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!
Back to the Pittsburgh Monaco
January 25, 2025
It is very fitting that our first trip of 2025 is to Pittsburgh and the Hotel Monaco. We’ve been here a bunch as we are planning our 5/25/25 bash here. (NPS first came to the hotel when it just opened in 2015.). Because we were spoiled rotten during our first visit, we always try to stay in 835.
One of the best things about the Pittsburgh Monaco is that it is doing all it can to hang on to the old Kimpton goodness from before the IHG takeover. We miss those days, and visiting the Monaco reminds us why. That’s bittersweet of course. Much of the goodness comes from the top. Rob Mallinger is a very good GM.
We arrived after a chilly drive just in time to meet with Sydney from catering and do a tasting. We did have a minute to deposit our stuff upstairs. Thanks for the flowers and the welcome note.
The bathroom involves very little plastic.
We spent some time in the grand ballrooms agonizing over how to transform the space into something less sparse. Word to the wise, the hotel does not have a stash of furniture or lighting that you can use to do this. That would be up to you.
For the record, here is what the spaces look like empty.
We also looked at the rooftop terrace again (which we are likely to fold into our event). It was covered in snow.
We provided some feedback to the hotel directly WRT space recombobulation and our tasting experience. As always, the Kimpton staff was all over it and was very responsive. This is a sign of good management. Thanks to Sydney and Erin for being good eggs.
While in Pittsburgh, we decided to attend the Pittsburgh Symphony. That was a very good plan—what a talented orchestra.
Before the show, we had dinner at Gaucho Parrilla Argentina. The experience was ok. Delightful staff but food that was honestly pretty generic. Not much like, say, Argentina. The best thing was that it was right across the street from the Heinz Symphony Hall.
The next morning, before our meeting with the Warhol (also a 5/25/25 destination), we had some donuts at Peace, Love, and Little Donuts followed by a better espresso at De Fer.
And then it was off to the Warhol in the snow. It snowed maybe 2 inches while we were in town.
One our way out of town, we swung by a very swank Aveda Spa (Lapamponee) in Mt Lebanon, which led us through sheer luck to Piyola. Holy cow is Piyola excellent.
And then it was back home over the mountains in the snow. The trip was very cold and a bit slippery.
Five showerheads for the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh. We can’t wait to be back.
Boston for Lunch
December 20, 2024
This has happened before: you get to the end of the year of travel and you remain just on the wrong side of the 100k finish line. Alas. The only solution is to fly to Boston for lunch. Of course things never work out as planned, with the chances of travel SNAFU during the return trip are 100%! LOL.
We did eventually get home, but were not credited with our (expensive) travel PQP and remained trapped on the wrong side of the finish line. Fortunately, a quick call to United fixed the whole thing and we’ve secured our 100k status for next year. (Surprise! United was great.)
The airports were a zoo.
Lunch with Spool was great.
The fifth anniversary present was procured.
But on the return to Logan, the EWR drip delay began. Ultimately we flew straight back to Dulles. Too much time was spent drinking bad negronis at the Red Carpet Club.
Maybe does not care.
The Peninsula Chicago: High End for the Win
November 30, 2024
Fancy some art in Chicago? Stay at the Peninsula in high luxury while you’re there! Our visit to the city was excellent in most of the ways.
Of course our room was not ready when we arrived before noon on Sunday, and then the powers that be switched our assigned room out from under us while we visited the MCA. The switch was very much likely for the better as we moved from an executive suite on 12 to a grand deluxe suite on 9.
The room was, in fact, amazing. Comfortable, well-designed, modern, and spacious. We were in 910 overlooking the Water Tower and Michigan avenue. Christmas was upon us (and winter too).
910 has banks of windows.
The shower is not plastic. In fact, there might not be any plastic at all in the entire room.
One of the best aspects of the peninsula is breakfast. No really. Just exquisite and interesting: fresh juice, great coffee, myriad international offerings. Possibly the best breakfast in Chicago. We had two.
The MCA is terrific, including the Maripol restaurant inside.
Tiffany is a good place to visit after some art.
The Art Institute of Chicago is absolutely world class.
Duck Duck Goat is very good mid-level Chinese. Sadly, we couldn’t get the Peking duck.
About the only thing not up to snuff during our visit was pizza at Pequod (an old school Chicago deep dish institution). The pizza is great, but the decor is dirty even for an old Denny’s. And the ordering app? Don’t get us started. Just skip it.
Cocktails at the Peninsula bar, Z bar, are solid, but the experience is not worth writing home about or paying extra for.
Oh, and the Spa at the Peninsula…your mileage may very, but your bill will not.
But those wrinkles aside, the trip was excellent. Here are some more pictures.
Rebranding Chicago, one building at a time.
The view from 910.
