I did it last year. Great bike and run courses but the swim is pretty lame, it's basically in a wading pond. I would say a good first season race, or for someone with anxiety about the swim.
I wouldn't call the swim laid back, it's pretty crowded. I think you have to do 2 laps and they send people off every couple of seconds. I drove there the morning of the race so I don't know about lodging. I would guess you would be pretty safe as long as you stay away from Aurora. I'm sure not all of Aurora is bad, but there are some rough areas.