The Inverness Denver review: Quirky, comfy, and fun (even if you have no interest in golf)

The Inverness Denver is many things. It’s a golf resort. It’s a spa. It’s a Hilton. It’s a little ugly on the outside. It’s a comfortable place to spend the night.

Even if you have no interest in golf, there’s a lot to like about this property. I especially enjoyed how quiet it was, despite being located so close to Denver.

I did not like having to pay for parking even though the lot was wide open with many spaces available. Like, come on, man!

A full review of my 1 night stay at The Inverness Denver

Full disclosure: I did not golf or partake in any spa-like activities during my visit. This is simply a review of the property, my room, and the overall vibe of the place.

Location

The Inverness Denver is located just southeast of the city, in Englewood, near the I-25/470 interchange (adjacent to Centennial Airport).

Not only is it located in an active business park, it’s easy to tell (just by looking at it) that it did not start life as a hotel. Why they made absolutely no attempt to make it look like a friendly Hilton during the conversion process is beyond me.

Exterior of the Inverness Denver Hilton golf and spa resort — Welcome to the Inverness Denver! They say that this a Hilton golf and spa resort, but I say it’s a very dated looking hotel that may or may not have originated as the headquarters of a regional telephony company sometime back in the 80s or 90s.

Scott Leazenby walking into the Inverness Denver Hotel and resort — *“$20 says that there’s an active fax machine somewhere on these premises.”*

Walking through the automatic glass doors at the entrance of the Inverness Denver

Walking into the lobby of the Inverness Denver hotel

The lobby (and checking in)

Things start looking more hotel-ish the moment you walk through the main entrance. It’s a beautiful lobby. And a big one at that!

The lobby and reception desk of the Inverness Denver Hotel — OK, now we’re talkin’! The reception desk is up ahead to the right, and one hell of a good looking hotel lobby is straight ahead to the left, the right, up, down, behind, and all around.

Check-in time on my reservation confirmation said 4 PM. I was able to check in at 3 PM with no issues. The process was fast and easy.

They did ask me to fill out a card with my rental car information, although they made no mention of the fact that I would have to pay $15 for parking. I didn’t find that out until the next morning when I checked out.

The Inverness Denver Hotel lobby with lounge seating — Scanning the lobby for fax machines. They could be anywhere.

Looking up to the ceiling while standing in the lobby of the Inverness Denver hotel and resort — The exposed upper floor walkways and large atrium-style windows (on both sides) are beautiful in a slightly vintage / dated sort of way. If only I had a fax machine to spread the word about this place…

Getting to my room

The elevators leading to the guest rooms are located directly across from the reception desk. Don’t be surprised if you get distracted along the way however. There’s a lot to see in this lobby!

Corridors and hallways leading to conference rooms and ballrooms inside of the lobby of the Inverness Denver — Dang it. I should’ve been in my room by now, but I just can’t stop looking to the left, the right, up, down, behind, and all around. This is one of two hallways leading to the conference rooms and ballrooms.

Inside the elevator at the Inverness Denver Hotel and resort — Gathering my thoughts during the long ride up to the 5th floor. *“I guess I kind of forgot how slow these old 1980s corporate-spec elevators were.”*

Remember all of that beautiful natural light down in the lobby? (Anything more I say about that and how it relates to this hallway would be rude I reckon).

Scott Leazenby walking down the 5th floor hallway to his room at the Inverness Denver — That moment when you start to feel like nothing more than a blip of monochrome (and blurry) data being pushed through a dark coax cable out the back of a 1980’s Xerox fax machine. The sooner I find my room the better.

Room 550 the Inverness Denver Hotel — I’ve made it! Room 550 (the room where they used to keep the typewriter ribbons) is mine for the night.

Studio Suite room overview

I booked a Studio Suite for my one night stay, which is a top floor room featuring a balcony and skylights. As you’re about to see, it was well worth the additional cost over a standard room.

My 5th floor studio suite at the Inverness Denver — Holy moly. I knew that I booked a Studio Suite, but I had no idea that it would be as nice as this. Seems as if those quirky angled windows paid off when they converted this place to a hotel!

The living room inside my studio suite in the Inverness Denver hotel — To be honest this feels more like a ski lodge than a golf resort (or the headquarters of a failed 1980s regional telephony company).

Full size couch, artwork, and coffee table in the living room in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver hotel — I especially like how they used actual fax printouts for the artwork. The one on the left looks like something really important.

Layout of my 5th floor studio suite at the Inverness Denver hotel — The bathroom is all the way at the left near the entrance. The bedroom is straight ahead through that door. The spot where the janitors used to sit and get high after work is exactly where I’m standing. Allegedly.

Furniture in the living room of my studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel

Side chair and lamp next to the TV in my studio suite at the Denver Inverness Hotel

The bedroom with King bed in my Studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel — The bedroom. A king bed. An odd placement for the ironing board, but whatever.

TV and desk in my room at the Inverness Denver Hotel — Maybe the toner in the fax machine ran out by the time they got to decorating the bedroom. I don’t know.

