The Brown Palace - Holiday Decor, Atrium Cocktails & Apps

This past weekend, denv.her. was invited back to The Brown Palace to enjoy cocktails, appetizers, & their stunning holiday décor in the hotel’s atrium.

We had never seen the Brown Palace’s Christmas decorations and could not wait to see them! We had seen the decor posted all over social media and let me tell you something readers, the pictures can’t even begin to capture how spectacular the Brown Palace looks. The hotel spares no expense during the holiday season and their nine-story atrium is an absolute Christmas dream.

Giant evergreen garland dances across the second story balcony arches accompanied by a plethora twinkling lights, white winter accents & a lovely Christmas tree placed in the center of the lobby.

All of these decorations are breathtaking but simply complement the big decor daddy of them all, the Brown Palace’s 25 foot chandelier. That’s right readers, a whopping 25 FEET. & this chandelier is not just massive in size, it’s a REMARKABLE piece of art.

The chandelier is donned with yards & yards of beading, 100,000 lights and over 4,000 ornaments. My neck legit started to hurt halfway through enjoying our cocktails because I kept finding myself staring up at it! I couldn’t’ help myself! It’s an incredible piece and if you have never gotten a chance to see it in person, add it to your bucket list.

Absolutely incredible.

After we thoroughly admired all the holiday decorations, we got to check out the Brown Palace’s three restaurants – Ellyngton’s, Palace Arms, & Ship Tavern.

Palace Arms is a beautiful upscale fine dining destination with historical artifacts decorating the space. Make sure to check out Napoleon Bonaparte’s pistol and also some gorgeous wall-paper that can only be found at the Brown Palace and at the Lourve in Paris.

Ellyngton’s is where you can find the Brown Palace’s decadent and boozy Dom Pérignon Champagne Brunch (YES PLEASE).

Also keep in mind the Brown Palace boasts a swanky lounge for cigars and cocktails called Churchill’s. If you’re ever looking to unwind, Churchill’s is the place for you!

Once we were done checking out the restaurants & cigar bar, we were seated for cocktails and appetizers in the atrium.

The resident jazz band began to play & this group of musicians has been with The Brown Palace for 10+ years (just another testament to how loved this hotel is by their patrons and employees). The jazz band plays every afternoon in the atrium from 4:30 to 7:30 - from Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, we were treated to an array of tunes and if you have a request, the band is more than eager to take it & play it!

We’ve mentioned the Brown Palace staff in our Afternoon Tea post, but have to mention them again - the service at the Brown Palace is impeccable The staff is SO on top of their game and never misses a beat when taking you through the history of the hotel or going into detail about their drink & food options. Huge thanks to Udit & Jennifer for hosting us once again! Shout out to Jessica, Kaitlin & Sandy for phenomenal cocktail service!

For our first cocktails, the Sophisticate and the Lady Grey 75 were recommended.

The Sophisticate is combination of Ketel One Citroen, Red Raspberry Rose Syrup, fresh Lemon Juice, & Sparkling Rosé. This cocktail is then adorned with a red rose petal making for a beautiful pink drink! This was Treslyn's favorite!

The Lady Grey 75, is made with Lillet Blanc, Palace Grey Tea Syrup, Lavender, fresh Lemon Juice, and Champagne. This cocktail is a beautiful canary yellow and tastes like candy! The Lady Grey 75 was hands down my favorite.

For our second round of cocktails, we tried the Vieux Carre and the Spectre.

The Vieux Carre is a combination of Bulleit Rye, Hennessey VS Congac, and Angostura Bitters which is then garnished with an orange peel. This is a great cocktail for the whiskey fans out there.

The Spectre was a super refreshing cocktail featuring Leopold’s Navy Strength Gin, Colorado Vodka, Kina l’Aero d’Or, Orange Bitters and then garnished with a sprig of rosemary.

As we sipped on our second round of cocktails, it was time for some appetizers #bringthemon! Per the staff’s recommendations, we chose the Lamb Meatballs, Crab Cakes and the Caramelized Onion Rings.

The Lamb Meatballs…guys…THE LAMB MEATBALLS. SO, SO, SO GOOD. I can’t. Legit we could eat these all day every day. The meatballs are served with an incredible winter squash sauce, arugula, toasted seed, and feta. We can’t wait to visit the Brown Palace again and order more of these bad boys.

The Crab Cakes were very good and are coated in honey pecan panko breading then served with crème fraiche, roe, and pickled radish.

The Carmelized Onion Rings are H-U-G-E. So if you’re a big onion fan, this is the app for you.

Coming in hot the size of donuts, these caramelized onion rings are served with the Brown Palaces house ketchup and mustard. This appetizer is definitely for sharing and packs a great taste between the fried exterior to  the natural sweet caramelized interior.

To finish off the evening, we had two glasses of champagne, took in the holiday decor, and enjoyed the jazz band. We cannot think of a better way we could have spent our Saturday evening! Thank you Brown Palace!!!

So have you visited the Brown Palace lately? Make your reservation for cocktails in their atrium today! We’ll see you there!

xoxo denv.her.