Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel is now part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. But guests are going to be getting something completely different than they expect.
Built in 1892, it was named for its original owner and features a distinctive triangular shape, and is built with an iron and steel frame that’s covered in cement and sandstone. It was featured the year of its completion in Scientific American as “one of America’s first fireproof structures.” It was Denver’s tallest building at the time.
The hotel was Dwight Eisenhower’s western presidential campaign headquarters. It hosted the Beatles during their first visit to Colorado. Once one of the finest hotels in town, it’s now considered to be “in a free fall.”
“The hotel is dying a tragic, slow death. It is already well along in that process. It would be like walking into grandma’s house and seeing her with bruises and skinny and no food in the fridge,” said Adrian Kley, a former bellman and concierge who left the hotel in March.
Guests complain about “low water pressure, fluctuating water temperatures and in some cases no hot water.” When a pipe burst flooding 12 rooms on the sixth floor, the hotel’s main restaurant and a meeting room, it took more than a year to repair. The ballroom flooded as well.
Customers stayed away. Management dropped rates below $100 on some nights – but that attracted a different clientele, “a rise in drunken and disruptive guests.” With reduced revenue, the management company HEI pushed out long-time employees who delivered the high quality service the property was known for. Then “[m]ore homeless people entered the hotel and fentanyl contamination showed up in lobby bathrooms.”
The property blames the pandemic for reduced staffing in 2024. Remaining employees have been told they “no longer work for a hospitality company” but “for a real estate company” instead. After 62 straight years it lost its Forbes Travel Guide (née Mobil Travel Guide) four star rating.
“It doesn’t matter how much investment comes back into that property, the damage from the neglect is incalculable,” Kley lamented. “[Management company] HEI steps over dollars to pick up dimes. They don’t want the money that comes with providing service.”
Here’s the story of a homeless man they hired to be their chief handyman with access to all the rooms.
HEI’s CEO is the one who said the quiet part about tipping out loud, that he wants to push guests to tip more so he can pay workers less.
A run down HEI-run hotel is the only time I’ve ever been yelled at by a manager.
The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, which defied Marriott to add surcharges for guests paying by credit card (extra fees even for paying with a Marriott credit card!) was, naturally, an HEI property.
Good to know. Now I’m going to avoid HEI hotels!
Reading this was incredibly disturbing. Tho’ it’s been years since I’ve been to that hotel, it had the reputation among those in my profession (event and meeting professionals) as one of the best. How incredibly sad.
Here’s a link to the list of HEI hotels. Lots of Westin properties, but as expected not restricted to the Marriott family.
I stayed in the Westin San Antonio North last summer, quite rundown, but fortunately nothing like what’s described here.
Caveat emptor!
https://www.heihotels.com/portfolio-hei-hotels/
I’ve stayed at The Westin Annapolis and The Westin Cleveland. Both HEI-operated properties. They cheated me on Marriott benefits like the Elite Welcome Gift (although they did upon demand pay the $100 compensation) and also played games with upgrades.
I now go out of my way to avoid any HEI-operated property. Here is their full list: of properties: https://www.heihotels.com/portfolio-hei-hotels/
One of the problems I see with IHG, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott as corporate chains manage less and less properties is that many management companies simply aren’t competent. It’s pretty easy to operate a limited-service Fairfield, Holiday Inn Express or Hyatt Place. Even a Holiday Inn isn’t that difficult.
By contrast, it’s a lot harder to operate a genuine 4-star or 5-star hotel. Additionally, from what I can tell the corporate brand standard auditors merely check boxes as opposed to evaluate competence and overall execution. It’s good enough if an upscale or luxury hotel has a bar with a wine list.
They don’t evaluate whether the wine is of good quality or the staff know how to open and serve wine. Whereas independent audits from Forbes and AAA within North America and then AA within the UK actually judge a property on its execution and competence. Thus, we know why HEI decided not to pursue requalification with Forbes.
A management team that has never actually operated a luxury hotel combined with cheap owners is a recipe for disaster.
@Joan: You know things have went downhill when the BALLROOM for the Brown Place is across the skyway in the neighboring Holiday Inn Express.
@GaryK: I have found that problems tend to repeat themselves across an owner or management company’s entire portfolio. Aimbridge is a great example. Aimbridge properties across all brands and chains tend to have the same maintenance-related issues. They skimp maintenance unless absolutely required by the chain. Just look at the Courtyard in Flint, Michigan, that is somehow still a Courtyard or the ex-TownePlace Suites in Denver Tech Center, Colorado that was finally de-flagged by Marriott. Owners hire third-party management companies because they’re cheaper than corporate. There are some great third-party operators, but many are quite bad. I actively avoid Aimbridge and HEI.
