The Lorien Alexandria During No Fly July
July 12, 2017
Though NPS does not fly in July or December, there is still stuff to be done. The solution? A working meeting at the Lorien in Old Town Alexandria. We’ve been to the Lorien a couple of times since Steph Vogel took over as GM. Sadly, Steph is in Switzerland this week. We’ll pretend that the ship runs just as well without Steph at the helm (though it’s really not true).
The Spartan balcony off 619
This visit finds us in 619, which is similar to 615 only slightly smaller and on the other side of the building. There is a very large balcony on this side too. Because it’s 100 degrees this week (with an overnight low in the upper ’70s), the balcony will be ignored due to weather. Strikes us that a remake of these balconies as a garden would make them both more inviting.
Look to the left
Look to the right
Our meeting room was cavernous and highly functional. We spent all day working.
A cocktail was in order after all that work. The bar is still very good, though barman and detail freak Phil Clark is no longer around. Phil has moved to Phoenix. You can tell. Damien is doing his damndest to keep things up.
Whey Sour
.75 cachaça (novo fogo)
.75 rye (copper fox)
1.5 whey
.75 honey
1 lemon
pinch of salt
Shake. Serve up.
Snacks at the bar took forever to arrive. That ended up making them free. Timely is better than free.
Dinner at The Warehouse was a massive disappointment. The crayfish were good. Or was that the crawdads? The wine list?
Unusable. Skip it. In other news from the evening, the bar at Restaurant Eve still holds its own, but Jackson 20 has slipped to skip it level as well. So sad that the old Alexandria Monaco is now a Marriott property.
On return from dinner around 11, we were greeted with a nice amenity. Thanks Stephani. The ice cold San Pelegrino is particularly welcome.
Sitting room 619
Sleeping room 619
The huge glass shower will do just fine.
Shower? Perfect.
Once the work was done, there were museums to see. First stop was the National Building Museum to see Hive. Well worth the visit.
Home of hive. At least for a while.
That was followed by another great lunch at Bistrot du Coin.
And a visit to the Phillips Collection. The old building is under renovation, so only half of the paintings as usual were out. But still fantastic. An NPS introduction to the stunning art of German artist Markus Lüpertz.
German artist Markus Lüpertz
The suit
Detail from Spoon
German artist Markus Lüpertz
A fantastic day. Followed almost immediately on its heels by a fantastic evening.
Roses Luxury is just as stellar as its incredible reputation. Just go. We showed up at 5:10pm and walked right in for a 180 minute dinner extravaganza.
Those poor “other people” had to wait in line
Caviar service
Yes, we took pictures of our food. We also had extensive conversations about it.
The best dish of the evening was a soft shelled crab served with Singapore-style chilli sauce (on the sweet side) over steamed buns with pickles. Delicious.
So really. Go to Roses Luxury as soon as you can.
Then there was the Columbia Room in the back booth (our usual NPS haunt), this time with the geek patrol. Excellent as usual, this time less for the drinks presentation than the company.
Columbia Room
Ice
Seaweed?!
Rum from 1857 always seems like a good idea after the tasting menu is complete.
The moral of the story is: get your work done quickly so you can spend some time being spoiled in DC!
Five showerheads and a real wish that Steph were around. We miss you Steph.
2017: First Blood to the Lorien Alexandria
January 12, 2017
If the Lorien sounds familiar to you, dear reader, that’s because we stayed here just a few short weeks ago in a last minute mad dash to the Kimpton inner circle finish line. We made it across by the skin of our teeth! But we also got a great meal in old town as a fabulous side effect. Read all about that here.
We’re back, this time in the city on a keynote talk gig. Of course the conference is being held at some awful Hilton or other where NPS would not be caught dead staying. So Kimpton it is!
This time we’re in room(s) 611 and 615. I am here first for an evening and then the rest of the posse comes later. Plenty of room in this set of rooms! And a balcony to boot, which on a 68 degree day in January is awesome.
The balcony would be a great place for breakfast!
Sadly, the weather promises to turn to snow by Saturday morning. We might even get stuck here in the mosquito!
Looking in, French doors.
Living room
Living room
The bedroom is tucked away in the corner, but is very nice with doors that open to the outside. It is basically the penthouse corner of the 6th floor.
Bedroom 611
With all of the adjoining rooms, we need a huge shower to fit everyone. Fortunately, that’s all set.
A glass shower big enough for everyone!
The shower barely fits in the mirror.
After settling in, it was time for a drink in the great cocktail bar downstairs with Steph Vogel. NPS recommends highly the practice of having a drink with the big boss. Inner circle karma all around as barman Phil Clark and chef Wiedmaier made cocktail hour special.
The Apples to Apples
1.5 oz appleton VX rum
1 oz laird’s apple brandy
.5 oz cynar
.5 oz demerara syrup
4 dashes bittermen’s tiki bitters
Shake. Serve on large rocks in a whiskey glass.
After driving off for dinner with an actual sibling, we returned for a midnight snack. The charcuterie plate was remarkable.
Wine, notes, meat, cheese, dessert, sparking water? What more is there in an amenity. Thanks you guys.
Those black sesame things, just wow.
Out of this world charcuterie
Five showerheads for the Lorien. Can’t wait to see the style evolve at this hotel. We’ll be back as often as we can.
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