Hotel Zelos, Dirty Habit, and the Ghost of Kimpton Past in San Francisco
December 18, 2022
Oh the Kimpton of yore, how we miss it. After the IGH acquisition, the properties have gone completely corporate. No brand left at all. No personality. No staff that loves their jobs. So sad. Our last two Kimpton attempts in NY sucked (see https://noplasticshowers.com/2022/10/17/quick-hit-in-nyc-hotel-indigo-is-very-corporate/ and https://noplasticshowers.com/2022/05/08/back-in-new-york-the-muse-hotel-ihg/).
But the good news is that some of the properties have the old magic. Like the Zelos in San Francisco that used to be the Palomar. This was once one of our favorite hotels. And maybe it will be again.
We remember fondly talking to Mike Defrino about adding good bars to the properties (using Bourbon and Branch as one of the examples of what people will pay for a cocktail). Jacques Bezuidenhout was hired, and Dirty Habit was born under the direction of Brian Means.
We remember the battle of the Palomars.
At what os now the Zelos, we were assigned 712 (which is a nicely renovated version of a room we’ve stayed in back in the Palomar days). Great room.
In fact, enough space to conduct a zoom meeting with multiple attendees in the same room. (Don’t ask.)
The bathroom could be bigger. But it works. The shower is over a tub, but the nice glass doors make it all OK.
Though we arrived late, there was time for a slightly adjusted Boulevardier before bed.
And then a Cloudbreak (from Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Philly). This is still a magical cocktail. Make one!
Though it arrived late, a welcome note did arrive (along with a nice bottle of wine that I gave to madou since I was not checking my bag. Thanks for that Ben!
This is not your usual hotel art. Love it.
Breakfast at Cafe de la Presse is always recommended. At the Chinatown gate.
And for fun? How about Wildhawk, followed by ABV, followed by the Good Good Culture Club all with a bunch of great friends? Yes please.
So, a Negroni or a Breakfast Negroni?? Jacques, which should it be?
Maybe Suzu (who has become quite famous, aparently) knows.
While at ABV, tequila (or mezcal).
Thee guys…
Good Good was very good. What a treat to be in San Francisco for 32 seconds! Merry Christmas all.
Five showerheads and a big thumbs up for the hotel zelos. Looking forward to returning.
The Estancia La Jolla: Old School, but Still Classy
December 18, 2022
Way back when, I stayed in the Estancia La Jolla MANY times for MANY years. I have some very fond memories of my time there. Since we were on a quick hit to Qualcomm, it was time to revisit and see how things are going.
The Christmas Nisse was present at the front desk. My dude, you are a long way from Norway!
The thing about room 390 is that it is generic. But the other thing is that the construction is substantial. Heavy, wide doors. Things that keep noise out. It’s true that the architecture is boring, but it is also built properly to last.
Sadly, the shower tub thing. But the tub is low and is very wide. Nonetheless, the hotel needs to put in some glass.
Could be anywhere. Get this, there is a clock! LOL.
But its not! It’s La Jolla. And there is a balcony.
Even in December, everything is green.
A fantastic after lunch coffee post meeting.
And possible one of the worst Negronis ever. The airport bartender measured mediocre ingredients just so and then added a shot of Angostura! LOL. What?! We had a chat.
Extruded ice. Shitty gin. A dry peel improperly squeezed. And an extra shot of bitters. San Diego airport Negroni.
Anyway, four showerheads and warm Christmas thoughts for Estancia La Jolla.
Scandic Nidelven, Trondheim, Norway: Go for the Breakfast
November 5, 2022
More post-COVID business travel in 2022. Trondheim, Norway is well north of Bergen and Oslo, situated on a Fjord, and is the home of NTNU where NPS was participating as adversary for a Ph.D. defense. That meant travel was dictated by university policy. Fortunately, breakfast was included.
In case you have forgotten what Norway is like, here is a video. About the same geographic size as California, Norway has only 5.4 million people. It is a gorgeous country.
