The Populus Pushes Back Opening Date to October 15

The Populus Hotel is Denver's most anticipated opening of 2024, but those curious about the unusual, eye-catching building on the edge of Civic Center Park will have to wait until next month to see the inside.

Today, September 18, the Populus announced that it plans to open to the public on October 15, after originally offering bookings in September and teasing a late-summer opening date for the two restaurants that are part of the project, Pasque and Stellar Jay. Summer officially ends early on September 22.

The hotel at 240 14th Street is designed to look like an aspen tree. Though many people praise its originality, others say it reminds them of scary things like wasp colonies or the mouth from "Scream" — so maybe opening in the spooky season of fall is more fitting anyway.

The interior of the hotel keeps the aspen theme going. The lobby plays the role of the forest floor with earthy tones, and elevator shafts and hallways serve as the trunk with darker tones; rooms and the rooftop lounge represent the brightness and foliage of leaves. The rooms have few right angles; there are 65 possible furniture arrangements for the 265 rooms.

According to Hannah Corcoran of J. Wade Public Relations, which is helping with communications for the Populus, the hotel is hosting a few private groups before the public opening and working with guests who had booked stays in September to reschedule their visits or find rooms at neighboring properties.

Even those who haven't booked stays are curious about the Populus, which sits on a triangular lot at the edge of downtown Denver. The exterior, built from 365 Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete panels, doesn't look like any other structure in the city.

The building will be the country’s first carbon-positive hotel, according to developer Urban Villages, which says it has planted 70,000 trees in Gunnison County to offset emissions from construction of the Populus; it also used biodegradable and high-quality materials to minimize its environmental impact.

The building was designed by architect Jeanne Gang and her firm, Studio Gang, which has outposts around the globe. Aparium, a national boutique hotel group, will manage the project once it’s finished.

Once it's completed, the Populus will have a spectacular rooftop deck. Stellar Jay will be located there and serve live-fire cuisine and shared plates. Pasque, on the first floor, will serve breakfast, lunch and bar menus. Both restaurants will be open to the general public as well as hotel guests, and will continue the hotel's environmentally friendly theme, promising to source ingredients responsibly and compost all food waste.

Rooms at the Populus will start at $299 a night...once the hotel is finally open.