No Boutique Hotels to be found in Hanover, NH (Six South)
April 26, 2012
Uh oh, looks like the word “boutique” is being thrown around with impunity these days by a number of hotels that really are not. The latest iteration of that problem can be found in Hanover, NH (where Dartmouth is). Six South calls itself “a boutique hotel” more than once. It is more like a plussed up Holiday Inn than anything else I can think of. Thin walls (the guy next door is currently on his cell phone), hamster-cage rectangle room designs, veneer plated plywood modular furniture, and cups covered in plastic (though I must admit that’s better than plastic cups).
Cups covered in plastic?
Maybe it is more like the Indigo in Jacksonville than like a Holiday Inn. But it is less like what I would like to think of as a boutique hotel.
Bedroom designed just like a plastic shower hotel, but the shower is not plastic.
Ikea chic. TV worship welcome here.
The couch is kind of nice.
Nice couch sadly crammed in the room.
The bathroom is problematic, mostly because it makes a mockery of my heuristic (which is why we call it a heuristic and not a rule, I suppose). The shower is glass! But the bathroom is tiny and feels like a Hilton?! Horrors.
Glass shower. Very confusing.
Cramped bathroom in classic hotel you don't want to stay in layout.
In the end, the Six South is going to have to settle for a three shower heads rating. Just not good enough to stay in again.
Hanover is a charming little town caught in the time warp caused by Dartmouth. Mixology has yet to make a serious appearance.
Some interesting news on the United Express front. I flew up on Mesa (UA 3797) and the flight attendant Darita Sterling-Ward was just super. If Mesa gets more people like Darita on the staff, I will need to revisit the sense of dread I feel when I am sentenced to fly Mesa.
I always stay at the Conrad when I come to Indy. It’s probably your best bet, though Indy gets more and more interesting each time I visit. One of these years there will be a real boutique hotel here with hipsters and everything.
Meanwhile, you can be part of the Hilton chain and be treated like the corporate number you are. What a drag.
I was first assigned a room nowhere near as good as the one they put me in last time. Why? Because the Hilton people have no idea what they did for me last time. Not even their computers remember. So back downstairs it was to switch to room 1403 (a suite on one of the corners). 1403 is a very nice room.
 The living room section with very nice windows (they should open the curtains). |
 Looking from the couch back to the 80s style desk peninsula. Desk peninsulas are no longer in style. |
Or rather, set of rooms. There is a living room area, a bedroom, a large bathroom and a smaller bathroom with some halls connecting everything. Reasonable layout.
Nicely appointed bedroom.
And real plants…which is a welcome addition suitable for old lady hotels.
Nice plants on every table.
Here’s the problem with Hilton as a chain. They have no idea I have been here multiple times. They offered me water on checkin and when I requested sparkling had it “sent up” for a major fee (what a bait and switch ripoff). And the last straw relegating them to “wrong generation” status…Net costs an arm and a leg.
That’s right. Here in America where business hamsters at the Courtyard by Marriott get free Net, Hilton wants to charge me $41 and change for 3 days of (not so hot) Net. Net should be like electricity and oxygen…part of the deal. Only little old ladies and people in a previous generation are willing to pay for Net these days, mostly because they did not grow up with it. Pathetic. Hilton, get a clue! Even Paris knows that Net is necessary (and she is no genius).
At least the bathrooms are good.
 Guest bathroom through two doors. |
 Master bathroom from the glass shower cube. |
Plus the shower is great. Bring your own soap and shampoo though unless you want to smell all flowery (need I say…like a little old lady?).
Glass shower good.
Final verdict? Nice place—for your parents. Four shower heads and several extraneous surcharges for the Conrad. Maybe they will use the margin to buy a real CRM system.
Now on to the really great news. Mixology has arrived in Indianapolis! After a well constructed dinner at R Bistro with absolutely exceptional service, we drove back to the center of town for a drink or two at The Libertine.
