While I love supporting independent businesses, including hotels and motels, there is something good and reliable about staying at a well-known chain. Namely, it’s the consistency of standards and the ability to have an increased chance of recourse if things go wrong. I travel a lot with my other site, RealFoodTraveler.com, and am both picky and understanding when it comes to my lodging experiences. That’s why I welcomed the opportunity to have a Colorado staycation at a new Marriott Bonvoy / Residence Inn property, Apiary Hotel Belleview Station, in the Denver Tech Center area. Brand new as of February 2026, it’s one of only four “lifestyle” extended stay concepts in the U.S. and the only one of its type in the neighborhood. Both my acceptance and pickiness came into play during our hosted Colorado Stays visit.
The Apiary Hotel embraces the world of bees in numerous, clever ways. Come this summer, they’ll have hives on the rooftop which will, hopefully, supply some of the honey-centric food and drink items they serve in the two food and drink concepts, June Gap Market & Café and Keepers Cocktail Lounge. More on those, below.
But first, let me just say that, in total fairness, we visited Apiary within just a few days of it opening. And considering that, they had their act together. The property is beautiful, inside a sleek, new building that houses both the hotel rooms and residences. The décor is tailored and elegant without being pretentious. We appreciated many of the touches in the lobby alone, like decorator items and green corduroy-upholstered chair backs in the lounge area.
Honey-honoring Food & Drink at Apiary Hotel
A two-sided fireplace helps visually divide the two halves of the main floor. On one side, there’s a specious lounge of tables and chairs, including a dramatic wooden community table, perfect for enjoying a drink or snack from June Gap Market & Café. Or to get some work done, as we did. That area is just adjacent to where an ample breakfast buffet is served every morning, included in every room rate.
June Gap’s “Café” part serves smoothies, baked goods, Bonfire burritos (available all day and toasted up), the Avocado Smash (with toasted sourdough, avocado, red onion, togarashi, lemon zest and flax seed) for $13. Some food items are served from 6-11am and others are served all day. From 11am-9pm, they have a variety of paninis and flatbreads (I will return for the $15 Spicy Honey Flatbread with goat cheese, fennel pollen, Calabrian clove honey, arugula and pickled onion). There are also salads and a Harvest Bowl ($12) with roasted sweet potato, cauliflower, baby kale, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, sunflower seed, purple cabbage and honey-Dijon dressing.
Beverage-wise, I became addicted to the Bee’s Knees drink, a double shot of espresso, steamed oat milk and orange blossom honey, decorated with a stenciled beehive pattern of cinnamon. Seriously, I will make a point of stopping at June Gap whenever I am in the area for that cup of cozy deliciousness! They have other, more standard coffee drinks too like a London Fog, Chai Tea and Matcha Latte.
The “Market” part of the June Gap Market & Café is one of the things that makes it one of those rare “lifestyle” properties. Because this is an extended stay hotel, with fully-stocked kitchenettes in every guest room, it’s such a convenience for guests to grab a cute wire basket and make their way around the small market, grabbing some essentials (I’m talking to you, bottle of wine and bag of chips) and it’s really nice to have items like pasta, frozen quiche and whole, frozen pies. And, yes, I think it would be lovely to have the aroma of a freshly-baked pie in my hotel room!
This isn’t the usual wall of incidentals many hotels have – this IS a tiny market. I wouldn’t be surprised if office workers from nearby buildings don’t stop in to pick up a few things before heading home. Get the Bees Knees too, people, I implore you!
By the way, and fun fact to pull out at your next cocktail party, “June Gap” refers to the brief time in summer when bees rely on what they’ve gathered “reminding us to savor what sustains us,” as the website says. More bee and honey love.
On the other side of the lobby is Keeper’s Cocktail Lounge serving small bites starting at 4pm. We went there as the day was waning and watched the change of natural light give way to moody interior lighting. Both were pretty, taking advantage of colorful glass votives on every table, a beautiful pearlescent coffee table, marble bar and gorgeous, dramatic brassy-glass light fixture over that bar – the better to light the way for the bartenders to create some rather complex drinks.
Our server told us the cocktail menu offers twists on classics, many including honey in some way. We had the Navy Grog ($16) with Flor de Cana 4-year rum and Appleton Estate rum, clover honey, grapefruit, lime and club soda and the Penumbra ($17) with George Dickel 13-year whiskey, spent espresso, tobacco bitters and alderwood smoke.
