One Night at the Kabuki (Japantown, San Francisco)
March 18, 2019
After a weekend of staying with friends (paul, jim and chloe), we spent one night at the Kabuki before heading out of town early in the morning.
1602 is as nice a room as ever. We have been here before.
1602 bedroom in the upper corner
Kabuki 1602 @HotelKabuki. Sweet. pic.twitter.com/lVNYvqftIN
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 18, 2019
SF sunset @HotelKabuki pic.twitter.com/Hl08Xp3etn
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 18, 2019
There was just enough time to dash down a craft cocktail before dinner.
The Daffodil-Narcissus
1 oz Sipsmith gin
1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz honey/water 1:1
.5 oz lillet blanc
.5 oz lime juice
spoon of greek yogurt
egg white
dry shake. shake on ice. serve in a collins with a big cube and dill garnish.
Kabuki cocktails and dinosaurs @HotelKabuki
Sweet pea and dafodil-narcissus pic.twitter.com/FkdQCTchWU— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 18, 2019
Dinner at Mourad was very good indeed. Expensive as all get out, but great food and an excellent quirky wine list.
Superb @mourad_sf with @elinormills @AmyBarley @sfjacob pic.twitter.com/LqVHXM0nYW
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 18, 2019
And we now have a new driver in SF.
Four showerheads for the Kabuki and thanks for putting us up in our favorite room.
Jim and Chloe Have a Cabin (Guerneville, CA)
March 18, 2019
First of all you have to go north, over the Golden Gate Bridge and up the coast. Guerneville is situated on the Russian River.
Up the 101 in a convertible
But before you go to the cabin, a picnic at Preston winery is in order. There is some stocking up to do in the alcohol department.
Picnic on a perfect Spring day (preston winery)
After bread, cheese, some more cheese, salami, and different salami, olives, and hummus, and a couple of bottles of wine, and those wee little pills, it is off to see some big trees at the Armstrong Redwood State Natural Preserve. Make sure to see the amphitheater, but do not dilly dally.
Amy dwarfed by a giant redwood
The band at the crest
We did make it to the cabin after an espresso in town at Big Bottom. No really, that’s what they called it.
The cabin has modern sensibilities
Drama and moss is a thing
The a pit stop by the cabin to change clothes and it is off for dinner in Healdsburg. Chalkboard is worth driving way up to the sticks for. Excellent food. Fun, friendly service. Very good indeed. (We were slightly late the whole time, mostly due to amphitheater…LOL.)
One of the many superb dishes at Chalkboard
These doughnut things were out of this world
Sadly, we ended up being on time to see the show at the Raven. Eileen Ivers played a pre-compiled show of world music (many mixed genres). The show was solid, but also phoned in and somehow cloyingly fake. Still, it was fun singing along, and the support band was filled with excellent session musicians.
Everyone joins Eileen
The show was opened by JigJam who, other than desperately needing a new name, played an opener that topped the main event. The young fiddle player was far better than Eileen will ever be.
Then it was back home in the volkswagon and to bed by 1am.
A stint in the hot tub in the morning happened first thing, followed by some delicious eggy concoction with expert-level toast. Next, we attempted to cram 20 square feet of stuff into a 10 square foot space in the car. The stuff was consolidated, and the trunk was very slowly shut over the lil tiny bass through the use of random quantum properties, black magic, and the power of wishful thinking.
A call by the Pacific was next. The Russian River pours its brown self into the ocean at Jenner.
Then a short hike (maybe 3.5 or 4 miles) through the vernal wonderland (read “muddy”) of the California coastal hills. Sonoma is gorgeous and green for at least a week in the Spring, and we got to witness it.
Uncle Jim leads the way
Also Pacific ocean.
The Pacific at shell beach
By this time we were late again, but who cares? A drive down 1 took us directly to Rocker Oysterfeller’s where we partook of Negronis and oysters. Jim found out that oysters can be cooked and smothered in various things and still be delicious.
