Planning your trip to Denver, Colorado

THE BEST WAY

From LAX, United, Southwest, American, Frontier and Delta offer nonstop service to Denver. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $260.

The following hotels are in downtown Denver.

Ritz-Carlton Denver, 1881 Curtis St.; (800) 241-3333, www.ritzcarlton.com. Opened in January with 202 rooms, including some of the biggest in town. Spa opened in May. An easy stroll from the 16th Street Mall. Signature restaurant is Elway’s, mostly steak. Doubles $199 to $299, more for suites.

Brown Palace Hotel, 321 17th St.; (800) 321-2599, www.brownpalace.com. This is Denver’s old-school high-end option, open since 1892 with 230 rooms. Visited by every president in the last 100 years except Calvin Coolidge. Doubles $149 to $700, more for suites.

Hotel Teatro, 1100 14th St.; (888) 727-1200, www.hotelteatro.com. Stylish independent 110-room hotel with the well-regarded Restaurant Kevin Taylor (mostly French, dinner only) and Prima restaurant (mostly Italian, three meals daily) downstairs. (Three years ago, Zagat’s citizen critics named the Teatro their favorite hotel in town.) One potential annoyance: a new Four Seasons being built across the street. Doubles usually $189 to $329, more for suites.

Hyatt RegencyDenver at the Colorado Convention Center, 650 15th St., (800) 233-1234 or (303) 436-1234, www.denverregency.hyatt.com. A gleaming 37-story, full-service behemoth with 1,100 rooms, opened in 2005. Doubles $159 to $300, more for suites.

Sheraton Denver Hotel, 1550 Court Place; (800) 325-3535, www.sheraton.com/denver. Known until April as the Adam’s Mark, this set of twin towers has 1,225 rooms. Doubles from $329, more for suites.

Curtis Hotel, 1405 Curtis St.; (800) 525-6651, www.thecurtis.com. Formerly a business hotel called the Executive Tower, this 336-room property was reborn in January 2007 as a pop-culture shrine, sprinkled with bright colors and references to TV, movies, music and toys. Doubles $229 and up, more for suites.

The Oxford Hotel, 1600 17th St.; (800) 228-5838, www.theoxfordhotel.com. A five-story brick Victorian landmark, built in 1891 near the train station in Lower Downtown. It has 80 rooms, period furnishings, and a bustling seafood restaurant and bar downstairs. Doubles $160 to $310, more for suites.

WHERE TO EAT

Rioja, 1431 Larimer Street; (303) 820-2282, www.riojadenver.com. Mediterranean overtones in a 19th century brick building. Dinner daily. Lunch Wednesdays through Fridays. Brunch Saturdays and Sundays. Dinners typically $16.50 to $28.

Vesta Dipping Grill, 1822 Blake St.; (303) 296-1970, www.vestagrill.com. Brick walls, dark wood floors, swirly booths and pointy lights make for exotic atmosphere, as do the array of sauces (sweet, savory and spicy) that accompany most main dishes. Dinner only, typically $16 to $35.

Dixons Downtown Grill, 1610 16th St.; (303) 573-6100, www.dixonsrestaurant.com. In a Craftsman-style dining room with American and Mexican food, Dixons caters to a power-lunch crowd but also offers $7.99 specials. Breakfast, lunch, dinner are served. Dinners are $8.99 to $19.99.

The Kitchen, 1039 Pearl St., Boulder; (303) 544-5973, www.thekitchencafe.com. Opened in 2004. A “community bistro” that’s big on local ingredients. Anointed greenest restaurant in the West by Sunset magazine. Casual wine-and-beer lounge upstairs. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. The menu changes nightly, with dinners costing typically $23 to $29.

TO LEARN MORE

Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, www.denver.org.