Hotel Grande Bretagne Athens Greece: Send Your Grandma
July 13, 2012
The Hotel Grande Bretagne is an old school luxury hotel chock full of marble staircases, chandeliers, and slightly impersonal service. Rumor has it this is the best hotel in Athens (which is a great place to visit even in the 100+ degree heat of July). Boutique hotels have not yet sprouted here.
On arrival in the afternoon, I was upgraded from a junior suite to a regular suite (room 225). Though the suite itself is nicely appointed, it is old fashioned and has no view at all. I guess the plus is that it is quiet, but a view of the Acropolis (available from the restaurant) would be nice. I asked the front desk to look into a room with a view and their one room swap suggestion was a severe disappointment. I would have been smarter for them just to say no. Like I said, “impersonal service” which is the sort of thing you expect at last generation luxury hotels.
Here is the room.
 The living room section of the suite (situated off the marble floored foyer where the closet is). |
 A comfortable and over dressed bed. Chandeliers in every room but the bathroom. |
Granted having a welcome gift in your room is nice, but this time it was generic, addressed to nobody from nobody in particular. The Starwood people don’t seem to want to get to know their non-loyalty related guests.
A nice but generic welcome of Ouzo and black olives.
The all important bathroom. Nice shower cubicle with multiple showerheads was a bit on the small side in actual use. The water here has a slight sulfer smell.
 Shower cube with a hypotenuse door. |
 Bathtub. Never used (as always on this blog). |
Possibly the biggest problem with the Grande Bretagna is the Starwood idiocy of paid internet service with charges/usernames for each device. Ridiculous. I overheard a 16 year old girl in the hallway complaining to her mom, “yeah and they are uber stingy with their internet.” Get with the program guys, you’re putting your entire chain on the same level as Indianapolis! Plus the net service once you do authenticate sucks.
Tiny fuzzy flat screens playing self-congratulatory tape loops do not make you hip. The W people need to take a look around for high irony.
What happens when you try to make an old school luxury hotel hip? Awful things like this.
Then again the restaurant on the 8th floor is very good (breakfast is a great spread), and the view can’t be beat. The bar is serviceable and makes an OK drink, but they need to use real pineapple juice in their zombies. (No real mixology discovered in Athens this trip…the Speakeasy was too far away.) The 7th floor outside pool is very refreshing on a 106 degree afternoon.
The view from the terrace restaurant on the 8th floor can’t be beat.
Of course, Athens is Athens. And though it is hotter than the dickens in July (over 100 every day and 106 just at the moment), it is a great place to visit.
A side trip to Aegina was particularly noteworthy. Great place for a hot walk up the hill and a cold beer by the ocean.
 Hovercraft to and from Aegina takes 40 minutes (the boat must go 20 knots). |
 Up the hill in Aegina. |
Finally, the highlight of this visit (and the capstone of several exquisite dining experiences with Jacob) was dinner at Spondi—one time the best restaurant in Athens. Supremely good lamb. Superb flavors very carefully constructed. Everything was world class. (My waiter here at the not too shabby itself 8th floor restaurant informs me that Funky Gourmet is now number one. Oh well, guess I’ll have to come back.)
Cycling back around to shower heads, we’ll have to award the Grande Bretagne four showerheads. Better net and a bit more hip would do me.
No Fly July 2012 Delayed for Athens
July 6, 2012
By now, “no fly July” is usually nicely underway and the river beckons. This year’s edition is being postponed until after I get back from Athens on July 16th. That means it’s really going to be more like “no fly July/August conglomeration.”
Maybe Athens will look like this.
Hilton? Prolly not (Wilmington, NC)
June 15, 2012
More slumming on the way to the beach. This seems to be an annual event. The Wilmington Hilton has not improved.
Purple light on the building? Nah. Flickering flourescent bulbs in the bathroom? Nah. Design sensibility? Nah.
Plastic showerland.
Obesity rod included, for free!
In Soviet Russia, corners round you.
Ah, round. Like, um, before we were born.
Peter Roth. Poor guy.
Two shower heads for this place. Don’t stay here unless there are no alternatives. Damn, there are no alternatives.
Better news from Wilmington, which is not a bad town. Caffe Phoenix is a nice place to dine, with a sensible but unsurprising menu and an attempt at real mixological creativity. Joel Finsel has left the building, but slight echoes remain.
Summer Jewel
1.5 oz gin (plymouth would be best)
1 oz green Chartreuse
juice from 1/2 orange
simple syrup (not much)
South Manhattan
2 oz Rye
1 basil leaf
Tablespoon honey
Splash of sweet vermouth
(this one needs to be improved with some interesting bitters)
And there is always the Dixie Grill where breakfast will be served this morning. All Wilmington needs now is a boutique hotel.
Dining out in Greater NoVa
June 4, 2012
In a crazy twist of triplicate small world phenomena, my good friend Jacob and I have had dinner out together every couple of weeks for the last 6 weeks (not to mention mixology). Amsterdam featured a group dinner at Sardegna that included an interesting pasta and mushroom dish concocted with flaming cognac inside a parmesan wheel. Of course the highlight of that evening was insanely good mixology at Door 74.
