There is a new hotel on the downtown scene in the Mile High City, The Maven, and boy is it a fun place to sleep. I visited with my husband and infant son for our first hotel stay away with our little guy and I was a little worried going in about how he’d do. But the staff at The Maven quickly erased any fears: they were incredibly hospitable.

Editor Carri Wilbanks together with husband T.J and son Everett at the opening of the Mavel Hotel

Located just one block from Coors Field in Denver’s LoDo neighborhood, The Maven is part of a mixed-use redevelopment known as the Dairy Block (it used to house Windsor Dairy), which also is home to a six-story office tower, restaurant and retail space and a parking garage. But The Maven is the anchor. Curated by Denver’s NINE dot ARTS, The Maven is home to more than 400 original art pieces created by emerging and established Colorado artists, including Andrew Ramiro Tirado, Christine Buchsbaum and Diego Rodriguez-Warner, and the public spaces are both dramatic and fun — beyond art I love the creative use of swings throughout the property, including by the elevators heading up to the rooms.

Designed by Denver-based Johnson Nathan Strohe, The Maven’s 172 modern guest rooms are incredible. They feature a rich color palette and loft-style décor with high ceilings and large windows and come in a few different innovative styles. The Maven Bunk Rooms, with a Twin Bunk Bed configured perpendicularly over a King Bed and featuring a swing, were my personal favorite, as they brought out my inner child and when my own little boy is a little bigger, I know he’ll love this family friendly room concept. There are also 11 expansive suites, including the baseball-themed Diamond Suite — As the official partner hotel of the Colorado Rockies and the closest hotel to Coors Field, The Maven is rolling out several exclusive baseball packages. 

For now, guests at The Maven at Dairy block can enjoy the second outpost of Kachina Southwestern Grill, a free-spirited, modern Southwestern grill by Sage Restaurant Group co-founder Peter Karpinski. Kachina offers a native-inspired space that is a modern interpretation of the airy and relaxing textures of the Southwest, as well as the magic that happens when you combine an Airstream camper, an open fire and a spirited culture. We loved the buffalo empanadas to start, followed by the cowgirl ribeye or the tacos served on fry bread.

The Maven is also home to the Poka Lola Social Club, which reinvents the everyman’s cocktail bar and celebrates the turn of the century American soda fountain culture. It also opens up onto the still being developed Alley, which is the soul of the Dairy Block and is a micro-district (still in development) that will operate out of the alley between 18th and 19th between Black and Wazee Streets and house an eclectic mix of Colorado retailers, artisans, chefs and cocktail crafters. Other amenities at the hotel include access to the Dairy Block’s 4,500 square foot fitness center as well as group fitness classes and relaxing spa and salon services at The Oxford Club, Spa & Salon.