During our previous visit to the Graduate in Charlottesville, we figured “it will do.” So this time we tried a plus up to what the hotel calls a “suite.” LOL. Just don’t do it.
You can tell that this hotel used to be a Howard Johnson back when Howard Johnson was a thing (was that 1950?). The style is definitely improved, especially if you like shadow art appliqué. But that’s OK. The problem is that nobody blew out any walls to make any interesting non-hamster-cage rooms. Anyway, if you’re up for a hamster cage after a show, this is it.
Here our own personal hamster cage which we think was 624. It is a “suite,” though the term is stretched well past the breaking point.
bed
desk
window
The suite part of the suite is a little triangle (and we mean little), crammed arbitrarily full of various furnishings. Really? No no no.
through the magic door
no room for people
this is probably a hide-a-bed
chair
Anyway, don’t pay for a suite unless you have people in tow who might use the hide-a-bed. Other than the triangle, there is nothing going for this suite.
Dinner was unplanned. We ended up at Himalayan Fusion down by the Pavilion. Dinner was pretty good (think Indian), while the bar was terrible. We ordered some extra gin shots to make our ginger-tinis into something we could at least catch a buzz from.
Then it was The National. Great show. Great seats. Great time.
The National on a Monday night in Charlottesville, VA
After the show we attempted to hit up Alley Light, but 11pm on a school night seems to be too late for them. That meant tequila at the Bebedero. Excellent cocktails.
Tequila pic.twitter.com/8zAmIi5WVf
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) May 1, 2018
In any case, we’re still on the lookout for a better place to stay in Charlottesville. Three showerheads and a hamster wheel exercise thingy for The Graduate.
The Graduate in Charlottesville VA Still ABD
August 9, 2017
When you’re working on your Ph.D. and you stop just short of the finish line, you get to say you’re “ABD” (which stands for “all but dissertation”). Though the graduate in Charlottesville is way better than any other hotel in town that NPS has visited, it’s not quite up to non-college town standards.
You see, college towns have this problem with good hotels. There aren’t any. NPS is unclear on why this is. Maybe parents spent all of their money on a college education for their kids and they can’t afford a decent hotel? Who knows.
Anyway, the graduate will do.
We were given hamster cage, er room 803. It had a bit more style than your usual Marriott, but its architecture was uninspired. And it was not quiet in the least. A concrete box for you!
803 bed
The TV shrine
high style? Style created while high? something
The shower was glass (which is NPS approved) but it was too skinny and the water pressure was piddly. Not a shower to inspire NPS reverie.
Yes but no.
The rest of the bathroom
So ABD on the sbower.
And there were these little problems too.
no no no. Where can we put our own bathroom stuff??
Hermetically-sealed paper cup?? LOL. Just absurd.
The staff was all very nice. We even scored some san pellegrino as we checked in. So that’s a plus. But the graduate needs to complete its dissertation to enter the workforce. Three showerheads and study hall for the graduate.
In other Charlottesville news, Citizen Burger remains delicious and worth a visit. And the Alley Light bar is top notch. Do both. And while you’re in town, make sure to catch the Punch Brothers show. Oh wait, that’s WHY you’re in town.
Cville @citizenburger negroni with bols genever. Because why the hell not if nuclear war is coming. pic.twitter.com/TM6KiPN7CL
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) August 8, 2017
FYI, those are Liberals made with homemade Amer Picon and cherries at Alley Light in Charlottesville, VA https://t.co/WdaRduD8S8
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) August 9, 2017
The Punch Brothers 8.9.17 Charlottesville
Vitae Spirits in Charlottesville, VA
March 24, 2017
A quick stop in at Vitae Spirits was a great end to a day of intellectual pursuit at UVa. Vitae is a new distillery, but their outstanding product belies their young age.
