Denver/Colorado in May

[Beefy]

Hey y'all! I have a conference in Denver in May this year, and before I hit the Googlenetweb I just had a couple of quick questions of you folks since I know many of you live in or have visited the city......

Is Colorado worth hanging around in for a holiday at that time of year?

Any broad hotel recommendations near the Colorado Convention Centre and/or nightlife areas?

Thanks!

[Asr]

I suspect Tyler/Sherwood will be along later for the dirt on places to eat & drink at.

May is a good time to visit, the weather will be warm and spring-like, though it can still snow in May. Never snows much in May but it still happens, and it never sticks around either (snow always melts in 2-3 days in Colorado, even in the winter). It'll be the kind of weather where you'll want to wear a light jacket over a t-shirt.

Depending on how long you're in the area, I'd highly recommend taking at least a day trip into the mountains. You could probably get about as far as Aspen and back in 1 day, and there's a lot to see between Denver and Aspen - the Maroon Bells (near Aspen), Breckenridge, Lake Dillon. Or you could go northwest to Estes Park (just over an hour away), or south to Pike's Peak. This is of course if you'll have a rental car - but if not, there are still plenty of places you can go around Denver on public transit (like a side-trip to Golden, where Coors is brewed).

Downtown Denver is mostly built around southeast from the 16th Street Mall (outdoor walking mall that's a few blocks long) - lots of restaurants there and some of the major tourist spots are close too, like the Art Museum, Natural History Museum, the State Capitol, etc. Most of downtown is easily accessible on the RTD, more info on maps & routes can be found at rtd-denver.com. A lot of touristy spots are within walking distance of the Convention Center too. If you're into classical-music concerts or plays, the Convention Center is very close to the Center for the Performing Arts where the state symphony orchestra performs.

There should be a lot of hotels in that part of Denver and I'm sure most of them are pretty expensive. I'm admittedly not very big on "nightlife" in general so I'll defer to Tyler on that subject. Denver is a fair bit away from where I live (about 45 minutes away) and I don't usually go into the city unless I have a specific reason to. Let me know when you're here though, would like to meet you and can help show you around.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Asr

[Dusty Chalk]

Is Colorado worth hanging around in for a holiday at that time of year?

I would. Especially if you like beer, some of my favorite beer is from Colorado. But there's plenty of other things to like about the area, or so I'm told (never been there, myself).

[Sherwood]

Thanks for that gracious intro, Steve! I would, as predicted, be delighted to chime in here.

Denver is a lovely town. Great food and beer, and near enough to many tourist destinations (without being a real tourist destination itself).

The convention center is on the South end of Downtown, and there are a number of good places nearby, depending on what you're looking for.

The bestest, swankiest hotel in Denver is pretty close: The Brown Palace

Or if that's not your thing, there are swarms of reasonable business hotels nearby. For those, I'll have to go on the opinion of others, since I've never bothered to stay in a business hotel in my own city.

Nightlife areas are nearby, as well. You'll want to get slightly away from the convention center itself and up to LoDo (lower downtown) for the best. Start at the best beer bar in the West and then just go for a walk. You're about a block from Coors Field and everything in every direction for a few blocks is pretty busy on a given night. Especially in May, once it's warmed up a little at night.

As to food, I have more recommendations than you have time, so I'll need some guidelines. What are some of your favorite places now?

Reply in here or shoot me a PM and we'll talk specifics.

[Beefy]

That's a fantastic start lads, thanks! So looking at the maps, somewhere between Champa and Market Streets puts me right in between LoDo and the Convention Centre?

Tripadvisor, here I come!