Flying in to Trondheim is always an adventure, as you have to stop off in Oslo for customs and then brave the winds at the Trondheim airport. One poor old lady on my flight was literally screaming in fright as we made our approach and landing.
The great news is some of our good Norwegian friends were in town to greet us. Our first committee meeting was a very nice dinner out at the cozy Fagn bistrot.
The Scandic chain has done nothing to improve post COVID. A middle tier hotel chain on par with Marriott in the US or maybe Hyatt, Scandic pays more attention to their common areas and meeting rooms than they do to their actual rooms.
The Scandic Nidelven does boast the “best breakfast in Norway.” And the spread is actually quite good (and equally crowded). So go for the breakfast! I got two breakfasts in while in town.
The shower in my room (423 I think) looked something like this. Distinctly uninspired, yet functional and not plastic.
Views from the breakfast room over the Nidelva canals are very pretty.
In one minor wrinkle, my suitcases followed me into town by a day. That meant borrowing a coat and a dress shirt from friends just to stay warm and presentable.
The defense itself was interesting and fun. We minted a new doctor!
After which it was time to celebrate. First with a large dinner at Rive Gauche a droite (LOL) and then for some late night cocktails at the Britannia. The hotel has undergone major renovations and now has a world class cocktail lounge fittingly reminiscent of its London cousins.
We had to sort a major travel SNAFU on the way to the cocktail bar (NPS does sometimes drop packets, but we also bring along our credit card to buy entirely new packets…and sometimes a router.)
The next day a public talk at the university on Machine Learning Security was in order.
After lunch with the faculty (deeply interested in MLsec), there was a very short window for some tourism in Trondheim. The Rockheim museum is almost worth a visit..if you go with the right attitude it can be silly and fun.
The Trondheim sense of humor is even visible in the cafe signs. “probably the best espresso in the world” (more LOL).
After a parting Negroni at the Scandic bar (inundated with business types having a cocktail before their conference dinner), it was off to the airport to wait several hours for a quick flight to Bergen?
All in all, three showerheads for the Scandic Nidelven. Like the headline says, go for the breakfast.
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?
Lets Compare Airlines: 6 Trips Across the Pond, Summer 2022
August 5, 2022
We knew it was a very silly plan when we dreamed it up. We just didn’t know HOW silly. In any case, the very silly plan involved crossing the Atlantic six times this summer, which provided a nice opportunity to compare business class travel on three distinctly different airlines.
The verdict? Swiss Air wins hands down by miles. Then lufthansa comes in fifth of three. And united? Tenth of three. LOL. Not even close.
Here are more details.
The Lufthansa 747-8 upper deck is fun. The pods are not particularly roomy, but it is nice to have a dedicated business class bathroom or two and a distinctly private environment away from the scrum.
We flew to Frankfurt and got picked up in a red camaro.
Seat 85C on the upper deck of a @lufthansa B747-8. pic.twitter.com/10gyj7dZN6
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) June 23, 2022
Some of the time was spent in Heidelberg.
A train took us to the airport to depart Germany. Getting a train directly into Frankfurt airport is very easy and convenient.
The flight back on a Lufthansa A330-300 was more cramped than the 747-800 and really was not as nice. Not a big fan of the airbus. Much less room to get comfortable.
Pod 3C on @lufthansa A330-300. Back across the pond (crossing 2 of 6 this summer) pic.twitter.com/hPKCgarak2
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) June 30, 2022
We flew back to experience the closing of the digital psychedelic art show and to give a talk for the locals about Machine Learning Security. (Always keep your promises!)
And then it was a ridiculous two day turnaround to fly to Milan (through Frankfurt again). This equipment sure seems familiar! Upstairs again for a flight that was late once again but very comfortable.
Pod 84H on @lufthansa B747-8. Late as usual. The plan is to sleep. pic.twitter.com/NVmjCT0EPX
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 2, 2022
We did some music in Italy.
