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Okay, so you’re not a rock star, Hollywood legend, or U.S. president, but you probably wouldn’t mind living like one. But with budgets tight, even going out to eat can feel lavish–and international jet-setting is out of the question. The solution? Live the rock-star life vicariously–starting Saturday at the Brown Palace. The famed Denver hotel conducts twice-weekly tours that put a life of fame and fortune just an arm’s length away. If you make it tomorrow, here are the high-rolling highlights you can expect.
Name-dropping: On the tour, you’ll swing by rooms where The Beatles, Oprah, Steven Spielberg, and every U.S. president since Theodore Roosevelt (with the exception of Calvin Coolidge and Barack Obama) have stayed. That should give you permission to rightfully claim that you frequent the same hotel as these celebs.
A Good Scandal: The Brown Palace opened in 1892, so it’s been witness to a lot of gossip-worthy history–just the stuff stars revel in. Your tour guide will share plenty of anecdotes, including a juicy one about an underground tunnel connecting the hotel to the nearby Navarre building, which used to be a brothel.
The Famous Immortalized in Architecture: You may not see carved busts on the tour, but check out the profile of hotel founder Henry C. Brown etched into the stone near the Broadway entrance, or a dent in the fireplace mantel of the Eisenhower suite, caused by ol’ Ike himself.
Tea Fit for the Queen: Take a peek at a Brown Palace tradition, afternoon tea, when you pass through the atrium. All the fancy china, classical music, scones, and Devonshire cream make this practically a royal occasion.
Drinks at Ship Tavern: After you’ve soaked up the Brown Palace’s intrigue and grandeur for free (there’s no charge for the tour), take your saved cash to Ship Tavern‘s bar. There you can hunker down in a plush leather chair and enjoy $3 happy hour specials that run daily from 2-4:30 p.m.
Tours are available Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and last about 45 minutes.