My husband and I often find ourselves in Denver, Colorado. This trip, we landed at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wheat Ridge in west Denver. If you’re looking for the inside scoop on this IHG hotel near downtown Denver, keep reading.
After picking up our rental car from Denver International Airport, we headed to the Holiday Inn Express Wheat Ridge. Our son lives in the Tennyson neighborhood in west Denver, and this affordable hotel was 10 minutes by car from his house.
The front desk check-in was easy, as I had booked our hotel reservation in advance of our stay. I’m always looking for the best rate, so I’m a member of the IHG Hotels & Resorts rewards program. I’ve earned Platinum Elite status with IHG, so my strategy is always to book the least expensive room and hope for an upgrade. More often than not, this strategy works.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wheat Ridge room types
We’ve stayed at plenty of Holiday Inn Express hotels, and the room types are typically standard, king, queen, double queens, and suites. This Holiday Inn hotel was 3-stories and rated 2 stars with 104 rooms. There were 85 standard rooms and 19 suites. Our last Holiday Inn Express in Colorado was a Grand Junction hotel with a similar layout.
We had a mid-week, one-night stay and received an upgrade to a king suite. Room #330 had a walk-in shower with Dove amenities. The room included a microwave oven, mini fridge, Keurig coffee maker, and wet bar. The closet held an ironing board, an iron, and a small safe. Not all IHG Holiday Inn hotels include wet bars in-room. I’m looking at you, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Denver Airport.
While we didn’t utilize the sofa bed or small dining room table, we always appreciate a larger room to relax in. The flat screen television was directly across from the sofa.
Our king-size bed featured white bedding with four white pillows in cases. I like that Holiday Inn Express hotels offer both soft and firm, large pillows. Lamps with electrical outlet plug-ins were situated on small oak tables on either side of the bed.
All hotel rooms included air conditioning. I also appreciated the comfortable chair by the desk with a bright desk lamp that also charged my iPhone.
Breakfast at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wheat Ridge
I confess that a lot of the Holiday Inn Express complimentary breakfast buffets are not that inspired. However, if you are traveling with kids, grandchildren or a hungry group of student athletes, free breakfast fits the bill. My husband enjoyed the pancake station, with syrup, and scrambled eggs with sausage patties. I grabbed the Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt. Breakfast hours were 6:30 – 9:00 a.m.
- Get a Denver CityPass to save on the best attractions.
- Buy Travel Insurance
- Likely to sell out: Small-Group Tour of the Rocky Mountain National Park from Denver
- Get a Car Rental
Hotel Amenities
The small fitness center was open 24/7. The outdoor swimming pool was open from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Needless to say, I didn’t take advantage of either hotel amenity as it was a quick overnight stay. Outdoor car parking was complimentary, as was WiFi.
Pets were accepted at this Wheat Ridge hotel with a $50 one-time pet fee during our visit. Room rates started at $174, plus tax. The lobby of the hotel was updated in 2019.
Check rates online at Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda.com, or Hotels.com.
Hotel review by Oregon-based travel writer Nancy D. Brown. Photos © Nancy D. Brown. All opinions are my own.
