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Pullman Sydney Hyde Park: Disco Duck Stuck in the ’70s

September 17, 2019

Business. What you gonna do. The Pullman is not the kind of hotel we would normally choose, but that’s where they stuck us. After a 15 hour flight, an early arrival is somewhat non-trivial in Sydney. No arrivals lounges at the airport, and no early checkin at this business class hotel. So where do you shower off the metal tube?

The hotel staff did offer up the (not really that private) shower on 23 where the pool and weight room are situated. So yes, we did it. Nothing like shaving in public by the pool! LOL.

The shower on 23 was not plastic at least

Fancy a shave?

At checkin, I asked how many room categories there were and figured out the (small) price difference between our assigned category (two) and category six. Switching to a suite was a no brainer. The suites at the Pullman are all numbered “15,” FWIW.

There was a delay checking in each time of about 20 minutes. The exec lounge on 21 has decent net and some snacks, though once again the furniture needs to be replaced.

Working in the lounge with espresso

Here is an amalgamation of 1215 and 1615, our first night suite and the one we had for the rest of our Pullman time. They were pretty much the same with dated (and very dirty) furnishings that need to be replaced.

Entrance way

Hyde park balcony

Those colors

Same view, different floor

The sitting room (1215)

The shower situation in the Pullman suites is complicated. The showers are all placed in a ’70s era hot tub replete with entry steps. At least the water pressure is good.

The extensive bathroom hot tub shower thing

Hmm

There was plenty of time for exercise due to time zone differential on this trip. Up at 4am? Yeah. I was surprised by the number of people who used the gym.

The weight room on 23

View from the exercise room

A day trip to the Blue Mountains with Brian included two hikes and an overnight stay at the Lilianfels. The hikes:

Hiking wentworth falls

Just around the corner from the Pullman is the Philosophy Cafe where not only do they have an excellent breakfast, they also have remarkably good coffee. For Sydney, that’s a thing. Sydney has great coffee all over. Make sure to take the time to find the best!

Sydney espreso

Philosophy Cafe breakfast

Also just around the corner is a great Italian restaurant called Beppi’s. Old school but very good food.

Vino Italiano at Beppi’s

Sydney is a great place to eat out. This trip included a visit to both Bistecca and Freds. Both were remarkably good. The bar at Fred’s (Charlie Parker’s) is also highly recommended.

Amer Picon at Charlie Parker’s (means a liberal)

Charlie Parker’s bar

Cocoa Banana

The Cocoa Banana from Charlie Parker’s (by Giacomo Franceschi)
house fermented banana wine (local yeast from the air)
bourbon (maker’s mark)
dark rum (havana 7)
montenegro amaro
cocoa butter

Fred’s open kitchen. Absolutely delicious food.

These fish. Just wow.

Recommended by Aaron Bedra

Bistecca grill (where the steaks are hand cut)

Speaking of bars. Make sure to include some time for: Lobo Plantation, a quick visit to the Marble bar (once anyway), the Baxter Inn, and Door Knock.

Zombie lighting at Lobo Plantation

Lobo Plantation tiki bar

The thing about the Marble bar is that it is trapped in a Hilton. The old stuff is beautiful, but whoever decided that plastic cups and formica tables were the way to go needs to be fired. Then again, the clientele was mostly tourists in tee shirts. Ordering fries seemed like the thing to do.

Marble bar

Your fries are ready

Baxter Inn is set up for whiskey drinkers, but the clientele?? Not so much. Go on an off day.

Baxter Inn Willet

The (locked) back room

Door Knock was a blast. Fun bartenders and very good drinks.

Mescal for a Paloma

Sawing the ice at Door Knock

Last Word at Door Knock

Dinner at Spice Temple was very good, though the atmosphere is a bit down market. Go for the food, not the ambiance.

Spice temple western style dumplings

We did some sailing in Sydney harbor.

Sydney transport of the fancy variety

An afternoon visit to the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art is recommended.

All told, a low three showerheads for the Pullman. Great staff, but a property that really needs some investment to stay relevant. No more furniture from the ’70s!