Tasting three products: two rums and a gin
Hard to describe how good the rum is (with no aging at all), especially the oustanding Golden Rum product. Proprietor and founder Ian Glomski is a microbiologist by training and his scientific background really shines through. (Kind of reminds me of Becky Harris from Catoctin Creek since she was a chemist before turning to distilling.)
The remarkable Golden Rum is distilled with grilled sugar cane and molasses. Charcoaled american oak chips give it some interesting characteristics (and its color). Post production sugaring with molassas (fairly standard with many rums) happens when the spirit is brought down to 80 proof from its run up over 150.
The Platinum Rum is also very very good. Some readers may recall from WAY back that the first spirit NPS had under its belt was rum. This one stands up to the range.
The Modern Gin? We’ll just skip talking about that.
The Vitae still is also very interesting—a hybrid pot still/column still attached in-line.
The hybrid still
Though we have never seen a still quite like this before, NPS is told that many craft distillers use hybrids like this.
Pot
Column
The whole shebang
Of course yeast and mash make all the difference in the world. Here is where the microbes do their thing to make beer for the still. The beer only comes in around 4% when it is run. That is low by rum standards, but whatever Ian is doing is really working well.
We also tried some experimental Anisette which is still in experimentation stage. This product is very interesting. Ian is working out a post production infusion plan now (testing regular lemon versus meyers lemon). Thanks for the palate clearing yogurt from your personal stash Ian!
Strong design
The best way to finish a distillery visit is to run out and try the product in the wild. Toward that end, we made a quick visit to the Alley Light where we sampled a drink called Castro’s Ashes
1.5 oz Vitea Golden Rum
.75 oz Cynar
.75 oz sassafras vermouth (maybe ransom?)
4 drops BBQ bitters
stir down. Serve up in a coupe. Flame orange peel and balance on the edge.
Castro’s Ashes from Alley Light
NPS is bullish on Vitae Spirits. Check them out before they get big!
Sky Bar: Charlottesville, VA
March 19, 2014
I originally went to Charlottesville to give a talk about cyber war. But I ended up at a Music Resource Center event thanking their donors?!
Sky Bar Bartenders documenting the Hellfire Manhattan
Good news is that the event was held at the Sky Bar (over the Commonwealth restaurant) right on the downtown mall. Sky bar bartenders Dave Frazier and Ina Neutelings were happy to play. Together we came up with Hellfire Manhattan:
2 oz Bulleit Bourbon
1 oz Dolin’s red
3 dashes Fee brother’s Orange Bitters
3 drops Bittermen’s hellfire schrub bitters
stir. strain. serve in a cocktail glass up with a real cherry.
And while you’re there, Pasture is a great place for dinner in the new scary ass mall outside of town (intersection of 29 and Hydraulic).
Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, VA
July 20, 2012
Though flying is right out during “no fly July,” driving to Charlottesville to see wilco is OK. We joined some dear friends for an evening in the hook, a great concert and some memorable food at Citizen Burger (which has a decent bar) and Mas Tapas (which stays open until 1am).
Sadly, the Omni in Charlottesville is an Omni. Just like the one in Atlanta. These hotels were designed in the ’70s and feel like Hyatts. They all have the strange triangle design with rooms overlooking a triangular cavernous lobby that smells of chlorine. But the Omni is on the downtown mall and walking distance to the Pavilion and it has a small crowded pool that is almost refreshing on a hot summer day.
Uninspired rooms stick to hotel standards worldwide. The widow at the end of the room (number 414) overlooks the lobby.
The bed dominates the room and pays homage to the TV.
The lobby as seen from the room window.
Nice ’70s architecture.
The bathrooms are the problem. Small, cramped and crummy. Don’t even think about sharing this bathroom. And yes, plastic showers.
 non-luxurious towel pile. Curvy shower rod over tub. |
 Flourescent lighting tops it all off. |
So stay at the Omni only because its location rocks, wilco is great, and everyone else is staying there already. Three shower heads and a wish for a real boutique hotel in Charlottesville.
RSS - Posts