Last Minute Weekend Trip to Denver, Colorado

The first weekend in January I went on a spontaneous trip to Denver, Colorado with a few friends. I spent 4 days in Denver with 2 over them being travel days. In this blog post I will go in detail about what I wore, what we ate, and where we went! Check out my YouTube for a full Colorado vlog and packing video.

Friday

I flew out of the Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas on Friday January 8th. I flew Frontier because the ticket was only around $80, big mistake. I had never flown Frontier before so during check-in I was thoroughly surprised when I was told I would have to pay for my checked bag and carry-on luggage. So I ended up spending roughly $160 on bags alone for a round trip. My advice is spend that extra money on a better airline, it’s definitely worth it!

After landing in Denver after a 2.5 hour flight we were picked up and checked in at our hotel. We stayed at The Curtis in downtown Denver, Colorado. The hotel lobby was like one of those really cool immersive art museums. There was whimsical furniture, neon lights, and fabulous picture backgrounds. Overall I give The Curtis 3.5 out of 5. The highlight of the hotel was definitely the beautiful lobby. The service and experience was overall a good one and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to stay in the downtown Denver area.

Saturday

Saturday we started our day with brunch at a restaurant in downtown Denver called Syrup. I would give Syrup a 4 out of 5. The food was delicious and moderately priced. My favorite part of the brunch (any brunch actually) were the mimosas! If you’re in the Denver area go check out Syrup!

After brunch we went tubing at Winter Park in Breckenridge, Colorado, about an hour and a half away from Denver. Tubing was only $25 and was a ton of fun. Essentially the same as tubing in water, in snow tubing you take a conveyor to the top of a hill then ride down the hill on the rubber tube. Tubing gets a 5 out of 5 and I highly recommend it. For tubing I had to make sure I layered up. I wore tights, lululemon wunder under leggings, swiftly tech top, and a turtle neck topped with a green jumpsuit from SheIn, New Balance coat from Ross, Sperry rain boots, gloves and headband. I stayed very warm overall but it did take my feet nearly 2 hours to thaw out even though I wore 3 layers of socks.

After tubing we went back to the hotel to change clothes and freshen up and change clothes. We then went out to dinner at a restaurant in downtown Denver called STK. It was a very upscale steakhouse with great music. I wore a brown sleeveless turtleneck dress with black thigh high boots and a black pea-coat. The vibe was absolutely amazing but the pricing on the food… not so much. My bill was $48 and I ordered a Caesar salad (not meat) for $20 (which was the least expensive thing on the menu), a glass of the most delicious white wine for $12, and a shot for $13. STK gets a 3.5/5 because I had a great time and the vibes were there but the pricing was a hard pass.

Sunday

On our final full day in Colorado we went zip lining at Denver Zip lining Adventures. We did the 6 line course for a $58 deal we found on GroupOn. Definitely check out GroupOn for deals on any activities you plan on doing. I had never gone zip lining before and I had the time of my life! I layered up again with tights, leggings, and a turtleneck. On top I had on black jazz pants, white sweatshirt, snow goggles, gloves, Sperry rain boots, and an Avalanche jacket from Ross to top it off. I ended up having to put special things on the sole of my shoes to have better traction hiking in the snow. Zip lining gets a 5 out of 5 and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the Denver area.

For our last night in Denver we tried to eat at various restaurants but they all seemed to close around 10pm. I’m not sure if it was because of COVID or because it was Sunday but it was very frustrating. Also while we were in Colorado there was an order from the mayor to not sell alcohol after 10pm. After searching for a place to eat for nearly an hour we decided on good ol’ reliable Waffle House!

That’s pretty much it for the quick trip to Denver. It was very last minute but despite that we all had an amazing time. I’d highly recommend all of the places we went and the only regret I have is not being able to go skiing. Don’t forget to check out my YouTube videos about my trip to Colorado and follow me on Instagram @JordanJohnsonMedia to see all the great pictures I took!