Desk and chair in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel — It may not look like much, but I can promise that this desk is nicer the one they had for the interns back in the 1980s. The chair is definitely worse though.

Side table in the bedroom in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel

The bedroom with door to balcony in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel

Two bottles of complementary water were included. There was also a large refrigerator, and a Keurig coffee machine with an assortment of flavored coffee packets.

Refrigerator in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel — Yes! There is a refrigerator in here. Yes! It is cold. Yes! It was a bit hard to find. Yes! I am sad that it’s empty.

Two complementary bottles of water in my room at the Inverness Denver Hotel

Keurig coffee maker in my room at the Inverness Denver Hotel

The balcony (and view)

My favorite part of the Studio Suite was the private balcony. I was fortunate that my room was on the side of that faced the golf course, so it was a pleasant place to sit and watch the action. Unfortunately, both the heat and poor air quality (typical of Denver in the summer) limited my time out there.

Large open air balcony overlooking the golf course in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver Hotel — Honestly? It was kinda hard to *not* feel like royalty perched so high above the golf course like this.

Table and chairs on the balcony in my studio suite at the Inverness Denver hotel — I wouldn’t call these thrones exactly, but it’s still a pretty nice place to sit and judge the gamesmanship of the golfers below. *“You suck! But I’ll admit that you’re better than I am! But still!”*

View of the golf course, driving range, and putting green from my fifth floor studio suite at the Inverness Denver hotel — That’s Centennial Airport off the distance BTW. So even if you have no interest in golf, there are plenty of things to judge while sitting on the balcony. *“Flap setting 2 in these conditions? Somebody isn’t paying attention to this evening’s NOTAMS, that’s for dang sure.”*

View from the top floor of the Inverness Denver Hotel looking towards the west (on the opposite side of the golf course) — This is what the view will look like from the other side of the building. Not so much to judge over here unfortunately.

The bathroom

I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves, but overall it was a typical Hilton-style bathroom with no surprises (or anything icky).

Bathroom sink in my room at the Inverness Denver Hotel — You’re on your own when it comes to the sink though. This looks slippery AF.

Opening the shower curtain leading to the walk-in shower in my bathroom at the Inverness Denver hotel — One must be cautious when pulling back the curtain leading to a dark space in an unfamiliar hotel room. Axe murderers (just like fax machines) could be anywhere.

Full size shower in my studio suite at the Inver Denver Inverness Hotel — I wonder how many people have contemplated giving up golf in this shower?

Showerhead and shower controls in the bathroom in my room at the Inverness Denver hotel

Crabtree soaps, shampoos, and body wash in the shower in my room at the Inverness Denver Hotel

The closet in the bathroom in my room at the Inverness Denver Hotel — The closet (containing two robes, two pairs of slippers, 10 hangers, and a laundry bag). The lack of RJ11 telephone outlets in here makes it one of the most modern spaces in this entire hotel actually.

The breakfast buffet

Breakfast is served from 6:30 AM to 10 AM (7:00 AM to 10 AM on the weekends) in the Garden Terrace restaurant adjacent to the lobby. I arrived at 9 AM on a Tuesday morning, and it was completely empty. I was the only guest in there for a while.

Entrance to the Garden Terrace restaurant at the Inverness Denver — I’m ready for breakfast! Whether or not they’re ready for me is yet to be seen.

Breakfast buffet featuring hot items such as eggs and sausage and potatoes at the Garden Terrace restaurant Inverness Denver Hotel

Breakfast buffet at the Garden Terrace restaurant Inverness Denver Hotel

The quality (and variety) of the breakfast buffet was on point. Probably one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve ever had in a hotel anywhere in the world actually.

Plate of eggs and sausage and potatoes and pancakes from the breakfast buffet at the Inverness Denver Hotel — My breakfast (very similar to what the telecom execs ate right before faxing over the details finalizing the bankruptcy of their company sometime back in the 1990s).

Inside the Garden Terrace restaurant Inverness Denver Hotel — Interestingly enough, it was as dead in here on a Tuesday morning at 9:30 AM as it was the day that old telecom company declared bankruptcy so many years ago. At least I got to enjoy my meal knowing that I still had a job that afternoon.

Pros and cons of staying at the Inverness Denver

Other than the fact that the exterior looks like a vocational technical center (even more so than the outside of the Marriott Dulles Airport), I had a really pleasant one night stay here. Further proof that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, I guess.

Pros

Excellent location with easy access to most everything Denver has to offer.
It’s surprisingly quiet for being located in such a developed area.
The top floor Studio Suites are fantastic. Spacious, quiet, and very comfortable.

Cons

This property is located in the center of a business park with nothing of interest within walking distance. You will have to drive if you want to go shopping, out to eat, etc.
Parking is not free. It cost $15 a night during my visit (August 2026).
Sorry, but you’re not going to win any social media clout by posting pictures of the exterior of this place. It’s a wee bit stale looking.

The Inverness Denver review: Quirky, comfy, and fun (even if you have no interest in golf)