Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh with Billy Strings and Bear
November 11, 2025
As you may recall, we got married this May (on five fives) and the hotel Monaco was our base of operations. We have a special place in our hearts for Pittsburgh and for the Monaco. Our most recent visit did not disappoint.
I mean not only were we in town to see Billy Strings play two great shows. We also chatted with Billy Strings himself and his dog Bear in the elevator. He is a sweet guy and his dog is awesome. The encounter made us miss our own goldendoodle, Maybelline, even more.
Since the band was in town and there was at least one wedding full of fraternity type people in the house, there were no suites to be had at reservation time. That is, unless Rob Malinger is pulling strings for you. Always have Rob pull strings. He is all powerful! We were put in 318 this time.
Which like most Monaco suites features lots of room, a cool bathroom, and a birdcage (of the sort that apparently flummoxes Madou).
Sydney wrote us a nice note and had an amenity placed in our room. Thanks Sydney.
The shower in 318 has its own internal bathtub.
Getting in and out of the hotel was “fucktangular” this visit. When we arrived it was rush hour and raining. And there were idiots from Tennessee with very huge jeep wagoneers (but no actual moxy) trying to lead us into the left. After waiting 8 lights we just went around them and taught them how to turn left on red. LOL. Then on Saturday morning we had to refactor our breakfast plans when the car took over two hours to get from the parking lot to the valet stand (due to a veterans day parade). It really was not awful but it was also not convenient. Only in Pittsburgh.
We headed straight to dinner when we arrived so we could get to the show. The mushroom thing at the Commoner is great. The show was very good indeed. So fun to be with our Billy Strings expert Betty.
We had some coffee at De Fer before the commoner was open.
And we went to the Mattress Factory for a dose of contemporary art.
And Randyland of course…
Then it was back to Billy after a very early dinner at Ritual House. Betty was in true outstanding leadership mode for this one. We secured some special bands and entered in the first 100 to hang with the true Billy fans. One fella had seen 333 shows! The people were really welcoming and friendly. And yeah, they knew all the songs and everyone around us. It was great. We owe Betty a big one now.
After each show we had a night cap in the Commoner and met some fellow Billy enthusiasts. Great bar.
On Sunday we made our leisurely way to Gepetto for breakfast, the headed out through Maggie’s Farm Distillery.
Five showerheads and special dispensation for the Monaco. Pittsburgh just gets better and better.
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.
Secret Mission to the Monaco Pittsburgh
July 13, 2024
We’re on a secret mission; our second, actually. And we’re having a great time while we’re at it. There was baseball, there was jazz, there was art. We’ve been to the Monaco before and it is with a wistful feeling that we experience the last of remaining Kimpton spirit on the planet. Keep the spark, Rob Mallinger!
When in Pittsburgh, see the Pirates.
As has become habit, we stayed in 835, a one room suite. This room is about the opposite of a hamster cage, and we like it. We blew by on our way to the game, but were not able to check in early.
There were furries from the convention all over town.
It was a beautiful day, and we walked to and from the Pirates Stadium.
After the game, we were greeted with a drink in our room. Somehow the hotel overlooked that there are two of us here, not just one. Gotta fix that!
The cocktail featured local falernum rum which is very good indeed.
We leaned up in the way non-plastic shower (even using the soaking tub) and headed to Con Alma for some dinner and jazz.
A nightcap in the Commoner was fun. We almost started to experiment, but then hit the wall. Long day in the sun! We do need to try swapping cointreau for luxardo in a Last Word. Sounds great.
About the only disappointing surprise at the Monaco was the room service breakfast experience. We should have gone downstairs instead of hoping to have a nice breakfast together in the room. Time to get past COVID!
We had some very good meetings about our top secret mission, and then headed (slightly late and confused by the GPS) over to the Warhol. The staff was excellent and helpful with our departure, loading the car and having everything ready. They even snuck in some gift Maggie’s Farm falernum which was extremely thoughtful. We found an ABC store and stocked up.
Five showerheads for the Monaco. Hopefully our plan will come together (just like on the A Team).
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!
Planes, Trains and ULTRA-CRAPPY Automobiles
March 11, 2016
Four cities in two days will do that to you.
Upgraded on one hop to Pittsburgh on United!!
Mesa operated @united express upgrade to 4D. Woo hoo. pic.twitter.com/v9jqfAqK7C
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 9, 2016
Then a tiny ancient United puddle hopper to NYC (Mesa needs more new planes).
So sad. No upgrades even possible on a tiny embrear 145. @united contractors have an aging fleet. pic.twitter.com/zhYvoSm0ub
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 9, 2016
New York was gorgeous
View from NY @thatmcgraw @philvenables pic.twitter.com/I5DKKPXQ16
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) March 9, 2016
Train to Connecticut from Penn Station bright and early
Now leaving NY
Then it was on to the worst Hertz rental car of all time. Dirty, over milage, driven hard, shimmy. Just crap. You can really suck Hertz!