The windows are really clean. Really really clean.
Five showerheads for the Peninsula and for Chicago art. Yes please. We would do it all over again.
Lake Eden Retreat: Vantage Point for American Idiocy
November 20, 2024
Our clan convened in Black Mountain in a GOTV effort just before election day. We came from Virginia, DC, and LA. Sadly, in spite of our work, the country has chosen bigotry and blustering ignorance over progress. Lets hope democracy survives four more years of selfish “leadership.”
Lake Eden Retreat is a beautiful though desperately suburban place. If you’re looking for the countryside, this is not really it. We stayed in the studio. It’s a peculiar structure with the bedroom up some spiral stairs, the massively distributed bathroom downstairs, and a sink in the corner of the living room.
And yes, the shower is plastic. Horrors.
But we were here to work. And work we did under the leadership of walt.
While in the Asheville area (still recovering from the massive floods), we had some great meals.
Itto ramen is a top notch place for lunch.
Sunny point cafe is excellent with fun service and down home cooking.
The mixology at Chemist Spirits is top notch.
Also worth a visit is Firestorm books.
And if you are in Black mountain, Pure and Proper is very good indeed. They can even accommodate an entire state’s worth of McGraws…kinda.
Two showerheads for Lake Eden Retreat. Maybe we’ll try a different building next iteration. Anyway, here’s how we all feel about the election results.
Terre Haute, Indiana
October 31, 2024
Welp, its not a hotel, but if you can, stay at Sid’s house. Terre Haute was a really fun place to visit.
It all started with a talk at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which you can watch here.
The campus is full of art.
And it features the largest collection of hot sauce in the entire Midwest.
There is world class mixology to be found between the beers in Terre Haute. Try Bar Bosco if you can.
And dinner at J Ford’s Black Angus is not to be missed. The wine list has some secret hidden gems. We split the porterhouse.
But really the best thing in Terre Haute is Sid’s Waffle House.
In and out through Indy. A picture courtesy of Kurt.
The Morrison Dublin: Almost not a Hilton
October 6, 2024
OK, so we really don’t do Hilton much. We mostly avoid American chains ever since Kimpton bit the dust. But the Morrison came up on a bunch of separate lists and it looked good in bits. And you know what? It was good all told—one of Dublin’s big hotel gems.
Once again it was a beautiful bright day. We needed our American sun glasses. And once again the room wasn’t ready. But Lemon was close by and quite excellent. We had a crepe.
The room was very nice indeed. Great windows over the river. And a very Hilton-design. The only thing missing is any real tech other than wifi (a bare minimum in anyone’s book). Can’t connect to TV? No bluetooth? What?! Apparently google took back their chromecasts leaving the Hilton literally stranded in the tech desert. Not good.
Anyway the room was comfortable and nicely laid out.
The shower was not plastic. It was a good shower.
We did some things in Dublin. Like business…
Stage cocktails followed by a few too many pints of guinness at O’Brien’s Pub (the family pub of a friend).
We hit Kilmainham Gaol early, sobering and excellent.
We had an excellent but very late breakfast at Riggers D8. It was here that we met our fifth very friendly and talkative irishman. Good lord so friendly. But all ever so slightly lonely and all pretty sexist to be honest. An older way of life evolving fast.
We did some shopping near Trinity College.
We had an early Japanese dinner at Kyodai Izakaya after an ill-fated “brazilian drop in”.
And we saw a very good but very old fashioned play (Grania) at the Abbey Theater where we met even more friendly Irish.
We had a huge and very good brunch at PÓG Tara Street on our way to Windmill Lane Studio for a tour.
We spent some time decompressing in St Stephen’s Green.
We paid a visit to Farrier and Draper, ostensibly for a good cocktail. LOL. Dublin may be gentrifying but it has a ways to go. I guess the real bar was bought out for a private event. We had a martini with black olives?!
Which kind of sums it all up nicely. We want to spend some quality time in the real countryside next time we are in Ireland and play some music. The Morrison is a nice place to stay in Dublin, but we are not really the Dublin kind. Four showerheads for the Morrison.
Mandeville Hotel London: NOPE
October 6, 2024
The Mandeville Hotel is worth not visiting. Just don’t go. And whatever you do, do not ignore all the red flags on your way to not staying there. Like say, the inability to book a room category in a reasonable process. Or emails that take three days to answer. Or a room that not only is not ready when you arrive for five nights, but isn’t even worth the wait. Those kinds of red flag.
Billing itself as a “boutique hotel,” everything about the hotel itself is a stretch. What the Mandeville turns out to be, is a business hotel gussied up in an ill-fitting hand-me-down suit with a very wide tie that doesn’t match. But his sister is nice. Some people may be fooled. We are not.
