The Sunday Telegraph - Features Denver

October 29, 2006 Sunday

FEATURES; Pg. 4

Bright lights, big cities If you're on a fast turnover business trip, you will need to make the most of your time. Nick Dalton comes up with some ideal tips for top stopovers

by Nick Dalton

DENVER

The sophisticated gateway to the West - even though it's on the plains, it's a mile high. Denver International airport is geographically the country's biggest and nearest to the continent's centre.

Where to stay

The Hyatt Regency is a 1,100-room tower packed with style, from the four-storey glass-walled atrium with the top-floor Peaks lounge and awesome views. Full of Wi-Fi zones - and room safes where you can charge your laptop. Or try the small, elegant Hotel Teatro, with discreet rooms for 12-strong board meetings.

Eating out

Tuck into a 33oz porterhouse in Elway's, a rich, modern steakhouse - you may even get to stand at the bar in the shadow of beefy owner John Elway, former Denver Broncos quarterback.

Best to impress

Head to El Chapultepec, an edgy dive bar and Mexican restaurant dating from 1933 that has jazz bands playing late into the night - colleagues will be amazed you know the place.

Chilling out

Denver Art Museum's new wing opened earlier this month. The jutting, titanium-covered edifice is the work of Daniel Libeskind, the man responsible for the rebirth of New York's Ground Zero. As jagged inside as out, a breathtaking backdrop to everything from Western art to Damien Hirst.

Don't miss

The skiing. An hour's drive will get you across the Continental Divide to Winter Park, one of Colorado's fastest-growing areas, for a great day out.

Shopping

Cherry Creek has a huge, posh indoor mall and an even bigger collection of stylish stores in the Victorian streets around it, together claiming to be the biggest shopping area between San Francisco and Chicago.

Don't leave without A Western shirt from Rockmount, purveyors of cowboy chic to the likes of Clapton and Springsteen.