Inn on Broadway, Rochester, NY Slides into Place
March 24, 2014
Snow in the morning. Post-equinox dusting.
Rochester, NY again. Is Rochester emerging as a major tech hub? Who knows, but if you must stay in Rochester, the Inn on Broadway is the place to stay.
After an awful United Express flight up (operated by the inestimably bad ExpressJet), we arrived very late on a Sunday night. So late that there was some serious confusion at the front desk. Fortunately Kat managed to fix everything (thanks Kat).
But before the fix, we were assigned room 407 with a—GASP—plastic shower. Here are some pictures of that room.
Room 407 bedroom
Bathroom on 407.
Sadly, this 407 bathroom shower is designed over a tub with a plastic shower curtain. OH NO MR. BILL.
The kitchenette in 407 is not really our style.
Thin sliding door on the 407 closet. Yuck. And do not steal my hanger hangers.
Fortunately that room was abandoned shortly after it was temporarily occupied. The switch to 409 made everything better.
Bed in 409.
Fireplace in 409.
Gorgeous sink in 409.
This is a glass shower cube. YES.
This shower has 4, count ’em 4, showerheads. Awesome shower.
The Inn on Broadway is pretty much adjacent to Java’s Cafe. Go there for breakfast. Great espresso, fresh squeezed OJ, bagels you can toast yourself, the NY Times, and Net.
It snowed all morning during our meetings, but it didn’t stick.
After a reasonable dinner at a local pizza joint called Tony D’s (authentic Italian style), it was time for a real cocktail. Above the Solera Wine Bar is the Cheshire. Sadly, the Cheshire is only open Thursday through Sunday. But the proprietor Evvy Fanning is a good egg and quite possibly, there may be real cocktails available whenever. Thank you Evvy for an oasis of incredible goodness.
Possibly worth flying in for all by itself; visit Cheshire.
Five showerheads, four of which are in the actual shower, for Inn on Broadway.
Not So Special in the Big City Huh? 70Park, NY
September 19, 2013
Maybe the awful United express flight up here in a creaky old expressjet CRJ200 was foreshadowing of some sort? In any case, there is nothing quite like New York City to disavow you of your ego! Even the hotels and my own best guys are in on the game.
Just when we thought Kimpton loved us here at noplasticshowers, we were unable to finagle our favorite room for one of my companion’s rare visits to the city. (We admit that we waited way too long to ask nicely, but the powers that be are keeping us way too busy these days!)
And the note, though handwritten by Santo and very much personal, was handed to me with the new loyalty program chit instead of being secreted away in my room? Dang. There’s no way that a $30 minibar credit makes me feel as welcome as cold sparkling water, a bottle of wine, and some cheese. Especially since there is no sparkling water in the minibar. (Minus 10.) Maybe the corporate apartment is better.
Too many people in the Kimpton loyalty program?! The inner circle is way way wide. Horrors. Now we’re all the same?! Noplasticshowers prefers the grade inflation found outside of NY where everyone is above average.
This is not cheese?!
Palomars where are you?? Come rescue me.
OK OK, first world problem. It’s true. And maybe this all has something to do the the scaffolding all over the building and its deleterious impact on room service? Quite possibly there is no cheese (or sparkling water) to be found.
Room 1515 is nicely way up there and has a classic 70park layout. Excellent style with good lines and great use of mirrors. We’ll feature the mirrors in the pictures this time.
Bed in the mirror.
Bed in the other mirror. And an infinite mirror too!
Bathroom mirrors can’t be left out.
But sadly, there is a shower curtain. You know how we feel about those on this blog.
Curtain over a tub. Uh oh.
To add insult to injury, blue smoke is out of Hirsch ’76 (no more left in NY or maybe on planet earth). We are in a three showerheads kind of mood. Meh.
Want sparkling water? Well go get it yourself from Starbucks.
And then things took a serious turn for the much better (not at 70Park but in NYC). Thursday evening included a walk downtown on the high line, a visit to NYU and Washington Square, an outrageously great meal at annisa in the village (really, best restaurant ever in NY which is high praise), and the best time ever for NY mixology at Lantern’s Keep. All in one evening.
We are so glad that Raines Law Room was once again too popular for its own good, because we met barman Bob and his merry band of friends. What’s not to like about outstanding shots of agave tequila and zacapa 23 from paper cups in between delicious beverages? Real daiquiri shooters all around got us started. There was even homemade amer picon (kinda) for a Liberal. Lantern’s Keep is now high on the NY mixology list.
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