Last month, I had the opportunity to take a trip that COVID had lonnnnng delayed. In May of 2020, my mom was celebrating a milestone birthday, and a milestone birthday requires a milestone present: I offered to take her anywhere in the US that Southwest flies and that Hilton has hotels.
Of course, then COVID happened. Our trip got delayed, then delayed again, and eventually cancelled, until we could both get our vaccines. But by her next birthday this May, we were good to go! And so my mom made her decision: we were going to soak in the mountain vibes of Denver, Colorado.
The Points-And-Miles Strategy:
As any regular reader knows, I’m a HUGE fan of Southwest Airlines, predominantly because of our Southwest Companion Pass, which allows myself and the hubby to fly two-for-the-price-of-one. We had last earned the Companion Pass in 2019, which means that it normally would have expired at the end of 2020.
So, back in late December 2020, we started working towards earning our next Companion Pass, which requires earning 125,000 Southwest miles in a calendar year. I opened the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Visa credit card, which helped get me a big part of the way towards re-earning the pass, with a bonus offer at the time of 80,000 points after meeting spending requirements.
But then, Southwest threw us a mid-January curveball: in recognition of the total crap year 2020 was, they decided to extend companion passes that were valid in 2020 for an entire extra year! And, they were giving all Southwest Rapid Rewards members 25,000 Companion Pass qualifying points to give them a boost. Suddenly, despite no longer needing to earn Companion Pass in 2021, I was already 84% of the way there!
I decided right then, we’d take advantage of this windfall to make Mom my “Companion” for this year. I went ahead and booked my flight while fares were low, and managed to score a round-trip flight to Denver for just 5,020 Southwest miles. By April, through a combination of credit card spending, shopping portals, and some category-specific bonus points, I earned the Companion Pass and added on a free Companion ticket for mom.
By the time we traveled, round trips from Dallas to Denver were costing at least $250 per person. This means we got a MONSTROUS 9.9 cents per point value on this redemption. (An average Southwest redemption is usually worth about 1.5 cents per point.)
For our hotel, we knew we wanted to stay in central Denver, and we also wanted somewhere that felt unique and memorable. The Curtis, a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, fit this standard brilliantly. I was able to redeem 120,000 total Hilton Honors points (40,000 points per night) for a 2-Queen standard room redemption. Weekend rates for The Curtis average about $200 a night, making this just an “ok” quality Hilton redemption; however, due to my Diamond status, I knew we’d get extras that would push it into “good” territory like a free daily credit at the Starbucks next door, as well as complimentary bottled water.
And the hotel was fantastic! This was actually my second time at this property, having stayed here once about a decade ago for a bachelorette party, and they’ve done an absolutely fantastic job maintaining it and keeping it “funky”.
In addition to the quirky lobby, each floor has a theme. We stayed on the “horror” floor (the 13th floor, of course), where we were met with the twins from the Shining at the end of the hallway, and a framed black and white photo of Nosferatu in our room.
Our room was clean and comfortable, and was plenty of room for two people for the weekend.
We also rented a car for this trip, through the Southwest car rental portal. We paid $251 total for four days in a mid-size SUV from Thrifty, which isn’t a bad price overall. However, the pickup experience from the Denver airport with Thrifty was AWFUL, and took over two hours to actually get the car and be on our way.
The Trip Experience in Denver:
After checking into our hotel, we took a stroll around the surrounding area which included the lovely 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. This is a great spot to get acclimated to the Downtown area, with a free trolley and numerous restaurants and shops all along the promenade. Shortly after, it was time for dinner, which was just a short drive away at Safta.
Safta is a new-ish restaurant from Alon Shaya, the James Beard award winning chef originally known for his namesake restaraunt Shaya in New Orleans. While we’d previously visited Shaya, and were fans, we didn’t feel like it stood up to our all time-favorite Israeli restaurant (and actually, just my all-time favorite restaurant ever), Zahav in Philadelphia. However, Safta focused more on regional mediterranean cuisine, rather than just Israeli-specific, so we were excited to try this new execution.
And it was pretty amazing! My mom and aunt had never experienced Israeli food before and they loved it. Plus they even brought out some birthday baklava for my mom. Overall, I would say this doesn’t quite live up to the experience of Zahav in Philly, but I did think it was better than Shaya in New Orleans.
The next day, we started our exploration of Denver proper. We started the morning at the Amethyst Coffee Company on Broadway, which was a cute, airy little coffee shop with funky furniture and great pastries.
