Reader: Casa Bonita is a tourist trap, and here's why

Our responses to Yahoo's list of Denver's worst tourist traps fostered an entertaining debate about the relative merits of Casa Bonita, which was ranked number one in the post. Some readers declared the South Park-approved eatery and cliff-diving mecca to be awesome, while others weren't nearly so positive. Like, for...

By Michael Roberts

July 18, 2014

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Our responses to Yahoo's list of Denver's worst tourist traps fostered an entertaining debate about the relative merits of Casa Bonita, which was ranked number one in the post. Some readers declared the South Park-approved eatery and cliff-diving mecca to be awesome, while others weren't nearly so positive. Like, for instance, this commenter.

Cassandra Foote writes:

I'd have to agree with Casa Bonita being a tourist trap. I used to love it as a kid growing up -- never understood why my parents dreaded it. Once I went as an adult, I decided to never go back. Obviously any resident of Colorado knows how awful the food it. It's extremely dirty there and it's definitely easy to spend a lot of money there between the arcade, old time photos and all the other "goodies" you can spend money on. I agree with the Aquarium as well. Took my kids there last summer because they'd never been and I wasn't sure about what had changed since they were bought and rebranded. Way overpriced for a place you can walk through in half an hour. I'd rather go spend that kind of money at the Denver Zoo and be able to spend at least half a day there.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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