Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh with Billy Strings and Bear
November 11, 2025
As you may recall, we got married this May (on five fives) and the hotel Monaco was our base of operations. We have a special place in our hearts for Pittsburgh and for the Monaco. Our most recent visit did not disappoint.
I mean not only were we in town to see Billy Strings play two great shows. We also chatted with Billy Strings himself and his dog Bear in the elevator. He is a sweet guy and his dog is awesome. The encounter made us miss our own goldendoodle, Maybelline, even more.
Since the band was in town and there was at least one wedding full of fraternity type people in the house, there were no suites to be had at reservation time. That is, unless Rob Malinger is pulling strings for you. Always have Rob pull strings. He is all powerful! We were put in 318 this time.
Which like most Monaco suites features lots of room, a cool bathroom, and a birdcage (of the sort that apparently flummoxes Madou).
Sydney wrote us a nice note and had an amenity placed in our room. Thanks Sydney.
The shower in 318 has its own internal bathtub.
Getting in and out of the hotel was “fucktangular” this visit. When we arrived it was rush hour and raining. And there were idiots from Tennessee with very huge jeep wagoneers (but no actual moxy) trying to lead us into the left. After waiting 8 lights we just went around them and taught them how to turn left on red. LOL. Then on Saturday morning we had to refactor our breakfast plans when the car took over two hours to get from the parking lot to the valet stand (due to a veterans day parade). It really was not awful but it was also not convenient. Only in Pittsburgh.
We headed straight to dinner when we arrived so we could get to the show. The mushroom thing at the Commoner is great. The show was very good indeed. So fun to be with our Billy Strings expert Betty.
We had some coffee at De Fer before the commoner was open.
And we went to the Mattress Factory for a dose of contemporary art.
And Randyland of course…
Then it was back to Billy after a very early dinner at Ritual House. Betty was in true outstanding leadership mode for this one. We secured some special bands and entered in the first 100 to hang with the true Billy fans. One fella had seen 333 shows! The people were really welcoming and friendly. And yeah, they knew all the songs and everyone around us. It was great. We owe Betty a big one now.
After each show we had a night cap in the Commoner and met some fellow Billy enthusiasts. Great bar.
On Sunday we made our leisurely way to Gepetto for breakfast, the headed out through Maggie’s Farm Distillery.
Five showerheads and special dispensation for the Monaco. Pittsburgh just gets better and better.
The Rosewood São Paulo: Excellence and the Disney Effect
September 23, 2025
First of all, the Rosewood is a gorgeous facility, centrally located in São Paulo and yet somehow an oasis of sorts. Two blocks from the main drag (Av. Paulista), as soon as you enter the driveway you enter a different world, lush and green like the jungle. Having an oasis to retreat to from the chaotic third world aspects of São Paulo is a necessity when you are old and spoiled.
344 is a luxury king category that is almost sufficient for several days. The best aspect is a balcony that overlooks the real street. In case you wonder whether you are actually in a big city, a look out the window banks makes that clear. Fortunately the room is seriously soundproofed.
The bathroom is awesome with nary a plastic shower in sight. In fact, the shower controls are complex enough to require a manual.
The bar and coffee center went unused.
We spent some time at the pool, meeting people sadly from Florida (or as from Florida as you can get when you are a french boat designer with a Russian designer wife
The only issue that needs attention at the Rosewood may, ironically, be that the staff is a bit too well trained. Lots of them are Disney alums, and it shows in the way they execute the script. Less script and more human would fit the vibe of Brazil better.
We experienced our first Brazilian live music at Cabo de Galo, a supposedly “secret” mixology speakeasy directly in the middle of the breakfast restaurant. Part of the Disneyesque script is to insert an unnecessary delay in all productions in order to give the illusion of exclusivity; like waiting for an open table to be open; or waiting to be seated at breakfast when open tables are all over the place. That stitch can be dropped.
Hell? Maybe.
