noplasticshowers

Even though my trip up 101 from Palo Alto was delayed by the President of the United States (motorcade blod clot), my arrival at the Palomar could not have been better. Rachel was at the front desk to say hello continuing with her silly “rock star” riff. This time there was even a welcome plaque.

Room 830 is a very nice suite. Best bathroom in the Palomar to date for me. Plenty of light and space with a great view.

The view from 830.

The sitting room (before the loot arrived).

View into the bedroom. A double sliding door demarcates the space.

Interesting architectural feature number 42.

And the all important bathroom with a great glass shower cube and a huge bathtub (which, of course, did not get used).

Way not plastic.

Connector.

The loot pile arrived shortly after I did. Thanks for the loot Rachel and Emilie!

No time to eat the loot. Alas.

By far the best part of this visit was sampling some real mixology on the fifth floor. Jacques Bezuidenhout has been charged with upping the quality of the bars in all 50 Kimpton properties. He is making good progress. Though Jacques and I have corresponded, I had yet to meet him. We fixed that. Jacques is great!

Using Amer Picon from home, Jacques made us a batch of Liberals. He used rye (I usually use bourbon) and orange peel (I slip in a Luxardo cherry). Very nicely made, and what a treat to have a real Amer Picon Liberal away from home. He also shared some superb wild agave tequila (which came with a really cool story) and a fascinating new rum blend.

Jacques has his work cut out for him with 50 properties in the portfolio. I’m 100% behind his venture. Superb idea and exactly the right guy to do it.

After drinks, we sauntered down the street for a very fancy dinner at benu. Benu is a newly-rated 2 Michelin stars place with a $180 ginormous tasting menu. Benu was very good, but in my view over-rated and over-priced. In particular the pairings we had definitely need some work. Some of the items were outstanding though. Frankly it was just as much fun having drinks with Jacques beforehand!

If noplasticshowers went past five showerheads, this trip alone would clinch it for the Palomar.

The best thing at benu: duck with truffle bun. This was delicious.

As icing on the cake, United pulled off two uneventful trips that went smoothly and efficiently. I hope it is the beginning of a trend.