Staycation or Destination: Populus, Denver

This striking mile high hotel, Populous, takes dining from farm to table and back to the farm (And the rooms aren’t bad either)

by Lisa Blake

When you live year round in a Colorado ski resort town, city cravings surface every now and then. An overnight or weekend away sans chair lifts, impossible grocery lines, and the personal pressure to get out there and log another uphill sunrise on our skis is a legitimate itch to scratch during the course of a six-month (sometimes seven) winter.

The desire to sleep in, melt away in silky sheets that we don’t have to launder later, and swap clunky Sorel snow boots for sexy heeled ankle booties is real. There’s a deep longing to eat at a restaurant we haven’t been to 100 times, where the entree descriptions have us Googling exotic ingredients (calamansi pickled persimmon, I see you) under the table while the sommelier describes our dream French rosé.

If you’re nodding along, then Populus might be your ideal winter staycation. The skyline-altering Denver hotel and duo of in-house restaurants, Pasque and Stellar Jay, check all of the indulgent boxes we’ve been lusting after.

A Stay Inspired By Nature

Ever wonder what it might feel like to sleep in an aspen stand? With intentional details woven throughout—think recorded bird chirping and leave-flickering elevator audio and a window seat reading nook from a 13th-floor perch—265-room Populus delivers just that. (Well, an extremely chic and polished version of that.)

Paying homage to Colorado’s native Aspen tree (Populus tremuloides), Populus opened in October 2024 as the country’s first carbon-positive hotel. An Urban Villages creation designed by boundary-shattering Studio Gang architecture firm, guests settle into biophilic design, earthy materials, original art and seasonal cuisine for an urban stay that adoringly holds hands with the natural world. The building at the crux of 14th Street and West Colfax Avenue demands sidewalk pause and awe. The distinct exterior in a papery shade of wispy aspen bark shoots skyward with a notched-out design mirrored after the “eyes” of an aspen tree. Fun fact I should’ve known after 20 years in Colorado: As aspens grow, they shed their lower branches, leaving behind dark, eye-shaped marks on their trunks.

Bold clean lines, a thoughtful art program, energy-preserving concrete walls and ceilings, and a feel-good One Night One Tree initiative (each night you stay, a tree is planted in thanks) lend to the mindful hospitality experience. My favorite detail: the keycard to access elevators and your room door is a thin cylindrical piece of wood inside a pocket-friendly plantable seed paper envelope.

Restaurants With Purpose

Proudly writing their own chapters in Populus’ stewardship story, land-to-plate restaurants Pasque and Stellar Jay take the hotel’s environmental commitment to the next level. Seasonal ingredients are sourced from regenerative, organic farmers and an onsite biodigester composts 100 percent of food waste. Since opening in October 2024, an impressive 26 tons of organic waste has been returned to Colorado farms as nutrient-rich compost.

After a recent dinner at lobby-level (aka forest level) Pasque, I was left enamored with the kitchen’s level of dedication to regenerative farming and of-the-moment produce. Chef’s eye for plucking the freshest Colorado fall harvest stars landed on our plates in the form of perfectly cooked pistachio-dusted roasted carrots, tallow butter-swathed sourdough, a vibrant farm salad, and a braised leek and butternut squash goat cheese rigatoni that I’ll dream about for months to come. A swift elevator ride to terrace-soaring Stellar Jay for a salt and pine martini (me) and a cognac-laced honey old fashioned (my husband) was the slumber-inducing icing on the evening.

Plant-forward Pasque captured our hearts and stomachs, but Stellar Jay has us planning our next date night around its sultry interior and robust menu of live-fire wild game cooking.

After a glorious night of uninterrupted sleep buried in lush bedding and soft glow lighting, we spent the morning lounging in the soft robes, sipping cortados and nibbling cacio e pepe croissants from lobby darling Little Owl Coffee. The proper fuel and sendoff to propel us back up the hill and into winter’s long and lovely arms.

www.populusdenver.com

Feature Photo Credit: Yoshihiro Makino