Pros and Cons of Mass Transit in Denver
While Denver is a good-sized city by midwestern standards, driving a car in Denver is generally painless compared to "the big city". Parking will be free in most places, and not hard to find except in the downtown district. A quick Google Maps search of the route between the airport and our host hotel predicts a drive time of around 40 minutes. Depending on your time of arrival or departure, this can be far worse, particularly on the I-70 route, which is frequently under construction and also gets quite congested during rush hour. Weather can also play a role, so keep an eye on the forecasts if you intend to drive.
While the mass transit route predicts a travel time of 1.6 hours, delays such as car rental/return and traffic can quickly negate the difference between mass transit and driving. If you plan to use the trains, keep in mind that you will have to switch lines midway through the journey, and you'll have to walk about a block with your luggage between the platform and the hotel. Not a bad walk, but make sure those suitcases have wheels!
Most conference attendees, if staying in the host hotel, can easily find that they don't use their cars very much during the conference (with two days of workshops in the hotel and two days of tours being chauffeured around by motor coach). The mass transit option may take a little longer on average, but it can save you a lot of cash in terms of rental or ride share fees, if you can afford to spend a little more time in transit.