San Francisco included a trip to the very trendy two star Benu, which was very good but slightly disappointing at the same time. The pairings were definitely the weak point of that meal. High point was meeting Jacques Bezuidenhout for drinks earlier in the evening (he is the head of mixology for the Kimpton hotel chain).
The best thing at benu: duck with truffle bun. This was delicious.
Last week’s trip to Virginia featured a drive across the Potomac River to Frederick, MD for another fancy pants dinner at Volt. You’re not going to believe this, but dinner at Volt was superior to Benu by an order of magnitude (and 2/3rds the price as well)! It was the wine work that did it. Far superior pairings and a sommelier who listens.
The best dish of the entire sequence here, ravioli at Volt. Absolutely outstanding.
So, Frederick, MD (home of Fort Detrick and their evil bio-weapons programs) dogs San Francisco in the super high end experimental three city tour. Rock on East Coast!
As an extra bonus dining tip, this Saturday’s impromptu meal at Tallulah included an outstanding Pheasant concoction and some actual mixology. Barman Steve Rossie created a Yorktown as follows:
1 oz bourbon (he used Wild Turkey 80..I would switch in Blantons)
1 oz apple jack (laird’s bonded)
1 oz sweet vermouth (he used Martini & Rossi I would use Dolin’s in this drink)
.5 oz madiera
2 dashes Angustora bitters (this should be either Fee Brothers West Indian Orange or Reagan’s No. 6)
orange twist (flame for fun)
Plenty of good pickings in the NoVA area for discerning diners.
New Heights at the San Francisco Palomar
May 25, 2012
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).
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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.
Cowper Inn Re-re-re-revisited
May 22, 2012
I’ve been staying here two or three times a year since the ’90s, and I just found a new room. My old favorite #28 was unavailable, so Joji put me up in #31 this time.
I like the hardwood floors and the space. Maybe this is my new favorite?! So fickle.
The bedroom has excellent floors and a nice set of windows. They look better when they’re not covered.
There should be a plate on the wall in every room.
Colonial with a flat screen TV. I wish this TV problem were less pervasive on planet earth. My computer bag makes a rather ugly throw pillow.
Last night when I arrived, French class was well underway. Very nice.
And now to the large (for the Cowper) bathroom. Here is a classic noplasticshowers mirror shot taken through the wall mirror.
Plenty of room, even in the shower.
The shower itself needs a bit of TLC. A new showerhead would probably improve the water pressure situation, and would certainly elevate this shower up the shower food chain. The door needs a whack or two as well.
Shower cube.
Time to go get some breakfast (including epsresso!).
The Cowper retains is well-deserved “best place to stay in Palo Alto” rating of five showerheads.
And here is the Golden Gate bridge.
Amsterdam in Spring: The College Hotel
May 9, 2012
Regular readers know that the College Hotel is by far my favorite place to stay in Amsterdam. We’re running a small Conference here this week, and the venue is absolutely perfect for a meeting.
And get this. Serious mixology is available at the College Hotel now too! Bartender Luke Gerntsen is leading the way and is particularly good with the knife.
I checked in way early after an awful flight and a swing and a miss at Privium (did I mention that United sucks? Oh OK). The College Hotel was kind enough to allow me to shower in an unoccupied room since my room was not yet available. Here is how the shower in 301 looks. 301 is cramped but quirky. All bed.
 Shower in 301. Nice to recover in from a crap flight on United. |
 Bathroom pod in 301. |
Lunch with colleagues (which we’ll just ignore) and a trip to see the tulips began to improve my mood.
Keukenhof beauty. Stunning.
Upon return, my room, 123, was ready. My first reaction was that I preferred 105, but 123 has grown on me and I enjoy the three major windows and light during the time I spend here in the daylight. FWIW, I was met with a fruit plate and a personal note, which is a nice touch and fairly uncommon in Europe.
Through the double doors.
The shower is plenty big with multiple heads (including a soaker) and a very interesting double door.
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The rest of the room is set on two levels with a sitting room (small but very nice) and a bedroom. The layout is quirky and nice. It takes a while for me to remember I am in Europe and to recall the size of my apartment in Trento way back when!
Window seat in the sitting room.
Comfortable bed (well, anything is great after 36 hours awake).
Architecture.
Now back to mixology. Mads Voorheove (who I suppose it Luke’s understudy, but who is very good in his own right) mixed up a nice Royal Navy for me, after which we had an extensive lesson in Genever. We tried three Bols products (Songe Genever, Oude Genever, and the one I have at home…trendy Genever for export) and two Corewyn products (standard and 10 year). Both of the Corewyn products were superb.
We visited Feijoa and said hello to Rob and company. The rum selection is still top notch. And then we paid a visit or two to the speakeasy at door 74 where we were served by Ben and Tess.
What a joy to have real drinks in such a nice hotel. Life is good.
New York City
May 5, 2012
My company has an apartment in NYC. Apparently it is a very advanced apartment, as evidenced by the apartment number:
That’s Dr. Apartment to you.
The view from the 36th-ish floor is pretty good.
View from the corner window.
Looking north from the roof (one floor up).
The building next door seems familiar. And kinda tall.
It’s nice to have net, a kitchen, multiple bedrooms, a washer and dryer, and lots of stocked stuff in NY. May have to stay here all the time and blow off 70Park.
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