A Jaunt Through Wilmington: Courtyard by Marriott (not so much)
November 12, 2019

New shiny bits for the Stick
A quick but essential trip down to Wilmington to upgrade the Stick internet to fiber. Hopefully NPS will be spending more time here in 2020.

The Stick in November

Atlantic facing south
Sadly the best bet for staying in Wilmington is the Courtyard by Marriott. I know. Downtown. It is new, but somehow dated and frivolous at the same time. We were assigned hamster cage 317 (see the red dot).

Dot r you.

generic

generic

generic
Plastic with a glass door?! It’s the new plastic.

Looks OK from here

Molded plastic for all
Dinner and a Negroni at Caprice Bistrot was quite good. Best yet in Wilmington.
Two showerheads and a yawn for the Courtyard Marriott in Wilmington. We’re glad it’s here. We think.
Residence Inn Ann Arbor: Suburban “Style”
May 7, 2018
Here we are again in a university town, this time Ann Arbor. This town is great. Books, coffee, food, cocktails. Almost everything you need, but still no good hotel.
The Residence Inn is a Marriott property, and it is brand new. It’s pretty much what you would expect of a mid-tier mid-market Marriott hotel. Shiny suburban fake is the style. NPS has different style.
When the reservation was made, we requested a high floor and a Panoramic City View Suite. The first room we were assigned was 414 which is ADA formatted. When asking for a non-ADA configured room instead were assigned down to 214. The rooms are almost exactly identical. Moving down was a big mistake because traffic noise starts at 5am. Alas.
So much for the high floor request.
The manager, having heard tell of checkin problems, was very gracious. We had a nice chat. His valet staff is super.

The view from 214 says it all
The room is filled with lots of shiny new veneer cheap furniture that looks better than it feels when you use it. The suite includes a kitchenette.

Entry hallway kitchenette

desk room

desk room couch

View from the bed to a nice bank of windows

large (impersonal) bathroom
The real problem is the shower, which is partially glass and partially plastic. It is open to the huge bathroom without a glass door. Cold air makes for a less than stellar shower experience.

shower. not approved
Anyway, we knew what we were getting into when we agreed to come to Ann Arbor. Apparently, there is a copy of The Graduate here too BTW. Sure wish university towns had better hotel kung fu!
Dinner at Mikette was delicious. Great service.
The cocktail scene in Ann Arbor remains vibrant. A Sunday night visit to Nightcap was optimal in all respects. Andy was a blast behind the bar.
Because there was Handy in the house, we present, The Handy Handy
1.75 Thomas Handy Rye
.3 oz Del’erborista ultra-bitters
.3 carpano antica
2 dashes scrappy aromatic
Stir. Strain. Express orange peel and drop in.
Three showerheads for the Residence Inn in Ann Arbor. Dang university towns.
Stranded in Hartford, CT: Marriott-land
September 7, 2016
Sadly, Hartford, CT is lacking in both the boutique hotel and high-end cocktail bar departments. That makes life here at NPS kind of difficult. Marriott hamster cage for you! And mid-tier booze to boot.

View from the 19th Floor (Hartford, CT)
The good news, relatively speaking, is that my travel companion this trip is a super Elite Marriott Platinum whatever. He booked all the rooms. What that means to NPS is that the bottle of water is free! Such amenity.
Here is what cage number 1921 looks like. (FWIW, 1921 is way better than 717 was last go ’round.)

Hartford Marriott 1921

1921 bed

1921 pays homage to the TV (standard Marriott practice)
The shower is glass and is very nice. NPS approved.

Not plastic!
A last minute hunt for a decent cocktail bar in the city came up with nothing. So down to the Marriott bar it was for a nightcap. Negroni? Check. Stagg Jr? Sure why not. NPS advises you to just skip the bar visit.
One ray of sunshine during this visit is that Max’s Downtown is a very nice restaurant with an interesting wine list. Highly recommended.
In the end, this Marriott property is a low three showerhead kind of place. Nice enough in its generic big hotel you must be here on business way.
SpringHill Suburban Disaster in Manchester, NH
August 19, 2016
Yes it rained. And then rained. Deluge. Downpour. So we moved the music inside and played all night anyway.

