He’s Back: Joe Takes the Reigns at Hotel Marlowe (Boston)
October 17, 2013
Long ago in a galaxy far far away Joe Capalbo set the Kimpton hook by paying attention. Since that time, Joe has moved up the food chain, running the Onyx across town, and recently coming back as the General Manager of my Boston home away from home, the Hotel Marlowe.
Joe has been good to his word. He even listens to Where’s Aubrey. That’s above and beyond the call of duty.
Another personal note from Joe, this one featuring a song title.
The welcome setup in 621 reminds me of a miniature version of Christmas morning. Fun. Thanks Joe.
High information welcome package.
One of the four featured local craft cocktail bars mentioned above is Craigie on Main, which I can attest has a superior bar and some very skilled people working behind it. The coup de grace of a great bar is a real sazarac capability. The sazarac, though simple in concept, is always a very tricky drink to get just right. At Craigie they do it right (and they surprise you with it with a comped delivery after a delicious meal). Also of note is the fantastic wine list at Craigie. We enjoyed a stellar a 2010 Nit de Nin Priorat. The food was very good as well.
Craigie on Main makes a Mellow Yellow as follows:
1.5 Buffalo Trace bourbon
.5 Yellow chartreuse
.5 Becherovka (a new one on me, see below)
.25 Apricot liqueur
dash Regan’s orange bitters
Stir. Express orange peel and drop in.
Becherovka is a cinnamon bitters from the Czech Republic
Back at the Marlowe, some pictures from 621.
Glass shower de riguer
Bedroom
Bathroom mirror (mirror).
Telescope room.
But wait, there’s more. Day2 the plan was to bar hop with Kimpton bar strategist and Tequila master Jacques Bezuidenhout and his trusty associate Ken. It was a dangerous plan and well executed.
We started at the Blue Room with a very good meal indeed. Their bar program is really looking up these days, and the space is nicely spruced up. Then it was off to drink for the best visit ever. Ezra Star was in the house and surprised that Jacques and I arrived together. (The planet is really small.) She joined us for some tequila after her shift. The highlight of the evening other than the company was a tour of the entire incredible kitchen drink/sportello/menton trifecta by Barbara Lynch’s very natty GM John. Amazing place and excellent tour. And somehow I now seem to owe Josey Packard a bottle of Amer Picon?!
Suffice it to say that 6:30am rolled around way too early.
Five showerheads and a very high bar indeed for the Hotel Marlowe and my favorite Kimpton GM Joe Capalbo.
In flying news, United saw fit to upgrade me on two of three legs for this trip. I’ll be checking a bag from Boston, because I was given a bottle of Rhum to bring home to the bar. (Directions are: 1/8 oz lime with pure cane sugar and 2 oz rhum – or so.)
Rhum Agricole from Guadeloupe.
Getting back up in the saddle can be a challenge sometimes, especially after no fly July. Michal Penek and her crack staff at the Hotel Marlowe are doing what they can to make things easier. (United airlines, on the other hand, flew me up here with no upgrade as per usual. United sucks.)
Before you threaten to get out your tiny violin and play me a sad sad song, note that there has been lots of music lately too during the July hiatus. No time for that in airplane mode! The last hurrah on the music front was this weekend’s 20th anniversary Oopstock in the far reaches of the New Hampshire’s darkest jungles.
Drive in at 11pm? No problem. Everybody said hi. Super friendly and nice welcome, even to a zombie cruising on 3 hours of sleep. Thanks you guys.
San Pellegrino and cheese puffs, what more could you want?
Day came on early and bright in room 621.
Instrument pile in the corner.
The telescope, blinded by the light.
In Kimpton scuttlebutt news, Joe Capalbo is coming back to run the Marlowe after his stint at the Onyx, and Michal is headed to the Onyx to take his place. Musical chairs! Of course we selfishly like to see good management promoted, because it means more great service from Kimptons in the future.
Nothing but blue skies.
Five showerheads and a wary look at the upcoming travel schedule for the Hotel Marlowe.
In other Boston news, the usual visit to The Blue Room followed by a late night at drink took place on schedule and slightly over budget.
Palmer concocted a Fancy Free as follows:
2.25 oz Eagle rare (wheated bourbon)
.75 oz Luxardo
2 dashes Angostura Orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
Express orange peel over drink (shaken and strained)
It was an early start in Canada at 5am, but Air Canada and Global Entry conspired to make for an easy trip.
The Onyx still has a truly phenomenal staff. Friendly, interested, engaging, and fun; even when there’s a line at the front desk during the afternoon registration crush or a lobby full of impatient Germans waiting for their cabs to the airport. They used to be trained and led by Linda Chin, but now my friend Joe Capalbo is the general manager. (At that time, Joe ran the Hotel Marlowe just across the river in Cambridge.)
