Colorful and classy at the Gray Chicago
October 11, 2016
NPS was in a bad mood because United improperly rejiggered seating into economy from economy plus (how do people stand that kind of travel?) and then an Uber driver pulled a super flaky move doing a multi-client pickup dropoff scam. So a taxi it was into Chicago in heavy stop and go traffic.
Fortunately the Gray fixed everything instantly. Alexsis and Happy greeted us at the front desk so cheerfully we knew we were in the midwest. The Gray, being a Kimpton, was alerted to NPS arrival and had already plussed us up into a fantastic suite. (Thanks Nabil Moubayed! You rock.)
1113 is new, modern, spacious, and excellent.
Amenity including a “Come Sail Away” from Volume 39
Living area
1113 bedroom
The shower is not plastic in the least. World class.
Awesome shower (with tub inside and bench)
After dropping off stuff it was down to Volume 39 where Barman Bob (no, not that one) created a bastardized (but very delicious Liberal before we headed out for some pie.
Volume 39
Volume 39 is a welcome addition to Kimpton’s excellent bar program. Mr Ryan, well done!
Then it was off to some pie. Call ahead and see whether it matters!
Best burned cheese deep dish in town
By 9pm it was cocktail time. We headed over to Barrelhouse Flat for some excellent drinks. Fernet backbar shots, amaro tastings, general merriment. The George T Stagg was definitely a bad idea though
Barelhouse Flat
We did finally have some of the hyped up Plantation Overproof Rum. It is a good product, but frankly the over the top hype built it up too much. Solid. Drinkable. But not the gods’ gift to rum salvation.
And then it was back to the Gray past last call. The Come Sail Away came in very handy.
Five showerheads and best of wishes to the brand new and utterly fabulous Gray.
Oh and guess what, United upgraded us on the flight home. Woo hoo!
Hotel Marlowe in Boston: NPS Home Away from Home
October 7, 2016
Not only is the Hotel Marlowe (in Cambridge, MA really) a beautiful property, it is a well-oiled hospitality machine. GM Joe Capalbo always treats NPS as a friend and colleague. One of the highlights of any Boston visit is catching up with Joe.
Hotel Marlowe
NPS visits do seem to coincide with visits by the owners of the hotel. That keeps Joe pretty busy. It also tends to occupy the presidential suite, but that’s OK because room 621 is fantastic all on its own.
621 Executive Suite
621 Natural Light
Outstanding
Check out this cool decanter.
Barrel aged Boulevardier
The only minor detail left out was still water versus sparkling. But you know, all those blue bottles look the same! The oversight was easily remedied.
621 has a fine bathroom situation. Glass showers!
Dinner at Sportello was very nice. It’s always great to catch up with old friends. Afterwards, our plan was to sneak down to drink by the back stairs. Our plan failed when we were told we would have to stand around for 20 minutes before getting a seat. Things used to be much smoother between drink and sportello three years ago! Ezra was in London anyway.
Fortunately the manager at sportello detected our disappointment and ushered us right next door to Menton’s Gold Bar.
Grappa based cocktails from @MentonBoston pic.twitter.com/2eZr7GkgOH
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) October 6, 2016
Cap’n Cook
.75 oz chamomile syrup (2:1)
.25 oz luxardo lemoncello
.5 oz salers
1.5 oz grappa
1 dash Dr. Adam Elmegirab’s spanish bitters
1 gram olive oil powder
Stir down. Serve over large cube. Spoon powder on cube.
Spectre
1 oz grappa
.25 ransom old tom gin
1.5 oz barolo chinato
The barrel aged Boulevardier that Patrick made was so good that we had to go down to Bambara and get another!
The aged boulevardier was so good, NPS needed another @Kimpton Patrick says hi @LoveTequila pic.twitter.com/K969exDgT0
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) October 6, 2016
Dinner at Craigie on Main was spectacular as always. Whole roasted chicken, great wine, and superior cocktails makes Craigie a top destination.
