Quick Hit in NYC: Hotel Indigo is Very Corporate
October 17, 2022
What was to be a long weekend in the city shrunk down to one night when business did its usual thing of melting away. NPS stayed on the lower east side on somewhat of a whim. The verdict? Meh.
Thing is, Madou had no idea that we weren’t in midtown. So we shlepped up there for sushi at Sushi by Bou. Which was hilarious and definitely worth the subway time.
Waygu and uni…surf and turf @mmadou pic.twitter.com/BBZUfT75ih
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) September 7, 2022
The place is tiny, so make a reservation. Immediately after coffee, it was back downtown for our meetings, and then back to midtown for dinner at Freemans. Dinner was great.
But skip the rice pudding fad! LOL. Ride pudding is way too filling to catch on.
After dinner, the plan was to wedge into PDF, but the hot dog place was being its persnickety self. So instead we headed to Amor Y Amargo for some fantastic cocktails. We made up an experimental cocktail called the McGillicutty.
The Indigo was generic and boring. All of the Kimpton magic has dispersed.
The shower is not plastic.
The lower east side is close to some stuff, we guess.
NPS doesn’t remember the room number. Not returning.
Back to EWR you go (in an early Uber).
The United club is all new and fancy, but the flights are still delayed.
All told, three showerheads and no more strikes for Kimpton. Anybody have a good boutique hotel chain to offer?
Back in New York, The Muse Hotel (IHG)
May 8, 2022
Our first foray into the city was not that long ago, but was directly impacted by COVID when both stars of Plaza Suite were infected. We went to see Hangman instead, an OK play, but not really all that. And then it was back in Virginia for the advent of the Spring green. Were some of us disappointed? Why yes we were.
So, soon enough we were back in the city to take another crack at Plaza Suite do some business on the side. The original plan was to fly in Saturday evening, so we booked a room at the Muse, one of the Kimptons of yore. Bottom line: the IHG takeover of Kimpton is complete. These days, the lobby of the Muse seems to be filled with aging midwesterners who have accumulated enough IHG points by staying at many Holiday Inns that they are splurging on a trip to Broadway and the big city. Kimpton is hip no more.
The new demographic at the Muse in NY seems to be mostly oldsters from flyover states who accumulated lots of points by staying at Holiday Inns. @Kimpton has been utterly transformed by @IHGhotels.
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) May 7, 2022
Times Square remains a Disneyfied tourist attraction and a traffic snarl. That’s nothing new.
The Muse does retain much of its old staff, and that is nice. But its computers are corporate and the wiggle room is gone. So our request of room 1703 was ignominiously ignored due to the fact that we expanded our stay to two nights instead of one (really with plenty of time for the hotel to adjust) and didn’t feel up to switching rooms halfway through our stay. That leaves us surly and disappointed.
Somehow I think we ended up accumulating lots of IHG points due to all of this. But guess what? NPS does not give one shit about IHG points. None. We just want really great rooms for our cash money.
Plus it rained the whole time, so 1506 was not all that it’s cracked up to be what with a soggy balcony.
It was great to see Madou.
The rain made business in Brooklyn interesting too. Traffic was a thing. Our visit to One World Observatory for dinner was hilarious with zero visibility. LOL.
Finally we ditched the tail and ended up at Katana Kitten for some real fun (thanks to Jacques for the pointer). I mean, check out this before and after!
Things were blurry.
Thankfully the canary extracted us before the blurry things got much farther out of hand. They did get far enough though, and Saturday morning was hard.
Returning to 1506 after a night on the town? Nah. The Muse days are over.
At least the shower is NPS approved. A very nice one.
After recovery, we visited the Guggenheim for a Kandinsky fix. Ahhh. That and ramen will do it every time. It was a glorious afternoon.
After a nap that stretched on just a little too long, it was dinner at Junoon. Highly recommended.
Breakfast at Banter (the original one south of Washington Square) is fantastic. The mushrooms are worth talking about.
Now it’s time to see the play and then scoot to EWR for a quick hop home.
Four showerheads and a demotion for the Muse. We miss our Kimpton.
Don’t Take Away My Perfect Shower: The Muse NY
January 25, 2018
Ah, The Muse. Last time we were here it was too short and about as good as they come. This time was very similar.