Two separate barkeeps (actually, one barkeep and one certified mixologist) served us, neither of whom wanted to be named yesterday (this is not San Francisco is it?). I had an interesting concoction that has yet to earn its label. We’ll call it the Indypendant…though since Jonathan made it, maybe the Fernet Hum Drink is a better name.
.5 oz lime
.75 oz Hum which was a new one on me
1.5 oz Fernet
Yes, the Fernet dominated the drink. Not quite ready for prime time, but interesting nonetheless. I will have to get some Hum for my bar and play around with it.
Tonight we went back and I did some work with the Hum. Turns out that the barkeeps were Jonathan Stern (soon moving to SLO) and Michael Gray (who is actually a certified card carrying mixologist…whatever that means). Here are the drinks I came up with. The first needs some adjustment but was not too far off.
New Mexico
1.5 Rhum agricole
.5 Hum
1 lime juice
2 grapefruit juice
.5 simple syrup (an addition by Jonathan that was definitely necessary)
And the one that is a keeper.
Radical Moderate
1 Willett rye
.75 Hum
.75 Dolin’s sweet vermouth
dash orange bitters (bitter truth though Reagans #6 would be better)
luxardo cherry
Brian had a Jonathan concoction.
Cynar Stinger which if you were a mixologist and not a barkeep would be called a Bitter Sting
1.5 cynar
.375 White Creme de menthe
Lime squeeze (big)
On night one I also sampled some Vieux Carre Absinthe from Philly which was very nice. (I asked for sparkling water and simple syrup treatment. The brown sugar cube they used was a bad idea. Oh well.)
Night two was a blast. The Libertine will be a mandatory stop on any future Indy trips.
And a final piece of mixology news. Must try out The Rail in Bloomington (apparently introducing mixology to that storied college town). I hesitate to include their Facebook link (ouch…need website please).
Indiana is getting better and better. Sadly, we may just have to stop using the term mixology. See?
Mixology News Flash: R.I.P. drink, Welcome Kimpton
April 7, 2012
The Blue Room is great, as always, even with their new chef. Beyond “solid” and well worth a visit. Charcuterie? Excellent. Hand crafted drinks? Also excellent. Milk punch at Blue Room. Yep.
Also very good was our Saturday night meal at T.W. Food. A relatively new and already popular place, T.W. Food has some hits and some misses in general. Great ambiance and good service with some minor pacing issues. It’s a four out of five.
Now the tragic news. Drink is done. The number one bar in the world (in my book) has been overrun by “swingles.” We went by after dinner to have an 11:30 nightcap and there was a line (?!) of kids. Lines are something we don’t do. Bye bye drink.
I guess you can try a weekday night, but with so many pretend hipsters standing on the stairs, there seems to be little chance that mixology craftsmanship will prevail. Too bad, because it was once a great bar.
Now for the surprise. As of two days ago, the bar at Hotel Marlowe has real drinks. Patrick Pound mixed up a Corpse Reviver #2 tonight. We like this phenomenon. Go figure.
Real drinks at the Hotel Marlowe bar.
And now some unsolicited advice for the Kimpton expedition into mixology.
Get good ice. Ice that is 31 degrees from a quick ice machine melts too fast for shaking a drink and only waters things down.
Procure some Luxardo cherries.
Be cognizant of particular types of liquor in a drink, it makes a HUGE difference.
Get some interesting old glasses from the ’20s.
Always use fresh squeezed fruit. Do not store lemon juice for more than 2 minutes.
On to the drinks at the Hotel Marlowe
Sazerac: switch out the Bulliet Rye for Old Overholt. Do not muddle. Use two glasses when mixing. Try a thick slice of orange peel at the end. (I flame mine.)
Corpse Reviver #2: Switch out Tanqueray (!) for Hendricks. Use fresh lemon juice. Measure measure measure. Do not wing it. 3 drops means 3 drops. Equal parts means exactly equal.
Ditch the Aviation and add a Blue Moon instead
Negroni: Use Plymouth gin instead of Tanqueray (!)
