Hotel Marlowe outdoes itself (Boston)
March 11, 2011
OK, so how do you top a Wednesday like the one described in the previous posting? At the Hotel Marlowe of course. Always one of my very favorite places to stay on the planet, the Marlowe is back at the top of its game. Rock on Joe.
I arrived in town way too early and showed up around 10:30. Everyone knew I was coming and made me feel welcome and right at home. Because the room I was slated to get was unavailable, the staff upgraded my upgrade to the Presidential Suite. Wow.
Just look at this gorgeous space. Even when the weather is gray and awful, this room is inviting.
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And of course there is the ever important room with the shower to consider.
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It’s easy to say that this is the best room I have had in any Kimpton property. The Hotel Marlowe’s improved customer service has me hooked. Five showerheads for the Marlowe. My only regret is that I didn’t have enough of a crowd through to share the room with. (One minor detail…it’s red wine…not beer. Beer makes me too fat.)
I did give a talk at Harvard, after which it was my great pleasure to introduce new friends and old over dinner at the blue room. Greg, Chauncey and Nabil were excellent company.
No trip to Drink this go ’round, but my liver is likely the better for it. On to Germany.
Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge, MA Starts 2011 Strong
January 14, 2011
Joe was good to his word. If Hotel Marlowe works this hard to earn back my business each time I stay, I’m there!
Though my trip to Boston was shortened by a day due to a winter storm, I was able to compress by meetings into a lunch-less glob and still make it up to Boston. After working hard all day, David Smith, Sammy and I decided to walk the two blocks in the tundra over to Drink so that we could make the concept of a Liberal more concrete. We’re doing what we can to ween David off Scotch (Scotch alone will kill you you know). Drink was fantastic as always. Though the short supply of Amer Picon has run dry, we set up a tasting of various Amer and Amaro from all over the world to try to reverse engineer a Liberal for David. They like to use Rye. I prefer Pappy van Winkle in my Liberals. I think Rye is better mixed in a Sazerac, though Drink makes this one with a twist as well using the New Orleans infusion that they substitute for absinthe (not going there). I’m pretty sure that Drink is the best bar in the world these days. Excellent and demanding mixology with no pretension at all. Just great people. Sammy and I had a Palmetto and convinced David to try some Eagle Rare 17. Before I left, I was brought a milk punch, which though really interesting is a bit on the sweet side for me. I will be back to Drink as many times as I can.
Things got even better when I drove my blizzard-proof rental SUV to the Marlowe and checked in. Everyone knew I was coming and I enjoyed check in thoroughly. My room, 621 is hands down the best room I have seen at the Marlowe. Here’s the view out of my window this morning and last night:
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They have this thing called snow in Boston. Anyway, a nicely constructed cheese plate and a superior bottle of wine. A personal note. I take back all those things I said about the Mariottization of Kimptons. Without further ado, here are some pictures of the palatial bathroom and the very much non-plastic shower:
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This trip promises to get even better since I am heading up to NH to play a gig tonight. Life is good.
The Hotel Marlowe is back at the top of the heap where it belongs. Five showerheads and an acknowledgement that bribery is a good thing.
Onyx Hotel, Boston, MA: A Kimpton gem
September 28, 2010
As you know, I am a fan of the Kimpton Hotel chain even though my experience with them over the last year has been spotty. I’m super pleased to have tried the Onyx Hotel in Boston this time. My plan was to find out whether the Hotel Marlowe should be replaced as my default Boston hotel. Probably.
After 6 hours of weather delays for an hour long flight, I arrived in Boston around 11pm. The front desk staff (Alen and “queen” Darnella) was exceptional at check in, making me feel right at home. True to form, my room was ready and was a match for my Intouch preferences. There was a welcome note from Linda Chin the GM and a smal bottle of Merlot. Very nice.
I joined Joe the bartender for a night cap and we discussed mixology. Joe was interested, but not very knowledgeable. One day maybe all good hotels will have real mixologists?!
On to the room. The Onyx has fairly small rooms, nicely appointed but a bit cluttered. My room (808) appears to be a standard layout. Here’s what the bathroom looks like.
Unfortunately the plumbing was suffering some problems when I arrived and it was too late to get things fixed. But when alerted in the morning, the staff was very responsive.
Now to the shower, featuring the kind of shower curtain that gives me the heeby-jeebies, over a plastic tub. Horrors.
The water pressure was acceptable, but nothing to write home about. And the tiles are real tiles even though they are shiny enough that they look plastic. It’s a close call on this website’s criteria.
Here is a picture of the controls.