This Hertz car sucks
Monaco Pittsburgh Upholds High Style
November 3, 2015
The lobby flowers are upside down. Monaco Pittsburgh.
Last time we visited, things were just getting started—but boy were they great. If anything, everything is even better at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh! Rob Malinger (happy bday, rob) is doing a great job.
818 looks pretty similar to 835. The only major difference is the view (835 has one, 818 does not). The rooms are both beautifully styled in any case.
818 Living Room
As always the welcome was Kimpton warm. Great door guys; friendly front desk staff; great amenity delivery people (that would be Marissa).
818 Bedroom
What a spread. Cheese, fruit, sparkling water and a note. Rock it Kimpton!
The bathroom is gigantic and fits the NPS criteria to a T. Any glass shower with a bench in it catches our attention.
This is a fantastic not plastic shower @Kimpton hotel monaco pic.twitter.com/qLaEGrhpwI
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 2, 2015
Shower Cubicle
Can’t wait to see how much hot water there is!
The style in the rest of the property is equally impressive. From the living room landing on the first floor…
Living Room Landing Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh
to the upside down flowers in the lobby.
For good espresso, slip across the street to Simpatico (thanks Rachel).
Simpatico coffee
Just to round out PGH, a dinner trip to Altius was very nice indeed. Plenty of interesting dishes. Need some work on their duck, but duck is really hard to get exactly right. The view at night is not to be beat.
Dinner @Altiuspgh. Well worth a visit. pic.twitter.com/lEZDe9tlKn
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 3, 2015
Uber cut both ways this trip, and that’s worth a mention. My colleague ordered an uberX to take us up the hill. Not only did the driver take an extra 12 minutes to “spiral in” and pick us up, she was also clearly a smoker who smoked in her vehicle. She got lost and had no clue how PGH is laid out (or, it seems, how to use google maps). The trip to Altius was non-professional and not really worth paying for. By contrast, on the way back the uber driver (uberXL whatever that is) not only knew the city, he was also playing Robert Glasper Trio covering Radiohead’s Reckoner in his spotless car. Uber needs to get its act together.
Then it was back to the Monaco for some nightcaps. The Commoner is uncommonly great as far as a bar program goes. Started by Kenny (now at Forgery in SF) and finished up by Mike Ryan (of sable fame), they have a great thing going here! We were served by the spunky and delightful Patricia Antram who was psyched to play. She mixed up a classic De La Louisiane as follows:
.75 Rye (cask strength)
.75 sweet vermouth (dolin’s would be best)
.75 benedictine
dash peychauds
dash absinthe
stir down. strain into a coup. garnish with spiked cherries.
Patricia also served up one of her own cocktails, Lía Loves Juan (a.k.a., Yellow Swan):
1.75 resposado tequila
.25+ demarara (1:1)
.5 lime juice
BBQ bitters
3 dashes whiskey barrel aged hot sauce
shake. strain into coup. garnish with lime peel.
A quick trip to Pittsburgh is always made difficult by the lack of flights in and out of town, but it’s offset by the very existence of the Monaco. Five showerheads!
The Brand New Monaco in Pittsburgh
April 6, 2015
Kimpton has a property in Pittsburgh! Hot damn. And what a property it is. This first visit is going to be way too short. Rob Mallinger and his team are spoiling NPS big time. We approve.
We are in 835, a gorgeous space with high ceilings and lots of room.
Here is a short and silent video tour.
About the only thing we can’t get to work in here is the bluetooth speaker. I guess we could put some music on the android device, but our old school ipod does not speak bluetooth. Oh well.
Birdcage light 835
Door, door, door
The tub is IN the shower in 835. That’s a new one.
While we were busy doing work on the interwebs, Marissa stopped in with a fantastic amentity from downstairs. Marissa was great. Based on her recommendation, we switched around the business dinner plan.
Fruit and cheese, artfully displayed
Of course, best of all was a make it yourself Stranahan’s whiskey-based beverage. The only question I have for barman Josh Holiday is what the bottle says??
Mixology
Rob stuck his nose in for a chat early evening. It’s always fun to talk to people who run hotels for a living. Rob seems to specialize in starting up new properties. This one is great.
What a fantastic welcome to a new Kimpton property. Thanks to the Kimpton team, especially Marissa and Rob.
We were hoping to make it to Butcher and the Rye, but it’s Monday and they are closed. So off to Meat and Potatoes it is. Meanwhile, it’s about time for that Stranahan’s Whiskey.
The report from Meat and Potatoes is that it is a buzzing nice little gastro-pub with good solid food. They are trying hard to make cocktails, but did not register on the “go there” scale. A much better bar is to be found at The Commoner right downstairs at the Monaco. We were served by Bryan Gastaldi who knows his way around the back bar. our experimental beverage was right down the center of the Bell curve (so no need to scribble it down).
Also, where do all the people in Pittsburgh go on Monday night?!
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