We enjoyed some cashaça. (Throughout Brazil, the argument WRT whose cashaça is best continues apace even 20 years after my first visit.)
And a Brazilian cocktail involving not enough Fernet called macunaíma.
Greater São Paulo outside the Rosewood oasis has plenty to offer. Some things we saw before our arrival at the Rosewood, like the Jardim Botânico and Esperanza Spalding.
Our post-business side quests included some time in Liberdade at the open market (pretty down scale to be honest).
Av. Paulista. is close by and on Sunday the road is closed to traffic. The MASP (day one) (and MASP (day two)) are very close by indeed. Pinacoteca de São Paulo is a quick car ride away in the rain, and it is open on Monday.
We experienced an incredible dinner (among the best in the world) at DOM.
All in all, five showerheads for the Rosewood. An excellent, though slightly too Disney, experience. We will return.
NPS at Sheraton? São Paulo Business
September 18, 2025
So what is NPS to do when the official conference hotel is a Sheraton? Why, try things on for size again and realize that the hamster cage persists. The São Paulo Sheraton WTC is a standard issue mid-level business hotel straight out of Marriott central casting. Not our thing here at this blog. Luxury it is not.
What does that really mean? Well, imagine a mall. Then imagine a set of beige rectangular boxes stacked up over the mall. That’s pretty much it. The elevators do a weird jerky thing on arrival at a floor. The lobby is brown leather with little middle management desks set around featuring monitors you can’t see through or around. Breakfast is pretty not bad. The staff is friendly and sticks to the script. Getting out past the mall is a challenge and you have to set out to do it.
We are in 605. There’s sadly not much interesting to say. We have two comfortable double beds. The broken blow dryer was quickly replaced with an ancient stone age hairdryer of yore that worked. The analog phone is attached to the wall with wires and apparently does not actually work. The TV plays a central role.
And that’s good because we had to watch Sneakers on the first night to reminisce about Robert Redford. FWIW, we are still not sure why Dan Ackroyd’s handle was “mother.”
There’s excellent net (with a unify hotspot in the room).
But mostly things are just short of actually comfortable here in Sheraton-land. And they mostly work. Unless you would like a hot shower at 8am, then forget it. The early birds got the hot water. Staying overnight is like having McDonalds fries. You know what you’re getting and you also know that trans fat is bad for you.
Does the fluorescent lighting bring to mind Blade Runner and that famous Harrison Ford’s flick of the fingers? It should.
The shower is not plastic. And the fake marble veneer is so beige.
Look how comfortable the sitting area is. No, nevermind. Don’t.
But the room is free since we are keynoting the conference. Kinda. And the hotel is in São Paulo. So here we are in a great city! Woo hoo.
Late lunch at biO2 LAB Brooklin is quirky and just what the doctor ordered. Pato Rei Berrini serves a great coffee and the people are nice.
If you are stuck in the mall, try Nagairô Sushi D&D which is passable. The sushi does look great though.
Excellent amazonian food can be found at both Mamute and Banzeiro, but watch out for ants in your food and be forewarned that the fish is huge.
The Jardim Botânico is worth a visit.
Anyway, we are here for the show. First the little show at the University (USP).
And then the big trade show keynote.
Three showerheads and a yawn for the Sheraton. We already knew this.
Lets Get Married: Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh
August 26, 2025
The Monaco in Pittsburgh has always held a special place in NPS circuits. We stayed at the property way back when it first opened. And then we stayed at the property on an important first date. Throughout every stay, the Kimpton flame kept burning bright and true, even through the IHG corporate nonsense. Rob Mallinger is an excellent GM.
So, of course, the Monaco was top of mind when we decided to get married at the Warhol in Pittsburgh on 5.25.25. What better place to put on a world class party and put up our guests (none of whom were from Pittsburgh)?! Rob and his staff did a spectacular job making our complex plans burst into life with great attention to detail.
