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NPS at Sheraton? São Paulo Business

September 18, 2025

So what is NPS to do when the official conference hotel is a Sheraton? Why, try things on for size again and realize that the hamster cage persists. The São Paulo Sheraton WTC is a standard issue mid-level business hotel straight out of Marriott central casting. Not our thing here at this blog. Luxury it is not.

What does that really mean? Well, imagine a mall. Then imagine a set of beige rectangular boxes stacked up over the mall. That’s pretty much it. The elevators do a weird jerky thing on arrival at a floor. The lobby is brown leather with little middle management desks set around featuring monitors you can’t see through or around. Breakfast is pretty not bad. The staff is friendly and sticks to the script. Getting out past the mall is a challenge and you have to set out to do it.

We are in 605. There’s sadly not much interesting to say. We have two comfortable double beds. The broken blow dryer was quickly replaced with an ancient stone age hairdryer of yore that worked. The analog phone is attached to the wall with wires and apparently does not actually work. The TV plays a central role.

And that’s good because we had to watch Sneakers on the first night to reminisce about Robert Redford. FWIW, we are still not sure why Dan Ackroyd’s handle was “mother.”

There’s excellent net (with a unify hotspot in the room).

But mostly things are just short of actually comfortable here in Sheraton-land. And they mostly work. Unless you would like a hot shower at 8am, then forget it. The early birds got the hot water. Staying overnight is like having McDonalds fries. You know what you’re getting and you also know that trans fat is bad for you.

Does the fluorescent lighting bring to mind Blade Runner and that famous Harrison Ford’s flick of the fingers? It should.

The shower is not plastic. And the fake marble veneer is so beige.

Look how comfortable the sitting area is. No, nevermind. Don’t.

But the room is free since we are keynoting the conference. Kinda. And the hotel is in São Paulo. So here we are in a great city! Woo hoo.

Late lunch at biO2 LAB Brooklin is quirky and just what the doctor ordered. Pato Rei Berrini serves a great coffee and the people are nice.

If you are stuck in the mall, try Nagairô Sushi D&D which is passable. The sushi does look great though.

Excellent amazonian food can be found at both Mamute and Banzeiro, but watch out for ants in your food and be forewarned that the fish is huge.

The Jardim Botânico is worth a visit.

Anyway, we are here for the show. First the little show at the University (USP).

And then the big trade show keynote.

Three showerheads and a yawn for the Sheraton. We already knew this.

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Charlottesville Develops an Actual Hotel! The Forum

July 27, 2024

First off, NPS has a special place in its collective heart for Charlottesville, having graduated from UVa in the mid-80s with a degree in the lucrative field of Philosophy.  But that is neither here nor there.  Trips to c’ville happen every once in a while, and up until now there has been nowhere decent to stay.  See here for evidence.

Now there IS a very good hotel, situated fittingly up by the business school and the law school.  The Forum is where to stay when you need to be in Charlottesville.  And yeah, it’s a Kimpton but not like the real Kimpton used it be.  It is actually an IHG property with an echo of Kimpton charm in its chord structure.

We drove in through some very much needed rain that turned into a major thunderstorm delaying the show.  Our plans to “grab some dinner” on the walking mall were thwarted by the storm and by the fact that it was restaurant week too (who knew?).  So we got a bite at the hotel sports bar that was surprisingly good.  The negroni set was excellent. If only the TVs would all just disappear.

We were situated in a terrace king room 345 (maybe). The room was very nice, but the terrace was so wet we couldn’t really use it.

The bathroom is pretty not bad, and the shower is glass.

About the only thing to fix is the “roll up the sidewalk” time which seems to happen around 11pm. When you come in after a show at the Ting Pavilion and would love a nightcap and a midnight snack you are forced to raid the paltry minibar.

The best thing about our trip was the show. Andrew Bird and Nickel Creek all on stage together?! Holy cow. It was a magical evening. Pictures and videos from the show here.

After a nice stop at Greenberry‘s for strip mall breakfast, we drove home the back way through the stunning beauty of Virginia.

Four showerheads for the Forum. Step up the game on the bar and restaurant front, and know your guests! We will be back for sure.

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Pullman Melbourne Albert Park Nails It

December 5, 2018

Apparently, someone from the three city tour we’re part of has been reading our supposedly secret blog entries (LOL), because when we checked in at the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park this afternoon, we were assigned a very nice room indeed. So thanks, secret blog reading lurkers! We know you’re out there.

Once again for the record, the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park is not the kind of place NPS usually frequents. This is a high level business hotel. You can always spot this category of hotel by the international air crews frequenting the lobby and the packs of Chinese tourists that wash through in waves.

View from the executive floor

At checkin, we were assigned room 9604. There is only one suite at this hotel (next door, it turns out), but there are a number of executive class rooms with a sitting area on the executive level of the hotel. Some of those rooms overlook the Albert Park lake (across the parking area and a highway). 9604 is one of those with a view.

The room itself is well appointed and spacious with room to exist.

