Cortez: where to stay when you visit Canyons of the Ancients
Cortez, Colorado provides the closest access to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. I have visited this National Monument twice now and have stayed at two different hotels in the area. These are my recommendations for where to stay in Cortez for your visit to this amazing monument.
Where to stay on your visit to Cortez
Cortez is the gateway to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. This National Monument contains the highest concentration of known archaeological sites in the entire country. The monument is quite spread out, so staying in Cortez provides access to the northern and southern stretches of the monument. You can also visit the Ute Mountain Casino Hotel just to the south of Cortez if you want to do some gambling while here. Cortez is also just 15 minutes away from the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, so it also makes sense to stay here when visiting Mesa Verde. These are my hotel recommendations in Cortez based off where I have stayed.
Best Western Turquoise Inn & Suites
I recommend checking out the Best Western Turquoise Inn & Suites. This is where I stayed on my first visit to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. This hotel is moderately priced and provides quick access to the monument. The hotel also has a really nice seasonal outdoor swimming pool and an amazing indoor hot tub. The indoor hot tub is huge and has a really neat waterfall feature. The hotel also has breakfast so you can eat some food before venturing into the monument.
From this hotel, you are also just a 25-minute drive to Sutcliffe Vineyards, which is a winery that is absolutely worth the visit when you are in Cortez. Since I did not know I would be starting a travel blog at the time, I unfortunately did not get any photos of my room. You can view photos, rates, and availability for the Best Western here.
Baymont by Wyndham Cortez
On my second visit to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, I stayed at the Baymont by Wyndham Cortez. This was also a great place to stay with a unique indoor pool and heart shaped hot tub. This hotel also had breakfast available for getting in some nourishment before hiking in the monument all day. The biggest downside of this property when I visited was that the pool and hot tub were overrun with families with small children, so there was not any room for an adult to relax.
This was slightly remedied by the fact that I was able to book a room with a jacuzzi tub. This made me miss visiting the hot tub a little less as I was able to soak in a decent sized tub within my own room. This property is also within walking distance of Destination Grill, which is a great restaurant/bar where you can grab some food or just enjoy a cocktail before heading back to your room to crash for the night. Again, since I did not know I would be starting a travel blog at the time, I did not get photos of the hotel or my room, but you can see photographs as well as rates and availability here.
