Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center — Hotel in Aurora

We traveled here over Memorial Weekend and stayed for 3 nights. We flew into Denver and got an uber to and from the resort, which was super fast and easy. We didn't preplan our uber, and each time we needed one we only waited a few minutes for one. We didn't leave the property and took advantage of the restaurants, pool area, shopping, spa, live music, and relaxing spaces throughout the resort. We had a two queen room, which was comfortable enough and very clean. The window overlooked the roof of the indoor pool area, so we didn't really have a view of anything, but that was fine, as we chose the cheapest 2 queen room. We were there on a very busy weekend and elevators were always a short wait, if any. I've seen many reviews stating this resort is a lot of walking. I didn't get that vibe. It is well laid out. I believe it took about 3 minutes to walk from my room near the pool end to the opposite end by convention center. ||We used our app to unlock our door and it worked flawlessly. We were able to charge to the room at every restaurant and store, and we ran a tab at pool area which was convenient. There is a starbucks in the marketplace as well as plentiful food options. I really liked the overnight oats in the grab and go. ||Restaurants are all in a central location around the atrium area. The room service was pretty good. We tried Copper Table, Old Hickory steakhouse, the bar and grill, and the marketplace. All were great. Old Hickory left us a little underwhelmed for the price, but it was still a good experience. We shared the apple pie cheesecake at Copper table and it was delish! I also really enjoyed the pazole soup at Copper table. ||The pool area- one of the best we've been to. It was cloudy and around 55-65 degrees during our stay, and we never got cold in the outdoor lazy river and pool. It was well heated and we utilized the outdoor heated area near the entrance and the fire pits. I wish there were towel stations outside, but you can only get a towel at the entrance. There is a small bar by the lazy river but it was only open for a couple hours each day in the afternoon. Luckily, it wasn't far to walk to the regular bar that is open all day. The pizza at the pool was surprisingly good and is the size of a medium pizza so we were able to share it. The hot dog, falafel pita, and drinks were all very good. Chairs were plentiful even on a very busy weekend. Free refills on soda in the pool area so save your cup! The lazy river here was one of the best I've experienced at a resort. The water is warm, not too slow, not too fast, it's wide so people aren't running in to you, and the bottom isn't so rough that it hurts your feet. The infinity pool by the lazy river was really relaxing as well. Lifeguards were attentive and did their job well. ||We enjoyed the live music each night in the atrium near the bar. The female artist that played Saturday evening was really impressive! Staff was attentive, resort was clean, food and drinks were good, what more could we ask for. The building itself is beautiful and my husband who is an engineer enjoyed the architecture. ||We utilized the spa. Briana gave me an amazing facial and has magical hands. Virginia did my husband's first pedicure and he really enjoyed the experience. Amanda is an excellent therapist and gave me great pain relief when i booked a last minute massage with her. She is talented! Front desk staff at the spa were very friendly and explained things well. Be sure to give them your bonvoy reward number and you'll earn points on spa treatments. ||The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5: power went out for 1-2 hours during the night in our wing of hotel. We saw that other wings had power and the power was on outside. It seemed a little strange, as if it wasn't weather related but rather a known problem, as i've seen recent reviews mentioning the same thing. This did cause us to lose sleep as my husband uses a c-pap. I had requested housekeeping daily in the app but housekeeping never came. I called and they sent someone immediately to service our room. We had a mix up with one of our food orders and the staff rectified it immediately. Things are going to happen, and the way the staff and management handle it is everything. Gaylord has wonderful staff that smile and are engaging and seem to really want to be there. I wish I would have gotten her name but there was a cashier in the gift shop that was so kind and fun, she really added to our shopping experience as well. ||Arcade is wimpy. Just a few things to play and some claw games. But the resort has pool activites, basketball court, mini golf, and more which makes up for it. I can't possibly list everything we enjoyed at Gaylord but we would like to return sometime for another...

An absolute 10! The reviews and pictures do not do this resort justice, no matter how flattering. My wife and I booked a military rate on a standard room last weekend for 1 night (Saturday) and drove an hour up from Colorado Springs. It was our first night away with the kids since we added a baby boy to the mix. It was a same-day booking, impulsive night away, and our daughters (9) and (7) were super excited about the pictures of the water park.

We sprung for the valet parking. So glad I did it! All the staff were very patient as I unloaded all the kids' stuff, and everyone was very polite. Bell hop equipment was in great shape. Very timely. Bags were at the room in 5 minutes.

At the front desk, we were helped by a pleasant young lady from Chicago who offered to upgrade us to the family suite with bunk beds because it was our first time staying there. It was our girls' first time staying in bunk beds. They had their own TV and were so excited about the ladder!

We changed into bathing suits and headed down to the heated pool area. No additional charge for water park access. Someone with a brain designed the water park. The infant was manageable in the zero-entry pool and lazy river. The middle-aged kids enjoyed the water slides. The adults had an adults-only area with a hot tub. No matter the family composition, you can have fun. The food service was timely, and pool-side food was served in re-useable containers that kept food warm. The pool was extremely clean, indoors and out. It did not smell like chlorine. No bugs floating around. No obnoxious guests. Clearly overstaffed and attentive lifeguards. Really perfect. I wouldn't change a thing.