Negroni and oysters at rocker oysterfeller in valley ford pic.twitter.com/zlrLRP362L
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 17, 2019
What an adventure! We’ll do it again as soon as we make up for lost time.
Some bridge pic.twitter.com/YnnurOtHoA
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 17, 2019
A Tale of Two Rooms: Buchanan San Francisco
December 8, 2017
Back at the Buchanan, this time for “mandatory corporate fun,” and all is well.
Sadly, when we booked, our favorite room was already slated for some other obviously undeserving guest and the Tetris game of chance did not work out in our favor. So what ya gonna do?
Start out in 216 and move up as soon as possible! 216 is a ADA room, which is not that big a problem, but its shower is wimpy and sucky, and it is too close to the street and thus a bit noisy. Oh well, one night won’t kill us.
We were greeted with a much-needed amenity which we scarfed down like the hungry dogs we are.
And then, since it was pretty late, it was straight to bed.
This shower is not plastic, but it needs a better shower head and better water pressure.
Fortunately, the room switcheroobie was smooth. So one night late, we moved up to 416. That’s better. Maybe next time the dice will roll in our favor!
View from 416
Hmm, that design looks familiar.
The MUCH better shower. All praise the shower goddess.
Bathroom with stuff: still life
Why thank you Mac! We like our life just fine. Post coming soon to make an EVEN BIGGER DEAL out of absolutely nothing.
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 9, 2017
The Buchanan lobby is interesting too, but not as interesting as GM E mily Gick who we finally connected with this visit. Thanks for the hospitality Emily.
Buchanan lobby
Art out of focus
Either four or five showerheads for the Buchanan. See you again soon!
In other San Francisco news, Zasie is a very trendy and great place for brunch. Cocktails at Blackbird do not suck.
Super great to see @sfjacob in the wild @blackbirdbarsf. Gracias. @AmyBarley pic.twitter.com/kHOMDPbSn5
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 8, 2017
Hinodeya ramen just across the street from the Buchanan is very good indeed and entirely authentic.
Ramen in Japantown SF #hinodeyaramen @rivco @AmyBarley pic.twitter.com/OZNYI2Na6k
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 9, 2017
Cocktails at P.C.H in popup xmas mode is highly recommended. After that you must close down The Irish Bank. Spent some quality time with Jacques Bezuidenhout. What a blast!
p.c.h SF @AmyBarley @LoveTequila pic.twitter.com/aWzEFASFa3
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 9, 2017
The quick answer is: there is no stay short enough to justify a plastic shower.
NPS set out to prove this aphorism at the truly style-free Renaissance hotel at LAX.
Renaissance is a Marriott property, so we of course made great use of our friend Mr. X who is a Lifetime Platinum Elite member. Mr. X books for us and NPS shoves all the points in his direction. This gets us superior rooms and concierge level hoo hah and whatnot at Marriotts. Sadly they are all still Marriotts.
The front lobby is in the middle of a massive renovation at the Renaissance at LAX. So that may be a good thing (but likely it just won’t matter). NPS was assigned a newly renovated suite (number 425) after much furious typing by the front desk staff on our very late arrival around midnight. If 425 is evidence of the style that is driving this renovation then NPS is worried.
You see, 425 looks like this. But looks (even marginal looks like this) can be deceiving. Super cheap, thin, veneer style is what we have on evidence here.
Like this crooked too big TV. WTF?
No. Not how to hang a TV. Why is there even one here?
The bed is comfortable, but the lights are so cheap a light wind would blow them over. Fortunately the windows do not open.
Comfy bed.
But what is this?
The windows overlook a glowing Burger King sign That pretty much says it all.
Yeah, no. This is not really a cool city view.
More sad, thin style evident in the sitting room.
Your mother in law called and she has some design ideas
There was a sad little plant on the desk wishing for some light. Flourescent bulbs should make it happier than they make the humans trapped in here.
