Heavy Turbulence at the Alexis in Seattle
June 4, 2017
NPS is not a first-timer at the Alexis, but we sure do miss our guy Keith (once concierge) who is no longer at Kimpton. Because we have no feet on the ground at the hotel, we had to rely on social media and the CRM system that Kimpton uses to track its guests. Guess what? Knowing people beats the heck out of any computer-based guest database. Especially a guest database that elides the only real hotel room criteria we hold dear.
Which is a short way of saying, “WTF Kimpton, a room with a plastic shower??!” Really, the warm greeting by Sam, the sparkling water, the really beautiful newly-renovated room, all that stuff means not a thing if the shower is plastic. We’ll pay more. We’ll do pretty much whatever it takes to avoid the shower over bathtub thing. We’ll even cash in our loyalty and find a different hotel.
NO PLASTIC SHOWERS!
The first room was 634. It had a plastic shower. What exactly does that mean, you ask? Lets review.
This is a plastic shower. It looks not too awful from here.
But when you approach, the plastic liner becomes apparent
And this bendy “obesity bar” which is not up to the task of such heavy plastic.
Gross. This is just gross. We do not do this.
And over a step in bathtub. No no. A thousand times no.
We tried to make this all very obvious.
Does the machine have a memory??
The rest of the bathroom is very nice and spacious
So lets put this shower episode behind us and hope somebody out there in Kimpton CRM-land is paying attention.
Leave the bathroom behind. Never go back.
High style evident
Cluttered quirky and fun
This is just fine.
Sparkling water is always very nice, and we do appreciate that.
But we do not at all like this trend where our rooms are bugged. Please make these spy devices that invade privacy optional Kimpton.
No bugs please. Spy on your spouse not on your guests.
Anyway, for the record, the Alexis has a great little bar called The Library, where from time to time great bourbon flows through.
The next morning, a room adjustment was already underway. That is good. But it was already too late.
Breakfast at Biscuit Bitch is worth seeking out, even if you have to trawl for a table.
And then work. And then some sailing.
We did some racing, and the good news is that we won first place in our class (really great huge boats that start late and come in last).
By the time the ferry shenanigans finished up, it was midnight and time for the room switch. Imagine our surprise when told that the water was off for maintenance. The Alexis can’t win for losing this trip. We were assigned room 425 which was very nice. We spent 5 hours in it all told.
Though we really do appreciate the shower in room 425, it works better when the water is on.
New room for you
The staff left a very nice amenity which there was no time to get into. Sadly, the water was not sparkly, though who knows it might have started out that way hours earlier.
Fancy
The bathroom is very spacious and awesome. Wish there were more time to use it properly.
Big giant tub with its own platform
Now that’s better Alexis. A glass shower!
All told this chunky visit to the Alexis deserves three showerheads on average. Plastic showers bring your final semester grade way down here at NPS university.
A Quick Pit Stop at Solamar San Diego
May 31, 2017
It is gray and overcast in San Diego. I’m pretty sure this never happened before Donald Trump became President.
We’re back for a quick bit of business in San Diego on our multi-city tour. One of the best things about San Diego is the Salomar. Our buddy George has moved over to the Palomar these days and has been replaced by the capable and super nice Kayse Potter. Kayse made sure our welcome was warm and nice and that our shower was non-plastic. Thank you Kayse.
We arrived late due to Virgin America SNAFU apparently involving a crazy lady in an unrelated city. Things you overhear when the flight crews gossip. Anyway, we got our rental car and zoomed over to the Salomar just in time to drop off bags and skeedaddle for our reservation at Noble Experiment. A great time was had by all. Thanks Andrew and crew. The back bar shots of rum and tequila made for a damn fun time.
We slunk back around midnight. Room 834 is a great space but it is on the wrong side of the building for me. Too noisy when there is a game on at the stadium (after the game ends).
Party all night after the game right under my window
The bathroom is particularly nice with the gigantic tub/glass shower thing going strong. It’s time to replace the showerhead though.
NPS Approved
Glass Pod
Functional but out of date
A solid night’s sleep and a nice long shower was topped only by Swedish pancakes at Richard Walker’s.
