The Art Hotel Denver, Curio Collection by Hilton — Hotel in Denver

We had a terrible experience at this hotel! I advise others to take bad reviews seriously and my insight into consideration before booking this "4 star hotel"... Above all: NOT WORTH IT. Hotels, specifically ones that dub themselves "resorts" or hold 4 stars are supposed to be nice, high quality, relaxing escapes - this place was a total nightmare.

I'll start with the additional $20 "amenities fee" (daily) others mentioned - it is required and a total BS charge! They state that this fee ("resort fee" they called it) pays for WIFI and other amenities (its 2021- literally every single other hotel I've ever stayed at has this included). As for the "amenities" we received mini sodas (2) and mini waters (2). Nothing else. For example, parking onsite is not included in this fee, it is an additional $40/day. Good to note there are other parking options but the location is not great and I wouldn't suggest unsupervised parking around here. Now for our actual stay - the room smelled disgusting, like mildew, the second we walked in. We had an event to rush to Friday and just chalked this up to less frequency in the rooms due to the pandemic. Later in the night, we discovered just how dirty and gross this room really was. We found used cups in fridge and when we tried to set up coffee stuff, towels had makeup stains, hair on robe, and found used tissues behind trash in bathroom. SO GROSS! Also important to note, for a "high-end" hotel they do not have high-end products. Paper products were SO cheap, literally dissolve in your hands when using. Towels were scratchy and thin (and don't forget dirty). TVs are small, thick and older. Beds are nothing special, nor are the pillows. This hotel is so clearly gimmicky and for show - the concept and marketing is so far from the actual quality - this is NOT actually a luxury spot, nor can it be called a "resort". As for atmosphere - the "art" is minimal and nothing worth seeing is actually in the hotel - The Art Museum across the way is gorgeous, go there instead! It was also loud every night, late into the night. Teenagers were partying after prom there I gathered? Slamming doors, music and running through the hallways - MAD HOUSE. Also smelled like weed in all the hallways. Another fun mishap we didn't learn until later in our stay - our room was right next to an unmarked supply closet, and they let the door slam all through the night and early mornings. Upon leaving, our emailed bill came through all wrong and I had to chase them down to correct the overcharges before we left. The restaurant was also overpriced and the service was slow and inattentive - my husband and I ordered drinks and were never revisited to order more drinks or add food (We tried to eat there TWICE!). Big mistake - both times we left and spent our money on dinner elsewhere.

Finally I think its really important to note - I submitted ALL of this to the hotel first! I took the time to complete the customer survey, in depth, and tried to address these major pitfalls offline, however I got a generic email reply and a promised call that never came from their "guest experience manager" (looking at you Lenaya). I tried to discuss our concerns respectfully but its been over a month! I waited to write this review and give them a chance to correct things and address these major concerns we had. This is a cheap hotel masquerading as a classy luxurious hotel - I've stayed in plenty of popular named, 2&3 star hotels that were SO. MUCH. BETTER. than this place! I really can't stress enough how disappointing and trashy this hotel was. ITS NOT WORTH A PENNY! Do your research and trust the poor reviews. It really is overpriced, rooms are not clean or quiet, hotel has terrible customer relations and zero follow through. I can guarantee any expectations you have will fall short. Spend your money elsewhere!! DO BETTER ART HOTEL...

[I am amending my initial review because the Assistant General Manager, Mr. Tobias Burkhalter, did eventually reach out to me and, in addition to an apology, offered me a small rebate to address what is herein discussed.]

When going through Denver my wife and I quickly looked at the 4.4 positive Google feedback and reserved a room for a couple of nights.

Late that evening we went to take a shower, only to discover that there wasn’t hot water. Front desk said they’d have someone look at it first thing the following day. No one came by or notified us so I called only to have front desk inform us that a technician would be by in 10 minutes. 1 hour elapses and nothing. 30 minutes later the technician shows up, rips open the shower assembly and tells me that he needs to replace a cartridge. Further inquiries from me and he says that the shower assembly is cheap and regularly needs to be replaced and that it’s a common problem.