Nice back bar @craigieonmain pic.twitter.com/IFL861YTox
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) October 6, 2016
A final nightcap or two at Journeyman backbar included house made milk punch and a Liberal made with real Amer Picon. Somebody has been to France!
Backbar @eatatjourneyman has Picon. So liberal. pic.twitter.com/FDTp6XpWl8
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) October 7, 2016
All told this was a five showerhead visit to Boston hands down. Lets do it again!
A Visit to Japantown San Francisco: The Buchanan
September 29, 2016
Visiting a new Kimpton property is always fun. We’re happy to say that due to the highly-interconnected nature of the Kimpton GM network, our reputation at NPS proceeds us. LOL. Hopefully that’s not too bad a thing.
Japanese Peace Garden
So we met GM Emily Glick on the net well before even landing in San Francisco. She is awesome.
The flight out to San Francisco was very nice on Virgin America. So much better than United! But in the air, an email arrived with the title “Small snag – Buchanan Hotel.” Gotta hate that! Turns out that the evil person occupying the room I was supposed to be in failed to depart! That meant a different room, and frankly one with a few bugs.
The main problem with 216 is that it is too low and close to street noise. As a country boy, city noises are disconcerting and make sleeping a challenge. Also the hotel net has been super flaky this visit with big lags, dropped packets, DNS issues. Say it ain’t so in 2016!
216 spartan
216
216 has a glass shower but is set up for handicap access
216
216 in daylight, the window pop outs are cool
Desk popout
Thanks to the staff of the Buchanan for the amenity. Sparkling water comes in handy.
Snacks!
Switching rooms became an option after the evil occupy 416 person departed. 416 is much better that 216 for reasons that are hard to describe. Better lines. Sleeker. Cleaner. Better view. All around much more Kimpton-like.
416
hallway lines 416
Shower cube 416
View from the glass cube
Japantown at night
The family run restaurant at the Buchanan (mums) is cute and very Japanese. At breakfast I heard French, Russian, and of course English. Sadly, they have no espresso. But three minutes away in the Japantown Mall is the Andersen bakery. They can be taught how to make a doppio macchiato
Espresso can be found at Andersen bakery
It remains to be seen whether any non-meeting time will remain this trip. Too busy for San Francisco makes gem a dull boy.
Four showerheads and a room switcherooby for the Buchanan. Nice property a bit off the beaten path with a few snags.
The Dean to the Rescue: Providence, RI
September 7, 2016
Ever had one of those trips where you arrived just to find out that the arrangements that you thought were made were not made? Like, you go to the hertz lot on the shuttle and they don’t have you in their system? Good thing for the Presidential level status at Hertz. And also good thing the Dean was able to find some room at the inn! (shew)
The news was not all good, though. Room 415 and its type were all booked up. But sometimes providence shines on you (who could resist that line?), and as it turns out room 401 is ever better than 415. Why? Because the bathroom is bigger and the shower is even more glassy! Hot damn.
401 has room for a bed
And a Morrocan bench (is that ivory?)
Plenty of light on a dreary day
Extra chair in the bathroom? OK
The glass cube shower is NPS approved
It’s nice to be back, and nice to discover a cheaper room category more suited to NPS. I think I have a new favorite room.
Next up, a drink or two at The Magdalenae Room and dinner at the recently James Beard adorned Persimmon.
The fabulous magdalanae room @thedeanhotel. Catherine mixes a mean cocktail. pic.twitter.com/UqVI2xqnLD
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) September 8, 2016
The 19th Century
1.5 oz Rye (old overholt)
.5 oz fernet
.5 oz maraschino liqueur
.5 oz dry curaçao
.5 oz lemon juice
Shake. Strain. Serve up. Lemon peel garnish.
Creative and outstanding dinner @PersimmonRI. Thanks chef. pic.twitter.com/XF8q6hw3Gj
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) September 8, 2016
A five shower head visit!
