Drop, Shop @ Cherry Creek

June 12th, 2008 at 06:56am Michael Conniff 2

DENVER, COLORADO—Not in a million years would I have chosen to stay in a Denver hotel in Cherry Creek at the epicenter of American shopping. But given the chance to matriculate at the J.W. Marriott in the heart of shopper’s paradise for a few days, I was willing to embrace the beauty of the concept.

First of all, there’s my fiancée to consider. When I tell her we’re staying in Cherry Creek, the anticipation and excitement is palpable, and not just because we’ll be staying in a place where the person who checks you in takes you up to your room to make sure everything’s copasetic. When it comes to a trip to Denver, for her it’s all about location, and what could be better than a couple of overnights in a place where every conceivable store is right around the corner?

So she shopped. And shopped. And shopped some more. After I read the newspapers in the VIP lounge on one of the upper floors, I decided that if I was going to do Cherry Creek then I should do my share of shopping too. It was like seeing a ballgame at Coors Field: you do what you’re supposed to do.

First the container store—the gigantic container store right across the street. As long as I wasn’t going to really shop for anything, then I could at least find a place to put what I wasn’t going to buy. The store did not disappoint, nor did the Bose place literally right around the corner from the hotel that had every conceivable speaker and system.

Two places and I was shopped out, but when the fiancée came back she had a few things: I was once again amazed by the ability of serious shoppers like her to spend all day foraging and come back with nothing beyond a few berries and nuts. Here’s the key: she was happy. What better way to spend a quick weekend in Denver than pure shopping? I can think of a few things but so what: she was happy and that’s all that counts on a shopping weekend.

Trust me on this.

From the Marriott you don’t have to go far to find anything, including food. There’s a bunch of great places in the building and on the block—including a hip and happening spot called North—but we ventured a few blocks away to Elway’s, the steak place named after you-know-who. Without aforethought, it turned out our experience at Elway’s was in keeping with the shopping theme of the weekend. With a piano bar and plentiful drinks, the restaurant was the epicenter of baby boomers shopping for company, with the up close and personal costumes to match. A couple of drinks and my guess is that a couple of the couples got lucky that night.

The other great thing about our weekend in Cherry Creek is that I had done my duty as a true male companion. I had gone to the J.W. Marriott knowing that I was a hero because the sole purpose of my fiancée’s mission was to shop without any concern for the greater good or my well-being. By the time we got in the car to go back to Aspen, I felt like she might actually marry me after all.

Entry Filed under: Colorado, Denver, Cherry Creek