Description: We arrived in the middle of a snowstorm, the flurries coming down so fast that flakes covered all the street signs. The valet informed us that his fee was $21 (gasp!). When pressed for alternatives, he tossed his hand in no particular direction and muttered something about street parking, "but I don’t really know." We left him in search of any other option. A nearby parking garage did not permit overnight stays, and we brushed the snow off a sign to discover that street parking was prohibited 2 to 5 am. Circling back we came to an open lot just before the hotel entrance. After paying $8, we witnessed the valet retrieving a guest’s vehicle from an adjoining spot. Parking the car ourselves in the same lot saved us $13 + tip. Our frugality was promptly rewarded with a cold shoulder at the entrance, where said valet could not be bothered to open the doors for us as we pulled our luggage in from the icy sidewalk. After being checked in by an unsmiling front desk staff we decided to shake off the lousy reception by hitting the bar. Amazingly, the substandard service continued when we seated ourselves and were ignored for ten minutes. Exasperated, I went up to the bar to order. "Oh, I thought someone had already taken care of you," said the only waiter in the place. Long after our glasses were emptied, the waiter still had not come near our table. I wonder whether we weren’t victims of some Gosford Park-like conspiracy by the service staff. "Parked themselves, let’s make them miserable," was the whisper I imagined wafting through the downstairs rooms.
Still, our room was warmly furnished with lots of bold stripes, tassels and fringe, and a king-sized feather bed with down comforter and pillows. A glass-fronted armoire, CD player and our own goldfish were nice touches. The view of neighboring skyscrapers afforded a peek into the loft-style apartments that have become trendy in downtown Denver. One nice or inconvenient feature of the room, depending how you look at it, was the location of the bathroom. Upon entering the room the bathroom was off the long hallway to the right, and the bedroom was down the hall around the corner. Added privacy, but a longer trek from bed to bath. The bathroom itself was small but classy, with inlaid wood, granite surfaces and monogrammed towels.
Though we arrived too late, the Monaco offers a wine hour in the evening and coffee service downstairs in the morning. The best amenity is their canine hospitality, with a pooch on staff to welcome guest dogs.
One detail I could have done without: In-room magazines of the world’s best hotels, prominently featuring the Monaco, and a local magazine listing the hotel’s marketing director as one of Denver’s hottest singles. Get over yourself already. And if you can’t, at least make sure your staff are properly trained.
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