I stayed at the Westin FLL and ordered a burger on the (empty) pool deck then stepped away (just outside the restaurant) to take an urgent phone call. When I got back I found out that not only did the assistant f&b manager on duty throw away my food, she actually came outside personally to berate me for the “disrespect”. When I brought it up to the head of f&b he tried to convince me that because they ended up remaking the food no service lapse had occurred. When I pressed harder and threatened to open a case with Marriott he tried guilt tripping me for a $5 beverage coupon. Absolutely one of the worst properties I’ve ever stayed at.
How sad! In 1972 my wedding reception was at the Brown Palace, best hotel in Denver.
Thank you for the informative post and for commenters above for posting the list of HEI hotels. It’s a shame that such a historic hotel has fallen to where it’s at now.
I recently stayed at The American Hotel in Atlanta (after its recent conversion from a DoubleTree to Tapestry) and it was one of the most pleasant stays I’ve had in recent memory so there unsurprisingly is some deviation from hotel to hotel under this management. My best amateur advice I can give is make sure you read recent Google reviews before booking to give your best shot of finding a satisfactory place.
@L:
You think Google reviews are more valuable or more insightful than TripAdvisor? I almost completely disregard the official reviews on a chain website or hotel website because, at least with respect to Marriott, you can’t post a review unless you receive a survey directly from Marriott.
As Gary at View from the Wing has previously written, Marriott will only send frequent customers a survey a couple of times per year. At least with IHG I can review every property I can stay directly with IHG. Hyatt has reviews but I’ve never figured out how to do it. I know some Hyatt properties on Hyatt.com don’t have any new reviews for months. So, Hyatt properties seem to control the ability of guests to post reviews.
But with respect to some properties like the Brown palace, I know they aren’t even responding to negative reviews on Marriott.com. That tells me a lot because, at least as I understand it, Marriott properties are required to respond to surveys and respond to reviews on the corporate website within so many days. If they don’t, their quality scores take a hit in scoring. So, it looks like HEI or the owners (or both) are doing the basics required by Marriott. I wouldn’t be surprised if its de-flagged.
I lived across the street from The Brown Palace for many years. We spent holidays and special events there. Our Christmas dinners and Thanksgivings were amazing and worth every penny. Until the pandemic. When they reopened even dinner was awful. It was embarrassing to take friends there. We went for high tea and even the sandwich bread was stale and we were not paid any attention to once we were brought our food. Considering the expense that was unacceptable. We started just having drinks at the Ship Tavern, which to be honest is really worn, because the food is so awful and third rate and not worth the cost. What had been a jewel had turned to coal. Terribly sad to see. Firing long term staff was truly the worst. How the mighty have fallen.
Brown Palace still has a fantastic cigar bar with good service.
I appreciate this kind of post to warn us. I took a look at HEI’s listing of hotels to see if I had stayed at any.
I have to give the Liberty hotel in Boston kudos. I’ve stayed there twice, and they’ve upgraded me significantly to a Charles River view both times. Breakfast Benefit was also very solid. They even retroactively reduced my hotel rate when I found out after the fact that they had a special hospital rate for those getting surgery next-door at Mass General.
The other hotel that deserves some mention is the relatively new Hyatt Place in Albany. If you are a Hyatt loyalist, there is nothing near Albany and Syracuse. Not super fancy, but 10x better that the Marriott Albany which gave little to no elite benefits and needs serious updating.
@FNT Delta Diamond –
Yes, I do put more stock into Google vs TripAdvisor largely because as you alluded to it just feels shady when a hotel chain directly posts its TripAdvisor reviews, manipulated or not. The nice thing about Google is that it’ll compile reviews from a number of major sites, including TA.
I too have experienced not getting multiple opportunities to review when I stay at different hotels too close in time to one another . Which is a shame because I like to highlight positives!
The hotel response is a great point. I’ve had some good experiences getting corporate responses to honest reviews to their surveys. For a hotel to not respond at all is a very ominous sign indeed.
When staying at the Brown Palace Marriott in Denver, please be aware that the City of Denver only provides Naloxone and Fentanyl testing strips to Denver residents. When you experience a narcotics overdose while staying at the hotel, you may not be able to access these life-saving resources. It is essential to have your testing strips and Naloxone opioid reversal agent with you at all times.