And then there is the plastic shower bête noire—an actual plastic shower with an obesity bar.
no
no
no no no
Everything in the bathroom is very new, very clean and completely devoid of any taste.
no sense of style
Well anyway, the trip to LA was fantastic and the time in this hamster cage was short.
There was this wine thing with new friends.
Wine? Wine!
There was an old school whiskey bar.
Old school LA liquor pic.twitter.com/jHXwnoouut
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) May 27, 2017
And there was some sportsing with the boys.
The sports people are sportsing pic.twitter.com/CV6Uo8HEUK
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) May 27, 2017
So all told we would do it again in a second but we would get a real hotel without a shuttle bus and shlep to the airport from Santa Monica.
Speaking of the airport, this Virgin America meets Alaska thing is getting chunky. Remote gates? Wolfgang Puck bullshit? Overfull lounges gussied up in the ’70s? Uh oh. Where is my high style airline?
And the over full @AlaskaAir lounge with the '70s color scheme too pic.twitter.com/H0MJ8wKoNG
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) May 27, 2017
This @WolfgangPuck garbage dumpster of a bar in LAX terminal 6 run by @HMSHost uses flimsy plastic trays. Awful. @VirginAmerica
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) May 27, 2017
Let the record show that the Renaissance LAX barely rates two showerheads. Not going back ever. Nice people in a beige land devoid of style.
Hotel Paradox Exceedingly Well Named in Santa Cruz
March 30, 2015
Most college towns have no hotels worth visiting. Staying near a college campus can be a complete drag. But UC Santa Cruz is a welcome exception. Paradoxical? Sure, why not.
Hotel Paradox is in a college town and it does not suck.
CA Route 1
We arrived sunburned and exulted after a 384 mile road trip up the California coast from Los Angeles. Hey, nobody said that college and the arts was going to be easy! The drive was mesmerizing.
Paradox is also self-referential in a sense that the architecture is 100% hamster cage. Holiday Inn, Days Inn, you name it, this is the rectangle. But somehow they pull it off with a design-forward approach and an inclusive feel. A paradox.
Coolest front desk ever
Apparently they read the blog. We were upgraded (really), we were given a bar credit, we were greeted by name. Dang!
Room 534 is situated at the very end of the rectangle and involves two rooms making a suite with a virtual porch on the side. Surprisingly nice.
Time warp to the ’70s
Sitting room with fold out couch
Bedroom 534 (rectangle done right)
Wood
The bathroom has a non-plastic shower. You know how we feel about that around here!
534 has a glass shower with a silver twig handle and a pebble floor
The nicest thing about 534 is the outside space associated with the suite. Just very well done.
The park next door
Virtual porch in 534
So we’ll need to revise our “university towns have no hotels” opinion. A very high four shower heads for the Paradox. Well done!
In other Santa Cruz news, the Oswald is apparently the best bet restaurant-wise in town. Hmm. Not bad, but also not good.
We leave you with more CA Route 1 footage.
El Presidente Lives it up at Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey, CA
November 18, 2014
Filling a hotel up to the brim with 150 or so high octane people for a small conference is apparently a good thing. And the fine people at Monterey Plaza would like you to know just how good a thing that is. We here at NPS approve.
We’ll be entertaining this week in the Presidential Suite, which is a space worthy of its name. A gorgeous view of Monterey Bay, extensive balconies, windows that open. What’s not to like?
Fruit, cheese, wine, sparking water and two notes from the staff.
The Living Room space of the Presidential Suite surrounded by balconies with a view of the Bay
The bedroom portion of the Presidential Suite
Fireplaces, picture windows and sliding doors.
Of course all NPS readers know what we’re looking for. How’s this for a first class glass shower?
A nice big glass shower over one of the two hot tubs.
Looking in over the outside balcony hot tub.
The exquisite Monterey Bay (with voiceover by my friend John).
Five showerheads for the superb space and top notch hospitality. We like.
RSS - Posts