Catbird Hotel

RiNo, Denver's River North Art District, was warehouses before it was galleries and breweries, and Catbird, at its north end, has taken the district's side, with murals on its outside walls and local artists' work in the lobby and rooms. Guests say it feels nothing like a chain, and a hotel that hands its walls to the neighbourhood's painters was never likely to. The 165 rooms are studios and suites that would pass for flats, with kitchens that run to a combination oven and a dishwasher. In the studios the bed is up in a loft. Most rooms have a 4K projector and a drop-down screen six feet by eight, which gives a night in a fair chance against a night out.

Recommended for a weekend of gigs and galleries or a week with work in it, and for families, since children are welcome with an adult of 21 or over. Groups of up to eight can take the Klee House beside the main building, four bedrooms built in 1890. The Mission Ballroom is fifteen minutes' walk, and the A-Line from 38th & Blake, four minutes away, runs to Union Station and the airport, so a car is optional. Dogs of any size are welcome, with a bed and bowls; despite the name, they are the only pets allowed, so the one guest Catbird turns away is a cat. Up on the roof, Rook has fire pits and two hot tubs with the skyline out to the Rockies, and on Thursdays it plays Beat the Bartender for free shots. The bartenders have home advantage.