John Lennon complained about the skinny American-style chips, but overall The Beatles were quite content when they checked in to The Brown Palace, prior to performing their only Colorado concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 1964. President Dwight Eisenhower stayed so often – even using it as his 1952 campaign headquarters – that the hotel became known as the Western White House. President Bill Clinton set up a de-facto Oval Office in the hotel’s Gold Room when Denver hosted the G8 Summit in 1997. In fact, every 20th-century president with the exception of Calvin Coolidge has visited the hotel since it opened in 1892, along with an endless roll call of Hollywood A-listers, royalty, heads of state, business elite and political movers and shakers.
They all would have seen what I do upon checking in: a soaring Italian Renaissance-style atrium lobby of mesmerising beauty. Florentine arches lit by starburst bulbs twinkle on polished, golden onyx stonework. Balconies strung with ornate cast iron railings rise eight storeys to a stunning stained-glass skylight. It’s divine. A very British-looking afternoon tea is being served to guests dressed to the nines. They sip exotic brews (exotic to Americans, anyway) from china cups and pick at tiered cake trays laden with scones and clotted cream, finger sandwiches, sweet pastries and chocolate truffles. I rub my eyes to confirm I’m in Denver, not Devon.
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