The Brown Palace Marriott does not charge a destination or resort fee. However, parking for all guests is $59 for 24 hours. It is worth noting that during these 24 hours, you can enter and exit without incurring extra costs. In the unfortunate event of a drug overdose resulting in your death, the hotel may retain all or part of your prepayment or charge your credit card when you cancel after their deadline.
@Gary: the homeless handyman from the Brown Palace hotel passed away few days after sharing his story about being fired. How incredibly sad and tragic.
https://www.westword.com/news/denver-handyman-found-dead-days-after-sharing-homeless-story-21786779
So sad! I’ve done High Tea at the Brown Palace several times over the past 15 years, and it was always a fantastic experience. Thanks for the list of HEI-managed hotels to avoid going forward.
@GaryK, thanks for the link to the portfolio.
Haven’t stayed at the Westin Cleveland since the demise of Starwood. Was an excellent property way back when.
I see the Kimpton Monaco Denver… we stayed there a year ago and were underwhelmed… most poor service at a Kimpton and now I know why.
Had already given a pass on the Hyatt Regency Harbor in favor of the other one in town. At least I avoided HEI, but what other demons lurk? It’s like a game of whack a mole.
@FNT Delta Diamond
“…Marriott will only send frequent customers a survey a couple of times per year…”
And, here’s another twist. Just completed a stay at Anchorage Marriott Downtown, which appears to be owned and operated by Columbia Sussex. It was booked part of a cruise-related tour so clearly a non-Qualifying rate and I had no expectation of getting points. But, I was quite surprised that they categorically refused to put my Bonvoy number into the record, mumbling something about ‘policy’ for a group reservation, so no welcome gift, etc. This contrasts sharply with our experience in Japan several years ago, where not only did we get all the perks, but also a fabulous suite upgrade. They finally offered two bottles of water.
Therefore, Marriott has no idea that I stayed there (lifetime Titanium) and won’t send me a survey even if they wanted to.
They also didn’t take credit cards from any of the tour guests, so I wonder what would have happened if I had charged something to the room. So, are we looking at incompetence, laziness, system limitations, or just a general “we don’t give a **** about you” because it’s high season and we sell most of the rooms to cruise and tour operators? Rack rate currently is nearly $600, dropping to ~$400 in October.
HEI’s motto is profit over people.
It’s great to have the list of HEI hotels. I must say it would be interesting to know when they acquired some of these hotels as I’ve stayed at quite a few but they were all pre pandemic
@Kiwi: HEI is the management company, not the owner.
A few things to consider before blindly canceling an entire group of hotels because of a few bad apples:
– Post pandemic, it is difficult to find decent candidates to work in the service industry. The constant turnover slows service levels.
– HEI is a management company. They operate the hotels but each one has different owners. Many hotels are owned by large private equity firms that put huge pressure on the management co. to maximize profits by reducing service levels and staffing so they can appease their shareholders.
– Many of these large firms are not invested long term in their properties. They buy a distressed hotel, hold onto it for 5 years with minimal investment, then sell it for a profit that they can use the money to buy another hotel.
So my suggestion is to review each hotel on its individual reputation, and not assume that all hotels are bad. I know of several very nice, well run HEI Hotels like the Liberty in Boston and the Hotel at Avalon near ATL.
Well, that portfolio listing was helpful as the Crowne Plaza/Staybridge Suites Atlanta was one of the poorest stays I’d ever experienced… and now I know why!
Hooooooo boy… couldn’t agree more regarding HEI properties. Westin Tampa Harbor Island- bad staff and bad room. Hotel Chicago Autograph Collection- horrible room. But the worst of the worst was the W Chicago Lakeshore. Stayed in the presidential suite (or whatever name they gave it) about a year ago. The place had been stripped of many of the pictured items (kitchen/bar literally had nothing at all, not even a glass to drink out of), no toiletries, fridge didn’t work, TV didn’t work, mold in the shower, etc.etc. And the staff was rude during check-in and dismissive when I called about the room issues. I guess now I understand why… it’s and HEI thing. Of those on the HEI list, only the Le Meridien Stoneleigh Dallas was good.
While in San Diego, I popped into the lobby of the Wyndham to use the restroom. No sh*t, (no pun intended) we saw three different hookers leaving the hotel walking out of the hotel in 15 mins hopping into the same pimps car.
In related Marriott – Prostitute benefits, the Marriott Mexico City Airport has an ATM in the lobby near the elevators where you’ll see hookers getting paid at the end of the bonvoyage while someone from the ring watches nearby and collects their share outside the door.