Music at Oopstock
But then we were due in Wisconsin the next morning before noon! That meant leaving the party at 2am for a late night visit to the nearest airport’s suburban hotel chain. Ears ringing from electric music, off we went into the deluge.
Here is the disaster that is Manchester, NH Springhill Suites. Just. Do. Not. Go.
My travel buddy with endless platinum Marriott points procured our reservation and checked us in, so we got to participate in ultra elite status. Like check out this outstanding amenity!

Amenity? Or cheap bag of chips.
And we got the best available room in the place, which was this desert of a design disaster.
Just super generic and gross.

Plastic shower! In a sealed room. Obesity rod.

Yeah. No.
So anyway, we were there for less than three hours. The plan is to never have to do that again!
One showerhead for Springhill Suites writ large. No.
Courtyard by Marriott a Giant Step Up in Wilmington, NC
June 19, 2015
Usually NPS has to slum it when we come through Wilmington, NC on the way to the beach. We have had a number of seriously awful experiences at the Hilton. Read for yourself here and here and here (there’s more if you like snark).
So the bar is set exceptionally low, and we’re happy to say the the brand new Courtyard by Marriott is much better even though it is still a hamster cage experience.
We had a SNAFU getting into our room that involved waiting for the front desk and engineering to figure out why a deadbolt was thrown in the room we are supposed to have. Anyway, we ended up in 424.
The shower is a glass pod! Yays.
But of course all is not sweetness and light here at NPS. We do have to say that the view sucks.
Anyway, good on the Marriott for bringing the town up to a low three showerheads! Way more than zero (the Hilton’s last rating). Looks like we’re going back to circa 1922 for dinner.
The best part about Circa 1922 other than the food is the barman Josh Giles, a reformed architect who has become a master barman. John specializes in growing ingredients in his garden and incorporating them into his drinks. The C4 is a great example:
1 oz cucumber shrub (cucumber, lovage, chervil, salad burnett, white wine vinagar, rice vinagar)
1.25 oz hendricks gin
.5 green chartreuse
splash of st. germaine
.75 oz soda
Both the shrub and the drink are out of this world. Josh rotates the menu regularly and features a cocktail with local produce (like the C4). World class.
And tomorrow, the Stick!!
USAirways to Raleigh
March 14, 2015
Surprise surprise! Commuter jets operated by Republic for USAirways have wifi, and you can upgrade for super cheap. Too bad they only fly out of DCA.
I am not sure what United has planned, or when its plan will be implemented, but they seem to think a plan is reality. Ridiculous.
I flew in and out for dinner and did not spend the night. But I did camp in the Marriott RTP lobby for a short while. Yuck.
At least Marriott listened (and brought out a cocktail to boot).
Westfields Marriott, Dulles, VA = Still a Marriott
July 13, 2014
Even when you fill a hotel with 300 people, things can go sideways in Marriott land. Met at the door by a persnickety doorman, I was refused luggage service when I arrived and asked to drive around to the loading dock. What?! Well, there was a bit of music equipment, but in the past it has all fit on 2 carts. No bending of the rules for mr door weeny.
So, instead of a welcome I got to bake in the heat, sweat through the shirt I was going to wear in a video shoot an hour later, and work with (the very able and excellent) security people. Hey Westfields, your front entrance situation needs a reboot. (FWIW, after a chat with the manager, the checkout situation went much more smoothly.)
But there is some good news. The Internet situation has been fixed. Free, more reasonable net. Which when you are running a conference full of geeks (like last year) is important.
And there is some bad news. The shower still sucks in suite 130. I mean really, get a new shower in here. The rest of the room is far better.
After a long day, including a video panel, a talk, and a music performance, it was nice to retire to some wine and cheese left by the event staff. Thanks for that! It was demolished before I thought to take its picture.
All in all, the Westfields Marriott is an even better place for a meeting than in past years. But the staff needs some training and suite 130 needs a new shower. They can make you an espresso in a pinch though, and they’re actually pretty good at it.
Three showerheads for the Westfields. Run a meeting here, but don’t come here for the sleeping rooms.