Staybridge Suites Cherry Creek: Autistic Families & Sensory Considerations

🩺 Written & Medically Reviewed by Dr. Caitlin Goodwin, APRN, CNM, LSSBB

For our neurodivergent family, the Staybridge Suites Cherry Creek hotel is about location, location, location. Nestled in Glendale on the lovely Cherry Creek Trail, it is less than 20 minutes from Downtown Denver. Our autistic kids think the green space and bubbling rapids are a sensory delight. There is rushing, submersible water nearby, so please be careful if your child is at risk of elopement!

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Staybridge Suites CC Family Sensory Considerations

This hotel has plenty of space for large families or long-term residents who want to sprawl, with separate rooms and open areas to “stim.” The kitchen offers the convenience of cooking meals in a private space to address unique dietary challenges.

Note: There is now a daily parking charge.

Sensory Spotlight: The separate bedrooms allowed our son to have a dark, quiet space while the rest of the family stayed in the light, airy living area—a huge win for regulating mood during travel.

Cherry Creek Family Activities & Entertainment

For more activity ideas in Denver, check out our haunted Denver Walking tour.

Sensory Spotlight: Since our son has autism, the green space provided a much-needed escape when the four walls of the hotel room started to feel claustrophobic.

The Cherry Creek Trail parallels the Cherry Creek and is a part of the Colorado Front Range Trail. The accessible path is lined by green cottonwoods, willows, and grasslands. This concrete, 8-foot-wide path offered relaxing strolls along bubbling rapids as we shared the space with bikers and joggers. If you are looking to go for a long walk, continue to the local Four Mile Park.

Pro Tip: The path is shared with fast-moving bikers. Because our son struggles with situational awareness, we had a few close calls—so keep a tight grip on your little ones!

Staybridge Suites for Families

If you’re looking for a short drive to an unforgettable outdoor day trip, check out our sensory-friendly guide on why Red Rocks Park is great for families.

We truly enjoyed the hospitality, spacious accommodations, and spectacular location. The hotel featured an evening reception several days a week, a hot breakfast daily, a fitness center, a laundry room, a fire pit, an outdoor pool, and a hot tub.  The hot tub is available in the winter, which was a nice perk.

The major drawback for our family was the lack of attention to any dietary needs.  They did not seem to understand a gluten-free diet, nor be aware of the risks of cross-contamination.

But when we could manage it, breakfast was easy to grab on the way out to sightsee or conduct business.  You can even score a paper bag to snag a breakfast sandwich on your way out (not gluten-free, unfortunately).

With hot breakfast meat, eggs, waffles, and continental options, we could usually find something to suit our taste.  We stuck with primarily hard-boiled eggs and fruit. It’s always worth double-checking with the front desk about cross-contamination, as hotel staffing and kitchen protocols can change frequently.

From Monday through Wednesday, the hotel hosts an evening reception with wine, beer, soda, and appetizers that often double as dinner.  Each evening offers a different themed meal, such as chicken wings, pizza, baked potatoes, quesadillas, sandwiches, and salads.  From a gluten-free standpoint, we only had salads.  Just a note: Between sensory and dietary restrictions, my son wouldn’t touch anything at the buffet.

What Family-Friendly Dining is in Cherry Creek?

The hotel is across the way from a Target, which provides our groceries and supplies for our full kitchen, including a liquor store. The store is huge and has nearly everything you could ever possibly need.  It’s within walking distance, but we usually buy too much to walk the bags back!

There are several delicious restaurants nearby, such as Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria, which serves authentic Cuban sandwiches, platters with rice and beans, plantains, and empanadas.  They also have a happy hour during the week from 3 to 6 P.M.

If neither of those delicious options floats your boat, just a few minutes down the street is Modern Market, with fresh, local meats and veggies that adorn pizzas, sandwiches, dinner plates, and salads.  Modern Market is our absolute favorite chain restaurant that we have ever experienced, so if you have not yet experienced Mod Market- GO! There is also a Smashburger down the street that offers beef, turkey, and black bean burgers.  As if picking your protein wasn’t challenging, the topping options are limitless. My favorite is Colorado: Grilled green chilies, melted aged cheddar, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato, and mayo sans the bun.

