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.
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.
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.
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.
Hotel Duxiana, Malmö, Sweden = Hot
April 5, 2018
From the swank common areas, through the central location in the city, to the glass shower situation, Hotel Duxiana is on fire. The food is great too.
After a late day flying in from Austria, arriving at 10:15pm was a relief. Ahhhhh. We were assigned room 201, which allowed us to quickly charge up the dead phone and head out for a very late dinner.
201 is small, but very nice. The bed is comfortable, and the design elements are modern.
201 bed
seat 1
seat 2
through the looking glass
The bathroom could be bigger, but the shower meets all criteria.
NPS approved
Dinner turned out to be Priorat and some charcuterie at l’enoteca less than a block from the hotel. Recommended.
Morning came too early (at 5:45am) followed by all day meetings. A respite after meeting one involved lunch at the Duxiana. Outstanding food and a real buzz in the common area. Who knew?!
This hotel food is just as delicious as it looks.
duxiana kitchen
What puts Duxiana over the top are the common areas.
all hail the book
Kockeriet is a world-class place for an excellent dinner. Here are pictures from a 7 course meal with a wine pairing.
Then it was off for cocktails around midnight. This turns out to be a thing in Sweden. What we learned: avoid Bastard at all costs, no service vibe; instead go to MJ’s which fit the bill perfectly.
Adjusted sazarac (peach bitters, half cognac)
After hours at MJ’s with fernet until 3am
Five showerheads and a Swedish massage to the Hotel Duxiana. NPS will be back for sure.
Palomar DC and March for our Lives
March 25, 2018
It all came together just about perfectly. A morning talk at Georgetown, a nice dinner out (sadly not at Rose’s Luxury), cocktails at the Columbia Room, and then the highlight of the weekend, attending the inspiring March for our Lives. Our base of operations was the commendable Palomar DC (a Kimpton).
Turns out that our friend Matt Hurlburt (once of the Alexnadria Monaco) is now Director of a bunch of DC properties, including the Palomar. And Harald Han, as assistant GM, is running the ship day to day. The front desk staff is as professional, courteous, and great as always, remembering us from our time at the Lorien and from previous visits in the mosquito. This is a great thing!
We finagled our way into 1024 (again), a gorgeous room at the very top of the hotel. Nothing makes us wag our tails like the Presidential Suite (though, we agree with Jacques that maybe they should change the name of it for now until the #assholeinone is impeached and out of office).
palomar 1024: yes please
The shower is NPS approved.
bed room 1024
extra bathroom
the usual mess
An amenity of cheese, fruit, and a cocktail arrived with a note from Matt just before we headed out. Very nice. Thanks you guys!
We spent the mid-afternoon wandering around Dupont and getting a coffee. Then it was off to try our chances at Roses Luxury. When we arrived at 5, the line was already way too long. We could have been seated at 9, but instead went to plan B, a dinner at Convivial (in Shaw). The food and cocktails were great (as was the company), but the service was terrible. Super nice, and caring, and about as unprofessional and useless as possible. Can’t win them all.
Then came the booth at the Columbia Room, always just an incredible experience. If you have not yet made it to the Columbia Room, do it. Make sure to do the tasting room and go for the entire experience.
A late night drink at the Urbana bar was just what was needed for a good night’s sleep.
The next day we headed in to DC for the March for our Lives rally. Incredible. So proud of what the Parkland kids have done. Keep it up and we will change this country for the better!
After some great ramen at Jinya and a chance encounter with our neighbor Harry, we headed back to the Palomar to retrieve our car and our bags.
It was chaos. And the reason why turned out to be that the kids from Parkland had been staying at the Palomar as well. They boarded their bus to fly back to Florida as we hopped in our car. Amy got a hat from Emma’s mom.
Five showerheads and a hope that our next visit is just as incredible.
Park Plaza Nuremberg Steps it Up
February 28, 2018
Having been to Nuremberg twice now (see this posting about the first visit), NPS now has some friends in town. So what do we do on this very short visit? See our friends!
First there is Park Plaza GM Carsten Baumann, and then there is Manfred Gendsior the proprietor (along with his wife) of delikatEssen, about more which in a minute.
Before our trip out, we contacted Carsten to secure a room at the Park Plaza. Sadly, the room we like 614 was already booked by a regular. However, when that person cancelled their reservation the day of our arrival, Carsten made sure that we got the room at the previously-quoted price. Now that is service. Thanks Carsten!
Anyway, here we are again in 614, not a hamster cage. Everything is pretty much the same as last time.
Park Plaza 614
But what is that on the bed?
This time there is a personal note and a present of local chocolates on arrival! So very thoughtful.
The bathroom remains superior grade (only the shower floor could use improvement).
glass shower goodness
Gigantic tub almost always associated with a glass shower
We were greeted warmly by the staff who were on notice to ping Carsten. After an arrival shower, it was off to a late lunch at the Atelier bar. Nuremberger bratwurst of course.
View from 614
Staying up until 8pm proved a challenge this trip. NPS is getting old.
In the morning, we were up in time not to miss the “breakfast cutoff second.” Breakfast was very nice, though the “double espresso macchiato” was delivered in massive late form. LOL.
Double espresso macchiato? Nope.
Then it was off for a morning at the “Documentation Center” which is what the Germans politely call the Nazi museum. A powerful exhibit worth seeing, make sure to go when you are in town. With the jackass Twump currently in the oval office as so-called president, it is essential that US citizens not lose track of how the Nazis came to power.
Book burning Nazis
The Racist Nuremberg laws
To clear our mind, a trip to delikatEssen was in order. Once again we had a great chat with Manfred who suggested a local gin and some German asbinthe (!!) to buy.
knowledgeable and friendly Manfred curates an interesting selection of liquor in Nuremberg
Manfred also suggested lunch at essigbrätlein, a two michelin star restaurant across the street. Great suggestion. The duck course was absolutely out of this world.
Tonight we will revisit our favorite bars, and see how the cocktail scene is going. More about that later.
Five showerheads for friendly service that learns at Park Plaza Nuremberg. Come visit Carsten and his staff!
