DEN Airport

Sleigh the Layover at Denver International Airport

This holiday season there’s a special airport lounge for Santa and other busy travelers at Denver International Airport (DEN).

And you don’t need airline status or a special invitation to gain entry into Santa’s Layover Lounge at DEN.

Instead, it’s a holiday pop-up bar open to all temporarily taking over an existing bar on the mezzanine level in the center core of DEN’s concourse B.

Stop by and you’ll find Santa’s Layover Lounge decorated for the holiday season with festive decor, reindeer, a giant snowman and Buddy the Elf.

The menu includes holiday-themed cocktails such as the Winter Wonderland Cosmo, the Gingerbread Old Fashioned, the Polar Expresso Martini, the Feliz Navidad (made with tequila, agave, apple cider and cinnamon), the Mule-Tide Carol and the Pa Rum Pa Rum Punch.

There’s also a decadent hot chocolate bar with a buffet of toppings that includes peppermint and gingerbread syrup, Christmas sprinkles, whipped cream and tiny marshmallows.

Menu options at Santa’s Layover Lounge at DEN include breakfast sandwiches, sandwiches and personal-sized pizzas named for (but not made of) Santa’s dedicated team of reindeer.

Santa has been stopping by the pop-up lounge during his pre-Christmas travels. We just missed him on Tuesday but got a tip from one of Santa’s elves that he’ll be back on December 23rd from 4-6 pm.

Santa’s Layover Lounge at Denver International Airport is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Oktoberfest at Denver Int’l Airport

We’re into Oktoberfest season and Denver International Airport is celebrating with the 6th annual “Beer Flights” beer garden through September 22.

The beer garden is set up on the DEN plaza, which is located between the Westin and the south entrance to the Jeppesen Terminal. Hours are from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. daily through September 22.

Entry tickets are $10 and include a souvenir glass to taste up to 20, 2-ounce samples of beer from 12 Colorado breweries. Each brewery has two beers to sample.

  • • Avery Brewing – Rocky Mountain Rose, Hazyish IPA
  • • Boulder Brewing – Shake Chocolate Porter, Mojo IPA
  • • Breckenridge Brewery – Strawberry Kolsch, Agave Wheat
  • • Colorado Cider Company – Glider Cider, Grasshop-ah
  • • Denver Beer Company – Juicy Freak IPA, Incredible Pedal
  • • Great Divide Brewing – Yeti Imperial Stout, Hercules Double IPA
  • • Left Hand Brewery – Milk Stout Nitro, Flamingo Dreams
  • • New Belgium Brewing – Trippel, Mountain Time Premium Lager
  • • Odell Brewing – Drumroll IPA, Sippin Pretty Fruited Sour
  • • Tivoli Brewery – Bohemian Girl, Brut
  • • Upslope Brewing – Rocky Mountain Kolsch, Snow Melt
  • • Wibby Brewing – Lightshine Helles, Moondoor Dunkel

Participating brewers have giveaways for attendees and there’s live music daily from 4 to 6 p.m.

The beer garden is outside of security, so if you partake just be sure to keep an eye on the departure time of your flight and leave plenty of time to get through security,