Step Inside Denver’s New Experiential Art Hotel, Acoma House

When Christina and Mike Eisenstein finally got the keys to the 111-year-old Acoma building after admiring it for years, they knew they had a project on their hands. The former boarding house was in major disrepair, but the duo had a vision and know-how from years of renovating local rental properties. Taking inspiration from the creative bent of the surrounding Golden Triangle neighborhood—home to the Denver Art Museum and several galleries—the couple transformed the two-story building into an experiential art hotel called the Acoma House, which opened in June. Each of the hotel’s 24 guest suites features a unique, custom wall mural by a local artist, and Christina designed the interiors around each artist’s chosen color palette and theme. “When you give someone artistic freedom, that’s when you truly see the magic happen,” she says. Here’s how she pulled together four of the suites, which began welcoming guests in the spring. 

HERE COMES THE SUN
Suite 102 | Artist: Romelle

Before selecting each suite’s furnishings and finishes, Christina asked every artist to share the creative vision for the space. “This room’s artist, Romelle, initially wanted a very stark, minimalist look to contrast against her painting,” Christina says. But after outfitting the space with crisp white kitchenette cabinets and bed linens and an ivory-leather-upholstered lounge chair (an affordable replica of the iconic Eames chair, scored on Wayfair), Christina found the room was calling for color and texture. “I tried to pull in some of Romelle’s color palette with a yellow bed frame and a colorful rug,” Christina explains. Overhead track lighting makes the room feel like a gallery where the artist’s colorful, energetic paintings take center stage.

ROMANTIC ESCAPE
Suite 201 | Artist: Joon

Iranian American artist Joon blazoned her trademark bold florals onto every wall (and several doors) of this room. “Joon embodies true romance for me, and her work [feels like] a fairytale,” Christina muses. With its pastel color palette and expressive style, Joon’s mural inspired Christina to imbue the room with a Baroque sensibility. “I wanted to combine this feeling of ornate detail with romantic, antique-like finishes,” she says. A green velvet sofa from Joybird is paired with a set of linen balloon chairs sourced from Wayfair, where Christina also found the bedroom’s chandelier. “I believe in pulling from lots of sources,” she says of her design approach. “Not everything has to be high-end, and not everything has to match.”

SHAPE SHIFTER
Suite 203 | Artist: Johnny Draco

In all of the suites, Christina designed the bathroom before turning over the space to the artist. Here, the salmon-colored bathroom walls inspired artist Johnny Draco to incorporate the same hue into his bold murals throughout the suite, and the shower’s mirrored tile gives his design on the bathroom ceiling a Rorschachian effect. “My art starts with free brushstrokes and movements, and then I expand those with more structured intersecting lines and shapes,” he says. “This creates a unique contrast of colors and shapes that directs the eye to flow around the room.” To complement Draco’s graphic art, Christina selected several accent pieces that sport black-and-white colorways and geometric shapes and patterns.

INTO THE WILD
Suite 212 | Artist: Alexandrea Pangburn

An animal from each state in the West’s four corners region—Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico—adorns the walls of this room, which was inspired by the landscapes artist Alexandrea Pangburn often explores on horseback. “I wanted to keep the style simple but comfortable,” Christina says of her mix of modern and industrial elements, which get Western flair from accents of raw leather and bright blue velvet upholstery. Weathered, industrial pendant lights in the kitchen complement a dramatic backsplash of dark, triangular tile by Montage, and a leather sofa from Article anchors the space.

The Acoma House features more than 140 original murals created by local artists. Nightly rates range from $195-$300 and suites can be reserved at theacomahouse.com.