@DunkinDFDubya: The Courtyard at the Mexico City airport? I’ve stayed there a few times in the evening and never seen anything like that. Not doubting it. It is, after all, Mexico. But what you’ve described is more like the scene in Panama City or Medellín, Columbia.
@DunkinDFDubya: And Las Vegas. Every good-looking girl nursing a Coke at a casino bar in Las Vegas is a hooker.
Wow. That was fast. I stayed there in January 2023 and everything was great.
Being homeless is not a crime, and homeless people are not inherently criminals. Nice snooty article, Richie Rich.
@Azrael_Garou: Being homeless isn’t a crime, but being camping in public parks, loitering, etc. is generally a crime. Whether it’s enforced or not is a different matter. The fact is most homeless people can find shelter space IF they’re willing to be sober or medicate. The rest belong in mental institutions, which most states haven’t had since the 1960s or 1970s when they were closed because many were hardly unchanged since the 19th century.
Our organization had a retreat there last September and ever since I have been telling people how terrible the hotel was. Next week is our yearly retreat and we’re going to the Hotel Clio instead. So sad the Brown Palace is on a slow path to demise. But you get what you vote for.
This is not uncommon. Hotels are owned by franchisees that for a quick buck and being cheap on repairs will rent rooms out to local government, filling the rooms with homeless, because government will pay market rack rates. I’ve seen this happen at several four star hotels, including the LAX Sheraton.
Sadly so many beautiful American cities have turned into sh$tholes because of voter TDS.
I stayed there in late August, and most of this is really surprising to hear.
The staff was great (maybe not incredible, but still great), unlike other hotels they were doing full, proper housekeeping every day (ie, providing the service guests are paying for), and the guests were totally normal for a hotel of that calibre.
They did give me a letter warning me that the water pressure would be low at night (between midnight and six) as they did repairs, but during the day, I had no water issues at all.
Interesting article. I looked up HEI and was surprised (on their website History) to learn they were originally acquired by Starwood and a lot of the higher-ups used to work for Starwood which was known as a strong brand (before it was acquired by Marriott and profit over Elite benefits became the norm). I also looked at the portfolio of hotels and I have stayed at some. Two in particular the Westin Pasadena and the Marriott San Ramon are run very well. So very surprised. Perhaps it’s the OWNERS of the Brown Palace that’s the problem?? Often times nowadays, the owner refuses to pay and the management company gets stuck between the unwilling owner and the demanding brand. Just a thought – has anyone looked to see who the owner of the Brown Palace is?
@Andrew: Starwood the brand or Starwood Capital Group? The latter was not acquired by Marriott.
For years Brown Palace was our go to for Thanksgiving and a their afternoon tea a special treat. Locally, the news of their decline has barely been covered but, for long tome patrons, it has been noticeable.
Ships Tavern was closed for a long time. Their lobby is run down and tired. The Thanksgiving buffet no longer sells out by April and we stopped going before Covid due to price hikes and quality decline. Their staff was always top notch, and continued to be until HEI let the longtime staff go to cut costs.
While some of the decline is due to the overall atmosphere in Denver downtown as they are not far from major homeless camps, the majority is due to poor management.
It may still be seen as nice by some, for those of us that have been patrons for decades the decline and service degradation is quite noticeable.
@Kal:
“It may still be seen as nice by some, for those of us that have been patrons for decades the decline and service degradation is quite noticeable.”
This is often the case. Those who have stayed at real luxury hotels will recognize the Brown Palace’s decline. But those used to staying at the Holiday Inn Express across the street who book the Brown Palace because of $100 rates will think it’s luxury.
Another good example is The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. They don’t offer fine dining restaurant and stopped their famous Sunday champagne brunches.
Why does this surprise y’all?
Keep voting for the KamAllah and T-Timmy and the rest of them and they will turn the whole country into this.
Oh and before you reply…yes I know you hate Trump.
Your comment is awaiting moderation. Yet another reason why this happens. What are you afraid of?? Some hard truth?
awaiting moderation
My husband and I have stayed at the Brown Palace a few times in the last couple of years and have not been dissatisfied, though you must realize it will be an experience with some possible minor hitches dues to the age of the hotel.
They have an incredible afternoon tea (need reservations, usually) and the breakfast restaurant is also pretty wonderful though not usually included in the room price. Staff is great.
The location, though located at the easterly (far) end of the free 16th St Mall shuttle from Union Station, is within walking distance of the Denver Art Museum and the Colorado History Museum. I wouldn’t necessarily pass this by due to the issues stated… but then, maybe it’s because I haven’t encountered those issues. I think this place is great – an experience, not fancy or modern, but an experience.