We arrived from an excellent flight across the pond in United Polaris kind of wanting a good espresso and a shower (not necessarily in that order). We did end up getting a nice breakfast on a brilliant bright morning at the Ivy about a block from the hotel. You see, the one very good thing about the Mandeville is its location smack dab in the middle of Marylebone. You may recall from previous entries here in this spectacular blog that the Ivy is a top notch brunch chain (see Manchester and London entries).
In any case, our executive suite (so to speak) was ready when brunch was over. But what a disappointment room 105 was. Don’t stay in this room: weird bank of windows directly over the noisy-at-night restaurant, overlooking an alley of sorts, decor from that decade where polyesther was a good thing, uncomfortable couches. Just all around terrible. This room should be demoted to a much lesser category…like “very large broom closet” or “place to store old wallpaper swatches. We only stayed in this room one night because the other three rooms in our reserved category were not available. Right.
But judge for yourself! I mean look at that wallpaper. And the way the bathroom opens directly to the bed.
The shower was not plastic. Instead it was dangerous. Fortunately nobody broke a leg during our one night in this room. The shower was very nice, danger aside.
When you’re in Marylebone, retail therapy is in order. We spent time wandering the shops, hitting up me+em, theory, selfridges, varvatos, and more. Too much money was spent, but when you are a country mouse like we are, all of the city things are so shiny!
On our first day in London we found Scales bar which is well worth a revisit. Excellent cocktails (limited but creative and nicely concocted).
Fortunately, we were able to switch rooms to Executive Suite 216 after our first night (which was ridiculously overpriced for what it was). 216 was much better situated in the new purple part of the hotel. But the suite itself was still small and very poorly laid out. We’re sorry, but a bathroom opening directly on the bed is just not classy in the least.
The bathroom was much better. So what made us dislike this hotel so much? Well on our last night in London (a Wednesday night no less), a private party rented out the restaurant and bar and proceeded to put on a loud, obnoxious disco starting around 9pm and stretching nicely to 1am. Since we were to be up at 5:00am to fly to Dublin this was not a good thing. Complaints to management on checkout were ignored (so far anyway). We do plan to ride this one down to completion.
In the meantime, by no means stay at the Mandeville. Stay anywhere else.
Of course, London is a fantastic place to visit, and we had some very good experiences this round…
We spent some time at Hyde park checking out the icebergs.
We spent some time conducting business (which by the way will bring us to London regularly, but not again to the Mandeville).
We spent some time at both Tate galleries (Tate Modern and Tate Collection) and on a boat between. If you like the Kandinsky below, check out the others.
And we hit a number of excellent restaurants, including Roka, Carlotta, Tamarind, Chez Roux.
You will find stunning art at Henson’s Bar (in Mimi’s hotel). Apparently Mimi was a collector. We had excellent drinks surrounded by even better art. Need a cult classic like a Paper Plane or a Industry Sour? Of course you do.
Closing out our stay at the Mandeville was the coup de grace. The staff in the morning had no power to make us whole, and the manager who was instructed to get in touch never did. One showerhead for the Mandeville, we will not return.
Learn to Twerk at Hotel Washington
September 17, 2024
It started in the country.
And ended in the city.
With some Springsteen in between.
The Hotel Washington is our chosen destination in DC, and for obvious reasons—excellent hospitality. We hear rumors that this hotel is aptly run my Steph Vogel, but honestly we have not seen him for years. Anyway, from our base in the middle of nowhere, Washington DC is the big metropolis. This time we came in to see Bruce perform at the Nationals Park. An excellent show.
Back in the country, there were cocktails to be had and plans to be hatched. Somehow we overlooked the twerking in our planning.
We headed into DC in the early afternoon. We were greeted at the hotel with dueling amenities and greetings from Steph in our adjoining rooms 710 and 711.
The shower situation was non-plastic, though shutting the sliding door to the bathroom was nigh on impossible. The sink was in the hall.
After the show, we headed up to Vue to have a Corpse Reviver #2 or 2 and damage our hearing. Who knew that the night would end up with twerking lessons from the large group of (young) 50-turning women?! Much fun was had. All of a sudden it was 2am.
Did we need twerking lessons? Judge for yourself. Here is a before video.
Sadly no video of the after has been made available.
Five showerheads, a big thank you, and a fervent wish to get to the bottom of the Vogel disappearance for Hotel Washington.
Grant Street Inn Evolves Right OFF the List
August 28, 2024
We’ve been coming to the Grant Street Inn since the year that it opening (in 1993). Sadly, not many improvements have been made in that time. LOL.
The latest and last trip in August 2024 was the last straw. No more Grant Street Inn.
We requested room 31, and ended up with some disaster of a room on the second floor. Oopsie.
One showerhead and a warning NOT to stay here if you can help it. Nope. All loyalty drained from the loyalty pool.
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