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A night at the Halcyon in Denver: Real vinyl, a gear garage and fresh muffins

by Pam LeBlanc | Feb 8, 2020 | Blog

I stayed a night at the hip Halcyon Hotel in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver. Photo courtesy Halcyon Hotel

I wanted to spend a night at a hip hotel last week, and wound up at the highly recommended Halycon in the trendy Cherrywood neighborhood of Denver.

All my Colorado friends knew about the Halcyon, which is famous for its “gear garage,” where you can borrow cool equipment like a snow sled, a cruiser bike, snow shoes or an old-fashioned game board.

Guests can borrow snow shoes, a sled, bikes or other sports equipment from the gear garage at the Halcyon. Photo courtesy The Halcyon Hotel

I stayed in a luxurious suite – not normally my way of travel, but the occasional pampering feels good.

A doormat outside each room has a saying on it, like “Charmed I’m sure” or “Go West” (appropriate, since I’ll be joining an expedition led by a paddler named West Hansen this summer.)

Rooms are equipped with a record player and vinyl records. Photo courtesy Halcyon Hotel

I opened my door to a sleek, mostly white, modern room and a cheese tray that I immediately wolfed down while I waited to meet friends with whom I’d been roaming the halls of the Outdoor Retailer Snow Sports show.

That night, I slept on a cushy king bed, chilled out in a lovely sitting room, and soaked in a bathtub in the sprawling bathroom. Best of all, I fired up a vinyl album by Janis Joplin on the record player, a modern version of the old classic. Something about the crackle of a real record makes we swoon.

Other favorite amenities? A small notebook, suitable for jotting notes from interviews, set aside for my use. It came in handy as I met with adventurers and companies that might want their gear tested in the Arctic this summer. The location, around the corner from restaurants and boutique shops. The attentive staff. And the fresh-baked cinnamon muffins and bowl of crispy red apples in the lobby when I checked out.

I’ll be back. Other than the guest room at my sister’s house, I don’t know of a better place to stay in Denver.

The lobby of the Halcyon Hotel is sleek and modern. Photo courtesy Halcyon Hotel

← Old-school snow-school charm at Arapahoe Basin At Monarch Mountain, steep terrain, a new ski dog and anniversary beer →

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Old-school snow-school charm at Arapahoe Basin

by Pam LeBlanc | Feb 7, 2020 | Blog

Patrick O’Sullivan skis a gladed run in the Beavers section of Arapahoe Basin on Feb. 6, 2020. Pam LeBlanc photo

The last time I skied at Arapahoe Basin, I wore blue jeans which I’d attempted to waterproof by spraying them with Scotchguard.

That was 1985, and the spray didn’t work so well. Also, I didn’t even know how to ski at the time. But yesterday – 35 years after that first visit – I finally made it back to the mountain known for having the longest ski season in Colorado.

A-Basin, as they call it, just feels different than the big guys. The resort opened in 1946. We pulled in to the “Early Risers” lot, just 100 yards or so from the base area. No fancy restaurant. No ritzy hotels. Just spinning lifts, moving chairs and a mountain to explore.

We stopped at Il Rifugio for antipasti. Pam LeBlanc photo

Patrick O’Sullivan, director of safety and risk for the mountain, showed me and my husband Chris around. It snowed hard, big fat flakes sifting out of the sky. And the wind blew so hard some of the lifts were shut down.

O’Sullivan says he knew when he was a rookie ski patroller in Keystone 31 years ago that he wanted to work at A Basin, mainly because he likes the natural setting of the ski area.

Instead of cutting wide swathes of trees to cut uniform trails, operators of A-Basin left most of the design work to nature.

“Almost 100 percent of A-Basin is native or organic,” O’Sullivan says. “You can’t fake nature like that.”

Another thing he loves about the mountain? A range of terrain, from gullies and chutes to rolling cruisers, nicely spaced glades and open bowls. “It’s like an English muffin,” O’Sullivan says. “It’s got really nice nooks and crannies.”

Operators pride themselves on the ski area’s old-school charm.

“We’re not a resort. We don’t have snow coasters and trampolines,” says Katherine Fuller, who does marketing for Arapahoe Basin. “Seventy five percent of our terrain is black and double black. That tents to scare some people off, but it’s a skier’s mountain.”

Here are some things I like about A-Basin:

Tail gators enjoy a “shot ski” in the parking lot at Arapahoe Basin. Pam LeBlanc photo

The Beavers and the Steep Gullies. A new lift opened last season now whisks skiers to huge section of expert terrain, including some of the best glade skiing in Colorado. (Before the lift opened, anyone who skied The Beavers faced a 20-minute walk to get out.)
You can park for free, walk to a lift and in a single ride reach some of the steepest in-bounds terrain in Colorado.
The Pallavicini Lift (which is getting replaced next year), legendary among locals for carrying skiers to “The Center of the Universe.” To think it was so close all along!
The old-school charm. It isn’t fancy. That’s a good thing.
The Il Refugio, the highest lift-served restaurant in Colorado, which serves an amazing antipasti with olives, thin-shaved meats, olives and roasted veggies.
The resort’s emphasis on minimizing impact. “We didn’t cut runs, we shaped them,” O’Sullivan says. “We trimmed limbs, took out deadfall, and were very conscious about wildlife habitat.”
Even on a powder day (a Friday no less!) with only two lifts operating due to the storm, the wait was less than 5 minutes.
The Beach. People tailgate – even during blizzards! – in the parking lot. We’re talking grills, coolers full of beer, shot skis and table clothes.

← It got really cold, but we skied Copper Mountain anyway... A night at the Halcyon in Denver: Real vinyl, a gear garage and fresh muffins →