Only three decades younger than 150-year-old Denver itself, The Brown Palace is not only a historic downtown landmark, but a living treasure. The can’t-miss triangular mass of red granite and sandstone has accommodated famous guests from the Beatles to nearly every US president since Teddy Roosevelt—not to mention the champion steers who parade through the lobby during the National Western Stock Show every year.

The amenities are through the stained-glass atrium roof—think afternoon tea in the lobby, pre-embargo Cubans in the swanky cigar bar, “altitude-adjustment” facials at the spa and artesian well water in every room. Of course, the prices are sky high too, but you get all you’ve paid for and then some.