Lets Get Married: Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh
August 26, 2025
The Monaco in Pittsburgh has always held a special place in NPS circuits. We stayed at the property way back when it first opened. And then we stayed at the property on an important first date. Throughout every stay, the Kimpton flame kept burning bright and true, even through the IHG corporate nonsense. Rob Mallinger is an excellent GM.
So, of course, the Monaco was top of mind when we decided to get married at the Warhol in Pittsburgh on 5.25.25. What better place to put on a world class party and put up our guests (none of whom were from Pittsburgh)?! Rob and his staff did a spectacular job making our complex plans burst into life with great attention to detail.
We especially thank Allan Hughes (room czar) and Sydney Kurywchak (catering) and their respective staffs for their diligent effort to make our guests feel as if no effort at all was involved. You made our day(s) amazing. Thank you.
We put all of our guests up in the hotel on the night of our wedding, assigning each guest a particular room on the eighth or ninth floors. Having everyone all together was a special touch. So in some sense NPS has “stayed” in each and every room on the upper floors of the Monaco. Allan did an amazing job coaxing the computer system into doing what we envisioned.
Of course we started in 835 before moving up to the Emperor Suite for our wedding day. (Allan pulled some strings and got us moved Saturday so that we didn’t have to switch rooms on our wedding day itself…which was a big relief for the bride.)
We’ve shared plenty of pictures of 835 in other entries, and we were too busy to properly document the Emperor Suite, so these will have to suffice.
We held two separate events at the Monaco, a rooftop champagne toast (replete with a piper), and a wild reception in the big rooms downstairs, expertly transformed by Alexis Allen into different realities. Just wow.
Here’s how the rooftop looked for cocktail hour. Also see this posting.
Everyone moved downstairs for the reception, which started in Sheffield Ballroom and then proceeded by stages into the Sheffield foyer to the Sophia Ballroom. Each space was differently decorated, with the foyer reserved for dancing to DJ Williams’s amazing music and the Sophia set up as a late night speakeasy. Also see this posting.
Moving guests around throughout the wedding day made for a delightful experience. We all started out at the Warhol, and then proceeded through the Monaco spaces until midnight.
It was an incredible lifetime event for all involved.
Six showerheads (out of five max) for the Hotel Monaco. We’ll always remember this hotel with great fondness. Thanks you guys!
Back to the Pittsburgh Monaco
January 25, 2025
It is very fitting that our first trip of 2025 is to Pittsburgh and the Hotel Monaco. We’ve been here a bunch as we are planning our 5/25/25 bash here. (NPS first came to the hotel when it just opened in 2015.). Because we were spoiled rotten during our first visit, we always try to stay in 835.
One of the best things about the Pittsburgh Monaco is that it is doing all it can to hang on to the old Kimpton goodness from before the IHG takeover. We miss those days, and visiting the Monaco reminds us why. That’s bittersweet of course. Much of the goodness comes from the top. Rob Mallinger is a very good GM.
We arrived after a chilly drive just in time to meet with Sydney from catering and do a tasting. We did have a minute to deposit our stuff upstairs. Thanks for the flowers and the welcome note.
The bathroom involves very little plastic.
We spent some time in the grand ballrooms agonizing over how to transform the space into something less sparse. Word to the wise, the hotel does not have a stash of furniture or lighting that you can use to do this. That would be up to you.
For the record, here is what the spaces look like empty.
We also looked at the rooftop terrace again (which we are likely to fold into our event). It was covered in snow.
We provided some feedback to the hotel directly WRT space recombobulation and our tasting experience. As always, the Kimpton staff was all over it and was very responsive. This is a sign of good management. Thanks to Sydney and Erin for being good eggs.
While in Pittsburgh, we decided to attend the Pittsburgh Symphony. That was a very good plan—what a talented orchestra.
Before the show, we had dinner at Gaucho Parrilla Argentina. The experience was ok. Delightful staff but food that was honestly pretty generic. Not much like, say, Argentina. The best thing was that it was right across the street from the Heinz Symphony Hall.
The next morning, before our meeting with the Warhol (also a 5/25/25 destination), we had some donuts at Peace, Love, and Little Donuts followed by a better espresso at De Fer.
And then it was off to the Warhol in the snow. It snowed maybe 2 inches while we were in town.
One our way out of town, we swung by a very swank Aveda Spa (Lapamponee) in Mt Lebanon, which led us through sheer luck to Piyola. Holy cow is Piyola excellent.
And then it was back home over the mountains in the snow. The trip was very cold and a bit slippery.
Five showerheads for the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh. We can’t wait to be back.
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