I’ve Stayed in 8 Denver Neighborhoods – Only 3 Are Worth Your Money

I learned this the hard way: picking the wrong Denver neighborhood means spending half your vacation in Ubers.

After trying different areas (for science, obviously), here’s the truth about where to actually stay in Denver.

Spoiler: Those “great deal” hotels by the airport? Don’t do it.

The 3 Neighborhoods Actually Worth It

1. LoDo/Union Station – Best Overall

Why it works: You can walk everywhere that matters

Price range: $200-400/night

Best hotels: The Maven, The Crawford, The Oxford

This is where I tell everyone to stay. Yes, it’s pricey. But you save on Ubers because everything is walkable.

Union Station itself is gorgeous. Restaurants everywhere. Confluence Park is 10 minutes. RiNo is 15 minutes. Downtown is right there.

The Maven at Dairy Block is perfect – modern, reasonable(ish) price, and Dairy Block below has amazing food.

The catch: Weekend nights get loud. Lots of bars means lots of drunk people.

2. RiNo – Best for Nightlife

Why it works: Best food, bars, and street art

Price range: $180-350/night

Best hotels: The Ramble, The Source Hotel

RiNo is what people think all of Denver is like. Street art everywhere, breweries on every corner, interesting food.

The Ramble Hotel is boutique fancy. The Source Hotel is modern industrial. Both are good but book up fast.

You’re still close to downtown but in a cooler area. Denver Central Market alone is worth staying here.

The catch: Limited hotel options. More spread out than LoDo.

3. Capitol Hill – Best Budget Option

Why it works: Actually affordable but still central

Price range: $100-200/night

Best options: The Art Hotel, lots of Airbnbs

Capitol Hill is grittier but real. Colfax Avenue is sketchy but interesting. Great dive bars, cheap eats, character.

You can walk to downtown in 20 minutes. The Capitol building and Civic Center are right there.

Way more Airbnb options here than hotels. The Art Hotel is decent if you need an actual hotel.

The catch: Some people feel unsafe here. It’s city living, not suburban comfort.

The 5 Neighborhoods to Skip

Denver International Airport Area

Why people book it: Cheap rooms, airport convenience

Why it sucks: 45 minutes from anything interesting

Those $89 airport hotels seem great until you realize you’ll spend $100/day on Ubers. There’s literally nothing around there.

The airport is in the middle of nowhere. Like, actual nowhere. Save yourself.

Cherry Creek

Why people book it: “Luxury” area, feels safe

Why it sucks: Expensive and sterile, far from nightlife

Cherry Creek is Denver’s fancy shopping area. It’s nice if you want to shop at Nordstrom and eat at Cheesecake Factory.

But it’s far from downtown, zero nightlife, and feels like suburban anywhere USA. The Halcyon hotel is nice but you’ll be Ubering everywhere.

Denver Tech Center

Why people book it: Business travel, chain hotels

Why it sucks: It’s not even Denver

DTC is suburbs. Office parks and chain restaurants. 30+ minutes to actual Denver. Just… don’t.

Highlands/LoHi

Why people book it: Trendy neighborhood, great restaurants

Why it sucks: Limited hotels, need a car

I actually love Highlands. Amazing food, cool vibe. But hotels are limited and it’s just far enough from downtown to be annoying.

Great for Airbnb if you have a car. Otherwise you’re looking at lots of Uber rides.

Central Business District

Why people book it: “Downtown” location, convention center

Why it sucks: Dead at night, boring

Unless you’re here for a convention, skip it. The 16th Street Mall is there but it’s… not great. Office buildings empty out at 5pm and it becomes a ghost town.

The Brown Palace is the exception – historic and amazing. But most CBD hotels are generic business hotels.

Real Talk About Each Area

LoDo: Tourist central but for good reason. Accept it.

RiNo: Hipster paradise. Embrace the pretentiousness.

Capitol Hill: Slightly sketchy but authentic. City realness.

Cherry Creek: Suburban safety. Fine if boring is okay.

Highlands: Local cool. Great with a car.

CBD: Business boring. Convention attendees only.

Airport: Isolation chamber. Never.

Tech Center: Not Denver. Why are you here?

Where I Actually Stay

When friends visit? I put them in LoDo, usually at The Maven.

Young friends who party? RiNo at The Ramble or Source.

Budget conscious? Capitol Hill Airbnb.

Business travel? I suffer through CBD because companies book there.

Family visiting? They stay with me or I find them a LoHi Airbnb.

The Seasonal Factor

Summer: RiNo or LoDo for walkability

Winter: LoDo for indoor options

Fall: Anywhere works, it’s perfect

Spring: Downtown for unpredictable weather

The Bottom Line

Just stay in LoDo/Union Station. It’s expensive but you’ll actually enjoy Denver instead of seeing it through Uber windows.

RiNo if you care more about food/nightlife than sightseeing.

Capitol Hill if budget matters more than comfort.

Everything else is compromising your trip to save $50/night. That’s not worth it.

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Where did you stay in Denver? Was it actually convenient or did you get tricked by “near Denver” marketing?

Related: My Exact 3-Day Denver Itinerary That My Out-of-Town Friends Love