Loews Denver Hotel sold; renovation closure planned

The Loews Denver Hotel near Cherry Creek has been sold and is expected to temporarily close next month for renovations undertaken by its new owners.

The 183-room hotel — rated four diamonds by AAA — is accepting reservations for stays through Feb. 22; the new ownership will close the property after that date to start an extensive overhaul expected to take a few months, said Wyatt Fee, general manager of Loews Denver.

The 11-story hotel, at 4150 E. Mississippi Ave., which features Tuscany restaurant, was put on the market in 2010 by New York City-based Loews Hotels & Resorts.

The Chicago-based Hyatt hotel chain is believed to have bought the property. Hyatt, which owns hotels under several Hyatt brands, hasn’t commented on the transaction.

Financial terms for the acquisition aren’t known. The property, at the edge of Glendale and south of the Cherry Creek shopping district, was predicted to fetch as much as $20 million when it was put up for sale.

Loews bought the hotel in 1989 for $5 million from a partnership headed by Jack Naiman of The Naiman Co. of Denver, according to Arapahoe County property records. The hotel was built in 1986, and previously was called long was called the Loews Giorgio Hotel.

Loews Denver Hotel employees have been offered positions at other Loews resorts around the country, the nearest of which is in Tucson, Ariz., Fee said.

“Loews is growing like crazy overall, even though it’s selling here,” he said.

The hotel is alongside, but separate from, the Rocky Mountain Tower office building, nicknamed by locals the Darth Vader building because of its resemblance to the "Star Wars" villain. The tower is sometimes mistaken for the hotel because it carries a Loews sign.

Greg Avery covers tech, telecom, aerospace and bioscience for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Boosters, Bits & Bioscience" blog. Phone: 303-803-9222.

Reported by:  The Denver Business Journal