The Acoma House Owners Michael & Christina Eisenstein

When I visited Denver in July 2023, I stayed at the most amazing art hotel called the Acoma House. Art is a consistent theme in my life and this website, and I love to spotlight art all over the world. This unique hotel has the best of everything – comfort, accessibility, and art. See below for more info about the Acoma House owners. Also CLICK HERE for my review of the hotel. 

The Acoma House Owners

The Acoma House is the dream of Christina and Michael Eisenstein. While Michael is more of a behind the scenes guy, Christina (a mother of three), is the person who greeted me with a smile the day I arrived. I love meeting strong women. She told me quite a bit about their story. There is also more info about the Acoma House owners on the website – see link below. 

I was so impressed with the artists, that I interviewed a few. So stay tuned for more art talk.

The Acoma house building is over a hundred years old. As Denver’s original boarding house, it became a home away from home, for many who desired a fresh start in the mile high city.

Michael had always loved the building. He was able to appeal to the prior owner to sell to the couple who have a history of supporting the arts. He had a dream to make the Acoma House the most “instagramable spot in Denver.”

Christina, who has a background in design, worked with all the artists and threw herself into the design and renovation of the building. In addition to murals in each room, now can find more murals in the mechanical room, the laundry room, and on the exterior of the building. Christina and Michael selected each artist to create one room. Below Christina tells us how it all came to be.

Q & A with Christina Eisenstein

Q: When did the Acoma House open?
A: I believe I had my first guest on May 10, 2023. I slowly opened a few rooms at a time. This was for two reasons: I did not have photography of the entire space yet, so I was waiting for that. And, it really was a one “man” or woman show for a bit there, so I wanted to make sure I was able to run things smoothly.

Q: How did you come up with the concept of having local artists paint each room?
A: It made sense given the proximity to the Denver Art museum. We wanted a fun, experiential art experience vs a typical more uniform experience in most hotels.

Q: And how did you decide which artists to choose?
A: We had two curators – Alex Pangburn and Ashley Joon helped curate artists to work on the building.

Q: Do the artists create the murals for promotional purposes, or did you hire them?
A: All artists were paid for their work & given a materials stipend. Payment was based on size of the space and uniform across the board. I did not want some artists to be paid more for the same amount of sq footage, as I really wanted everyone to be equal with this. It was an opportunity for everyone to do what their heart desired without egos getting in the way.

The Artist Process 

Q: How did you make the decision about the type of mural created for each room?
A: We let the artists decide. I gave the artists two rules: no nudity, no profanity. Other than that, they had free artistic license to paint what they wanted. I did construct the bathrooms before the artists went in the space, so many artists choose colors to work with that base. But no, no rules were given. I asked the artists what base color they wanted for their walls. The artists supplied the paint (with their stipend we paid), and my painter Ruben painted the base coat of paint for them.

Q: How does the process work?  Does the artist do all the murals and then you bring in all the additional design elements? A: Yes that’s correct. The artists worked in a barren space with only the bathroom and possibly kitchen cabinets completed (not all had the kitchen done though). Then I ordered the kitchens, lighting, and selected all the furniture to compliment the space.

If you are planning a trip to Denver, and you love art, be sure to check out the Acoma House. You will not regret it. CLICK HERE to read the review. The Acoma House, 1114 Acoma Street, Denver, Colorado, 80204; https://www.theacomahouse.com