Once we were caffeinated, we headed over to the Denver Botanic Gardens before it got too warm. Loyal readers will know that I love a good botanical garden, and make them a frequent stop on almost any itinerary. But Denver’s was truly exceptional — I would call it a must visit, especially if you’re there in the late spring or early fall.
After our stroll through the gardens, we found we’d worked up quite the appetite, so we headed over to the Denver Central Market Food Hall for lunch. With multiple different vendors, we liked that we could all get exactly what we wanted here; I opted for the muffuletta from vendor “The Local Butcher”.
That afternoon, we headed over to a newer Denver attraction: the International Church of Cannabis. And no, before anyone asks, this blog author doesn’t partake; it’s just never been my thing. But the Church makes a great experience for even those who are not connoisseurs of the green stuff.
We got to watch a projection and audio show, followed by hanging out for a bit in their attached lounge. Which is where my aunt was able to showcase her stunning prowess in Galaga! She got the all-time high score. At the International Church of Cannabis. Color me impressed!
That evening, for dinner, we went to our “fanciest” restaurant, at the Bistro Vandome in Larimer Square. Larimer is another pedestrian friendly block close to downtown lined with restaurants, shopping, and frequent buskers. Our restaurants was in a quiet courtyard, just off the main street.
Bistro Vendome is Denver’s most lauded French restaurant, and while it was good, it wasn’t really that notable. I started with the escargot, followed by the duck confit. Both were tasty, but I’ve had better elsewhere.
The following day, we started our “touring day” in Denver — the goal being to do the Lariat Loop, a nationally designated scenic byway. But first, one must have breakfast, and so we stopped at the Denver Biscuit Company. These biscuits were huge! I split one with my aunt and that was more than sufficient.
Then, we hit the road. This was the whole reason we rented a car for this trip. We started the day with a drive to Red Rocks Amphitheater, Colorado’s legendary outdoor concert venue. And can I just say: WOW! I can’t even imagine how magical it would be to experience a concert here.
Next up on our mini-road trip was a stop at Lariat Lodge Brewing, for a quick tasting of local Colorado brews. While this was a fine stop, we were a little surprised that they only had one original beer; this is more of an ale house and a brewery (despite the name).
Our next stop took us to the Lookout Mountain Park, which happens to be the final resting place of famed cowboy and outlaw Buffalo Bill. It’s a short hike up to the gravesite, but you can get amazing photos of the views from just the parking lot.
Finally, we drove to historical old-town Golden, Colorado, which was once a gold rush town in the 1850s. We enjoyed exploring their quiet downtown before settling down for lunch at the Bridgewater Grill, inside the Golden Hotel.
Overall, I’d say driving the Lariat Loop is a fun way to see a little more of Colorado outside of downtown Denver, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a must-do on a short weekend trip. We did like getting to see a little more of the mountains in particular, and there were some very pretty sights along the way, like this rushing creek that we followed for a portion of the drive, and a group of elk we came across as well.
That afternoon, while my family took a rest back at the hotel, I went to check out the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. There, they had a traveling exhibition from famed 80s pop culture artist Keith Haring, and his graffiti murals from Grace House in New York. What was so cool about these is that they were the full, actual pieces of the concrete walls hat had been reconstructed within the museum itself. For an art buff, this was really a showstopper.
Finally, for dinner that evening, we headed over to Union Station, Denver’s actual, functional, train and bus depot that has recently been renovated into a dining destination as well. (The photo from the top of this blog is from Union Station.) Here, we enjoyed dinner at Ultreia, which highlights traditional Spanish and Portugese tapas.
We got to dine outside the restaurant in their roped-off patio area, which provided for excellent people watching as we tasted such delights as pan con tomate, boquerones, and more. One of the real surprise delights was the tinned cockles with mayonnaise and potato chips — a traditional Portugese bar snack that none of us had ever tried before.
The next morning, it was sadly time to head back to the airport, but we did manage to squeeze in one more quick meal. Just around the corner from our hotel was Sam’s No. 3, a downtown Denver greasy spoon diner that’s been around since 1927. Here, we found some of the biggest portions I’ve ever seen, along with some cool nostalgic Americana decor, documenting the restaurant’s own history.
With that, we returned the rental car and headed back to Texas. Overall, it was a great way to celebrate my mom, and despite all the Covid-related delays, was definitely a fun trip worth waiting for.