After the pool we went over to check out the lawn games area. We put our infant son down in that area where the grass was extremely clean. No weeds. No sign of pets. Plenty of baby bunnies wandering around, which entertained to no end. We watched the sun set over the mountain while the kids played bocci ball. Our kids let us sit in the red adirondack chairs. I think it's because even the baby was having so much fun that they forgot about us.

The baby handled the time in the room overnight extremely well. No annoying sounds. No ambient noise from the highway. Very clean, modern bathroom with all the amenities. Complimentary water, which I used to make bottles. A lot of extra towels, which helps when my daughters use them up like air.

The next morning, we decided to try the Fortunate Prospector for breakfast. The baby was up super early. Thankfully, the main breakfast restaurant opens at 6:30am! Better than any other Marriott I've seen! Very reasonably priced. No entree over $20. We typically order one kids' item for the kids to split and one adult item for my wife and I. As expected, portions were super generous and we got it right. I watched in amazement as my pickiest eater gobbled up her perfectly cooked sausage link and dipped her pancake in real maple syrup. Atmosphere was a 10.

I wanted to give my wife some extra time to enjoy her breakfast, so I grabbed my coffee mug and our infant son and I stepped out of the restaurant for about 15 minutes. I walked over to the massive window on the back wall of the hotel that offers panoramic views of the city and mountains. My son practiced his nascent walking skills along the massive window and I sipped my delicious, hot coffee. We were the only ones in the whole lobby area that early in the morning. The place was spotless. The water was whipping down a massive indoor waterfall. A giant buffalo taxidermy mount looked down and seemed to say "you did it."

For the rest of Sunday, my oldest daughter went down the three water slides at the water park until she just couldn't do it anymore. A quick stop at the impressive indoor arcade and marketplace, and we were off. We didn't get to use the fitness center or spa, but both looked great. The steakhouse smelled amazing, so maybe another time we'll make it happen. We sped back down to Colorado Springs and when we got home, my wife and I couldn't stop talking...

I was gifted a weekend at this resort for a "staycation." If I had paid for this trip, I would be even more displeased with this experience. The location is convenient only to the airport, so if that's all you need, it's fine. Living in Denver though, I can promise you this location is 30+ minutes (without traffic) outside of Denver proper and quite inconvenient.

THE GOOD: The spa is incredible and I will be returning and have referred friends already. I can see this location being enjoyable for a work trip as most of the hotel is centered around the conference spaces and catering to the conference guests. It is surprisingly quiet in this location, despite being so close to the airport. The lobby area is beautiful and a comfortable place to sit, relax, and grab a drink at the bar. I don't believe you need to be a guest to enjoy this portion of the hotel, and would recommend this as a fun space to grab a drink and relax.

EVERYTHING ELSE: I cannot express how overpriced, overrated, and underwhelming this trip was. Upon check in, we had many administrative non-issues that took quite a while to iron out and resulted in the staff verbatim asking us if we "have enough money to stay in a place like this." What a ridiculous foot to get started on at this hotel. Determined to have a good stay, we moved on and got excited for the various amenities that are advertised, which are ultimately the reason we chose this hotel.

The entire property seems to be centered around conference space and tending to the conference guests, rather than the hotel guests. It seems they've forgotten that not everyone comes to this property for a work trip, so many of the intended luxurious experiences were big misses. All of these "amenities" are separate, overpriced, and disappointing. For example, to park--as a guest at the hotel-- you must pay $33 per night. The s'mores kits that are advertised as being included in the hotel costs are over $20 for a tiny, lackluster kit. The food items in the market were outdated and again overpriced. One small salad was over $20 and looked like it had been sitting in there for weeks. The onsite restaurants LOOK great but are overrated, yet again overpriced, and underwhelming. The meals were nothing special at all and service was mediocre at best.

As for the hotel rooms themselves, they're pretty standard, however, our experience was filthy and guaranteed we will not return. Throughout our multiple-day stay, another guest decided to leave dirty diapers in both the hallway and the ice/vending machine room on our floor. While this is obviously a fault on the guest for thinking that was a considerate thing to do, rather than disposing of the diapers themselves, the diapers were never removed through our entire trip. The ice/vending room began to stink like baby poop, which then spread into the hall. It was absolutely disgusting.

Also, when we first entered our room, there was trash sticking out from under the couch, our pillows had literal holes ripped in them and had strange, unknown red/brown stains all over the linens, and our towels had burn holes and marks in them. Overall, it was just a gross room and experience. Even if this place wasn't so overpriced, the experience in the room was unacceptable.

After leaving the hotel, I looked forward to getting an email to leave a review on the hotel, but I never received one. I called the hotel and looked on the website for information on how to submit this feedback and was told to reach out via their customer service email. I reached out twice before getting a response to anything, and the response was not helpful and basically said we were out of luck on leaving a review since we didn't get the automatic review email. That's the only reason I'm taking the time to leave this review here.

If you're looking for a higher-end hotel to stay at in Denver, steer clear of this place. If you're wanting something overpriced or close to the airport, or you are looking for something gross, this...