Oh, one funny thing. The lobby music is driving Q nuts. He is the manager on duty in the front lobby and is forced to listen to an endless loop. We’ll see if we can’t get that fixed for him!
All around way too quick but super solid visit to San Diego. Five showerheads (one of which might need replacement) for the Solamar.
Back at the Cowper in Palo Alto
May 29, 2017
Yep, it’s silicon valley time and that means the Cowper Inn. This place is so much like home that we request rooms by number in a particular order. Fortunately, we usually end up in 31 (the NPS preferred room).
The flight out on Virgin America was great. Upgraded to first class and ended up with a row of my own. Virgin America makes you pay to upgrade no matter what, but that works for NPS!
It became a clear sunny day in Palo Alto. If you have not visited, Palo Alto is a great place to walk around, window shop, and spend way too much money on furniture. Last time NPS was in town, we accidentally discovered a store which has since managed to sell us multiple very expensive and very comfortable chairs. That would be rejuvenation.
Sequoia
In the yard
Nice room if you ignore the wallpaper
That ’80s kind of shower that your parents had
Through the looking glass
The living room and breakfast room is almost always unoccupied after morning.
Always fresh flowers
In other news, do not go to Roots and Rye which sucks in all possible ways. A waste of gas to get there. workaday: lazy prep, stale bread, uninteresting cocktails, terrible architecture, service that needs training.
Five nostalgic shower heads for the Cowper and its gorgeous yard.
Rochester, Michigan Elegance at Royal Park Hotel
May 25, 2017
Old school is one way to describe the Royal Park Hotel located about an hour north of Detroit in Rochester. A gorgeous old building, well kept and properly appointed sits on a small creek in a green area of town. We arrived late in the rain and in the dark, but we can still tell how pretty this place is.
A cordial check-in put us in room 325 overlooking the creek.
A visit to the bar downstairs to meet some business associates resulted in a great find: Gosling’s Family Reserve Rum in the wild. That’ll do.
325 is just slightly too large for its furnishings, but it is still nice in an old school way.
Just how big is that room?
Big
Too big?
The bathroom has plenty of marble and a very nice shower with multiple shower heads and a bench. Pretty much NPS heaven shower-wise.
Nice shower
Multiple shower heads and a bench
Outside in
Inside in
About the only major problem with this hotel is the “lets charge $4 for water” which as loyal readers know we find appalling. Just no.
Go to Paul’s on Main for breakfast, but try to ignore the idiot boxes hung all over the place.
Five showerheads for Royal Park and some free water. Free. We do not charge for that in civilized society.
Chicago Palomar a Welcome Refuge
May 24, 2017
Sure is fun to be back at a top notch hotel where they know you: email banter up front, warmly greeted at the front desk (even by the super nice newbie manager guy), allocated a great room, dropped sparkling water and everything. We could get used to this. Oh wait, we are used to this! Kimpton rocks.
It’s Chicago high
727 is not a high room (nor it is the rumored artist’s suite) but it is a great room with an outstanding shower.
Chicago low from 727
727 in
727 out
Amenity with a personal note
Sitting room
Perhaps this showerhead is new. It is nice.
In Chicago there is no time for sitting down or for benches in the shower or anything relaly.
Superior glass cube.
A cocktail at Sable was in order and a Chicago pizza pie.
Special NPS announcement: Chicago deep dish pizza is pizza!
Now for some doughnuts at Glazed and Infused.
Maybe it is time for another battle of the Palomars??
This super quick hit in Chicago involves a rental car we do not need, multiple meetings, and and early evening flight out. Who needs art? Heck, who even needs dinner?? But what we do need for sure is a great morning shower, and we got that at the always five star forever Palomar. Thanks you guys.
Artmore Hotel Atlanta: Slightly Worn Shabby Chic
May 23, 2017
The Artmore is generally speaking right down the middle of the Bell curve of what NPS looks for in a hotel. Small. Boutique. Independent. Slightly hip. Art The property is nicely manicured and if it were not raining, I’m sure the courtyard would rock and roll.