I hope this experiment works like a charm and that the mixology trend spreads throughout the Kimpton hotels. Yay!
Last Stop Hotel Marlowe, Boston
April 6, 2012
I really like the Marlowe. It is my go to hotel in Boston. Situated in Cambridge up by the Science Museum, the Marlowe was one of the first boutique hotels to grace the city (there are a bunch now).
Since Boston is the last of the five cities in the college tour extravaganza of 2012, the Marlowe is batting clean up this trip. We’re run ragged. Our 2am arrival didn’t really help much. Not enough sleep since last Sunday. And way too many airplanes. (Three airplanes in one day is too many.)
Our arrival was complicated by United who opted to send our bags before us to Boston—to a different terminal. United really does suck these days, post merger. Any computer could be programmed to make sure our bags arrive at the same terminal as our bodies, but not United’s computers. Yet another side effect of spending more on paint and videos featuring the Jeff Smisek than on computers that work! Get with the program United. And get a different video star who is less fake sincere. How much does Smisek get paid anyway?
On the flip side, we flew a newly configured 737-900. No chance of upgrade due to the flight being free (a perk, I will admit, but one dearly earned), however the new plane’s bulkhead in economy plus was spacious, has under first class seat stowage, and includes 2 power outlets per row. That is a welcome feature. The mandatory viewing of ads on the “press the bar, swipe the card, and pay like a hamster for your food” DirecTV machines in your face is just slightly less welcome (hah!). FWIW, also not welcome is the flight attendant who tried to tell everyone multiple times where to stow coats. Easy enough to ignore that nonsense. I bet I fly more miles a year than she does.
Anyway we arrived at the Marlowe well after our advance team landing party who checked in around 7pm. A nice bottle of wine (now open), a personal note, and a cheese plate (sadly, nowhere near as nice as the one at the Palomar in Chicago) were, um, scattered about. Thanks for that Justin!
Things are always messier with the family in tow.
Chaos ensues.
I always enjoy the (fairly new) executive suite room class at the Marlowe. This time we’re in 621. Getting a room like this on a Kimpton Intouch free night is a treat. Of course, we’re paying list for the other 2 nights! 621 is very similar in layout to 827, only two floors lower. (Higher is better in Boston just like in NY in case you were wondering.)
The bathroom is nicely appointed and the shower is great. Plenty of water pressure in the glass compartment with lots of room. We like this shower.
Shower equals good.
A big old bathtub of the sort we never get around to trying (been several years running now).
This tub cold be a mirage or a Potemkin village for all I know.
One really unfortunate development of late at the Marlowe. Keith, the amazing concierge who grew up in Boston has moved on to Seattle. Keith, we miss you! You are not replaceable. The concierge staff now is very eager and really helpful, but also lack a certain level of concierge kung fu. Comedy club like on TV? I dont think so. Jazz fusion? Prolly not. (Compare such a suggestion to going to see Blackbird and you will immediately discern the problem.)
Full moon over the Charles.
All that aside, we are having a nice stay in Boston. We’re off to the Blue Room for dinner, and then to drink for some drinks. Five shower heads for the Hotel Marlowe and a funeral dirge for his Keithness. Keith, if you’re listening, watch out for the moss on your roof in Seattle my friend.
Palomar Chicago: A Real Gem
April 5, 2012
Stop three on the college tour extravaganza involves Chicago. We tried out the Palomar for the first time (I have stayed at other Chicago Kimpton properties but not the Palomar), and what a great idea that was! The Palomar Chicago is excellent. (General manager Nabil Moubayed apparently runs a very tight ship.)
We spent only about 15 minutes in room 1574 before heading out to Chopin Theater for The House’s showing of Death and Harry Houdini. Thanks to concierge Bobby Gonzales for getting us tickets to a show that has been sold out for months. Also thanks to Ashlee Benes for pre-stay banter on the net.
The suite was really very nice. Two large rooms with a connecting third rectangle that included the luxurious bathroom and a hallway.