Joe and Dava Berman know all about my mixology problem and played right along by gathering the ingredients for a Nevada as a welcome package to room 1009. Super cool. The Nevada is a truly outstanding concoction.
Makings for the Nevada.
Here’s the result. I think there is enough stuff here to make one for everyone in the hotel.
An actual Nevada.
The only fly in the Onyx ointment is a distinct lack of glass showers. As a joke, Joe had the shower curtain liner removed from my shower before my arrival. Hilarious!
Not a glass shower.
Kimpton bathrooms have high quality fixtures.
Joe has a sneaky plan to get some glass showers installed. We’ll see whether he can pull it off. You see, the Onyx is not the same level of property as a Palomar or the Marlowe in the Kimpton constellation of hotels. But what they lack in glass showers they make up for in personality and verve. Hence the title of this posting. We use the force (glass shower heuristic) to find good hotels. The onyx causes a disturbance in the force.
Onyx rooms are kinda small. I like more room to spread out and cause trouble.
Bed room.
Entertainment console view.
Mixology fun on this trip did not end with the Nevada at the Onyx. In fact, they were just getting started. At the Cigital Boston launch party we hosted, we got a superb barman to make some real drinks. They went along nicely with the live jazz and the hors d’ouevres.
Mixology by Sage (until recently from drink) at the Boston office launch party.
Then there was dinner and a visit to drink where we were lucky enough to be ministered to by the incomparable Ezra Star. Needless to say, the cocktails were superb. We even worked in a lesson in reverse engineering. I take back all the bad things I said about drink. Well some of them anyway.
Reversing the Brooklyn courtesy of Ezra at drink.
A mid-day breakfast at Ferrara’s was just what the doctor ordered.
As our next trick, my band Where’s Aubrey played an impromptu concert in the Onyx lobby. I guess that’s one way to recover from a very late night at drink.
Back to drink (before a delicious and authentic Italian dinner at Bricco) for some cocktails with Ren Brown. Ren is playing with Gin and created the Gin Mai Tai 44
1 oz Ransom gin
1 oz Haymon gin
1 oz Lime
.5 oz PF orange curacao
1/8 oz Orgeat
Five enthusiastic showerheads for the Onyx. Come see for yourself how cool the staff is.
No TSApre at Logan (and other indignities)
April 7, 2013
TSApre is good.
Sadly, though Logan just re-did security completely, they did not put in a TSApre lane. And they don’t enforce their premium security lane either. So today I got to stand around in line, remove my shoes, take of my belt, and wait while an entire pack of toddlers with strollers and parents was ushered through security.
Two per family please.
Hey United, how about fixing the security situation at BOS Terminal C please?
Speaking of which, I am #13 on the upgrade list for the flight down today. That sucks. Back to standard United behavior.
Joe to the Rescue: The Hotel Marlowe Does a Head Fake
April 5, 2013
Two years ago when I was being treated as a random walk-in guest at Hotel Marlowe on visit 15 or so no less, Joe Capalbo, who was the GM at the time, took it upon himself to fix the problem. He even sent me a toy glass shower for my birthday which to this day lives in my office in Virginia. Thank goodness Joe is around, because he rescued a Marlowe visit again even though he runs the Onxy across town! Thanks Joe.
So what happened? Good question.
I was greeted by name on my arrival this time, and then promptly told by a very green and very chipper manager why they did not have the kind of room that I like available for me this stay. It’s not like I just thought this trip up last week. I have had a reservation for months. Time warp to bad! Guess what Connie and Michal, as a long time overly loyal guest I really don’t care how full the hotel is, why nobody was able to plan around this, or how you might go about getting me the kind of room I would like etc. I am not the hotel manager. You are.
My least favorite part of this “you can’t always get what you want” dance was being given a choice between a low inside cave room with a glass shower or a shower curtain room of the sort I used to whine about in 2010. That’s the very same trick we used on our toddlers to get them to feel they had some power in the “what’s for dinner” department. (They’re teenagers now, FWIW.) “Would you like yummy peas or delicious spinach?” we would ask. Of course, grownups get to say, “neither, thanks.” Toddlers can be bamboozled. I’m pretty sure I may be a grownup?! Maybe.
So I dutifully checked in to room 3-something (?!), ditched my stuff and caught the T to the new offices in Boston (very cool, BTW and situated in a hot area just by South Station). Underwhelmed by my Marlowe welcome, I tweeted, “The big ‘whatever’ from hotel marlowe. They know my name but whiff on preferences. @kimpton has me spoiled, but not this week. Minus 10.”
