There’s no question that the Westin Denver Airport is a top 5 airport hotel in the United States, behind probably the Grand Hyatts at San Francisco and Dallas-Fort Worth airports and perhaps alongside or even a little bit ahead of the Westin Detroit.

I stayed recently and wrote about my rather bizarre check-in experience where a front desk agent scolded me for using the elite check-in line, claiming that the sign for the elite line really just meant that they have elite guests at the property. Okey dokey.

Everything else about the stay was pretty good. The location is unbeatable for late arrivals and early departures. Walking time from room to the farthest airline check-in counter is about 10 minutes. You’ll easily save an hour roundtrip compared to an off-airport property.

In exchange for convenience, cash rates can run hundreds more than Tower Rd / Gateway hotels. You’ll do much better with corporate rates. Points here used to be a value, but they fluctuate too now with room rate as with the rest of the diminished Bonvoy program. Still, you can generally top off a 35,000 point annual credit card certificate and that’s not a bad use.

I was ‘upgraded’ to a Deluxe room and though suites were available I didn’t argue. Elites aren’t actually entitled to those anymore, anyway.

Rooms are modern and clean, and I found soundproofing to be excellent with really no aircraft noise to speak of. There are also good blackout shades.

One caution, though: plaza visitors can see into lower-floor rooms. Close the curtains if you’re on floors 8 or below facing the plaza! Don’t forget the United Airlines pilot arrested for exposing himself to the TSA checkpoint while getting ready.

The bar in the lobby was attractive, though I didn’t sit. Reports are that they offer a decent selection and can be pricey. Room service is available late. The hotel’s coffee shop opens at 5 a.m. which is great (all hotels should have coffee available early). There’s also a 24-hour gym as well as indoor pool and hot tub.

The agent checking me in offered points or breakfast, and she was shocked I didn’t just take the 1,000 points. I inquired about the details and was told it was a $25 credit in the hotel’s Grill & Vine restaurant. In fact, it’s $25 per person and was asked how many people there would be. I said two.

The breakfast was quite good, though the credit was a little bit confusing. The credit is supposed to cover an entree plus coffee or tea and “entree enhancements, upgrades, and sides are available ala carte” (i.e. not covered by the credit). So it’s not really clear whether it’s $25, or or if you could choose the $28++ steak and eggs? Or why if you chose toast instead of coffee that wouldn’t be covered?

I ordered the burrito and the server explained that if I wanted it with meat that was extra. However, he rang me up as two people instead of one and said it would therefore be covered. My breakfast voucher said two on it, since I was asked “one or two for breakfast?” when I opted for breakfast at checkin. I was told there was no check to sign and the certificate covered my order (tax and gratuity, therefore, included).

After breakfast it was back to the terminal, which is a big mess landside with poor checkpoint signage.

The wait for CLEAR was minimal. Oddly CLEAR waits have been far better than they were months ago, where frequently they were as long or longer than just queueing for PreCheck. Now it’s almost always a time savings, and that’s been the case in Austin, at Washington National, New York JFK and elsewhere the past few weeks also.