A real surprise are the containers of shampoo and conditioner. As one of my friends says, this is a design just waiting for unscrupulous use of Nair. Amazing that some of us get paid to think like that, huh?
The Onxy comes out on top of Hotel Marlowe because of its staff, which is the best trained staff I have come across in the last handful of Kimpton visits. The Eventi hotel in NY pales in comparison to this hotel. Real management is the key.
When I sent the Eventi GM Thomas Mathes a critical but fair note suggesting some improvements, he ignored my feedback. In one fell swoop, Eventi is permanently off the list. Too bad more Kimpton GM’s are not like Linda Chin.
On the strength of its staff, the Onyx earns four of five showerheads and a place on the list of hotels I will return to.
Less whining about Boston
August 20, 2010
I admit it. I’m spoiled.
Though my brief sojourn in Boston was not picture perfect in terms of hotels, the trip overall was great. My meeting was productive and finished early. My rental car was white and was a car I would never contemplate buying in a million years. My friend’s GPS unit was on crack, but the drive it led us on was beautiful. The weather was perfect.
After the meeting ended, I hightailed it over to the Isabella Gardner Museum in a rental car caravan with a fellow uber-geek. The museum is one of my favorite on the planet—such calm and peace radiate from the courtyard garden. We needn’t have rushed it turns out. The museum was hosting its “third thursday after hours” event and we had plenty of time to look at the gorgeous art, relax in the garden, and listen to a superb sitar-based band play some music while sipping a glass of chilled wine.
Dinner was very good too (at a new restaurant called Woodward). Things were a bit more frenetic and crowded than usual due to Restaurant Week.
Then the perfect ending at a superb mixology bar called Drink. I’ve been there twice before and each time the knowledgeable bartenders make the visit special. This time I was concentrating on drinks made with the difficult-to-find Picon (my favorite is the liberal). I was served a new one by Will called the “Jayco.”
A Jayco is almost like a margherita in flavor, only more sophisticated with a subtle spiciness that defies description:
1.75 Bianco Tequilla
.75 Fresh Lemon Juice
.5 Picon
.25 Grenadine (don’t even think about using Rose’s…make your own)
Shake and serve in an ice filled collins with a splash of soda (1-1.5). Yum.
So I may whine about hotels, but actually life on the road can be great.
Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge, MA = More of the same
August 18, 2010
Dang. Twice in a row. My guess is that the poor beleaguered Kimpton chain has become so popular that they’re getting too full. Always. Last time I was here, I was lost in the crush. This time too. Been here before? Sure, maybe 15 times… Um, got a computer?
Everyone at the front desk is sincerely nice about giving you a room that you don’t actually want. But guess what? It’s a room you don’t want. Even the Marlowe, a long time favorite, is in need of replacement.
I’m in town for a meeting in Bedford, but instead of sucking it up and staying at the Doubletree there, I hoofed it back to Boston to stay here. Why? Good question.
No new pictures, because the old ones will do just fine.
Time to find a new Boston hotel. Hotel Marlowe barely squeaks by with four showerheads (bordering on three).
Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge, MA (reprise)
June 1, 2010
I’ve covered the Hotel Marlowe in an earlier posting. Sad to say, this go round the hotel was booked to the gills and the level of service slipped accordingly. Hopefully the Marlowe staff will make up for lost ground.
My tiny room and “truly no better than Marriott” shower this stay bring the Marlowe score down to four showerheads.
Uh oh. Maybe I should just stay home?
Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge, MA
March 19, 2010
The Hotel Marlowe is one of my very favorite hotels. It is definitely the best Kimpton hotel in the chain. And here’s why—the staff is top notch. They are friendly, they are efficient, they are well trained, and they know their guests. Being greeted by name is great, especially when it is sincere and not read from a cue card.
Every time I have had the pleasure of staying at the Marlowe I’ve had a great time. This trip was no exception. The staff was excellent, and the concierge Keith Dowsing left a welcoming gift of red wine and chocolates in my room. Sadly, I didn’t have a chance to drink the wine and I had no luggage to check, so I abandoned the bottle in the room. The chocolates were good though.
The Marlowe staff is so good that I overlook the fairly standard rooms on the property which have plussed up generic bathrooms. No plastic in sight, but the usual hotel bathroom design spiced up with decent wallpaper and nice fabrics remains generic.
Here is a shot of the bathroom through the door:
And then a shot of the shower through the mirror. The shower even has one of those curve out shower curtain rods. We’ll pretend it doesn’t.
Anyway, the Hotel Marlowe earns a coveted five showerheads rating in spite of their generic showers all because their staff is the best in the business. I always stay at the Hotel Marlowe when business brings me to Boston, and I have no reason to switch.
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