 Cave room nice (but dark). |
 Glass shower trumps light when forced. |
 Window overlooks parking courtyard. |
During dinner and when getting a nightcap afterwards, my Boston peeps had great fun tweeting to the Ritz about getting me to jump ship from Kimpton. Much fun was had by all. And lo and behold, when I returned around midnight there was a new executive class room set up for me with all my stuff in it and a stinky cheese welcome package from Joe.
Things were definitely looking up, because I have a telescope.
Exec class rooms with telescopes are what I like.
Now a little aside about management spin. After the midnight upgrade which remedied the situation, Connie saw me in the morning and insisted on letting me know that I was given this room “due to a cancellation.” Really? Not only do I not need to know this, all it does is underline how the Hotel Marlowe apparently really feels about my business. “Good thing someone more important to us than you didn’t show up so we could backfill.” Uh, thanks. Try this instead, “We noted your disappointment and fixed the problem. It will never happen again.” Green.
At least 621 is nice.
More room to spread out in 621.
Morning light in the sitting room (which was properly used).
I brought my own bathrobe and slippers for the weekend in NH. (Music time!)
Looks like home.
My kind of shower.
Functional yet glass.
For room preference shenanigans we will award the Hotel Marlowe two showerheads and then at the last minute (only because a more important hotel did not show up) change it to four showerheads.
Just before heading out to NH, I had a very nice chat with Michal Penek (the new GM). It’s always good to put a human face on things. I’m looking forward to my next visit.
In other Boston news: Mortons is the same as it is in every other city (yawn). The Tufts kids are super psyched about software security. The Blue Room is as excellent as ever with yet another new chef who is taking the direction Florentine. And the coup de grace this trip, drink was in rare form, serving delicious Liberals (real Amer Picon in stock), milk punch, and an Ezra-made concoction.
Mixology News Flash: R.I.P. drink, Welcome Kimpton
April 7, 2012
The Blue Room is great, as always, even with their new chef. Beyond “solid” and well worth a visit. Charcuterie? Excellent. Hand crafted drinks? Also excellent. Milk punch at Blue Room. Yep.
Also very good was our Saturday night meal at T.W. Food. A relatively new and already popular place, T.W. Food has some hits and some misses in general. Great ambiance and good service with some minor pacing issues. It’s a four out of five.
Now the tragic news. Drink is done. The number one bar in the world (in my book) has been overrun by “swingles.” We went by after dinner to have an 11:30 nightcap and there was a line (?!) of kids. Lines are something we don’t do. Bye bye drink.
I guess you can try a weekday night, but with so many pretend hipsters standing on the stairs, there seems to be little chance that mixology craftsmanship will prevail. Too bad, because it was once a great bar.
Now for the surprise. As of two days ago, the bar at Hotel Marlowe has real drinks. Patrick Pound mixed up a Corpse Reviver #2 tonight. We like this phenomenon. Go figure.
Real drinks at the Hotel Marlowe bar.
And now some unsolicited advice for the Kimpton expedition into mixology.
Get good ice. Ice that is 31 degrees from a quick ice machine melts too fast for shaking a drink and only waters things down.
Procure some Luxardo cherries.
Be cognizant of particular types of liquor in a drink, it makes a HUGE difference.
Get some interesting old glasses from the ’20s.
Always use fresh squeezed fruit. Do not store lemon juice for more than 2 minutes.
On to the drinks at the Hotel Marlowe
Sazerac: switch out the Bulliet Rye for Old Overholt. Do not muddle. Use two glasses when mixing. Try a thick slice of orange peel at the end. (I flame mine.)
Corpse Reviver #2: Switch out Tanqueray (!) for Hendricks. Use fresh lemon juice. Measure measure measure. Do not wing it. 3 drops means 3 drops. Equal parts means exactly equal.
Ditch the Aviation and add a Blue Moon instead
Negroni: Use Plymouth gin instead of Tanqueray (!)
I hope this experiment works like a charm and that the mixology trend spreads throughout the Kimpton hotels. Yay!
Last Stop Hotel Marlowe, Boston
April 6, 2012
I really like the Marlowe. It is my go to hotel in Boston. Situated in Cambridge up by the Science Museum, the Marlowe was one of the first boutique hotels to grace the city (there are a bunch now).
Since Boston is the last of the five cities in the college tour extravaganza of 2012, the Marlowe is batting clean up this trip. We’re run ragged. Our 2am arrival didn’t really help much. Not enough sleep since last Sunday. And way too many airplanes. (Three airplanes in one day is too many.)