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Lilianfels, Katoomba, Australia: The Blue Mountains Lux

September 16, 2019

Katoomba is a great place to visit if you are into hiking, spectacular views, and nature. On a previous day trip, we didn’t spend the night (coming in and out by train from Sydney is almost fast enough to make that work). This time, we opted to stay at Lilianfels which is an old school resort right near the three sisters.

Lilianfels resort has many buildings

Lilianfels was likely built back when royalty seemed to matter. NPS calls this kind of place an “old lady hotel.” Lets just say Lilianfels is most famous for its high tea in the afternoon. We missed that in favor of hiking.

See more about the Three Sisters hike and the Grand Stairway here.

When we arrived just after an early lunch at 8things (recommended), only one of the rooms was ready, so we ditched our stuff and headed off on the trail. Three hours and 6.3 miles later, we enjoyed a Negroni by the pool.

Lunch at 8things

Post hike Negroni

I was assigned room 223.

Lilianfels bedroom

No real view from 223

The bathroom was spacious and the shower was not plastic at all. Very solid.

A visit to the spa got us access to the hot tub, which after going up over 900 steps felt pretty great.

Lilianfels spa

Dinner at Miss Lilian teahouse was bad. Do not eat there.

Drinks at the bar downstairs in the main house were much needed.

On the way out of town, we stopped into Wentworth Falls for a hike there too. Absolutely worth it.

Hiking wentworth falls

All told, Katoomba overnight may be a bit of overkill. Lilianfels is a four showerhead kind of place. A bit too old school, and who lets such a bad restaurant persist?

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Grande Colonial Inn La Jolla Gets a Facelift

May 15, 2019

What a difference a year makes. Last year the Grande Colonial seemed a bit tired and long in the tooth. It has had a facelift.

View from 102

Though the architecture of the building has not changed, the room layout is much cleaner and more spacious. Even the long skinny bathroom (which remains long and skinny) is better.

Looking in the long skinny bathroom. Hey, the shower is not plastic!

This trend to delete bath tubs and replace them with modern shower spaces is a great trend. Much better use of space, and much more reasonable approach to morning cleanliness.

The best part of this design is that the controls are situated logically. No reason to get wet while you turn on the shower.

The rest of the room has been opened up, repainted, and re-imagined. Nice work.

102 bed

Seating area 102

Look how comfortable

Sadly, the parking lot has not been deleted. The ocean is over there somewhere.

Dinner at Catania was very good for a restaurant group property. Modern italian with a negroni to boot. Recommended.

Sadly, the bar at Nine Ten (which is a very good restaurant in the hotel) is still sub-par. Gotta hire some hipsters who know what they are doing. The current bar suits the old, monied, and boring demographic of the hotel. Nuff said.

George’s at the Cove, a La Jolla establishment of many years still deserving its reputation, still has the best cocktail program in town.

Joree Weatherly was a top notch barman who served us this cocktail. It has a name, but Joree did not write it down on the recipe I asked for. Lets just call it Trentino Tincture. Actually, it turns out to be named Shiso Piney
1.5 Amaro Junipero gin
.5 Pasubio amaro (from Trentino where I spent a year in 1993)
1 lemon
.75 shiso syrup
2 dashes of pine tincture
top with soda. serve on rocks in a collins glass.

When we returned the next night with a cast of hundreds, Joree made use these great cocktails:
Mezcal Manhattan
1.5 Mezcal
.75 montenegro
.75 Averna
2 dashes mexican spiced bitters
Stir down, serve on a large cube

Negroni Amarillo
1.5 Mezcal
1 pamplemousse
1 suze
2 dashes sage tincture
Stir down, serve up with sage leaf

United upgraded us on the way out. Lets hope that works for the way back too. Global services rock on! Um, nope. No upgrade, and we’re here to tell you, economy sucks!

NPS is impressed. Nice work updating the property! Four showerheads for the Grande Colonial.

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One Night at the Kabuki (Japantown, San Francisco)

March 18, 2019

After a weekend of staying with friends (paul, jim and chloe), we spent one night at the Kabuki before heading out of town early in the morning.

