Good morning everyone, happy Friday. Last week, my girlfriend and I had a late night flight into Denver International Airport (DEN). Due to a slight delay, we landed after midnight. If you’ve ever flown into DEN, you know the airport is in the middle of nowhere, with no hotels closeby. That was true until recently when the Westin Denver Airport hotel opened. Nightly rates were $300+, so I opted to use 12,000 SPG. Thankfully, the hotel is attached to the main terminal, so I was able to get from the gate to our room in 25 minutes.
According to the DEN Airport website, the Westin Denver International Airport has 519 guest rooms, 35 suites, and was “designed to resemble a bird in flight—its curved roof mimicking the concave shape of Jeppesen Terminal’s white peaked roof.” Underneath the hotel, is the RTD train that connects DEN airport to Denver’s Union Station. The one-way trip takes 40 minutes, costs $9 per person and runs pretty frequently. In this post, I will share how to get to the hotel from the various terminals and show photos of our room. Enjoy!
Image source: https://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3685
The Westin is connected to the main terminal. Depending on what airline you fly and what gate you park at, the journey should take 25 minutes, or less. We flew Southwest Airlines and the plane parked at Terminal C. I forget what gate we parked at, but it was a short walk to the terminal tram. We took the tram from terminal C to terminal B to terminal A and to the main terminal.
Image source: https://www.flydenver.com/maps
When you get off the tram at the main terminal, look for signs for the Westin Hotel. They are all over the airport, you cannot miss them. Once you walk outside of the terminal, you will see the beautiful hotel. Follow the signs to get to the hotel lobby.
We checked in quickly and the front desk agent gave us our room keys. She also said that I could open the door to our room with the SPG app. I was excited to try it, but it didn’t work for me, so I was glad I had physical plastic hotel key cards to use. We landed at 12:11am, got to our gate at 12:16am, and got to our room at 12:41am. From gate to hotel room, it only took us 25 minutes. If you land at terminal A or B, your time should be a few minutes shorter. If you checked bags, your wait might be a bit longer.
We had a very comfortable king bed waiting for us in our room. The mattress was a Westin Heavenly Bed and my girlfriend could have slept on that bed all day. There was a ottoman/chair and a desk/chair in the room.
Nice TV and a few closets for storage.
Inside the closet, there was a safe, mini fridge, and plenty of storage.
The bathroom was spacious and modern. The shower had an overhead shower and a hand-held wand.
Here are the views from our room on the 14th floor. At night, you can see the planes take off and land. During the day, you can see the trains come and go, as well as the cars and buses drive by. The view is pretty nice and relaxing.
The hotel is on the pricey side, but if you have SPG points (soon to be Marriott points) or free night certificates, this is a super convenient, very modern hotel. If you have any questions about the hotel, please leave a comment below. Have a great weekend everyone!
you hit the nail on the head “Pricey” and they know they can get it. I have passed it up many times going in and out of Denver due to that choosing to stay downtown where there are some really nice new properties. Yes one has to get up earlier to get to the airport but that’s why there’s Lyft
I wish it was a little cheaper, then it would be a no brainer to stay at the Westin. After that stay, I spent 3 nights at The Curtis DoubleTree in downtown Denver. That was a great hotel and I have a hotel review coming soon.
So you elected to sleep over the portal to Hell :)
Seriously nice review. I’ve been wanting to try this hotel but just can’t justify the business expense on this one due to the price.
Is the portal to hell what the locals call the train station? It is super quiet and the sound proof windows work extremely well to block train, traffic, and plane noise.
I’m a local ,and I don’t call it that.
Do you have a nickname for the train? I just call it the RTD Train to Denver Union Station.
The train is the A Line. It’s faster than a rideshare to downtown, and of course less expensive. … A few copy-editing nits to pick: (1) the airport is no longer in the “middle of nowhere”; numerous airport-shuttle hotels have been built within 10-12 minutes drive. (2) The Westin did not open “recently” — it opened in November 2015 — and there are not signs “all over the airport.” (In fact, they are only in Jeppesen Terminal, there aren’t enough of them, and the few that exist aren’t unequivocal about the fastest path to the hotel). (3) The A Line to Union Station runs every 15 minutes (or 30 minutes late night and early morning) — is that “pretty frequently”? (4) The people mover is a train, not a tram. (5) The hotel isn’t “connected” to the main terminal; it’s outside the terminal across a wide plaza (which hosts seasonal activities such as ice skating in winter and mini golf in summer). You must walk outside to get to the lobby, which means being exposed to the elements, including brutally cold Colorado winter winds. (6) Yes, you can see the planes land at night, but you can also see them landing during the day. … Glad you enjoyed your stay!
Thank you Aaron, you definitely know a lot more about the Denver airport than I do. I appreciate all the insight.
Looks nice! I travel to Denver frequently and I’ve always wanted to stay there. Too expensive. I love the A line and have been staying at the Grand Hyatt Denver the past few trips.
This is probably the nicest airport Westin I’ve ever stayed at. I’m sure the Grand Hyatt in Downtown Denver is just as nice.
I always wanted to try it, but like everyone says – it’s way too expensive. I usually cheap-out and go to Hyatt Place Denver Airport. Across the street is Urban Sombrero and that is one of my favs. Tacos are excellent and cheap. Try the herradura reposado and you don’t need lime or anything with it.
Don’t forget – TIMBERLINE STEAKS & GRILLE also serves breakfast and this is a Priority Pass restaurant!!! There has only been like a couple of thousand blog posts on this restaurant, so I thought I would add one more.
When entering or leaving DEN by auto, check out Blucifer (that is the blue horse statue). When you pass, the eyes will glow red. The true story is that the horse actually killed the person who made it when it fell on his leg and damaged an artery.
Hi Nick, thank you for the local restaurant recommendation, I do love Mexican food. As for the priority pass restaurant, we stopped there for a quick lunch and it was excellent. I wasn’t very hungry so I didn’t try one of their burgers or steaks, but it sure looked good.
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