We especially thank Allan Hughes (room czar) and Sydney Kurywchak (catering) and their respective staffs for their diligent effort to make our guests feel as if no effort at all was involved. You made our day(s) amazing. Thank you.
We put all of our guests up in the hotel on the night of our wedding, assigning each guest a particular room on the eighth or ninth floors. Having everyone all together was a special touch. So in some sense NPS has “stayed” in each and every room on the upper floors of the Monaco. Allan did an amazing job coaxing the computer system into doing what we envisioned.
Of course we started in 835 before moving up to the Emperor Suite for our wedding day. (Allan pulled some strings and got us moved Saturday so that we didn’t have to switch rooms on our wedding day itself…which was a big relief for the bride.)
We’ve shared plenty of pictures of 835 in other entries, and we were too busy to properly document the Emperor Suite, so these will have to suffice.
We held two separate events at the Monaco, a rooftop champagne toast (replete with a piper), and a wild reception in the big rooms downstairs, expertly transformed by Alexis Allen into different realities. Just wow.
Here’s how the rooftop looked for cocktail hour. Also see this posting.
Everyone moved downstairs for the reception, which started in Sheffield Ballroom and then proceeded by stages into the Sheffield foyer to the Sophia Ballroom. Each space was differently decorated, with the foyer reserved for dancing to DJ Williams’s amazing music and the Sophia set up as a late night speakeasy. Also see this posting.
Moving guests around throughout the wedding day made for a delightful experience. We all started out at the Warhol, and then proceeded through the Monaco spaces until midnight.
It was an incredible lifetime event for all involved.
Six showerheads (out of five max) for the Hotel Monaco. We’ll always remember this hotel with great fondness. Thanks you guys!
Back at the Forum: Charlottesville Getting Closer
April 18, 2025
As we have said before, it is nice to have a real hotel in Charlottesville these days (even if it is a post-IHG Kimpton). Though the building and grounds are excellent, operational kinks hold the property back.
For example, how can your paid in advance room category be “not quite ready” for checking at 4:45pm? Who is in charge here? Not to mention nothing on the upgrade side you were promised. Terrible ops. Fortunately we’re just here for a night.
We were in (hamster cage) 574. Last visit was better.
But get this…once again the bar closes at 10pm. So would you like a nightcap after a great show? Ha! Not in this podunk hotel.
The restaurant is terrible. Skip it.
But the show? The show was great!
Demoting the Forum to three showerheads until they get some adult supervision in here.
Hotel L de Lutèce: In Memoriam in Paris
February 27, 2025
My mom was a francophile. I’m not sure why, because her French was not that great and she was more of a worldly American trapped in East Tennessee than anything else. She loved Paris especially. Whenever she visited with dad, she always stayed at Lutéce on Ile St Louis.
I stayed here myself a couple of times years ago, and felt drawn to the island to share a bit of my mother’s ghost with Romey. This is the only way they will meet.
The hotel has seen an excellent facelift as a result of COVID, and remains a beautiful little quirky gem. Of course, when you learn anything about Paris (and Lutèce) you find out that ile saint louis is all very new and once was the domain of more cows than people—kind of like where we live now only with much less city. Thanks to Victor Hugo, Notre Dame was rescued from decrepitude and became, once again, the heart of the world.
Speaking of which, here we are standing together on the dot that was once the center of planet earth from which every other place was measured. Our friends Yo and Caroline trained down from Leuven to join us for the weekend—time we will always treasure.
We dropped our bags on a rainy morning (having come down from Hotel de Nell) and headed back up for lunch at Habile. Not to state the obvious, but the French are excellent cooks. Food plays a central role in human existence, and the French have known this for centuries. This is something my mother knew to her core as well.
Habile is superb and fun and neon colored and eclectic. It is also situated in the heart of a set of high-end vintage clothing stores. A coat that immediately caugfht Romey’s eye in the window was a Hermes for a mere 2500 euros. We had fun perusing the stores.
This is the “arc of participation prize.”
