CO Denver Staybridge Suites Airport

[Travlin1]

This Staybridge Suites is one of a couple dozen new Denver hotels carved out of a near-airport plains area with no vegetation. The area looks as if it might have been reclaimed after strip mining, but the staff said it wasn't. We chose to stay here the evening before our flight to minimize travel time and hassle.

Hint: Since there are so many new hotels in this area, check not only Priceline and Hotline rates but also "regular" (AAA, AARP, Travelzoo, etc.) and promotional rates on any hotel chain you particularly like. Chances are good that, since the competition is so great, you can get a good deal.

The hotel is about 10 minutes from the airport and offers a free airport shuttle. We elected to instead keep our rental car and drop it off the morning of our flight. Although all rental car companies at the Denver International Airport are off-site, they all offer a free shuttle, and the return process, unlike the check-in process, at Avis was very swift, and we were at the airport in minutes. If it would save you money (it didn't us), you could instead opt to turn in your rental car the preceding day and take the free hotel shuttle to the airport. [Hint: Next time, if we again visit both Denver and Colorado Springs, we will fly into the Colorado Springs airport, where renting a car is MUCH less expensive than at Denver International Airport, or we will take a shuttle from DIA to downtown Denver and rent a car there. The latter is more of a hassle, but can literally save you $100 or more.]

The Staybridge Suites provides a free daily breakfast and, Tuesdays through Thursdays, a free evening manager's reception. The night we stayed was Fiesta Night, with light Mexican food and complimentary wine, beer, and soft drinks. The breakfast featured cook-it-yourself waffles, pre-cooked egg-and-cheese omelets, yogurt, muffins, fruit, cereal, cranberry and orange juices, milk, and coffee.

The suite had a separate living room with TV and couch/pull-out bed. Adjacent to that was a small kitchen area with microwave, a tall-but-skinny refrigerator that must have been custom-built for the hotel chain, a dishwasher, dishes, coffee and coffeemaker, etc. The separate bedroom with door had two full beds and a second TV. The attached bathroom had a shower/tub and toilet area that could be closed off from the sink area.

The hotel has a small, free fitness center, and a free indoor pool. The pool depth is from 3 feet to 5 feet, and there is no separate children's pool. The pool is attractive, and you can only access it by using your room key.

The elevators were being worked on while we were there. Even when working, they were slow.

The hotel offers free WiFi throughout the hotel and complimentary, unlimited use of 2 computers in the lobby, as well as complimentary use of a 3rd computer for printing boarding passes.

For those refueling a rental car, there are only 1 or 2 gas stations in the area and they are about 5 minutes minutes away. There is a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant, a Village Inn restaurant, several fast-food (Wendy's, McDonald's, Subway) restaurants, and a King Soopers grocery store, but that is about it for non-hotel dining. There are new condos and new hotels being built, so I suspect there will soon be more amenities in the area.

No one at the hotel mentioned the fact that we had paid via Priceline. The front desk staff were pleasant but not exceptional. We paid $114 (with taxes, $130), which I did not consider a good rate. I suspect you can do better!