We leave for breakfast and some hiking and return that afternoon to find yet another technician in the room repairing the shower. He knows nothing about the original repair and finishes his work and leaves. We go for a nice hot shower and nothing but cold water.

Now understand that hot showers are not the most important thing in our lives but when the tab is nearly $500/day we expect to have them. For the full 2.5 days of our reservation a hot shower was unavailable.

I spoke with the manager on duty, Clinton Huber, who offered me some Hilton “loyalty points” as compensation. I don’t know about you, but I have better things to do with my life than keep up with numerous dubious loyalty programs, so I declined and asked for some accommodation on our room pricing. He texted me that he was doubling the amount of points to my loyalty program, the very same program I didn’t want to use.

I went to meet Mr Huber, who said that this was all he could do, but that he’d discuss this with the Assistant General Manager, Tobias Burkhalter, and would come up with a solution. Problem was he never responded. I texted him 2x over the next few days and he provided nothing. Not even the courtesy of a response, meaning that he deliberately lied.

Looking more thoroughly over the reviews it struck me that about 1 out of 10 of the recent reviews were just 1 or 2 stars, a few with my identical complaint. It appears that this once vaunted hotel, when acquired by Hilton, has deteriorated substantially. Any problems or billing issues and management seems to use this as an excuse to mistreat their guests.

I’ve stayed at luxury hotels around the world where they understand that the premium pricing is reflected in outstanding hospitality services. The Art Hotel, however, treats people like they are coming to a pawn shop — that is, once they have your $ don’t expect to have any recourse.

As other reviewers noted, you’d be better off finding another place to stay in Denver, a quality hotel where service and respect are valued. Caveat emptor.

(And Hilton, please don’t respond with some hackneyed AI paragraph thanking me for my input and assuring me that it will be used to provide better service in the future. That’s just rubbing salt into the wound, adding insult to injury, or whatever other cliche indicates just how uncaring and insensitive your customer...

I stayed at this awful property from June 21-25. The service and follow-up at this property are absolutely appalling and guest safety appears to be on the very bottom of their list of concerns. I attempted to express concerns to management while on property. I was told, when I checked out, that a manager would be contacting me - but was told he was not available at the time because he was working night audit and not days this day.

Foremost, I expressed concerns that I witnessed during an emergency event and evacuation at the property. The alarm sounded and guests were told to exit through the stairwells. Upon doing so, I found the stairwell blocked by a maintenance cart on one floor, crumbling cement from the ceiling on another floor, and on the first floor an air conditioner that was town apart. Upon exiting, I noticed that the valet service continued to accept and get cars for guests - blocking the entrance of the hotel and forcing the fire Dept. to park in the street. Additionally, no hotel staff guided or provided way finding to guests who congregated in the lobby and in front of the property. Guests continued to go up and down the elevators for the full duration of the emergency without any staff present to advise otherwise. I have attached pictures of this.

In my room, the plugs did not all work and were not all in operating order. The showers tend to fall apart as well and are difficult to operate and nearly impossible to adjust the water temperature.

Amenities that are advertised on the website are frequently closed for private or additional const functions that are sold out - without prior notice to guests. This included the rooftop bar - which was the reason I booked this property to begin with. When I attempted to purchase tickets for the event there was not follow-up from hotel front desk staff.

The lack of follow-up from the front desk was a thematic problem at the property. At one point, I was sent a text to rate my stay and gave them a 1 (the lowest score). I was then asked how they can improve my stay, and their score. I then forwarded them the message that they did not answer from the prior days and then that went unanswered for the next two days - and much of it remains unanswered to this day.

This hotel does not offer a pool and the rooftop bar is a primary amenity, but you are not warned it will be closed for private functions during your stay - as it should advise - when you book your room.

The management here is incredibly poor with follow-up. I've reached out to Hilton several times since my stay and was promised follow-up that never came. I was told at the front desk when I checked out, I'd receive a call from a manager in the next day or two - weeks later there is not a call.

Again, I cannot begin to fathom how this is a Hilton...