Eventually we ran out of steam and stopped for a drink in a random street cafe.
Around sunset we made it down to the seine.
We parted ways for the evening over a glass of champagne in the lobby and headed up to room 61.
61 is a very cool room with an excellent bathroom.
And then it was off to Pur for a delicious old school dinner.
Bright and early the next morning we walked together to the Musée d’Orsay.
View from 61.
After a very brief rest came an excellent private tour of the newly-renovated Notre Dame.
Then it was off for some shopping at Galleries Lafayette. Just go. Nothing was purchased.
We returned to Ile Saint Louis in the very nick of time for a delightful oyster fest at
Poget & De Witte, featuring two bottles of wine and five renditions of the happy birthday song: english, chinese, dutch, german, french and “pissed off drunk guy.”
Romey and Caroline were busy conjuring up words for the various translations.
After dinner we had more mandatory pommes frites at Le Saint-Regis which is about as touristy as they come. Then we packed up and readied ourselves for the trip home.
A warning: we were shanghaied by Dior in the airport somehow on our way out of town the next morning. LOL. A cherished keepsake is now in the inventory.
We had an excellent adventure filled with lots of walking, lots of talking, and lots of love.
Five showerheads and fond memories for Lutèce.
Hotel de Nell: Haven in the Opéra (Paris)
February 27, 2025
It was a last minute change. We hopped our morning TGV after seeing un peu du l’arte nouveau in Nancy, and boom…there we were in Paris just in time to miss lunch.
Hotel de Nell is just a quick minute from Gare de l’Est and ideally situated for walking between Marais and Montmartre in pedestrian friendly (and pedestrian tolerant) zones. We were not able to get a balcony suite at the last minute, but we were assigned an excellent little room with a view and bonus church bells. It may have been 41?
We checked in, freshened up, and headed out for a great meal at La Cantine de Sam. Sam is incredibly friendly and the Lebanese food is out of this world.
Walking from the Opéra both down to the river and up to Montparnesse with no plan is excellent.
We took a left turn into a Banksy pop up completely at random.
And then we fancied up a notch and headed down for some jazz at Sunset-sunside. The show by Karl Jannuska was excellent. Late night pommes frites at Le Magnum Bar at 1am may have happened.
The next morning, we hopped an uber in the rain to drop our bags off at Ile St Louis and meet Yo and caroline for lunch.
A whirlwind five showerheads for Hotel de Nell. We hope to return soon.
Villa Nancy Thermae: Should I Stay or Should I Go
February 26, 2025
I mean, maybe the Clash was not singing about us, but our opinion is that you should go but you should not stay. See, the thermal baths are awesome and one of the great things to do in Nancy (France). But you shouldn’t stay at Villa Thermae. Sadly, we’re not really sure where you should stay when you visit Nancy.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves…
We were invited to Nancy to talk about our ancient thesis of yore (Letter Spirit) which you can read about here. I mean, how wild to be asked to talk about 30 year old work on creativity, AI, and letter perception. What an honor. Here is a posting about the talk.
Scott Kim shows an illustration of gridfonts that I made 30 years ago.
Nancy is really a small provincial town with a long history and important links to design and fine arts. There are plenty of great places to eat, including: Sèves, Excelsior (about more which below), and le capu.
Avocado toast at Sèves is to die for
Excelsior has excellent oysters in a classic setting
An edible doohicky at le capu
The spa at Villa Thermae is worth a visit. But it is run by tiny French bureaucrats who should be replaced. And it is not upscale in the least. It’s very public and very French. Hilariously, I was forced to buy tiny little Euro bathing pants since bathing suits of the US variety were not allowed. We had serious scheduling issues with this place, so be forewarned.
We were assigned hamster cage 215, which was, all told, an awful room. It had a musty smell that could not be dispersed (coming from the dishwasher), the shower was plastic and too small, and the room was generic and uncomfortable. But it was free, and it was very close to the conference site. We failed to take pictures.