My art face. LOL.
The art itself: Into the Unknown.
Since my flight from Milano to Zurich was cancelled (Swiss Air has decided not to fly the northern Italian routes any more), I opted for the fast train through the alps. Just beautiful and very fast. The only issue was all the stuff I had (a huge guitar, a violin, a mandolin, a tube of art and a big roller bag).
Getting all the stuff on the train to Zurich and finally getting a taxi to the airport was a thing. The Zurich train station was under construction and a pain in the ass to negotiate. Finding the taxi stand was a serious challenge and nobody seemed to want to help.
Dang pic.twitter.com/q0pFcZFwC5
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) June 30, 2022
So we were grumpy, but everything was very smooth at Zurich airport in spite of our SSSS security status. TIronically, the SSSS actually speeded me through security faster. And a surprize upgrade came through!
Upgraded on a Swiss Air hop to Boston! Wow. The seat was enormous and the service was a blast! Best by far.
Even the food was great. Like you might even eat it not on an airplane.
Upgraded to first from business. Well that helps. Thanks @FlySWISS. Pod (living room?) 1D on a swiss air pic.twitter.com/iU3Rnd76AY
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 15, 2022
Actual espresso macchiatto
Standard issue mimosa.
What to do with all this room on the card table sized table? Wine tasting!
The crew was a blast (see more below).
The food was delicious and not overcooked.
Cheese for dessert.
Even Grappa.
The silliest thing that happened in all of these cross-Atlantic hops was the wine tasting. Since the card table sized table was so huge we decided to fill it up. Much fun was had.
So it was off to NH for a day to play music, and then a hop down to repack suitcases through Dulles.
Poor moonshine was sad to see me go again.
Finally the time came to take some actual United business class flights. This plan was a B767-400. The pods are a bit tight and the service is nowhere near as good as lufthansa or Swiss Air. On our way to Madrid, our flight attendant was unable to remember that we requested expedited service. And god forbid you know that you can request slippers and an extra pad for sleeping!
Headed to Spain in @united pods 5A and B. Polaris for the win. pic.twitter.com/axh7ugRrCG
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 17, 2022
We’re spoiled and we know it. Madrid and Barcelona were great.
We postponed our return trip in order to shake the COVID that we caught in Spain. Other than the trip was magical.
On the way home, the crew was better than on the way out (though the captain was the same and she played the same beach boys music). All in all, United was inferior service on all fronts.
Time to step it up, united!
Pods 5A and 5B on @united B767-400 in Polaris finally on our way home pic.twitter.com/YQin6U4uz9
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 29, 2022
Moonshine was happy to have us home!
Do you speak English? Do you fancy (or maybe, like, if you are American, “like”) sitting by the pool when it is 100 Fahrenheit degrees outside? Are you a hipster, or maybe hipster inclined? Perhaps hipster curious? Then this is the place for you!
The fact that this place had rebranded itself to CoolRooms Palacio de Atocha from what was most likely Palacio de Atocha before says a bunch. In English.
The pool rocks. Just come for the pool.
We’re having a grand old time by the pool.
Our room is 40. Maybe it is a “junior suite” or some such. The room is built into the top floor attic. It’s pretty hot in Madrid still, and the A/C is having some issues trying to keep up. It does OK if you close all the windows, shut your eyes, and try to be invisible.
The room is nice. Hipsters dig it. There are USB ports in random locations. There is a bluetooth doohicky for music. Right angles are rare. There are two copies of everything but the toilet and the makeup station in the bathroom.
Two copies! Romey can take a cold shower while I take a hot one. Simultaneously.
There is a note from the GM with some yummy items. This is so hipster that NPS felt instantly at home (but add an email address so we can ping you Señor GM).
We’re just swinging back out of Spain tomorrow and still moving slowly. So time by the pool with too many Negronis is just what the Doctor ordered. Doctor Feelgood, is that you?