Grand Z Hotel Casino, Central City, Colorado. Rated ★★☆☆☆
The price was right, and the hotel room was fine. Clean comfy beds, empty fridge for leftovers, everything in the room was adequate. I chose it because of the price and because it was midway between Glenwood Springs and Rocky Mountain National Park. Otherwise, this was the most family unfriendly motel I’ve ever visited. I know they will blame it on the gaming commission and the risk of losing their license, but I’ve stayed in casinos in other states (Nevada, Arizona) that didn’t feel as outwardly hostile to kids. They had pools and restaurants and breakfast and other entertainment and went out of the way to be nice to my kid. As you enter, there are lots of 21+ signs. The garage opens on the second floor and you have to make your way to the hotel desk which is on another floor. The desk staff treated me with my kid as second class citizens, leading with the big red map of where we were and weren’t allowed to go. All but one of the restaurants is off limits. They were honestly unfriendly and if I hadn’t paid already I would have walked out at that point. Instead I signed the required child disclaimer (first thing they presented me with, with no apology) and checked in. The room, as I said, was adequate. Nicer in fact than some others I stayed in on this trip that were a lot more expensive. For dinner, I exited the hotel, and the town, and the local area and drove about half an hour to another small local community more deserving of my money. As far as I am concerned casinos are just legalized theft, and should be shut down. Failing that, realize that some of your guests have kids, and don’t treat us like we don’t deserve to be there. If you’re considering staying here as a family, don’t. Maybe the other motels in town and in Black Hawk are friendlier, I don’t know. Best to avoid the entire area.