École nationale supérieure d’art et de design de Nancy
The famous Place Stanislas is actually quite boring. We went to see it so you don’t have to.
While we were at the aforementioned square on our first day, we were targeted by thieves who spotted our roller suitcases and jet lagged state from a distance. The group of 4 were easy enough to avoid, but certainly colored our visit to Nancy for the worse. Mostly people were friendly and helpful and the bus system was really easy to use. But the tourist zone can be skipped without reservation.
A group dinner at Excelsior was really delightful. Romey and I showed up way early in our quest to stay awake and had some secret oysters before the others arrived. Then we temporarily joined the wrong group…something about secretion?! LOL.
We had an absolutely amazing time at the NORM opening in My Monkey Gallery. See lots of content about that show on apothecaryshed.
The NORM artists by a gridfont-like machine observed by the lego throned gem
A visit to Musée de l’École de Nancy will steep you in l’Art Nouveau and set you back 100 years.
We switched up our TGV tickets and trained to Paris early. Nancy is certainly worth a visit, but Villa Thermae earns a paltry and musty two showerheads.
Brice Hotel Savannah: History Collides with the Future
February 15, 2025
Oh how NPS used to love kimpton. We mean SO SO much. But since the IHG takeover, standards are falling all around. The Brice in Savannah (which is fairly new and independently owned) is no exception. Almost Kimpton. Almost.
Fortunately there is Tim. No not that Tim, another Tim—the operations manager. Tim is great. He made our stay much better.
*
We were originally assigned a park view suite (as we reserved on the net). We had no idea that the suites at the Brice are cobbled together out of stables and that the park is over a busy highway. Lets just say the rooms look great on the net but they are design disasters in real life. Here is 125.
I mean that sitting room is not bad. Unless you try to sit in it. Situated in an illogical place it serves more as an obstacle course on the way to the bedroom through the very skinny tiny dark hall. Do not sit in the sitting room.
Back in the back bedroom, the bed and the TV stand thing take up the room with no room to spare (so to speak). Getting around at night in the dark without damage to yourself is impossible. And the bedroom adjoins the busy street at street level? What? ha ha ha…park view.
As you can see, the design elements are great. In fact, in a normal king room (which we switched to after a bad night in 125) they kind of fit the funky vibe. We switched to 258 which was fine, but we took no pictures.
Want to put your suitcase somewhere not in the dark? Good luck with that. The closet may well have some of our stuff in it.
The bathroom looks great. And it should be. It’s especially great for eavesdropping on others in the hotel through the vents. And great for water fowl who want to be randomly soaked by the broken shower head. Plus it stays wet for days! So close and yet so far.
There were so many issues with 125 that we spent some time talking to aforementioned Tim about them. Tim was gracious, empathetic, and delivered a businesslike solution with panache. Thanks Tim. People like Tim are what made the Kimpton brand tick way back when.
—
Anyway, we were at the Brice for Savannah and friends and art and eating and the superbowl (?!). So lets turn out attention to our many side quests for a minute:
Savannah is gorgeous. The historic part of town is the first properly planned and laid out grid plan city in north america. The parks and the trees are awe inspiring and might just remind you why you are alive. Go for the trees alone.
And the food is world class. Seriously. We had one of the best meals of our lives at Elizabeth on 37th. We had so much fun with the excellent waiter/sommelier and the company we were with. We laughed until we cried as we experienced one of the best meals of our life. The only picture we managed to snap was of the menu. (FWIW, Eliabeth ranks right up there with the Waterside on the Thames and Bare in Bergen.)
Equally excellent but in more of a city hipster style was Common Thread. The food was once again excellent, the service delightful, and not one speck of stuffiness. You could well be in any major city.
Also of note Repeal 33 and Collins Quarter are both superb places for brunch. Best dive bar you ask? Why Bubba Gumbo of course.