Note for 2026: Sadly, the Jax Fish House location in Glendale closed permanently in late 2025. While we loved their rooftop patio and Monday happy hours, the space is currently vacant.

What wasn’t child-friendly?

The hotel is adjacent to a marijuana dispensary called Emerald Fields.  There are recreational marijuana shops everywhere in Denver.  There is also a strip club, Shotgun Willie’s, on the same block that touts itself as “one of the top gentleman’s clubs in the nation.”  These were potential detractors from an overall decent area.

Pro Tip: If you want to avoid weekend traffic and nearby nightlife crowds, request a room on the North side of the building or closer to the trail entrance for a quieter experience.

Staybridge Suites Cherry Creek: Simplifying Stay

We stayed in a clean, 2-bedroom suite with one king bed, one queen bed, a living area, and a kitchen.   Our room was clean and well-maintained, but the kitchen appliances were older and bare-bones, which made the room look dated.  There is a full-sized refrigerator, a coffee maker, a microwave, a dishwasher, and a cooktop, but no oven.

Check out the prices at Staybridge Suites Cherry Creek, CO.

What does the kitchen provide?

The larger space made it easy to destress after a busy day, and being able to prepare our meals kept public meltdowns to a minimum.  The kitchen includes a full-size fridge, microwave, sink, dishwasher, and coffee maker.  There is no oven, but there is a cooktop with burners.  The lack of a full kitchen was a bit of a disappointment- chicken tenders and French fries are a mainstay for us.

The two-bedroom suite features two full bathrooms, with the first bathroom located directly through the King Bed Suite.  The bathroom is basic and utilitarian but sparkling clean.

This bedroom space was pretty cramped for our needs. The windows let in light during the day to help regulate mood.  However, if your son struggles with sleep like ours does, there are blackout curtains that helped our son sleep past six AM! They are thick and effective at light blocking.

What did the living areas offer families?

This is the living area that seemed a little small for six or eight guests.  The dining table seats only four, and the breakfast bar (not pictured) seats only two.  When we’d lounge on the couch, there was not enough room for our large family.  If you are staying near capacity in this suite, you may run out of space.

The dining room table is puny for the size of the room.  There are only four chairs!  I am not sure where we were supposed to put the rest of our family.  Balancing on sofas and coffee tables is a recipe for disaster for overstimulated children.

Pictured above is the second bedroom, which has two double beds.  If you’re looking for upscale, look elsewhere- the second bathroom looks exactly like the first!  At least for large, messy families like ours, they are well stocked with towels.

Major Drawbacks for Families

If you are looking for a room to sprawl out or dine together, look elsewhere. We usually enjoy Airbnb or VRBO if we need more space.

While we were promised daily housekeeping, there were days when we were skipped entirely.  This was frustrating when we ran out of our towels.  The front desk never provided compensation for the lack of hospitality, either.

Honestly, I was so annoyed by the gentlemen’s club’s proximity to this hotel on weekend nights.  The street for the Staybridge Suites doesn’t have a turning lane. I often had to wait for customers to turn left into Shotgun Willie’s while I just wanted to crawl into my bed after a long day at work.

Autism & Sensory Considerations for Accommodations

We stayed at the Staybridge Suites Cherry Creek for months because its setup is uniquely suited for neurodivergent families. Having a multi-room suite with a separate bedroom made a huge difference for our son. Giving him his own quiet space to decompress and a familiar sense of “home” that helped him maintain his usual routine.

Beyond the room layout, the consistent hospitality meant a lot to us. The staff greeted us by name every time we came through the lobby, and the evening receptions gave us a low-effort dinner option on nights we were too exhausted to go out. For families traveling with sensory needs or autism, having that combination of space, outdoor access, family-friendly entertainment and dining, and a supportive staff makes all the difference.

The in-suite kitchen for managing picky eaters and grab-and-go breakfasts took a lot of the stress out of travel. When we started feeling cooped up, being able to walk right out onto the Cherry Creek trail for a quick outdoor reset was a lifesaver.

What is your favorite family-friendly hotel? Leave your favorite hotel in the comments!

See our post about Staybridge Suites in Stow, Ohio.