Denver’s historic Brown Palace Hotel put up for sale
Mar 8, 2026, 11:04 AM
I am having a serious case of FOMO. I have never been, and now I am adding a visit to my “native tourist” bucket list!
If you’ve ever wanted to own a piece of history that comes with a massive property tax bill and enough ghost stories to fill a library, now is your chance: The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa is officially on the market.
Denver’s “Grand Dame,” which has occupied the corner of 17th and Broadway since 1892, is looking for a new owner with deep pockets and a tolerance for tourists asking where the Beatles slept. JLL, the real estate firm handling the listing, hasn’t publicly named a price, but if you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t be looking at anything with “Palace” in the title.
The 243-room hotel is famous for its distinct triangular shape, its nine-story atrium and the fact that nearly every U.S. president since Teddy Roosevelt has spent the night. It is the only place in Denver where you can sip afternoon tea like a Victorian aristocrat while pretending you aren’t surrounded by people in fleece vests and hiking boots.
Current owners, Crescent Real Estate, apparently decided that six years of maintaining 132-year-old plumbing was quite enough. Since taking over in 2018, they’ve pumped millions into renovations, ensuring that the carpets no longer smell like the 1970s and that the spa is sufficiently zen for people who find the Mile High City too stressful.
The sale includes the adjacent 231-room Holiday Inn Express, which is connected by a skybridge—perfect for when you want to feel like royalty but your budget says “continental breakfast and a plastic key card.”
Industry experts suggest the hotel is a “trophy asset,” a term real estate moguls use for buildings that make them look important at cocktail parties. For the rest of us, it’s just that place where we occasionally pay $50 for tiny sandwiches and scones while trying not to spill jam on the historic furniture.
There is no word yet on whether the hotel’s resident spirits—reportedly including a string quartet that never stopped playing—will be included in the closing costs, or if they’ll be required to sign a new lease.