Stranded in Hartford, CT: Marriott-land
September 7, 2016
Sadly, Hartford, CT is lacking in both the boutique hotel and high-end cocktail bar departments. That makes life here at NPS kind of difficult. Marriott hamster cage for you! And mid-tier booze to boot.
View from the 19th Floor (Hartford, CT)
The good news, relatively speaking, is that my travel companion this trip is a super Elite Marriott Platinum whatever. He booked all the rooms. What that means to NPS is that the bottle of water is free! Such amenity.
Here is what cage number 1921 looks like. (FWIW, 1921 is way better than 717 was last go ’round.)
Hartford Marriott 1921
1921 bed
1921 pays homage to the TV (standard Marriott practice)
The shower is glass and is very nice. NPS approved.
Not plastic!
A last minute hunt for a decent cocktail bar in the city came up with nothing. So down to the Marriott bar it was for a nightcap. Negroni? Check. Stagg Jr? Sure why not. NPS advises you to just skip the bar visit.
Is stagg jr real? Well it comes on a blue napkin. @DrewKilbourne pic.twitter.com/Iw0PlSEiwr
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) September 7, 2016
One ray of sunshine during this visit is that Max’s Downtown is a very nice restaurant with an interesting wine list. Highly recommended.
In the end, this Marriott property is a low three showerhead kind of place. Nice enough in its generic big hotel you must be here on business way.
Putting in the Work: The Donovan Hotel in Washington, DC
August 24, 2016
View from the Donovan
The Donovan has become our home away from home in DC mostly due to the fact that Steph Vogel (the GM) rocks. Room 1110 which we discovered on our previous outing here is well configured for a two day offsite.
We put ourselves to work. We got done.
Working in 1110
The multiple amenities and constant supply of sparkling water helped.
NPS has covered the room in previous entries, so here is a video tour instead.
The donovan 1110 fantastic work space @Kimpton (shower 2 shower) @stephaski pic.twitter.com/m9TZZaU3vh
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) August 23, 2016
Sadly everything was not perfect night one, but life rarely is. A trip to the top floor bar led us to the not-cut-out-for-bartending Joel. Some people just don’t know when to leave well enough alone! Suffice it to say:
So, can you fuck up a negroni? Apparently so. @LoveTequila we need your magic planet wide. pic.twitter.com/8URgsz7gxf
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) August 23, 2016
By contrast, our visit to the Columbia Room was just out of this world. A fantastic evening indeed. Alex Levy was holding down the fort while JP and Derek jet set in Charleston.
Five Course summer menu at the Columbia Room
![FullSizeRender[9]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender9.jpg?resize=480%2C353&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[8]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender8.jpg?resize=480%2C640&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[7]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender7.jpg?resize=480%2C640&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[6]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender6.jpg?resize=450%2C640&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[5]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender5.jpg?resize=480%2C640&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[4]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender4.jpg?resize=480%2C546&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[3]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender3.jpg?resize=480%2C640&ssl=1)
![FullSizeRender[1]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender1.jpg?resize=480%2C360&ssl=1)
Perhaps the Fernet shots and the 1938 Old Overholt pours were bad idea? LOL
![FullSizeRender[2]](https://i0.wp.com/noplasticshowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fullsizerender2.jpg?resize=377%2C635&ssl=1)
Thanks Alex!
Can’t wait to return to both the Donovan and the Columbia Room in the near future. Five showerheads and a well made Negroni to you both!
Maybe it was the late night Negroni that was the bad idea?
The Solid Ironworks Hotel in Beloit, Wisconsin
August 19, 2016
NPS will be spending an inordinate amount of time in Beloit, Wisconsin in years to come. Fortunately, Beloit is a cute little town with a great hotel. The Ironworks is in a reclaimed building just a hop skip and a jump from Beloit College.
