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.
Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh: Kimpton at its Old Best
February 9, 2020
Hard to believe it has been five years since the last NPS visit to Pittsburgh! Dang. The great news is that the Hotel Monaco in Pittsburgh is like stepping into a Kimpton time warp—in all the good ways.
The first good thing was discovering that our ancient Kimpton points of yore (which were transformed into some kind of mystery pointy prickly spire IHG points) were still valid and useful! Who knew?! So a quick cycle with GM Rob Mallinger hooked us up with our very favorite room at the favorable price of zero.
You may recall that 835 is the bomb. And the staff at this hotel is just awesome. In particular we want to give shouts out to Matt for an outstandingly personal welcome and to Annalisa for going above and beyond the call of duty to retrieve some data for us while we were out and about. Outstanding.
Welome to 835. Wine, cheese, a personal note. Yes, welcome indeed.
835 Living room
835 bed room
This shower is not at all plastic. Yays.
It snowed. Classic Pennsylvania. Arriving after 7, we found a sea of fundraising private school hipsters dressed to the nines. It was well nigh dinner time. Fortunately, Rob set us up at Union Standard where there were oysters, Negroni’s and other good eats. Sadly, by the time a leisurely dinner was consumed, the plan to hit up Butcher and the Rye had the kibosh put right on it. Who closes a good bourbon bar at 11 on a Saturday night? Well, apparently the James Beard winners do. Alas.
Union Standard
A dirty martini? On this blog?! WTF?!
So it was back to the commoner (found in the basement of the Monaco) for a nightcap. Though the clientele leaves a little something to be desired (Trump country assholes abound in the PA private school world), there was good Rye. Not to mention Gina, a delightful barkeep. (The bar itself was established by Kenny many years ago and then properly curated by Mike Ryan before he headed to Sable to build another gem.) The commoner bar is still world class.
At the commoner, Gina and some rye
So how do you recover from all that Rye? With some “Pittsburgh hash” at Pamela’s (a great greasy spoon diner for breakfast). Right next door, you’ll find some very interesting tiny ass doughnuts at Peace, Love, and Little Donuts (sic).
Pamela’s, a Pittsburgh tradition
Just like it says
The Warhol museum is a great place to visit in Pittsburgh. Excellent art properly curated. See pictures here.
The @TheWarholMuseum pic.twitter.com/zMDASDi9su
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) February 9, 2020
Excellent Taiwanese comfort food can be found at Cafe 33.
And there is live music in Pittsburgh. Saw an intimate show of aging punks featuring John Doe. See lots of pictures and videos here.
john doe krisin hersh grant-lee phillips pittsburgh
Day two breakfast was just super good. Great espresso, tasty crepes and art. Make sure to go to Geppetto Cafe in Pittsburgh for breakfast.
Geppetto Cafe Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is hoppin.
This old school Kimpton thing going on at the Hotel Monaco is well worth five showerheads with a couple of plus signs tacked on for good measure. Wish there were more like this in the rest of the country!
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