Since it is December, it is summer here and the xmas stuff scattered to and fro all over the place is disconcerting if not outright alarming. When you wander around town in the summer heat there are many people in short xmas skirts and bad xmas t-shirts (no sweaters to be seen).

Speaking of which, when it is 99 degrees outside, the HVAC system here just can’t keep up. My in room AC ran continuously and never hit the target temperature. Time to upgrade the HVAC on this property to prepare for global warming.

The Pullman Melbourne lobby play along with xmas

Juxtaposition

Our bathroom is spacious but a bit spartan. Some of that space could have been put to use to house a better shower.

Spartan

But the shower is not plastic.

We were recognized by name on checkin (tipping us off that the fairies had become involved). There was even a welcome amenity set up for someone else in the room.

Amenity for mr dunbar

We’ll happily spoof mr dunbar as long as we get to stay in this room for the next few nights.

NPS is gratified to learn that not only do all systems break, some of them even learn!

After a quick turnaround mostly for charging devices, we headed into town. St Kilda is south of the city proper and is a suburban beach town. Like many beach towns, it’s a bit scrappy. People say “fuck” a lot in normal conversation (even in fancy restaurants), and there are more crazy ass bums here than you find in the city. It reminds NPS of the seedier parts of San Diego.

A late lunch of sushi at Ichi Ni was very good indeed.

Sushi for lunch

A walk along the beach was in order, and then an amble through town for some espresso.

Espresso at Leroy is worth seeking out. The walk from the Pullman into town is just over a mile. An easy walk, but not one you want to do multiple times per day. That’s why they make uber.

Leroy for breakfast and the best coffee in town

Albert Park with Melbourne in the background

A very good but overpriced dinner at Cafe di Stasio included an incredibly delicious Omelette D’aragosta. This dish is so good it warrants mention in guidebooks and they are right on all counts. Get it. The wine list is also very good. It’s the clientele that needs some finishing school.

After a half day in St Kilda, we’re ready to give our last talk and get into Melbourne. More soon.

Cocktails at Black Pearl are highly recommended. Make a reservation for the Attic space. Our bartenders were exceptionally knowledgeable and the drinks were great. Much fun was had. And, they made us a liberal.

Drinks at 1806 are a completely different scene on a Friday. Loud music and lots of energy. Not very civilized, but very good cocktails.

Skip the circular tram nonsense. It is overhyped and a waste of time. Just do some walking in the center of town instead. But make sure to leave time for the incredible National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). It is worth the visit.

The special Escher exhibit was worth fighting the crowds to see, especially with Sam. See lots of Escher on apothecaryshed.

Finagle your way into the dumpling place, hutong, if you can. Really worth calling and conning your way in.

The Gin Palace is an exceptional bar, so good in fact that we visited twice—briefly before seeing a play and more properly afterwards.

Adelaide Negroni (all products from Australia)

Such ice. Wow.

Astroman is an uplifting play with some great laughs and some real feels

Four showerheads for the Pullman Albert Park and a wish for a sultry hot xmas.

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Nestor Hotel (Ludwigsburg, Germany) Rolls Out the Faded, Slighty-worn Reddish Carpet

June 18, 2018

After a seriously turbulent night flight across the pond, a bus ride over the Frankfurt tarmac, a multiply-delayed ICE train and a missed local connection, it was nice to arrive at the Nestor Hotel and have a room ready to go. Walking over from the train station is very easy indeed, and helps you stay awake. Check in was easy even in zombie mode.

Sadly, the Nestor chain appears to be set up to accommodate conferences and large groups more than anything else. This is a four star in Germany, which puts it right smack in JW Marriott territory. Everything looks pretty good on the surface, but it is really cheap veneer with thin carpet allowing lots of noise between rooms. A business class hotel. Not NPS’s cup of tea.

The little NPS cubicle (replete with tiny bed) is 308.

Lil teeny bed in 308

The sitting area and desk are all within 15 feet of the bed

Fortunately, Ludwigsburg is resplendent today.

View from 308

The bathroom is likewise “cozy” and very Euro.

Not plastic unless you count the tub, which is plastic

Sink stand

There is a big pipe in the bathroom. That is just weird.

After a much-needed invigorating shower, it was off into town for lunch. Greek food at Die Griechin is very homey. Great people. Authentic, if not uninspired fare.

Breakfast at the hotel is very nice, and the restaurant serves a decent lunch as well. Service is friendly even if the kitchen is slow.

On a more upbeat note, the Black and White Cocktail Bar just a few short blocks away is cozy and excellent. We were among the only patrons on a Tuesday night.

Amer Picon in the house means a Liberal or two.

La Barrosa Cocktail (by Mario Wirth)
50 ml carlos I brandy
10 ml Strega
.5 ml Balsamico creme (can sub px Sherry)
Amaretto spray on top
Stir. Serve on one big rock.

Make sure to visit the Black and White Bar if you are in Ludwigsburg.

Dinner at the very friendly Zum Urigen was authentic and about as German as you can get. The owners are from Vietnam, but have lived in Germany for 30 years. This place has a very local feel with lots of patrons who know each other.

A very low three showerheads for the Nestor, where function overrides style, and things feel fairly fake.

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