Sunday, May 31, 2015

The Oxford Hotel, Denver, Colorado




I mentioned in a prior post that my husband and I took a quick trip to Denver, Colorado, over Memorial Day Weekend.  My husband suggested we use www.hotwire.com to get a room at a good rate. I've been hearing Hotwire advertisements for years but did not understand how it worked.  You input where you want to stay, you can read the hotel reviews, but you don't actually know where you will be staying until you book it.  It also appears you can't cancel your reservations, nor can you get your money back, but the perk is that you get a really reduced rate on your hotel.  We made a reservation and were told we'd be staying in The Oxford Hotel.  The reviews were good and the place had a rating of 4 1/2 stars so I wasn't too worried.





Let me tell you... we lucked out! This place was fantastic! 



The Oxford Hotel was built in 1890, and is located right by the Union Station (old train station) in lower downtown Denver (also referred to "LoDo").  The area is within walking distance of Coor's Stadium where the Denver Rockies play (baseball).  There are great restaurants and brew pubs in LoDo. We were just one block from the 16th Street Mall area in Denver.  The 16th Street Mall area is a pedestrian-only area where folks can walk from shop to shop. There are lots of sidewalk cafes and it's great for people watching.  Comic Con was going on in Denver over Memorial Day Weekend, so the people watching was especially fun! 






I never imagined I would get such a kick out of an old historic hotel. Above, you can see the room key.  Yep, and old fashioned room key with a fancy tassel attached.




Above, you can see Charlie, the yellow canary in the hotel's lobby right by the front desk.  The hotel has always had a yellow canary in the front lobby, according to the hotel staff.  Years ago, miners took canaries into mines to alert miners about carbon monoxide in the mines.  The Oxford Hotel had a canary in the lobby of the hotel for the same concerns.  Now Charlie sits by the front desk to carry on the tradition.  The hotel staff also told me that when miners came to stay at the Oxford Hotel years ago, the miners' canaries and the hotel canary were allowed to socialize.  Sweet!

Below, you can see a photo of all the key rings with tassels.  This is the area right behind the lobby's front desk.  When you come and go from the hotel, you leave your key with the front desk staff. I have a few more fun things to share about the Oxford Hotel but I'll save that for another day. 



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