Denver Hotel Hopping

It was difficult finding somewhere affordable to stay in Denver. We had all of our activities planned and wanted to stay in as central a location as we could. I searched AirBnB, but we knew we needed a car to get around, and many rented places did not offer free parking, thus making the stay not so affordable. The few places that did offer free parking were already booked. In the end we decided to go with our trusty standby, Priceline.

Marriott Gateway Denver Airport

Have you ever made what seemed to be a pretty good decision that turned out to be a great decision?

 We decided to take a late night flight out of Philadelphia so 1) We could have a full Saturday in Denver and 2) So we didn't have to miss a day of work.  Since we were arriving in Denver late, we booked a hotel near the airport that offered a free airport shuttle. There was no sense getting a rental car just to go to the hotel and sleep, so we figured we'd crash in bed, then take the shuttle back to the airport in the morning to pick up our car. Good plan, right?

Leaving Philadelphia, we finally experienced our first flight delay. There was some sort of computer issue. At first they tried to fix it by literally turning it off and on again.When that didn't work, we were instructed to get off of the plane. A new plane was found, but of course the flight crew timed out, so then we had to wait for a new flight crew. Our flight was supposed to leave Philadelphia at 9:30 pm, but didn't leave until 12:30 am. No worries for us though, we didn't have a connecting flight to catch, and we didn't have anywhere we had to be. 

We got to the Denver airport around 2:30 am Denver time, but for our internal clocks, it was 4:30 am. We weren't prepared for sleeping on a plane, we didn't have pillows or anything else, so we were exhausted by the time we landed in Denver. 

We were so thankful that we didn't have to deal with a rental car, or figuring out how to drive somewhere in an unfamiliar city. We just hopped in the hotel shuttle and fell into the extremely comfortable bed. 

The Marriott Gateway Airport Hotel was very nice. 

The rooms were clean, comfortable, and decorated perfectly. 

The staff were efficient and kind. 

I was a bit sad that we weren't staying at the Marriott for our entire trip, but it was just a bit too far from some of our activities. It was the ideal place to spend a night, or in our case, an early morning, after a flight delay. 

Quality Inn Denver Central

We nicknamed this hotel the "wake and bake." It is considered a 4:20 hotel in Denver meaning that they don't forbid the smoking of marijuana on property. We are not partarkers. We stayed here because this was the hotel that Priceline picked. We still can't decide if this was our first Priceline fail. 

Pros
- They offer free shuttle service to parts of downtown Denver, including Coors Field. A lot of the roads get shutdown for the ball games, so I think we would have been frustrated driving to the ballpark, plus we saved money on parking. The shuttle was easy, convenient, and on time. 

- The location was convenient for getting on the major roads to get to where we needed to go

- The front desk staff were pleasant and always helpful 

- It's probably one of the most inexpensive hotels in the area 

Cons
- It's a bit of a party hotel (this might be a pro for some). People were always lugging cases of beer into the elevator. We must have had a look, because we were placed on a very quiet,empty floor.  

- The elevator always smelled like pot. The hallways and our room smelled like a combination of mildew and birthday cake. 

- It's located in an industrial park area, so if you are expecting a place with mountain views, trees, any kind of nature... you're out of luck. 

The rooms were basic and nothing fancy. It worked as a place to just crash after a busy day. The bed wasn't uncomfortable. 

The issue was more that they seemed to be fairly newly renovated rooms, but appeared to be forgotten about and not well maintained. 

We really enjoy accommodations that include free breakfast. It doesn't have to be fancy. We're not picky.  

This was the first time that we actually passed up free breakfast after experiencing it once. I think they probably should have focused on quality over quantity. 

There was a lot of variety, but everything was the absolute cheapest quality. 

We opted for cereal, which tasted like stale cardboard. We were 99% sure the milk was powdered. The coffee was undrinkable. Again, we are generally not super picky, but we just couldn't do the breakfast for a second day, even if it was free. 

If you just want someplace affordable to crash in Denver, then stay at the Quality Inn, but if we went back to Denver, I would not stay there again. 

Baymont Inn and Suites Denver Airport

We left Denver with a similar plan to what we had arriving. Stay close to the airport for convenience. Unfortunately, Priceline did not grace us with another stay at the Marriott. Instead it selected the Baymont Inn and Suites, near the Denver airport. It was clearly a popular place for people to spend their last night. 

Baymont was fine for a one night stay. It was clean, and the bed was okay. It suffered a bit from the same, new- but- not- well- maintained disease that Quality Inn had, though not as severe.

 Still, it was perfectly fine as a place to stay the night before a flight. 

Baymont also offered a free breakfast, but there was nothing that really enticed us, so we decided to head to the airport and see what they had. 

We liked the Marriott, but I can't say we were all that impressed with our other two stays Priceline booked in Denver. I would suggest doing a good amount of research before making your choice.