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Has anyone stayed at this property? Even though Plat upgrades aren't an element benefit, do they give them in practice on low-demand weekend nights?

Also, having never stayed at element, is a studio suite big enough for a husband and wife, plus father-in-law? How is the breakfast?

Thanks.....

Pizzaman

It looks like I'll be the first person to review this property, so I guess this will become the master thread.

I stayed here for the first time about two weeks ago. The property is located at the intersection of two major highways South of Denver. It is surrounded by plenty of shopping, restaurants, bowling, fitness centers, etc.

For those traveling to downtown Denver, it's about 15 minutes (25 in travel).

I checked in about 9pm. There was nobody at the front desk, but someone appeared within a few minutes. Check-in was quick and painless, they recognized my Platinum status. I was given a one-bedroom suite on the top (4th) floor.

Upon entering the room, I could see the living area and kitchen, as well as a sliding door to the bedroom. The finishes here were earthtones, the room was in perfect shape. As someone who frequently works from my room while traveling, I appreciated the desk setup. Comfortable chair, plenty of space, a place to plug everything in. And, most importantly, I could view the TV to watch sports while working.

The sofa is a pullout sofa. No idea of bed quality since I didn't try it. There's a sizable refrigerator and a cooktop, along with pots and pans to cook with.

The bedroom had another flatscreen TV and a bedding ensemble similar to the Westin brand that element is derived from.

The bathroom had a great shower with an awesome big shower head. Only complaint here was the sink. Similar to aloft, these properties have shallow sinks which cause splashes. Not a big deal.

The hotel had the best exercise facility of any Denver SPG property. There were 3 or 4 treadmills, 3 or 4 ellipticals, 5 or 6 weight lifting stations, and the rest of the normal stuff. Everything was brand new and in good working condition. There was an indoor pool and outside courtyard area that both looked fine.

In the morning, I was greeted to a fairly full breakfast in the lobby. Probably the most pleasing element was ready-to-go hot breakfast sandwiches, which was my choice. The property also has a small commissary area behind the front desk with snacks, drinks and toiletries for sale. Oddly, they didn't have any orange juice, but lots of other normal and exotic choices.

Overall, I'd rate this property #2 in the Denver area behind the aloft Broomfield. I've generally had bad experiences at both the Sheraton and Westin downtown. The other properties in town are average. The Broomfield staff is always very welcoming and attentive, and the element staff is not far behind. Everyone I came in contact with was bright and cheery.

I have mounted pictures of my stay on a blog entry for easy viewing.

bigguyinpasadena

Thank you for the very concise review Pizzaman.
Starwood-MORE Elements please!

ledger

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to our stay there next month.

Helena Handbaskets

Cool! I thought Element didn't do Platinum upgrades.

Starwood Lurker

As a brand, it doesn't. As an individual property, it might.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Pizzaman

Just completed second stay here. Platinum status recognized again, upgraded to 1-bedroom suite (reservation was for studio suite). We discussed upgrades briefly while I was checking in. She said they're "making every effort to upgrade Plats, but we don't have some of the cooler rooms you see at other properties".

FWIW, this is now my favorite hotel in the DEN area, next to the aloft Broomfield. Different breakfast choices this morning than last. I took a ham, egg and cheese on pretzel bread sandwich to go. It was excellent.

I'm 2-for-2 on upgrades here, the rates are reasonable, the rooms are clean and spacious. Assuming they keep upgrading me, I don't see any reason I wouldn't try to to squeeze in a stay here every time I visit DEN.

dingo

Breakfast is not comped. True statement?

Starwood Lurker

False.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/elemen...te_dining.html

Complimentary HSIA as well.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

dingo

It doesn't happen often and when it does I rarely am happy to be wrong...but I am in this case.

Pizzaman

Confirming "Yep" on both free breakfast and HSIA. While I use a wireless card for my laptop, free high quality breakfast moves my rank for this property way up compared to some of it's less generous DEN counterparts.

free101girl

Mr. free101girl and I have stayed at this property twice, both times on points (great value for 4000 points!), both times in a standard studio room. (I am Gold and was not offered an upgrade. I didn't expect one, but during our first stay, I was told only 8 rooms were occupied, so it would have been no problem for the hotel to upgrade us... just sayin'.)

Pizzaman's review is dead on. I would add that the free breakfast is exceptionally nice, with lots of healthy options. The hot breakfast sandwiches are tasty and there is always one that is low-fat/heart-healthy (i.e., egg whites, tomato and asparagus in a wheat wrap). The rest is nice continental stuff - fruit, juice, toast, yogurt, cereal.

Speaking of which, the first time we stayed there (less than a week after opening), the cold cereal at breakfast was all Kashi; by the time of our 2nd stay, about 10 days later, the cereal had been switched to Kelloggs. I'm guessing some guests wanted more sugar?

There is a complimentary manager's reception in the late afternoons. We didn't make it to one, but we were told what was being served and it sounded very nice (prime rib sandwiches one day).

The studio rooms are a little tight, and the armchair is in an odd corner that makes it hard to view the TV. There's really nowhere else to put it, so you pretty much have to watch TV from bed. Not a big deal for us.

Kitchenette set-up in the studio rooms is more than adequate, with a decent sized mini-fridge, microwave, pod coffee maker, plenty of dishes, even salt and pepper. I was amused to find dishwasher soap packets under the sink in both studios (studios don't have dishwashers).

Excellent fitness center, as Pizzaman mentioned. I do wish they had mats for yoga but overall, great equipment, including free weights.

Location is very convenient - just a couple of blocks from Hwy 470 (which runs all the way to the airport) and close to I-25.

hmac

Thanks for the in-depth report about this property. I'm going to visit a friend in Denver in a couple of months and was trying to narrow down which SPG property to choose. This information certainly helps. I love this board.

dingo

Reviews are also appreciated here...thank you. Two stays coming up next month and I'm looking forward to it.

thebutlerdidit

Ditto Pizzaman's review of the 1 bedroom suite. I was also platinum-upgraded from a studio booking, and found the 4th floor suite very comfortable. Fitness center and lap pool very nice. Complimentary continental breakfast was OK, not spectacular but appreciated!

There were problems with the room key reader, which is not surprising in a new hotel. Maintenance handled those.

My biggest complaint is that front desk called my room at 10PM to complain that my credit card wasn't going through. This was on the second night of a two night stay. Somehow the credit card number was incorrectly copied - evidently a mistake on the part of the front desk. But why call me at 10PM??? Couldn't it be dealt with in the morning? They then apologized and promised 4,000 points would be added to my account. As of now those haven't shown up.

Aside from that - I like the place. Great setup for a business traveller. A family would appreciate the nice kitchen.