An independent hotel in Denver, Colorado that is going for an older-world feel, but it felt a bit outdated. The location is excellent if you’re looking for a night out in the Theater District.

This stay occurred in November 2022.

Booking

My volunteering work related to the healthcare industry required me to travel to Denver, Colorado. I ended up spending three nights here at the Hotel Teatro. While the trip was paid for by the volunteer organization, this review here represents my own experience and views.

This hotel isn’t part of any chain, making cash the main option for staying here. For the nights we were there, room rates were going for $189/night. That price seemed reasonable all things considered.

Arrival and First Impressions

We arrived at DEN airport and briefly considered taking a car over to the hotel but we didn’t want to deal with lugging the car seats along for the trip. So instead we decided to take the train. It wasn’t that long of a walk between the train station and the hotel—about a 15 minute walk—but it certainly felt like a long walk given the frigid evening temperatures. In retrospect, I should have taken a car but certainly wouldn’t mind the walk in the summer.

When we arrived, a friendly doorman opened the front doors for us and we proceeded to the check in desk where we received our keys to the room. The hotel had a distinct older-world feel to it. While the guest rooms seemed fine, I feel the lobby and conference rooms could use a refresh.

The Room

We were assigned room 406. The room wasn’t marketed for four persons but it was my only option in the room block reserved for us and I ended up bringing the whole family. Normally there doesn’t end up being a problem with space and we typically can squeeze into one bed, but it felt cramped here.

Immediately inside the door is a small mirror and bench for putting on your shoes.

And then we get to the bed. This is specifically a queen bed and you can see there isn’t much space around the bed to walk. Floor space seemed to be at a premium here. The room is advertised at 330 square feet of living space. But the desk is difficult to use as it can bang into the nightstand nearby. And that sofa by the foot of the bed is too close to the TV and felt cramped when two people sat on it. The designers of the room clearly tried to do their best getting all the features of a typical hotel room into a smaller space but they probably should have pushed the couch against the wall opposite the bed, opening up more useable floor space, and then mount the TV on the wall by to the desk, since the desk chair isn’t comfortable for TV-watching anyways.

Yes, while I realize the room wasn’t intended for two adults and two children, even if I came here on a weekend getaway with Jenn, I’d still have the same thoughts.

Oh, and the TV seemed to turn off on its own after a certain amount of time. I’m not sure if that is a power-saving feature, but it was annoying and we couldn’t find a way to keep the TV on.

The bathroom was decently designed with a separate shower and tub. The shower is enclosed but thankfully there is a way to turn on the water without dousing yourself with cold water in the process. There are no giant toiletries here, but note the scent is rather strong, especially with the lotion by Bodyography.

There were a couple of oddities in the room. We spotted this behind the door but there was no indication on what it meant (privacy or makeup room). Perhaps it’s typical of an older time to know what this is but it would have been nice to get a heads up. As a result we didn’t use it.

The floor transition between the hallway and carpeted areas was also a bit awkward. The carpeted portion is set to be lower than the hallway and so they put in this small ramp. I suppose it’s better than an unexpected step to trip on, but I found myself still tripping on this ramp, especially in the dark when I can’t see it.

The windows seemed to be single-paned. That might make sense because it’s going for that older look and feel but it also is very cold outside when we went in November. The temperature is markedly colder by the window and seemed like a missed opportunity to make the room a bit more pleasant.

Lastly, there wasn’t much of a view from the room. We just got a view of the intersection by the room. Thankfully there wasn’t too much street noise but that video screen is bright and didn’t seem to dim at all at night. Our room was illuminated by the screen, forcing us to keep the blackout curtains shut. Oddly enough, the rest of the weekend, the screen broke and just displayed an error code, which was better than having flashing images all night long. I swear it wasn’t me who broke it but it was amusing.

Odds and Ends

Staff members seemed to enjoy working here and took pride in their work. All interactions I had with staff here was positive and everyone had a smile on their faces.

While I don’t talk much about my volunteer work, I should also point out there was a cockroach running around in the conference room. That was a bit off-putting to see and while I’m sure those bugs hang out in many hotels, I don’t like to be reminded of that fact.

Recommendation: No

The kids had fun in Denver and they certainly were well-fed with good restaurants to dine at. So I would naturally gladly return to Denver with them, especially with the excellent United Club Fly at the airport. But the next time I’m in Denver, I can’t find myself staying at the Hotel Teatro. While the staff was friendly and I have nothing but positive remarks to make about them, the hotel itself is a bit outdated and the rooms could use some improvement to make them more comfortable. It was difficult to maintain the temperature in the room unless we kept the curtains closed. And having a cockroach running around the conference rooms was again a bit unsettling.

Have you been to Hotel Teatro?