Our arrival was complicated by United who opted to send our bags before us to Boston—to a different terminal. United really does suck these days, post merger. Any computer could be programmed to make sure our bags arrive at the same terminal as our bodies, but not United’s computers. Yet another side effect of spending more on paint and videos featuring the Jeff Smisek than on computers that work! Get with the program United. And get a different video star who is less fake sincere. How much does Smisek get paid anyway?
On the flip side, we flew a newly configured 737-900. No chance of upgrade due to the flight being free (a perk, I will admit, but one dearly earned), however the new plane’s bulkhead in economy plus was spacious, has under first class seat stowage, and includes 2 power outlets per row. That is a welcome feature. The mandatory viewing of ads on the “press the bar, swipe the card, and pay like a hamster for your food” DirecTV machines in your face is just slightly less welcome (hah!). FWIW, also not welcome is the flight attendant who tried to tell everyone multiple times where to stow coats. Easy enough to ignore that nonsense. I bet I fly more miles a year than she does.
Anyway we arrived at the Marlowe well after our advance team landing party who checked in around 7pm. A nice bottle of wine (now open), a personal note, and a cheese plate (sadly, nowhere near as nice as the one at the Palomar in Chicago) were, um, scattered about. Thanks for that Justin!
Things are always messier with the family in tow.
Chaos ensues.
I always enjoy the (fairly new) executive suite room class at the Marlowe. This time we’re in 621. Getting a room like this on a Kimpton Intouch free night is a treat. Of course, we’re paying list for the other 2 nights! 621 is very similar in layout to 827, only two floors lower. (Higher is better in Boston just like in NY in case you were wondering.)
The bathroom is nicely appointed and the shower is great. Plenty of water pressure in the glass compartment with lots of room. We like this shower.
Shower equals good.
A big old bathtub of the sort we never get around to trying (been several years running now).
This tub cold be a mirage or a Potemkin village for all I know.
One really unfortunate development of late at the Marlowe. Keith, the amazing concierge who grew up in Boston has moved on to Seattle. Keith, we miss you! You are not replaceable. The concierge staff now is very eager and really helpful, but also lack a certain level of concierge kung fu. Comedy club like on TV? I dont think so. Jazz fusion? Prolly not. (Compare such a suggestion to going to see Blackbird and you will immediately discern the problem.)
Full moon over the Charles.
All that aside, we are having a nice stay in Boston. We’re off to the Blue Room for dinner, and then to drink for some drinks. Five shower heads for the Hotel Marlowe and a funeral dirge for his Keithness. Keith, if you’re listening, watch out for the moss on your roof in Seattle my friend.
Hotel Marlowe Currently Experiencing No Winter
February 1, 2012
I’ve been coming to the Hotel Marlowe since the first week it opened. Even though my old buddy Joe Capalbo has moved across the river to run the Onyx (wonder where Linda Chin is now?), the Hotel Marlowe staff is in top form. I was greeted by name by everybody this morning when I arrived. That makes me wag my tail. I am so easily pleased it seems.
It’s a weird winter up here. Cold, but not very cold. And no snow (unlike last year). Here’s what it looks like out my window this afternoon from room 827.
Over the Charles toward the Museum of Science.
All rooms should have telescopes.
When I entered the gorgeous executive class room, I was greeted by a personal note and some loot from Justin the concierge. This loot thing rules.
Thanks for the loot Justin.
So does this room class actually. Great bathroom. I really do need to figure out how to use one of these dang huge bathtubs one of these years.
Without further ado, a picture or two. See previous entries for pictures of the glass shower cube and the gigantic tub.
An artsy image of the tub. Kimpton soap.
Into the sitting room (note telescope).
And get this. I stupidly left my mac power adapter at home again (in the kitchen plugged into the wall). When I called down to see if I could borrow one, Matthew solved the problem by walking over to the mac store and buying one for the hotel to have to let people borrow. Phenomenal service. Wow.
A Kimpton gem. Best in the business. Rock on Hotel Marlowe…you deserve more than five showerheads, but that is where the scale tops out.
The rest of the day went super well too. I gave a talk at Tufts attended by students from Tufts, Harvard and MIT and my old pal Dan Dennett. Then there was a small and delicious dinner at the blue room. The blue room has a new chef, so no more shrimp and yucca. I had to “settle” for the best duck I have ever eaten instead.
Finally it was off to drink for a nightcap or seven. We were expertly served by Ezra Star who made a number of delicious standards that I ordered up for my newbie friends (Liberal, Corpse Reviver #2). The mixological highlight was an experimental concoction that Ezra made on the fly. We’ll call it Ezra’s Star:
.5 Picon
.25 Luxardo
.75 Dry vermouth
1.5 El Dorado 12 year rum
drink is still the best bar in the world.
