The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa is downtown Denver’s grand triangular landmark, welcoming guests since 1892 with a soaring stained-glass atrium, afternoon tea, historic bars and a guest list that includes presidents and the Beatles.

Named for original owner Henry C. Brown and designed by architect Frank Edbrooke, the hotel was built of sandstone and red granite on a triangular lot bounded by 17th Street, Broadway and Tremont Place. It is one of the first atrium-style hotels ever built and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its history reads like a who’s who of the twentieth century: President Theodore Roosevelt visited in 1905 and returned in 1912, Woodrow Wilson became the first U.S. president to stay in 1919, Margaret Tobin Brown was a regular, Dwight D. Eisenhower used the hotel as his “Western White House” during his Colorado visits in the 1950s, and the Beatles caused a frenzy when they stayed in 1964. The hotel even rolls out the red carpet for the National Western Stock Show’s prizewinning cattle, a lobby tradition that began in 1945.

Today the Brown Palace has 243 rooms and suites, six restaurants and bars, a boutique spa and salon, and hotel history tours. You don’t have to stay the night to enjoy it. Afternoon Tea is served beneath the stained-glass ceiling of the Atrium Lobby Monday through Friday from noon to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the space turns into a cocktail lounge Tuesday through Saturday evenings from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. Ship Tavern, opened in the years after Prohibition with nautical antiques, is a classic spot for dinner and a drink, while the Churchill Bar and Palace Arms round out the dining. The hotel is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, and reservations are recommended for tea, especially around the holidays.

See Afternoon Tea, holiday traditions, live music and spa offers on The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa website for Denver, CO.