Night view from The Muse room 1703
We figured out that 1703 is the room number of the room we like (because lucky dogs that we are, we snagged it again). What a shower! Sadly, we were all by ourselves this time. (Thanks Ray Mannon for your magic.)

1703 anteroom

Thanks for the amenity, especially the two LARGE san pellegrinos
After way too much korean food at Gayeon in Fort Lee, NJ, there was no room left for even one wafer thin slice of cheese. The sparkling water was perfect, however.
Gayeon was solid Korean in a suburban mall kind of upscale NJ space. Why is it that all of these restaurants in the ‘burbs feel the same? We had a blast watching the completely wasted couple one table away try to cope with reality.

desk nook 1703

bedroom 1703

looking thru the “takeout window” into the bathroom

SHOWER NIRVANA
NPS loves the shower in 1703. Yes on all fronts. Even has a bench. Sadly, the city of NY decided to turn off the water somewhat arbitrarily in the morning. We got a shower, but always under the threat of ending up all soapy. This is a bummer, and we must return.
This quick trip was so fast that there was no time for cocktails outside of the restaurant.
There is very good news about being Global Services on United! First class upgrade on the way out, and a free efficient switch to an earlier flight on the way back. We even managed to get a seat that did not suck. NPS approves of Global Services.
Uber on the other hand needs to get a map of NY and commit it to its computer’s memory.
Five showerheads and a fervent wish that NYC would get their utilities act together. Thanks to The Muse for a quick but nice stay.
Ink 48: Rocking Hell’s Kitchen in NYC
November 1, 2017
There’s nothing like experiencing a new Kimpton property for the first time. In all of our countless trips up to NY, NPS has never visited Ink 48 (though we have heard tell of it). Hell’s Kitchen is pretty far up there, but sometimes business uptown happens!
Our greeting at the front was warm and welcoming even though it was supposed to be scary. We were assigned the fantastic river-view suite 1416 (for which we thank Steph and Barry). What a great room.

Room 1416 on a gorgeous day overlooking the Hudson
The sitting room section.
The bedroom section.
And the all important huge bathroom with a distinct shower cube in the corner. Plenty of room in here, and no sign of plastic.

Glowing shower cube of 1416.
The “hot and cold” amenity was impressive and delicious.
Dinner at Taboon is not to be missed. Outstanding bread, delicious food, a real cocktail program, a nice wine list. Seek it out. We enjoyed ourselves so much before the play that we returned after the crash.
Spirits Bisbas
1.5 oz hendricks gin
1 oz rhubarb puree
1 oz lemon
.5 oz dry vermouth
shake. serve up in a coup. smoked paprika on top
We tried to see a play at Lincoln Center, but it was not to be. About an hour in to “Junk,” technical things went south and never recovered. Frankly, we expect more out of NY Theater.
The “hot” part of the amenity came in handy late night when we got back from our cocktail run at Taboon.
Five showerheads and a warm glow for ink 48 in NY.
The Muse Sets Things Right in NY
May 21, 2017
The Muse was so great compared to the Eventi on this trip, it’s hard to know where to start. You may recall that the Eventi could not help moving our bags uptown, so we ended up doing it ourselves at 9:25pm. Shortly after fetching our bags we arrived at the Muse and were greeted by name by the staff who was waiting for us (and apparently even beginning to wonder what had become of us).
So incredibly personal, friendly, and warm! Special thanks to concierge Daniel Mitchell for putting our champagne on ice as we unpacked for our way too short visit to the Muse.
The room, whose number is lost in the sands of time, was great.

Welcome to the Muse!
Super great bathroom featuring an awesome glass shower with a built in bench.
Drive up service window.
Anyway, the Muse helped us finish our NY run in style. Five showerheads and a glass of bubbly for the Muse!

