It basically does what it says on the tin – its Red Rock and you’re in the open but it is quite magical. One of the most famous concerts was in 1964 when four long haired lovers from Liverpool performed a selection of their hits to an ecstatic audience.

You Can’t Buy Me Love but you can buy passage to Denver with daily flights from Heathrow starting at less than £450 for a return ticket to ride.

Graham’s trip was organised by Visit Denver and Colorado Tourism following US Travels IPW Convention in September.

Learn more about :   Colorado Tourism ( Asia Pecific )     Colorado Tourism ( United Kingdom )     Colorado Tourism ( N. America )