The Curtis, Doubletree by Hilton, is a cool, hip hotel located in the heart of Downtown Denver. My husband, my two children (ages 6 and 8), and I had the opportunity to stay here for two nights over a weekend. The hotel is brightly decorated and each floor has a different theme. It is within walking distance of most of the activities that you will do during your stay. If you are bringing along your furry friends, they are also welcomed.

Enough Room for the Family

The room that we stayed in was located on the 16th floor. The hotel has the typical two double bed room options but we were in a king bed-corner sofabed deluxe room. I loved the layout of this room because it gave us plenty of room to move around. The sofa was nice to watch tv from when we were resting in between outings and there was plenty of space for the kids to play. Although we use our hotel room as a place to sleep and don’t spend much time in it during the day, on this trip we found ourselves in our room more than usual. It was nice to have all the space.

Little Touches will Impress

The bright orange of the sign hanging outside of the hotel follows it through the lobby and the different floors. When you check in, you will be handed those famous Doubletree cookies. Each room has a different theme. We stayed on the Pedal to the Metal floor. We particularly loved the décor of the 6th floor, the Fun and Games Floor. Each time the elevator stopped at a different floor, it announced the theme of the floor in a fun way.
If you are going to be in your room and need something to entertain, you can check out some board games like Candyland and Boggle. The room comes with complimentary wired and wireless Internet. There is an option to purchase a speedier Internet but we did not have any problems with the free version. The room we stayed in had a refrigerator and an in-room coffee maker that made getting beverages a convenience. We purchased some juice and soda and stored it in the room without having to make numerous trips to the ice maker. The bathroom was large enough that two of us could get ready at the same time without getting in each other’s way.

Fun for Your Furry Friends, Too

The Curtis K-9 Club welcomes your furry friends to the hotel as well. There are special dog treats, use of food and water dishes and dog walking. At the front door of the hotel, there are photos of each of the doggie guests at the hotel. My kids loved stopping each time we entered and exited the property to see who had moved in for the day.

Location, Location, Location

We absolutely loved the location of this hotel. During our weekend stay, we ate at Sam’s No 3, a diner that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We walked to a Colorado Rockies game. We wandered through Rocket Fizz and bought candy and soda that you don’t see in too many stores anymore. We wandered down the 16th Street Mall for a little shopping. We hurried down to the Capitol to stand on the step that is exactly one mile above sea level and we also visited the History Colorado Center. We parked our car on Friday night and we didn’t get back into it until it was time to go. The hotel isn’t necessarily centrally located. We figured out that we clocked about 15 miles walking all over during the three days but it was centrally located around all the things that we wanted to do.

Things to Know

At the time of this posting, the parking garage is currently closed for construction. Your only option is to self-park in a garage or valet to the tune of $28. We had intended on self-parking in the Denver Cultural Complex garage but unfortunately the garage was full due to an event the evening we arrived. Rather than mess with moving the car, we decided to just use the valet parking. When you park your car with the hotel valet, they will recommend that you call for your car 15-20 minutes before you want it. They are not kidding. Times varied but when we needed our car, it took almost exactly 20 minutes from phone call to the car pulling up to the hotel. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2013.
This hotel does have a fitness center but there is no pool. The Corner Office is the hotel’s on-site restaurant. It is very popular and, in fact, we had heard how great it was from a friend before we got there. Unfortunately, it was very crowded with young adults celebrating the Kentucky Derby and we didn’t feel like it would be appropriate for our children. My husband and I hope to return on a date night to check it out. The Bell and Valet Staff were very knowledgeable about the area. Several times we stopped and asked for the best directions. Each time, they knew exactly where we wanted to go and the directions dropped us off at the front door. Cribs and high chairs are available at request but the property recommends that you request them at time of reservation.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at The Curtis and plan to recommend the hotel to family members who are coming into town to visit this summer.

*This review is based on a complimentary visit to The Curtis Hotel. I received no other compensation and these opinions are entirely my own.

We spent an entire afternoon exploring this Colorado state park. Don't miss the Visitor's Center where you can speak with a park ranger and get trail advice. We took the South Rim Trail, which had some small trails with drop offs so keep a hand on your little ones. The views from this trail are amazing. The park ranger recommended this one and the Fountain Valley Trail for kids. The visitor's center also offers walking sticks to borrow. The kids felt so grown-up carrying walking sticks on the trail. The drive from the gate guard to the visitor's center gets very bumpy so drive slowly!

We visited the Denver Art Museum this week while my kids were on Spring Break. My admission was $10 but my kids were free due to a special they were running for the school break. We spent almost four hours wandering the museum with the backpacks and art tubes available for checkout (during school breaks, weekends and summers according to the person I spoke to). The backpacks and tubes are full of activities that correlate with the artwork in different rooms. Grab a spot on the floor and create the art project that comes with it. As if that wasn't enough for kids, there is a huge art studio where children can try their hand at painting and on occasion there are special make and takes around the museum to participate in. I loved the fact that they are encouraging children to be creative and take a front seat in the art viewing.

After our four hours in the museum, we were ready to eat so we headed across the path to Mad Greens for sandwiches and salads. There are a few sculptures outside to look at and the museum is located next to the Denver Public Library. Parking is easy in the Cultural Complex Garage and is reasonably priced ($9 maximum daily parking at the time we visited) for city parking.

The next time we return, we will be purchasing an annual pass so we can return anytime we want.

As a money savvy mom, I often look for attractions that will give us the most bang for our buck. The Denver Zoo is reasonably priced, parking is free and you can bring a picnic lunch. I saw that a previous review said that you couldn't bring food in so they must have changed this in the past year. The only things not allowed according to their website are straws, alcohol or glass containers. We saw a lot of people having picnic lunches while we were there.

My only regret about our visit is that we didn't buy an annual pass during our first visit. The exhibits are interactive and my kids loved the signs and activities found throughout the zoo. There were only a couple of animal exhibits where you didn't feel like you were right next to the animals.

After a visit to the Garden of the Gods, we decided on a whim to stop at the Olympic Training Center. You will be stopped by the gate guard and given a parking pass. The visitor center is full of memorabilia from the Olympics. When we visited in January, the tours are given every hour on the hour. We arrived about ten minutes before the tour and were able to use the restroom (the only one on the tour so make sure you stop with the kids) and wander around and look at the memorabilia.

The tour begins with a quick movie about the last summer and fall Olympics. Then we got to see wrestlers practicing, Olympic hopefuls weightlifting and swimming and a practice room. The tour is very short. It only lasted about 25-30 minutes. My 6 and 8 year old really enjoyed the tour and it was just short enough that it didn't provoke any antsy attitude.