Howard

I gather from other posts that they're building a Westin at Denver airport, but for now:

(a) Where is the nearest Starwood property to Denver airport?

(b) If no Starwood hotel is nearby, can someone recommend a hotel close to the airport?

JNelson113

Howard, I am in the same boat as I frequently fly out of DIA at early hours. From what I can tell, most of the Starwood hotels in the Denver area are about the same distance from the airport, approximately a 30 minute drive.

My favorite hotel near the airport is the Marriott. It is a bit more upscale and has better dining options.

BoSoxFan45

FWIW-

I hate DIA....

Howard

Thanks for the suggestion. I booked a room at the Marriott.

A320 EOW

Looks like there's a delay in construction for the Westin DIA:


http://insidedenver.com/drmn/busines...194863,00.html

Hotel in holding pattern

Administration cites economy in delaying 518-room DIA project

By David Kesmodel, Rocky Mountain News
August 20, 2003

The planned $125 million Westin Hotel at Denver International Airport faces further delay.

The city's new administration, led by Mayor John Hickenlooper, says it won't immediately take on the project because of the sluggish economy.

Former Mayor Wellington Webb left the task of reviewing the 518-room, city-owned hotel to his successor in February, when he announced a postponement of at least six months. He cited the soft economy, the nation's conflict in Iraq and uncertainty surrounding the bankruptcy of United Airlines, DIA's dominant carrier.

"The hotel is clearly important to the airport, but in this current economy, we are not immediately pursuing it," said Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, a spokeswoman for Hickenlooper.

She said the city had no estimate of when it might embark on the project.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., which would manage the hotel under the Westin brand, stands "fully committed to the project when the economic situation improves," said Tom Curley, area managing director for White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood.

Even before DIA opened in 1995, city leaders envisioned a first-class hotel next to the airport terminal that would cater largely to business travelers. But the project has frequently been placed on hold.

Webb was bullish on the idea last September. At a mostly symbolic groundbreaking, he declared that it was time for Denver to embrace the philosophy of Depression-era President Franklin D. Roosevelt and take the lead on economic development in troubling times. Five months later, after United filed the industry's largest bankruptcy, he reversed course.

Hotel industry experts said the new administration's decision to postpone the project is prudent because of United's woes and a three- year slump in occupancy rates and room charges in the metro area.

Chicago-based United, which reduced flights at DIA after the 2001 terrorist attacks, is not expected to emerge from Chapter 11 protection until next year. United and its commuter partners fly more than 60 percent of DIA's paying passengers and account for more than 70 percent of its operating revenues.

"The hotel economy today is on the road to recovery, but it is coming off two or three of the toughest years it has faced in the last 30 years," said John Montgomery, president of Horwath Horizon Hospitality Consulting/Montgomery & Associates. "The other issue you're dealing with is trying to get the airport situation much more stable."

Still, he said, the hotel "should continue to be on (the city's) radar screen. It would be a very exciting addition to DIA and good for the traveling public."

The Denver area's hotel occupancy rate fell to 57.9 percent in the first six months of the year from 60.1 percent in the year-earlier period, according to a lodging report compiled by consultant Bob Benton of Robert Benton & Associates in Parker.

The average room rate fell to $84.11 from $84.25, he said.

"Business travel is still not returning because of soft conditions or uncertainty in the market," Benton said. "Although the DIA hotel would be about two years away (if begun today), we would like to see the market have a chance to recover."

Montgomery said that he thinks the Denver hotel slump has "bottomed out."

"We're not bleeding anymore," he said, "and that starts to bode well" for projects such as the Westin.

Among the metro area's hotels, he said, those located near DIA logged the highest occupancy rates during the first six months of the year.

The airport-area hotel rate was 67.3 percent, down from 71.6 percent a year earlier, according to his company's data. Denver's downtown hotels ranked second with an average rate of 63.3 percent during the first six months of this year.

The decision to put on hold the Westin this year is part of a reduction in DIA's planned capital improvement budget for 2003-2008 to $352.6 million from $778.3 million.

Denver officials also have postponed a $300 million, 16-gate expansion on the west end of Concourse A designed primarily for DIA's No. 2 carrier, Frontier Airlines Inc.

About the project

• What: Planned 518-room Westin Hotel at Denver International Airport

• Cost: $125 million

• Delay: Blamed on the economy and decline in air traffic

• Status: Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. says it remains committed to the project. The city of Denver says it won't immediately pursue the project under the current economic conditions.


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lintemut

Not sure how that contributes... I like the Hilton Garden Inn when I have early flights out of DIA.

Gordon is A Liar

Likes the Rockies.