Stylish lobby
We arrived separately and stayed in a sizable executive suite. There are six such suites per floor. Request an upper floor facing the river. Room 201 is not one of those and it was too noisy due to the nearby main artery road.
Frontier design sensibility
Bet this will come in handy come winter
The mostly rectangular suite is divided by a fireplace that opens both ways.
The spacious bathroom has a great set of showers and plenty of room.
The restaurant is a steakhouse (of course) with an emphasis on the potato. Your mileage will definitely vary with the wine list which must be policed and corrected one of these years. Solid, but nothing to write home about.
Sunset on the restaurant patio
For breakfast, make sure to hit Bushel and Peck’s which has a quirky vegan vibe (though they do have bacon for the record).
And don’t forget that Madison with all of its University town goodness is only an hour north.
Madison, Wisconsin
Four showerheads for the ironworks hotel. Real potential to become a home away from home.
SpringHill Suburban Disaster in Manchester, NH
August 19, 2016
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) August 13, 2016
Yes it rained. And then rained. Deluge. Downpour. So we moved the music inside and played all night anyway.
Music at Oopstock
But then we were due in Wisconsin the next morning before noon! That meant leaving the party at 2am for a late night visit to the nearest airport’s suburban hotel chain. Ears ringing from electric music, off we went into the deluge.
Here is the disaster that is Manchester, NH Springhill Suites. Just. Do. Not. Go.
My travel buddy with endless platinum Marriott points procured our reservation and checked us in, so we got to participate in ultra elite status. Like check out this outstanding amenity!
Amenity? Or cheap bag of chips.
And we got the best available room in the place, which was this desert of a design disaster.
Just super generic and gross.
Plastic shower! In a sealed room. Obesity rod.
Yeah. No.
So anyway, we were there for less than three hours. The plan is to never have to do that again!
One showerhead for Springhill Suites writ large. No.
No fly July just barely ended this morning and I am still down South working on the screened in porch. Round about this time of year we usually head up to Boston and see our good friends at the Hotel Marlowe. Sadly, this year’s plans call for a different route, so we can’t say hello as usual and break our no fly July travel drought in the most perfect way possible.
The incredible staff at the Hotel Marlowe has pooled together a donation to support the Team Tartan Leukemia Cup boat two years running. (See this post from last year and this one from two years ago.) I figured since this year we are skipping Boston, we might be out of sight, out of mind. But no. Joe Capalbo and his staff made a very sizeable donation anyway.
Team Tartan sails the Leukemia Cup in Kilts!
Just wow. You guys are the best. Thank you for helping us fight blood cancer!
When we hit our goal (a formidable $42,000 this year), we sail in kilts. We’re well on our way to that again thanks to Hotel Marlowe and Kimpton Karma.
You’re welcome to donate too, dear reader. Every penny counts.
DONATE TO TEAM TARTAN 2016 LEUKEMIA CUP
Special thanks to Hotel Marlowe from Team Tartan
It was a perfect weekend in Virginia (if not hot). Lots of time in the river. An evening playing live music for friends. So how do ease back into work mode? Why with the help of the Donovan hotel of course. My home away from home in DC is particularly welcoming this visit!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is the shower pod
You see, my friend Steph Vogel has been holding out on me. But no more! Now we’ve been in 1110. YES!
Welcome
Thanks steph @Kimpton @stephaski pic.twitter.com/eYKhgbU6Ew
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 25, 2016
We will pretend that this is a flight of Pappy van Winkle bourbon.
Living room overlooking the circle
Night @kimpton donovan hotel pic.twitter.com/FATC36Q1kK
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 25, 2016
This suite is huge.
Bedroom
But the shower is what stands out. A nautilus design with a spiral. Very cool.
The nautilus shower is NPS approved
Without setting foot in an airplane, we’re somehow still pampered beyond belief. Five showerheads for the Donovan. Thanks for ending the weekend on a high note!
RSS - Posts