Dog Days of Summer in Denver, Colorado

After a few days in Colorado Springs, Lulu, mom and I hit the town in Denver, Colorado! Keep reading for a full review of our time in Denver and our stay at the Kimpton Monaco.

We arrived to the urban chic yet Western cozy hotel just in time for happy hour, our favorite hour of the day! The staff at the check in counter encouraged us to bring Lulu down at 5 for the complimentary drinks and appetizers once we settled into our room.

We went up to the third floor to our room and could not have been more impressed! The staff had put a cow print dog bed and food and water bowls in our room for Lulu! Being the princess that she is, Lu ran straight to her bed, loving the 5 star, or should I say paw, treatment!

Now it was time for the three generations of Jones girls to join in on the happy hour fun! We went down to the beautifully decorated lobby and were greeted by a Standard Poodle, Molly. Molly and Lu became fast friends and played while we humans sipped on complimentary wine and ate delicious fried mozzarella.

Next to arrive was Penelope, a Great Dane wearing pink shoes. As a dog lover, this animal friendly environment gave me all the feels! While Lu, the social butterfly, got acquainted with her new friends, my mom got a complimentary massage from the masseuse and I took in the beautiful Kimpton Monaco. Decorated in a retro, glamorous, cowboy chic fashion with Western inspired art and an ornately painted ceiling complete with Moroccan-esque light fixtures, this décor was simply flawless! Free wine, dog friendly and cowboy chic decor? Had I died and gone to heaven?!

Once happy hour was over we freshened up for dinner and put Lu down for a nap on her personal bed. Mom and I had reservations at a restaurant in Union Station that evening and had planned to walk but it started to rain so we weren’t sure what to do. The friendly and helpful bell man gave us two umbrellas and detailed directions. Just a block from the hotel is the Free Mall Bus. He instructed us to get on, ride it a few stops and we’d arrive less than a block from our restaurant. We walked the block to where we would hop on and found a darling street filled with restaurants and shops. We hopped on, rode a few stops and exited, proud of our navigational ability, even though no one would accuse us of being Columbus or Magellan.

We arrived at Mercantile Dining and Provisions which was chicly decorated and had a light and bright feel to it. We sipped on rosé and perused the menu. Everything looked so good that we did not know what to order.

We decided on the mussels with house made fennel sausage and a meat and cheese board. We sipped, chatted and fell in food love! With just enough room to spare we decided to split the pineapple upside down cake for dessert. It was delicious and the perfect end to our decedent meal.

We walked home and remarked to each other how ideal the location of our hotel was!

The next morning we woke up, slipped into our leopard print robes, yes leopard print, and the three of us walked downstairs for some morning fuel. The coffee, like the wine and apps the evening before, were complimentary. We had a cup downstairs and took one to go to sip on in our room while we got ready for the day.

We had breakfast at Panzano, the Kimpton Monaco’s restaurant which was beautifully decorated. The food and wait staff were equally impressive. We dined on eggs, potatoes and toast while our waiter gave us recommendations for dinner that evening.

Next up? We were goin’ wine tasting! We met Kim with Mile High Wine Tours at Wild Women Winery, which was located right across the street from the Kimpton Monaco, and we picked up the other four passengers at Union Station.

First we visited Balisteri Winery where he had tastings, lunch and a tour. Next up was Bonacquisti Wine for tastings and lastly was Wild Women Winery for tastings and a tour. Next week I will be doing a blog post entirely on our wine tasting tour with Mile High Wine Tours, so stay tuned!

We walked backed to our hotel, have I mentioned how centrally located the Kimpton Monaco is, and gathered Lu who was fast asleep on her personal cow bed and the three of us girls went on a long walk around the city. Lu enjoyed all the city smells while mom and I took in the beautiful city of Denver. We arrived back to the hotel just in time for, you guessed it, happy hour! Lu played with Molly again and two English sheep dogs, while we drank wine and snacked on a short rib and polenta appetizer. Yum!

We freshened up for dinner and decided to walk to Larimer Square for dinner. Larimer Square is a historic district on the spot where Denver was founded. It’s packed with restaurants and bars and bedazzled with beautiful twinkle lights that hang from building to building above the street.

We had reservations at Osteria Marco and were we in for a treat! Set on one of the most adorable city streets I’ve ever seen, this cozy basement restaurant serves up handcrafted pizzas and other Italian dishes.  We ordered a bottle of wine and started with their grilled artichoke. Yum! Next we split their house sausage pizza with caramelized onions and fontina cheese. We were fat and happy and walked home to our hotel. We regretted that we did not have more time to spend in this charming city.

We woke up on our final day with just enough time for some coffee in the lobby and a walk down 16th street to find a breakfast spot for the three of us.

We had breakfast on the patio of Moe’s Broadway Bagels and it was so good! Mom and I each had egg, cheese, avocado and bacon breakfast sandwiches on everything bagels and Lu got plenty of bites.

We walked back to the hotel so sad to leave and promised Lu she could stay at a Kimpton Hotel again.

Thank you to Kimpton for giving us gals a wonderful time at your beautiful hotel in Denver.

If this Denver post tickled your fancy check this Colorado Springs post out!

Kisses and doggie wishes,