Thompson Denver

A Corner of Market Street, Rebuilt in Brick and Steel

Lower Downtown is a district of warehouses that survived, and this hotel was built to sit among them rather than above them. DLR Group set ivory brick against blackened steel framing on an infill corner at 1616 Market Street, left the concrete columns raw, and cut deep shadowlines into the facade to catch the Colorado sun. Parts + Labor took the interiors somewhere warmer: a two-story brick fireplace holds the lobby together, and roughhewn wood and metal accents keep the rooms clear of chain-hotel neutrality. The house counts 216 rooms and suites, and its design has taken a Muse Platinum award.

Why It Works

We kept this address because it answers the two things that usually spoil a downtown stay. The first is dinner. Most city hotels send you out; here a Michelin-starred chef runs the ground floor, so a late arrival still eats properly. The second is character. Denver has no shortage of competent business hotels within a few blocks, and very few that were drawn for their own corner. This one was. It also holds up across trip types: 216 rooms is large enough to absorb a conference and small enough that the lobby still behaves like a room rather than a concourse.

Why This Location

LoDo puts most of central Denver within a walk. Union Station is the anchor, and it matters more than a map suggests: the airport train runs straight into it, so arrival is a rail journey and a short stroll rather than a highway crawl. Larimer Square and the Dairy Block, with Milk Market inside it, are closer still. Coors Field sits at the top of the neighborhood and Ball Arena lies to the west, which means game nights are audible and the streets fill early. Market Street is lively after dark and quiet by mid-morning.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: warm industrial, downtown, unbuttoned

• Rooms: 216 rooms and suites, including Skyline Studios, the Thompson Suite and the Mile High Suite

• Best For: city breaks done on foot, conference travelers who want a real dinner, people traveling with a dog

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the two-story brick fireplace that anchors the lobby

• Dining: Chez Maggy, a French brasserie from Michelin-starred chef Ludo Lefebvre; Bar M for cocktails off the lobby; Duel Coffee for the morning

• Amenities: fitness center, valet parking, concierge, dogs welcome at no additional charge with pet-sitting and dog-walking referrals, Reynard Social event rooms on the sixth floor

• Attractions: Union Station, Larimer Square, the Dairy Block and Milk Market, Coors Field, Ball Arena, the River North art district

Chez Maggy, and the Argument for Eating In

Ludo Lefebvre built his name on French technique delivered without ceremony, and Chez Maggy follows that line: brasserie cooking, local produce, a room that works as well for a solo plate at the counter as for a table of six. Bar M sits off the lobby and handles the cocktail end of the evening. Duel Coffee covers the early shift with pastries and grab-and-go. The practical upshot is that you can arrive late, eat well without booking a car, and still be out on Market Street in five minutes if you want the city instead.

Rooms, Suites and the Sixth Floor

Rooms run from kings and queens through Skyline Studios to the Mile High Suite, and the material palette carries upstairs from the lobby: wood, blackened metal, plenty of glass. Deep window reveals do useful work in a city that claims three hundred days of sun a year. On the sixth floor, Reynard Social opens into a lounge and sunroom under exposed wood trusses and skylights, used for events but worth asking about when it is quiet. There is a fitness center, and an express elevator to a mid-level bar with a view across Colorado.

What to Know Before You Book

Ask for a room away from Market Street if you are a light sleeper, particularly on a baseball weekend. Parking is valet, so a rental car is a daily cost rather than a convenience, and the train from the airport makes a strong case for arriving without one. Dogs are welcome at no additional charge, which is unusual at this level and worth knowing if a trip hinges on it. Check-in is from three in the afternoon and check-out at eleven.