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The Ramble Hotel, the first hotel in Denver’s River North Art district, is now open

Death & Co Denver (Credit: Elliott Clark)

Highly anticipated hotel makes its debut in Denver’s Industrial & Artistic RiNo neighborhood.

DENVER – The Ramble Hotel – a locally owned and managed 50-room boutique hotel, and home to the second outpost of famed New York City cocktail institution Death & Co -opens to the public Friday, May 4. The hotel is located in downtown Denver’s pedestrian-friendly River North Art District (RiNo).

The Ramble Hotel, which appeared on myriad most-anticipated hotel opening lists earlier this year, will be home to Death & Co Denver, the first new property of the brand since its inception in the East Village of New York City 11 years ago. At The Ramble Hotel, Death & Co will live as the marquee lobby bar, and the Death & Co team will drive other guest experiences pertaining to food and beverage at the hotel, including DC/AM, a cafe bar serving breakfast and lunch; Suite 6A, a 20-seat bar featuring an immersive cocktail experience; and The Garden, an outdoor courtyard bar. Additionally, The Ramble Hotel is home to Vauxhall, an intimate music venue, theatre and bar, and Super Mega Bien, an independent pan-Latin restaurant from James Beard-nominated Chef, Dana Rodriguez.

Hotel founder Ryan Diggins is behind many notable development projects in Denver, most recently 25th & Larimer, a mixed-use complex made entirely of shipping containers, located directly across the street from The Ramble Hotel.

“Not only are two of our most recent developments located in RiNo, but our office always has been as well,” said Diggins. “The neighborhood is fertile ground for artists and creative entrepreneurs, and we hope we’ve created a space where travelers and locals can personally experience the art, authenticity and ambition that make RiNo so great.”

The Ramble Hotel draws inspiration from French Salons of the 17th century and the Salon’s utility in society as not only a platform for the exchange of ideas, but as a catalyst to creating community. And, while its name embodies the escapism and exploration travel can induce by embracing its literal definition, “to walk for pleasure without a definite route,” “Ramble” is also a derivative of Madame Rambouillet, a 17th century French salon host known for her egalitarian community gatherings that spurred raucous conversation. 

In keeping with its namesake, each space within the hotel has been designed with the intent to foster meaningful conversation, engagement and interaction among guests – with acute attention given to furniture and seating layouts, and with hospitality and service at the forefront. To further define its hospitality experience, The Ramble Hotel forged a partnership with Death & Co, one of the most significant and influential bars to emerge from the current craft cocktail revival. As part of the partnership, all food and beverage – as well as hospitality experiences – at the hotel will be driven by Death & Co.

“At the conception of this project, I actually wasn’t focused on building a hotel; instead, I wanted to create a dynamic community gathering space complemented by a level of all-day hospitality that wasn’t prevalent in Denver at the time,” said Diggins. “I knew we needed a third-party, best-in-class operator to help bring the vision to life – one that felt as strongly about intimate and personalized service as I did. Death & Co – with its unmatched authority and knowledge in the cocktail and hospitality space, culture that recruits the nation’s best talent and proven ability to create intimate bar settings – was the perfect fit.”

“We’ve always believed that what makes the Death & Co brand special is more than just our little bar in the East Village,” says Death & Co Co-Owner, Ravi DeRossi. “Death & Co has resonated so well with our guests because it serves cocktails with passion and attentive hospitality in a uniquely democratic setting. It’s this energy that we’re excited to express in so many dynamic ways. Death & Co Denver is an evolution from where we began years ago, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring that energy to Denver’s thriving food and drink scene.”

Death & Co Hospitality Experiences at The Ramble Hotel
Evening service in the lobby is the preeminent Death & Co experience at The Ramble Hotel. Like its New York flagship, but with a completely new and unique menu, Death & Co Denver offers warm hospitality, attentive, full-table service, knowledgeable staff and uncompromising quality. The Death & Co cocktail menu, led and developed by Beverage Director, Tyson Buhler, features cocktails that rotate seasonally and are presented in a colorful, imaginative tone, chockful of libations organized by drink experience.