NPS was assigned 225.
225 has a bar, which is cool, but it is completely barren which is lame
Imagine being able to mix a real cocktail for yourself. What is required? A real booze selection. Oh well. Why is this bar here?
Comfy bed in 225
The bathroom is slightly too large with a shower designed for giants. There is a bench, but the water does not reach the bench. Close but no cigar design-wise.
BIG shower
Other design elements like this crazy sink are quirky and interesting.
This will do
But in final analysis, what we have is a hamster cage bed-dominated room with a noisy A/C unit and a little desk.
Desk
Net? Good. Water? Costs money. Note? None.
Shabby? Way too much. Rooms need attention.
A drink at Grain was the great way to wind down from a good day at work. Grain would be much cooler if they would turn down their music. But they did have the real 2016 Stagg.
Chicken at Gus’s was delicious but did not really mix well with cocktails! LOL.
Four showerheads for the Artmore in Atlanta. Time for some care here at this property.
#rockthecasBAR
May 11, 2017
When iteration one’s hashtag is #londonculling where do you go from there? Obviously #rockthecasBAR!
This time we fueled up before our London cocktail adventure. And we even paid.
Then it was off through the crowded streets of London to Dukes Hotel. If you are in the mood for a Bond-inspired super high octane cocktail on the martini spectrum, Dukes is the place. We were explicitly warned to have ONE (in all caps even) by a professional! Thanks for the warning Jacques, you were right.
We walked the few blocks up to the Ritz for round two. We were almost let into the casino to do some gambling (which was not the plan). A corrected trajectory put us through the front door to Rivoli. It was Negroni time.
The beautiful clear ice was branded in the Savoy style. Everyone is copying everyone else in London.
Time for a cab to Clerkenwell, hailed by a snarky doorman. Back to…wait for it…the Zetter Townhouse to see the dead cat. This is our regular London haunt and we were immediately recognized at the door.
Here kitty kitty
Sticking with the gin, we decided on a Zetter Gimlet made with some infusion or other (I believe a kind of tea). It was delicious. The cat joined in.
While waiting for companion three to arrive from across London at rush hour we started feeling parched, so we ordered a round of 20th Century, some pistachios, and some jerky sausage.
Twentieth Century
10 ml lemon juice
10 ml creme de cacao
20 ml cocci americano
40 ml dry gin (jensens)
stir. strain. express lemon peel. small lemon garnish.
The kitty will have another
Ramen is always helpful the day after too many cocktails, but we were just getting started. Prophylactic ramen is now a thing. Monohon ramen is just as great as we thought it would be. Super authentic and delicious.
As NPS is writing this and feeling rather surprisingly good in the morning, I suppose that the prophylactic ramen did its job. Unfiltered sake was not really what the doctor ordered, but we had it anyway.
Warning: This is not a cocktail
A short walk to Callooh-Callay was when our kung fu set in. We walked right past the waiting people, made a joke with the doorman about being tweeners, and immediately sat down at the crowded bar. We were served by either Carrie or Mary. Callooh-Callay is a raucous place where quiet conversation is not in the cards.
Either Carrie of Mary suggested a Hanky Panky. We’re always up for that.
Feeling like talking to each other again, we cabbed it over to the Savoy to visit the Beaufort. We are sad that the Beaufort has changed its menu. They now feature some kind of cartoon menu that seems very Disney. NPS does not approve.
We ordered a Silver Bullet and a Never Ending Story (or two) even though the waiter tried not to let us.
By this time our phone use capabilities were waning and hashtags were slipping into gobbleddygook. We cabbed back to home base at Mondrian Sea Containers, missing a train in the meantime.
Dandelyon was packed of course, so we used our magic to waltz right in and rearrange the furniture. Alex was behind the bar and one year older. Complimentary bubbly arrived which put us in the mood for a French 75.
This somehow made Fernet happen and then it was off to bed. Meanwhile, the guest experience fairies delivered a bottle of champagne while were were out and left it with a personal note. Nice touch!
#londonculling, #rockthecasBAR, what’s next??
