While not the most obvious hang out for a hipster, sometimes even the hip have got to get away to some obscure bar that’s part of a hotel in a time and place that you’ve probably never heard of.

While the Cruise Room Martini Bar is no secret, it does maintain a level of low-profile coziness traditionally hard to come by while drinking in downtown Denver. Just off the lobby of the Oxford Hotel through an unassuming glass door lies one of Denver’s oldest bars, fully equipped with red lighting, free jukebox tunes and martinis to cap off a night or to begin a conversation with a mysterious stranger.

Located at 1600 17th Street near Union Station, be sure to wear your spatz and a string of pearls because The Cruise Room was the first bar to reopen after Prohibition in the 1930s and its art-deco decor can speak to the atmosphere’s staying power.

Bathed in an eerie red glow and based off the Queen Mary cruise ship, the walls are lined with different language paintings encouraging patrons to drink and be merry.

A juke box plays in the corner, with a soundtrack that consists predominantly of jazz and swing tunes. It’s hard not to wonder whether you’ve gone back in time.

With servers adorned in black and white formal attire, and McCormick’s fish house right next door, the Cruise Room is a place where the fine dining is nearby and the drinks are strong. You can order food from next door and servers will bring it promptly.

It’s the martinis, however,  that keep the hip and not-so-hip coming back to the Cruise Room time and time again. The Cruise Room serves up a strong, pricy, drink menu complete with a Vanilla Bean martini, a St. Germain cocktail and the Fresca Martini with the distinct and classy flavor of grapefruit.

While most martinis cost between $8-12, the waiter not only brings your martini in an elegant glass, but an additional glass filled with the rest of your mixed drink, ice and a strainer on top. It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re paying a pretty penny for not one, but two martinis.

Occasionally, the wait staff will come by and top off your drink. While indulging in the Vanilla Bean martini, not too sweet and topped with a cherry, it’s hard not to feel like you’ve acquired some degree of highclass status in the world.
Quiet murmurs of conversation and light jazz serenade your ears while you sip at a fancy martini, vaguely wondering when Jack Torrance will meet Lloyd the Bartender in some Red Rum nightmare of excitement and 1920s classic terror. However, the bartenders at the Cruise Room are friendly, unassuming and good at their job.

The Cruise Room is small—one long room where patrons can sit at the bar or in one of about seven booths that line the walls. It’s suggested that you look somewhat presentable when entering this time warp: button ups for the menfolk and dresses or heels for the women.

So pick out some tunes, experiment with some martini-goodness and pretend this martini is your last. Because the gangsters are coming in with Tommy’s and they are not going to appreciate your lense-less framed glasses as much as we do.