Boston rocks.
Irony and the Onxy Hotel, Boston
October 5, 2011
Boston was crammed to the gills this week. Hotel availability and prices reflected that. In fact, when I was setting this trip up I was shocked by the prices. Kimpton to the rescue. A quick note to the esteemed Linda Chin (GM at the Onyx) helped me reserve a room.
BTW, Linda’s staff is still top notch. Responsive. Nice. Helpful. Quick to solve a problem. The Onyx staff is among the best in the business. Thanks to Lauren Weir for reaching out before I arrived. Sadly, Joe the bartender did not remember me at all on Tuesday, nor has he become a mixologist in his spare time.
My arrival was complicated by showing up way early. The staff very graciously worked with me to get a room set up. After 30 minutes dinking around on the net in the lobby, everything was ready to go. This time, I was in room 909. (I think I was slated for 1007, but engineering was somehow involved…so something must have been busted.)
Not surprisingly, the rooms at the Onyx have not grown any bigger since I was last here—nicely appointed, but a bit cramped. My camera is still AWOL after my Watermellon Park Fest gig, so once again I have to use a canned picture from the hotel website. Maybe I need to buy a new camera.
See how great these pictures are when the hotels take them? The fisheye lens makes things seem bigger than they really are.
After all day in Boston, I returned to the room to find a personal note from Linda and the makings of a vodka beverage (horrors!!). This was all very nice, of course. I guess Lauren did not get the memo about vodka being verboten among those in the know. We’ll just pretend it never happened.
I’ll also have to pretend that the showers at the Onyx are glass and that they have sufficient shower pressure. They’re not and they really don’t. Dang. See the previous entry on the Onyx for some pictures.
In any case, I will keep Onyx at the five showerheads rating level. Excellent staff trumps ignorable showers this week.
Some good news to end the posting. Mixology in Boston is strong and appears to be spreading. I had no time to go to drink (trip to NY intervened and wrecked my big plans). Bravo at the Museum of Fine Arts offered up an acceptable beverage whose name escapes me now. (I am guessing at the ratios here.)
1.5 oz bombay sapphire gin
.5 chartreuse
.5 sweet vermouth (they used gallo almost for sure)
dash bitters (fee brothers generic)
And my favorite Boston restaurant the Blue Room served up a wonderfully complex drink called the smoke monster (I am guessing at ratios again):
1 oz cuervo silver
1 oz chichicapa mezcal
1 oz grapefruit
teaspoon honey syrup
dash bitters (probably angustora)
Almost forgot the irony bit. Guess where I am headed tonight…back to the Eventi in NY. What a ridiculous circumstance. Hey Linda, call ahead for me please!
Hotel Marlowe (Boston) Calm in the Storm
June 8, 2011
My whirlwind trip to Boston this go ’round left no time for extracurricular fun. And you know what they say about all work and no fun… I was in town for multiple reasons and scheduled full on with just enough time left over for sleeping. The good news is that the Hotel Marlowe was a welcome respite for repose.
The staff was all decked out in Stanley cup hockey gear (I think hockey may be some kind of yankee sport involving ice). There must be some kind of Wanted poster in the back, because even with my sunglasses and beard I was recognized and greeted by everyone. Joe still has everyone on their toes. My favorite guy on staff is still the valet, though I do remember when Keith helped me finagle tickets to a great play.
This time I was in 421. The room is a newly redecorated executive suite. Super space with enough room to stretch out and get some work done. Not only did I forget my bribe for Joe (fresh pork from either Berlusconi or Sarkozy), but I also forgot my digital camera and my business cards. I must really need a break.
The bedroom can be sealed off from the sitting room with sliding pocket doors.
A classic Marlowe piece of style. Excellent.
Everyone should have their own telescope, though the 4th floor is a bit too close to the road for best viewing.
The bathroom is really great. Here are a couple of new pictures, but also see a previous entry from January. The only fly in the ointment of 421 is a water pressure issue. Not enough. I would prefer to be blasted awake by my shower than lulled back to sleep. The shower itself is great other than that.
Still no time for these dang hot tubs.
The all important glass cubicle shower. No plastic in sight!
I did get to have dinner at the Blue Room (though it was a business dinner). The fact that I could not swing by Drink leads me to believe that I crammed too much into the last 2 days! I also got to teach some suburban sprawl bartender how to make a Negroni, and as icing on the cake we got into the New York Times today this week too! Woot!
Hotel Marlowe rocks. Five shower head domination. If you have to go to Boston, stay here.
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