SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown Hotel at Metro State Opens for Business
Denver-based hotel developer and manager Sage Hospitality celebrated the grand opening of its 150-room SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State on Aug. 8.
The new $45-million hotel sits on the eastern edge of the Metropolitan State University of Denver campus at Speer Boulevard and the Auraria Parkway.
It is also home to MSU Denver’s new Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC), a 28,000-sq-ft educational facility that combines classrooms with interactive laboratories to provide an experiential curriculum for the university’s more than 600 hospitality, tourism and events students. State-of-the-art classrooms include a sensory analysis laboratory for wine and food tastings and a cellar management laboratory, with space for a 3,100-plus-bottle wine storage room.
Students will work in the hotel each semester, and both hotel general manager Scott Perry and director of sales and marketing Anne Frye will teach classes in the HLC. The hotel and HLC also feature more than 650 pieces of original artwork created by 21 students, faculty and alumni of MSU Denver.
“MSU Denver is taking a leadership role in providing Colorado with educated workers through our Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center,” said MSU Denver President Stephen Jordan. “This amazing facility will allow us to change our curriculum in a dynamic way that will provide hands-on learning for our students on a daily basis.”
Jordan added that there are only 10 other universities in the United States with an operating hotel attached to their hospitality program.
All of the hotel rooms were designed as suites and feature a flexible workspaces with ergonomic chairs, as well as a separate sleeping area. Each suite has a microwave, mini-fridge, a seating area with a pullout sofa bed and a spa-like bathroom.
Hotel amenities include a complimentary breakfast, a small market area, fitness center and complimentary wireless Internet.
It is a short walk from the Pepsi Center, the Colorado Convention Center and the popular Larimer Square, Lower Downtown and the 16th Street Mall.
“We are thrilled to have helped create not only a fantastic new lodging option for downtown Denver, but an amazing student laboratory where future hospitality leaders can get hands-on experience,” said Walter Isenberg, CEO of Sage Hospitality.
Sustainable Features
The project expects to receive LEED-Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Green features include the use of only high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and low-VOC paints and flooring, plus preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles. The hotel has secure bicycle storage plus lockers and changing rooms to encourage employees to use alternative transportation.
More than 90% of the hotel’s regularly occupied areas offer natural daylighting, thus reducing the need for artificial lighting. In addition, more than 75% of material waste from the hotel’s construction was recycled.
Mortenson Development developed the project, and Mortenson Construction’s Denver office was the design-builder. Denver’s
RNL was the design architect and architect-of-record for the hotel; JG Johnson Architects was the associate architect and designed the hotel interiors.
The Spring Hill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State also offers 5,000 sq ft of meeting and event space and can accommodate groups of up to 250 people. The hotel’s J. Willard & Alice S. Marriott Conference Center features a 2,174-sq-ft ballroom, which can be divided into three sections, plus 2,617 sq ft of pre-function space with a glass curtain wall that offers exceptional views of the downtown Denver skyline.
This fall, Red Robin Burger Works will open at the hotel, a fast casual restaurant serving burgers, sandwiches and fresh salads.
“We’re delighted that the SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at Metro State is the latest addition to our growing number of properties across the U.S.,” said Callette Nielsen, vice president and global brand manager, SpringHill Suites. “The hotel’s design offers a seamless blend of style and function at an affordable price.”
Rates start at $219 per night for weekdays and $149 per night on weekends.
“We're confident that visitors to Denver will be impressed that they can enjoy this unique hotel in a prime downtown location at such a fantastic price,” Isenberg said.