1602 is as nice a room as ever. We have been here before.

1602 bedroom in the upper corner

There was just enough time to dash down a craft cocktail before dinner.

The Daffodil-Narcissus
1 oz Sipsmith gin
1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz honey/water 1:1
.5 oz lillet blanc
.5 oz lime juice
spoon of greek yogurt
egg white
dry shake. shake on ice. serve in a collins with a big cube and dill garnish.

Dinner at Mourad was very good indeed. Expensive as all get out, but great food and an excellent quirky wine list.

And we now have a new driver in SF.

Four showerheads for the Kabuki and thanks for putting us up in our favorite room.

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More Ann Arbor Hospitality

March 1, 2019

Last time we stayed at “chez fu” in Ann Arbor it was May. And it was 2016. This time it is 16 degrees and 2019 in March. Brrr.

This trip is a quick hit to catch up, give a talk, and experience some winter. Nevertheless, we did fit in a few cocktails (and some fernet) at Nightcap. This visit, all of the drinks were too sweet. We’ll blame the nephew for that.

And yes, that is a piece of carbonized (charcoal’ed?) marshmallow on that cocoa-like thing we failed to finish. At least the fernet was good (??) and there was real Williamn Larue Weller 2016 in the house.

Dinner at Tomkun BBQ was delicious and chock full of meat.

Zingerman’s deli</a for lunch is an Ann Arbor must.

No hard labor on the outdoor bread oven was required of this visit, probably because our brick was confiscated by TSA.

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R2 Wine Luncheon Take 4

February 16, 2019

The fourth LA wine luncheon run was excellent and fun as always. This time the highlight of the day was an absolutely top notch menu put together by Bistro 45. (FWIW, Bistrot 45 already held the top dining position for these wine lunch things and knocked themselves right out of first place into first and second place.)

Your gracious host donnie sporting a svelte new look

All hands on deck

The fun end of the table

The menu features all organic ingredients

Carpaccio

Ravioli

Duck and polenta

Did we mention the polenta?

Of course, there was lots of wine, good conversation, and laughter.

The whites

The reds

Note to self that wine tasting is much better without the last vestiges of a chest cold.

After lunch we headed into greater downtown Pasadena for a cocktail or two. The bar at Smitty’s Grill is remarkably good. Excellent standard cocktails and a bartender who is even experimenting with milk punch.

smitty’s grill bar

milk punch

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No Fly Nöel 2018

December 27, 2018

2018 was an interesting year for travel. We stayed close to our 20 trip goal (miraculous), but still managed to hit Argentina, Africa, the Bahamas, New Zealand, and Australia, not to mention a bunch of domestic travel. From the highest winery on the planet, to walking on the Serengeti. Pretty not bad.

Here is the trip-o-meter for 2018.

Because of all of the international flying, we racked up lots of United frequent flyer miles. It will be interesting to see how this goes in 2019 now that we are finished with the silicon valley corporation (whose travel policies, frankly, sucked). Our best bet is less Germany and more Europe this year, but we shall see. We may miss Nuremberg, but we won’t miss the reason for going there!

2018 was our first trip in international First class. Here is our report.

The United lifetime ticker stands at 1,736,206 miles. Yowza. Hopefully our 146,879 miles will keep us in Global Services next year.

Sadly, our love affair with Kimpton is over. Kimpton just became too IHG too fast to retain any loyalty. Oh well, we will miss our great industry friends who I am sure we’ll see from time to time.

Just remember the rule! NO PLASTIC SHOWERS!

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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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Rydges South Bank Brisbane: Back on Top (part two)

December 2, 2018

Our first taste of Rydges South Bank Brisbane left a bad taste in the mouth. But a meeting with the GM in the morning cleared things up.

While we were off having breakfast, our room was switched to a very nice suite (room 1028).

There is plenty of room in 1028. And two balconies to boot.

Wrap around balconies

Room to exist

Working desk

A separate bedroom

The bathroom is big enough for two, and has a big tub.

Much better shower. Ahhh!

The shower is very nice

Breakfast at the Gunshop Cafe is delicious. Great espresso and juice.