 Bedroom view. Comfy. |
 Sitting room with a hide-a-bed sofa. |
In what has become classic kimpton style, a bottle of wine, some hand made soda, and a gorgeous cheese plate welcomed us to the room. The loot included a magical hat and a bunny rabbit to hook into the play we saw. We were able to enjoy it all in the blink of an eye before we disappeared.
 Magic hat. |
 This is the most beautifully constructed cheese plate ever. Compliments to the chef. |
The bathroom in 1574 is exceptional. Beautiful crisp design. The only fly in the ointment is a lack of killer water pressure. That is easy to overlook, however.
Bathroom through the mirror shot. You can see the huge (unused) tub.
Ah. Glass shower cube.
View from the shower.
Though our stay was abbreviated by getting up at 4:45 (again! before 5am), the Chicago Palomar is now high on my recommended list. I will be staying here again for sure.
The highest of high five showerheads and our appreciation.
Cowper Inn: At Home in Palo Alto
April 3, 2012
After the LA hotel debacle, it is nice to be back where I know what’s in store. I have been coming to the Cowper Inn for many many years. Whenever I am in Silicon Valley, chances are I am staying at the Cowper.
This time after a morning arrival and several hours touring Stanford, we checked in mid afternoon. Joji was here to greet us. We are staying in the Carriage House above one of the garages.
Something is always flowering at the Cowper. This time the tree.
The room is large and includes a kitchen settled under a very interesting ceiling. I still like room 28 the best, but this one is just right for this trip.
Kitchen. In which no food is likely to be consumed. We're using most of the outlets though to charge up all of our devices.
Skylights above the day bed.
And the bed too.
The shower situation is standard Cowper. No plastic at least.
The bathroom is hidden away under the eaves.
Early prototype glass shower from the '70s.
You already know the verdict: the Cowper is a five showerheads kind of place. Boy is it nice to be here after LA!
Longing to Escape the Hotel California, Santa Monica
April 1, 2012
Ah nostalgia. I stayed here at the Hotel California for my brother’s wedding about fifty trillion years ago. We had a great time. Apparently that had nothing to do with this hotel.
This week we’re doing the obligatory college tour extravaganza, visiting 9 colleges and 5 cities in 8 days. LA:Palo Alto:Chicago:Minneapolis:Boston.
“Relax,” said the night man,
“We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!”
Lemme outta here! No longer a fan.
Plastic shower? Yep.
This is a plastic shower. It is plasticy.
Shower on a tub. Nice tiles though.
Looking up, there is a skylight.
Heaven is escaping from the plastic shower.
Is that the ocean I hear or is that Ocean Avenue? Given the room assignments we got to pick from, probably the latter.
The bedroom is small, the TV is big, the color is yellow, the closets fit a “half dead guy” (either parsing with a preference toward the half body), the sheets are not clean enough, the son gets a cot. Blech. One lowly shower head for the Hotel California. What was I thinking?
Plus their wireless internet really sucks (as bad as Patagonia at the tip of South America). And on day two they forgot to clean the room.
 The bed room is situated very close to Ocean Avenue. |
 Cot equals suck. Jack says the couch is better. |
But there is the Pacific ocean. And Chez Jay across the street is a great place for dinner. All in all, day one of the extravaganza was ok if you don’t count the hotel.
If you are coming to Santa Monica, stay at the Georgian!
On the mixology front, things are looking a bit dated in Santa Monica. I had an interesting concoction at the LACMA (which has a real bar hidden away between contemporary and modern. But even at Jiraffe, where Rafael Lunetta prepared a world class meal, the fallback (a Negroni) was all I could scrape up. There must me good mixology in LA, I just haven’t found it yet. I think the people are spending all of their lucre on cars instead of liquor.
Here is the recipe for Halfway to Havana from the LACMA:
Dark rum classico (10 years) [I would use eclipse] 1.5 oz
Amaro Montenegro 0.5oz
Sweet Vermouth 0.5oz
Orange bitters (Fee brothers west indian orange)
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