Keepers’ food menu is a nice size with selections like The Honey Flight ($16) with (very) crisp fruit-nut bread crackers, wedges of brie and three small jars of different kinds of Bjorn’s local honey, each with their own honey-server-stick. The brie should have been room temperature to make it more spreadable and more flavorful. And too much honey was provided – despite drizzling on ample amounts, we still wasted a lot which we hated, seeing as how honey is such a precious thing. Hopefully they’ll cut back on the amounts provided but we did enjoy tasting the differences between the three. To the Avocado Chop Salad ($17), we added a grilled salmon filet ($8) for protein. Not a traditional “chopped salad” appearance, cherry tomato, date, almond, flax seed and goat cheese were beneath a bed of mesclun mix and baby arugula. The salad was nicely and lightly dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. The avocado in the name, came from green goddess dressing on the side, intended, I assume, to augment the vinaigrette with something a little thicker. An order of three Smashburger Sliders ($17) were a positive surprise. They weren’t the typical smashed-and-fried burger with a thin patty and lacy edges. They were thick with more meat than usual sliders, with caramelized onion, white cheddar, dill pickle and aioli on soft potato buns. The caramelized onions were a great touch because of their slight sweetness. In fact, they inspired me to add a little drizzle of some of the honey from the honey flight (so as to waste less), which was an excellent addition – sweet and savory. The only thing I’d add is a small handful of potato chips to warrant the price a little more.
The complimentary breakfast is served in a room off the lobby lounge. Better than most hotel buffets, they had chafing dishes of scrambled eggs, sausage and pre-made breakfast sandwiches; a good variety of bread products and a big toaster that can handle multiple people’s items; a variety of fresh juices; oatmeal, yogurts and a nice collection of toppings for both including toasted coconut, walnuts and pepita seeds (way beyond the usual raisins).
We would have been perfectly fine with the offerings there but really had our eyes on the breakfast burrito and avocado toast at June Gap. Good thing you can get some things from the buffet and also order from the café. Nice.
The Guestrooms at Apiary Hotel Belleview Station
Here I’ve gone on and on about Apiary Hotel and I haven’t even left the main floor (which, by the way, also has a well-equipped fitness room and guest laundry).
There are six floors of guest rooms, ranging from studios to suites. We stayed in an L-shaped suite which has plenty of room – a kitchen, small dining table/desk, loveseat, separate bedroom, “fainting couch,” small closet and dresser and desk area. If you like really spacious rooms, and I mean with a lot of space, this is the configuration for you. The main room is very open but doesn’t feel particularly cozy. The bedroom is cozier but the placement of the TV means you have to turn your head to the side to watch and it would make working at the desk awkward. The bathroom is just the right size with good lighting and high-quality toiletries. We always appreciate a hotel that offers both an overhead spray and hand-spray. And the towels are on the large size too, which is a plus.
I got to tour a few other sizes of rooms that were all smaller than the one we stayed in. Whether queen or king-size rooms, they were cozy but still offered everything you’d need including the full-size kitchen, a desk/table, loveseat and big bed. Note: some of the rooms face neighboring office buildings and/or their parking garages. But there are rooms that have clear, expansive views so be sure to ask for one when you book your room.
When we visited, as I mentioned, they had only been open a few days and there were a smattering of things to be taken care of like a couple of electric outlets in the kitchen that weren’t live or reading lights that weren’t yet placed into the headboard – but all of those things will have, I’m sure, been taken care of since our visit. Again, this is where I fall back on the fact that Apiary is part of a major hotel group – they have high standards and I have every confidence they’ll meet expectations.
It was good to have staffers ask for our opinions about various things and welcome our feedback. The staff is friendly and top-notch and clearly wants to make sure Apiary Hotel is up to, and exceeds, standards.
A word about parking – when we visited, short-term parking wasn’t available yet. There was only valet parking ($55 for overnight guests) and free parking on the street. The Light Rail station is a very short walk away though so ask about the parking situation when making your reservation and then decide whether valet, street or light rail will be your choice.
If you want to venture out, there are multiple places to dine, a beer garden and entertainment within walking distance. And Park Meadows Mall and IKEA are a short drive away too for a shopping fix. But, with multiple places and ways to eat and drink, a way to get some exercise, and comfy rooms, Apiary is a honey of a place to call home – however long you stay.
Apiary Hotel is located at 4855 S. Quebec St., Suite 150 in Denver. Learn more on their website and you can book here using your favorite hotel reservations tool.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, InGoodTasteDenver.com
Please note, we were hosted at Apiary Hotel to help facilitate this article. However, as is always the case with the writers and editors of In Good Taste Denver, that doesn’t sway our commitment to providing our readers with an honest and objective opinion of our experience. To learn more, visit our Partner With Us page.
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