Koons street art in NY

Radio City
Cum laude![/caption]
NY Eventi: Again the Corporate
May 20, 2017
New York is a fantastic city to visit for any reason or no reason (and this time we had a reason as you will see). The Eventi, because of its location, makes a good base of operations. Thing is, after having been to the Eventi many times, the place still feels corporate and soulless and the property seems to have no recollection or any memory at all of NPS stays. Not sure why.
This time, NPS was doing the complicated free night reward thing. The Kimpton twitter fairies did a formidable job shaking loose a free night at the Eventi and then did what they could to combine the reservations. Which meant we were able to stay in the same room for our two days running. That was good. The no maid service until explicitly requested in the afternoon? Not so good. The Eventi front desk even turned off the keys requiring a trip downstairs. Service much? Nope. Strike one.
We were assigned 2217. This “city view” room is on the south side of the building and has views down 6th Avenue. You can see both the Empire State Building and Freedom tower from the room. The view is very nice.

The Empire State Building in purple for NYU Graduation
We arrived late at night after one of the worst United Express flights ever. It never ceases to amaze NPS just how bad United can be when it is bad. Commute air should not be flying props in 2017. Sorry. Just no reason.
Having an amenity in the room with a personalized note and two tiny bottles of sparkling water was nice. Later on night two we had to order up our own water for $26. Inner circle people don’t like that nonsense. Strike two.

Greetings

Dual view, South and East.
New York is always pretty at night.

2217 is all one bed dominated room
The bathroom is nice but not too fancy as far as the Eventi goes. The room category NPS usually stays in has better showers.

Shower 2217
Up early, we headed to Yankee Stadium for NYU graduation.

Cum laude!
NY was exceptionally hot as was the stadium!
After our sweltering morning in the direct sun, we changed scenery by chartering a 41 foot sailboat and sailing in NY harbor and up the Hudson. Awesome!

No fun was had (at all)
Dinner at Il Buco was fantastic as always.
Day two featured a great brunch at Cafe Orlin.
The plan was to switch hotels after brunch and before the second graduation ceremony. Sadly, the drunk driving incident at Times Square had traffic snarled by the Muse. We hopped the subway uptown.
NPS is very sorry to say that the staff at the Eventi was entirely unhelpful in arranging to get our bags taken to the Muse (during a 7 hour window). We were forced to come back at 9:25pm and pick them up after dinner. Good hotels do better than this. Minus twenty Eventi staff! Strike three. And you’re out at home plate.
We did manage to find one very helpful bellman who stashed our champagne in the employee fridge. Now that was creative and a huge help.

Radio City
So you see, the Eventi has this corporate bureaucratic approach that just grates and causes a constant barrage of swings and misses. The staff seems friendly enough, but impersonal. The lack of a creative, helpful solution to a pretty easy bag moving problem is telling.
The Eventi’s stylish open restaurant and lobby as well as its prime location almost makes up for the IHG (not very Kimpton) feel, but not quite. Three showerheads and a mandatory training program for the Eventi.
NYC and the Eventi
November 13, 2016
It’s New York City, where this building is.
Sadly our view from 1104 looks like this instead of like that.

Eventi 1104
We’re staying for several days here at the Eventi, and we were really hoping for an even better room (height and view-wise). Sadness.
1104 is a nice room category at least. We’re happy about that. It is kind of weird that this hotel seems to have no memory of which rooms it assigns. I know many other kimpton properties that do a better job with that (say, hotel marlowe in boston).
Without further ado, 1104.

Eventi 1104
The fruit amenity was actually almost completely consumed! But still water?? Really? Seems to us here at NPS that the “infrastructure staff” is not quite as stellar as the “front desk/downstairs staff” here at the Eventi.

No cheese for you.
The bathroom is super fantastic with a great shower.

Eventi 1104 shower highly recommended
Two meals at the restaurant/bar downstairs were particularly noteworthy. NPS is not a fan of hotel restaurants (even at Kimpton properties), but an exception can be made for the eventi.
Of note in NY this trip. Dinner at Il Buco (the old one). Dinner at Ramen-Ya. Lunch at Tac-N-Roll. A cocktail at Pegu. Drinks at Lantern’s Keep with Natasha and Natalie. Heisenberg the play.

HIghline tree

The end of the line

Lantern’s Keep cocktails

On the stage at Heisenberg
And the Whitney was outstanding as always.
A very high four showerheads and an upgraded database to track rooms with for the Eventi.