There is also lots of funky artiness to be found everywhere in Savannah. This is mainly due to the influence of SCAD, which as far as we can tell is in a fight to the death with RISD. SCAD spends bazillions to toot its horn in an impressive (and manipulative) manner. Go SCAD!
Honestly, though, we are very proud of our friend April Claggett for being a professor at SCAD. April took us everywhere: an art opening,, Saturday market, tybee island dive bars, fancy dinners. What a great time.
There is Tybee Island and its associated dive bars nearby. So nice to walk on the beach.
It is warm enough to swim in February? Your mileage may vary.
The African Art Museum is a gem. Just go.
A horse and carriage ride is exactly what the tour guide ordered. We learned lots during our cloppy ride through town. For example, there is a statue of a cross-dressing horse trainer up a pedestal in one of the many green squares. And the original Savannah charter disallowed lawyers and slaves. And the underground railroad was very active in the city. Makes you wonder about history…
Did we mention art and SCAD? Because we meant to.
We could not pass up a visit to “the cathedral” which is theoretically modeled after Notre Dame. LOLs. We’ll see about that next week when we are in Paris. Same goes for the Paris market.
Superbowl Sunday happened at Maryjane’s house with Tom. The game was a blowout. As was the food and beverage selection. Best Superbowl party evah!
Just blogging about this trip is tiring. What an excellent adventure. We will return for sure.
We bookend our Savannah visit with this gem of a picture…
Four showerheads and even more Tim for the Brice. Maybe Kimpton will rise again.
Marriott Does Corporate: Alida Hotel Savannah
February 15, 2025
We’re in town for a TAB meeting attended by nobody even remotely from Georgia. So we all arrived from everywhere and convened at the Alida. The tribute portfolio properties by Marriott are designed to attract middle management and they execute their mission to a T. They try so hard to be hip that they miss by a mile—like coming to a chess game with a bag of checkers.
NPS was assigned a long skinny room on the ground floor (102) with a window bank overlooking the pool. You might thing that sounds fun, but in their quest to “be young,” the Alida pipes crappy music of no discernible genre into the pool area 24/7. At 4am, that sucks. Hazy bass thomp and ever repeating generic rhythms are so much worse than NY city noise or even, say, silence deep in the night.
As you can see by the pictures, what we have here is standard hamster cage. Who even uses two king beds in one room?!
The bathroom shower situation seems to be becoming common now. The shower features a glass door (nice) but the shower stall is hollow plastic simulated tile. Cheap. We’re trying to decide whether that constitutes the new “plastic shower” of which we want none.
But we are in Savannah and we’re not here to sleep. Perhaps a Negroni will help?
I mean there is one of those fireplace things that runs on gas (also near the pool). We wonder if it burns all night as the music thomps to itself.
The meeting was excellent, though the room down by the restaurant in the basement is cold. The A/V system down there is ungovernable by usual algorithms it seems.
We had some time in the morning to see the trees and walk up to Forsyth after breakfast at the ’80s themed Traylor Park. The newish southern chain is fun, but the trees are magical. And the trees in the morning fog are otherworldly.
Tea at Gryphon (worth a visit).
Lunch at Wright Square Bistro was excellent. Coffee at the Coffee Fox. Later, dinner at Husk was really fun but not really up to Savannah standards it turns out.
Late night cocktails and planning at Congress Street Up were outstanding. (We did not attempt the museum nonsense.) As we discussed how AI is taking over software development, Regan Cannon made us a Good Advice:
1 oz Hayman’s Old Tom
.5 oz Plymouth Navy Strength
.5 oz CioCiaro
.75 oz Ciocci Bianco
2 dashes orange bitters (unspecified)
2 dashes cardamom bitters (Boizers)
absynthe spray
Orange and lemon peel expressed and dropped in.
All told we were here for work, and work was excellent.
Three showerheads and an off switch for the all night music for the Alida. Too corporate for Savannah. But we were not done with Savannah…it was off to the Brice!
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