This past weekend, we were hosted by The Source Hotel + Market Hall in Denver. We reviewed one of their King suites which included a soak in their glorious tub. We shopped at Market Hall, ate at their different restaurants and attended Bacchanal, a New Orleans-style wine, food and music festival that was held in the parking lot of The Source. Besides the fact that having a full weekend in a hotel all by myself was glorious, it was also a great opportunity to see all the ways that this particular Denver neighborhood — called RiNo — is really developing.
Photo credit: SourceHotel
The modern-style King suites came stocked with a living area, shower and glorious tub (just look at that glorious tub!) and my corner room had some pretty cool views of the Denver skyline and the mountains in the distance.
After checking in on Friday, I headed down to the second floor to check out the stores that are part of Market Hall. There was an artists’ installation, a flower shop, the Israeli-focused restaurant Safta, barbecue restaurant Smok, New Belgium Brewing’s inaugural Denver brewery and some pop-up bespoke stalls.
Dinner and drinks on Friday were at The Woods, the rooftop restaurant of the hotel. The views were gorgeous, the drinks tasty and the sweet soy cauliflower appetizers were a must-try.
Morning Denver views from my room.
Breakfast on Saturday morning was a pastry from the Reunion Bread Company, juice from Isabel and a latte from Caffe Figurati.
The hotel is also a block away from Zeppelin Station, which features a rotating retail space called Made in a City. “Made in Mexico City” was the current experience for the weekend I was there, and there were shops and restaurants that featured Mexico City-based experiences. I had a beet veggie salad and a ceviche tostada from Campobaja, which were both really delightful.
After Zeppelin Station, I met up with a colleague at Safta to grab some food before heading over to the Bacchanal event. Safta specializes in Israeli cuisine, and their mushroom hummus was without a doubt some of the best hummus I’ve ever had (sorry Hummus Place in NYC — you’ve got competition!)
After our quick bite it was off to Bacchanal! Here’s where I admit something silly — I’ve actually been to the real-life Bacchanal in New Orleans but didn’t remember until about halfway through the event Saturday night. Once I did remember, though, the whole event snapped into focus for me. Bacchanal in New Orleans is basically one big outdoor house party — it’s a very laid-back scene with amazing food plates and buckets of wine that you stand in line to order. There are colorful string lights, picnic tables in the yard and fantastic, live music. So that was what the Bacchanal team was attempting to recreate in the parking lot of The Source on Saturday and Sunday, and they did a pretty great job. They even managed to bring over two of the original Bacchanal bands from New Orleans to perform, too.
The team has actually been bringing this event around the country for a while now — they’ve been in LA twice and in Chicago, and a few others, as well — and I think it’s such a great idea. For people who have never been to New Orleans, getting a chance to partake in some of the culture is a great way to entice them to take a trip, and for people who have been, it’s a lovely reminder of what makes New Orleans so special.
On Sunday we all got to test out the new brunch menu at Safta before heading out. Here’s where I tell you that, if you enjoy eating Israeli-based foods as much as I do (I have never met a hummus flavor I didn’t love), then this brunch is for you. I mean there is so much more than hummus (just look at those pictures!), and they even bring in Rosenberg’s bagels which, I just learned on this trip, adjusts the pH level of the water they use to create the bagels so that they closely match what you’ll find in NYC.
Safta, we learned, means grandmother in Hebrew, and so the restaurant is meant to evoke homestyle feelings of being back at your grandmother’s house eating a big ole’ Sunday meal. Quaint and cozy with a dash of elegance … and all the tasty treats you could possibly ask for.
This 4-star hotel is a 5-minute drive of Coors Field and Union Station, less than 2 miles from 16th Street Mall and a little over 2 miles from the Colorado Convention Center. There’s 100 hotel rooms in all and they all feature iPod docking stations and minibars. Their pillowtop beds come with down comforters. Smart televisions with cable programming provide entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet is available throughout the properly. Amenities include two outdoor swimming pools and a fitness center as well as a 24-hour business center, a 24-hour front desk, and multilingual staff.
DETAILS:
The Source Hotel
3330 Brighton Boulevard
Denver, Colorado 80216, US
Tel.888-347-2319
Note: I was hosted by the hotel but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Cheryl Lock is a former magazine, newspaper and website editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has worked on staff at the Daytona Beach News-Journal, More and Parents magazines, as well as for Learnvest, the leading women’s financial website. Her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Forbes, Ladies’ Home Journal, the Huffington Post, AOL Travel and more.
Cheryl was born in Nuremberg, Germany and grew up moving around every few years as an Army brat. The urge to travel has been with her her whole life. While she calls New York City home, Cheryl makes it a priority to travel as much as possible throughout the year. Some of her favorite places include Iceland, the Great Barrier Beef, Cabo, Rome, Calabria and Munich, although she hopes to never stop exploring. Cheryl blogs about her travel adventures (and what’s happening in and around New York City) at Weary Wanderer.