Gunshop cafe Sunday brunch

After which, an excursion to Stradbroke Island (called “straddie”). Ferry ride on a bus, picnic lunch, beer, hiking, gelato, swimming in the ocean. A great day.

Point Lookout

The seas were high, and we got wet, which was a blast!

See more pictures from the Stradbroke trip.

Dinner at Julius Pizzeria was authentically Italian. Great pizza and great people.

Julius Pizzeria

There is a budding cocktail scene in Brisbane. Thanks to Rachel at Wickham we were looped in. We can confirm that Saville Row is top notch. (Look for the orange door.)

Likewise Electric Avenue is a great place for a cocktail. Jess created a drink for us.

Jess at Electric Avenue

Rye Surprise
45ml Bulliet Rye
20ml dry vermouth
15ml lemon
20ml kiwi puree
40ml pineapple
8 dashes peychauds
shake. double strain. serve up in a coupette. garnish with dehydrated pineapple.

Rye Surprise

Apparently a Brisbane cocktail called the clockwork orange was a contest winner…which contest we don’t recall. It falls squarely in the tiki category.

Clockwork Orange
20ml aperol
20ml cherry heering
20ml passionfruit syrup
30ml gin (monkey 47)
25ml lemon
2 dashes orange bitters
shake. strain. serve over crushed ice in a tall collins glass.

Bars we were unable to visit but heard tell are good include: Legends Speakeasy (find the passcode on the net) and Tomcat (behind Bill Murray).

Skip the Pancake Manor. Though it is built in an old church the food is awful and the espresso is worse. Greasy spoons should be greasy but not just bad.

QAGOMA is an excellent museum. The modern art collection is far superior to the science museum’s stuff. Just stick with the art. Have a beer in the courtyard.

The botanical gardens are also worth a visit.

Four showerheads and a tip of the hat to Rydges. Thanks for fixing things. Now for some sleep!

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Rydges South Bank Brisbane: A Hotel Disaster (part one)

December 2, 2018

Somehow in this case the word “Rydges” connotes cheap condoms from a gas station vending machine. We’re traveling with a group, and that means little control over situations that NPS usually has a strict handle on. No worries, we were assigned the second best room category on the Rydges South Bank property with a balcony overlooking the river. Room 1116 is a bit cramped, but not bad.

Except for the part where it is connected by a very thin door to the suite next door where an asshole is hosting an all night party. The party involved yelling, loud conversation, noisy sex, door slamming, and more! At least the party wound down for a bit about 1:15am when we called management and they had a chat with the noisy people. But then at 5am it all started again with speaker phone conversations and more loud asshole.

Basically, I guess we’ve decided that the wrong class of people frequents this hotel. That makes Rydges more of a “Walmart-shopper style salesperson on a bender with some hookers” hotel. Or maybe it is only the ridiculous Christmas revelry sweeping the city.

Whatever. We fixed things the next morning after no sleep. Rydges can and does do better!

Brisbane, on the other hand is a great place to visit.

We went to Koala-land (Lone Pine Koala sanctuary) after we ditched our bags at the hotel. Well worth a visit. Just don’t plan to eat any food there. Really. Captive audience means super bad food, even by zoo standards.

Kangaroo

We did the obligatory koala picture.

Koala picture from Lone Pine

About which…

And then it was back to the hotel to shower before cocktail hour (crammed into a tiny bathroom).

Not much room, but the shower is glass

Two people can’t use this sink at one time (unless one is on the john)

River view and a cute balcony

We had fantastic Negroni’s made with Four Pillars gin at Wickham with Rachel. Also gathered data for later cocktail shenanigans. (Skip eleven rooftop bar unless you like fake glitz and dated DJ music.)

Dinner at Caravanserai was very good indeed. Authentic Turkish in a funky noisy boisterous atmosphere. Nice. Just don’t forget to pick up a bottle of wine to drink on your way in.

Caravanserai

Then ride the wheel for a dash of too much AC before bed.

The Wheel

Two showerheads and a fervent hope that the asshole next door gets a cosmic comeuppance for Rydges phase one. Things got better!

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