Additional Death & Co-operated sub-properties are woven throughout the hotel, and feature a variety of hospitality experiences, offered from early morning through late evening. Executive Chef Wes Hamilton will offer an ingredient-driven and seasonal menu of snacks, small plates and large group offerings that complement Death & Co’s beverage program. These experiences include:

  • DC/AM – A neighborhood hub for morning and early afternoon, DC/AM features signature provisions in a bright and welcoming environment. Guests can start their day with high-quality coffee from Denver-based MiddleState – Death & Co’s exclusive coffee partner – tea, or cold press juices, and a full menu of food selections that includes pastries, toasts, bowls and sandwiches.
  • The Garden – A fun, lively, and informal gathering place for sunny afternoons and warm evenings, The Garden places an emphasis on casual presentation and sessionable serves. Drinks will have pops of color, leaning on refreshing flavor combinations, while the food takes inspiration from modern Middle Eastern fare. (Opening early May.)
  • Suite 6A – This intimate, mezzanine-level bar takes inspiration from the highly personalized service of Death & Co's first location and elevates it to an immersive cocktail journey. The space seats 20 guests at a time, either via pre-booked reservations or walk-in. The menu is comprised of highly creative cocktails utilizing rare ingredients and unique presentations, alongside a curated menu of small plates. (Opening late May.)
  • Vauxhall – Featuring its own, private street-side entrance off of Larimer Street, Vauxhall is a flexible theater space with a dedicated bar that offers guests and locals a repertoire of regular events – all programmed through The Ramble Hotel – including film, live performance, comedy, art exhibitions and more.
  • In-Room Dining – Death & Co offers morning room service, which consists of a limited menu of breakfast selections, Middle State Coffee and August Uncommon Teas.  Each room also includes a fully-curated bar.

Guestrooms
Guestrooms at The Ramble Hotel are designed to feel residential, incorporating elements such as hardwood floors, custom, antique rugs, plush bedding and more. The hotel worked with an industry-leading acoustical engineer to design wall and window systems that thoroughly insulate guests from noises emanating from the city and/or adjacent rooms, ensuring each guest can relax and enjoy a good night’s sleep. All 50 guestrooms, regardless of room type, feature the following:

  • Wide plank hickory flooring
  • Antique Persian rugs (hand-picked by the hotel’s founder)
  • French press coffee makers, with beans ground daily from Denver small-batch roaster, MiddleState
  • Curated mini bar from Death & Co, and a hard cover copy of Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails
  • Custom furniture from Denver-based steel fabricators and woodworkers
  • Television streaming (from a guest’s phone direct to the 50-inch television)
  • High-performance, operable windows
  • Plush pillow-top mattresses
  • Custom throws from Paris-based Khadi & Co.
  • Custom, house blend Rosemary Mint bath products
  • Victrola Bluetooth gramophone speaker
  • Custom built-in makeup vanities with dimmable bulb lighting
  • Plush, spa-grade robes
  • Brass key access, with custom leather key pouch (as opposed to electronic key access)

Design
The Ramble Hotel’s intended permanence as a fixture in the neighborhood is evident throughout the project. The edifice features a high level of detailed masonry, not usually found in new build projects. Designed by Denver-based Johnson Nathan Strohe (JNS), the building’s architecture balances RiNo’s industrial nature and au courant style, using materials that are traditional and of lasting quality, but curated with a refreshed, avant-garde look fitting for a modern, boutique hospitality experience. Sprung Construction played an integral role in not only building the structure, but also in developing architectural and design solutions that married the hotel’s high design aesthetic with the industrial nature of the RiNo neighborhood.

Los Angeles-based Avenue Interior Design (Avenue ID) directed the interior design concept, including all public spaces and guestrooms. Design at The Ramble Hotel integrates industrial elements with eclectic “found” elements, and soft, luxurious fabrics that highlight patterns and texture. Based in Toronto and Los Angeles, AAmp Studio acted as a brand design consultant for Death & Co, ensuring the brand’s aesthetic was showcased throughout each of the hotel’s outlets.  Denver-based NINE dot ARTS curated the hotel's art collection, including the guestrooms and public spaces that exclusively feature artwork from Denver artists, many of whom have studios in the RiNo neighborhood. The art program at The Ramble Hotel embraces the definition of the verb, “to ramble,” reflecting a timeless, relaxed elegance while engaging with the creativity and vitality of RiNo.

Branding was completed by Studio Mast. Principal, Travis Ladue, cross-referenced countless maps of varying ages to find the location of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Ramboouillet’s original Paris salon before discerning it was located in the current location of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, outside the Louvre. Today, if you stand in the right spot, you can see the Louvre Pyramid, built by I.M. Pei in 1989, through the arc. This visual informed the logo for the hotel (a pyramid located through three arches). From there, custom typefaces were created that combined slab-style serif – which draws a western connotation – with unique divots found in Parisian type.

“This project is about believing in a vision, taking risks and challenging the conventional hospitality model,” said Diggins. “Remaining independently branded and managed provides us with the best chance to evolve at the speed of Denver. We place a very high value on flexibility and autonomy, and feel it gives The Ramble Hotel the best opportunity to remain culturally relevant, not only for the opening, but for years to come.”

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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