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Since the official end of summer is later this week, I thought I’d finish off the season with one last summer travel guide, destination: Denver. If you missed my past Summer Travel Series posts, you can check them out here, here, here, and here. Now let’s get started!
Where to Stay
We did something fun and a little different this trip. Instead of staying in a regular ole hotel room, which can get kind of boring after a while, we decided to sample the city’s selection of old refurbished bed and breakfasts.
The first one we stayed at was the Castle Marne B&B, which is the location of these photos. Upon arriving around dinner time, the hostess showed us around and shared with us the rich history of the building (it was built in 1889!). Our room was cool because my bed was in the turret of the house. However, we booked the largest room, which had one drawback—a detached private bathroom down the hall. It didn’t end up being too big of a hassle, although the bathroom was pretty tiny.
The breakfast the next morning was AMAZING. The B&B was very traditional in the sense that you picked one of two breakfast times (we chose 8:30), and then you sat with the other guests at a long dining room table. It was super fun to interact with the other guests—there was a young newlywed couple as well as an older Danish couple. The chefs were very accommodating to my gluten allergy, you just have to inform them beforehand. They made us GF muffins, an egg dish with fresh herbs and veggies from the garden, GF toast, fruit salad, and my personal favorite, a strange blueberry cobbler-like thing served in a pretty drinking glass that fizzed in your mouth. Delicioso. 🙂 The only thing we didn’t really like about this hotel was how busy it was inside. While it was really cool to see all the old fashioned furniture and items, there was just too much to look at!
Like the Castle Marne, the Patterson Inn was also a rich family’s mansion in the late 1800s. When we checked in, we got a quick tour and history lesson, and then we went up to our room, which was themed “Cheshire” and was on the third floor. As you can imagine from the name, the room was filled with funky furniture and fun colors. I really liked it, and it was massive! Plus, it had a very large, connected bathroom, which was a nice change from the night before. After unloading our stuff into the room, we went down to the basement for a complimentary cocktail hour and socialized with this nice couple.
The breakfast the next morning was more like a traditional hotel—you ate when you wanted and sat at your own table. The chef made GF blueberry pancakes and sausage for us. This was also very yummy, but I liked the fancier, more complex meal of the morning before.
Our last stay was at the Queen Anne B&B. This was our least favorite of the three. Unlike the other two inns, this house smelled old, and it was right on the edge of a sketchy part of town—we didn’t feel comfortable walking to dinner. Parking was also harder to get. Our room was comfortable enough, and it had kind of strange (although I liked it) décor, since it’s an “urban” bed and breakfast. The next morning we ate breakfast in a nice secluded patio area, which consisted of GF pancakes and fruit.
We ultimately decided that if you could combine the Castle Marne’s amazing breakfast with the fun and funky Cheshire room of the Patterson Inn, you would have the perfect B&B!
What To Do
This was more of a work trip than a leisurely one, so we didn’t do many touristy things. We did, however, spend one day in Golden, about 40 minutes outside of Denver. We checked out the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and went for a nice hike in the heat. That’s actually where these photos were taken! Then we did a little exploring and shopping in the cute downtown.
What to Pack
Denver has very interesting weather in the summer (maybe all the time?) because basically every day around 4 o’clock, storm clouds roll in and it starts to rain. This, as you can imagine, makes it a tad hard to outfit plan. I would just recommend planning outfits that involve lots of layers. Bring a cute rain jacket for the afternoon, sunnies for the hot sun-shiny days, sunscreen, and an umbrella.
Fashion I Saw
Colorado in general just has an insanely outdoorsy vibe (you can check out my post about Colorado Springs here). Because of this, the majority of clothing consists of cute workout gear with strappy sports bras and fun printed shorts. I really didn’t see much other fashion! But I also didn’t get out much while I was there so…maybe that’s why?? 😉
I hope you enjoyed this post and the conclusion of my Summer Travel Series. It was certainly a fun one to make! Also, this is an Ernest Exposed post. I haven’t done one in a while, and little Ernest is hiding in two photos. Have a great Monday. 🙂
Miles of smiles,
Grace
Top: hand-me-down, first time worn on the blog // Skirt: Hope Ave, $35, last seen here // Sandals: DSW, $19, last seen here