art s.'s Profile

This is more of an fyi than a review, hence the middle of the road 3-star rating.

The good news is this place is crowded like a college bar on nickel draft night, so they must be serving something that's worth the wait.

The bad news is that -
(a) you're likely going to wait even with a reservation.  We had a reservation for 2, got there about 5 minutes after our reservation time and the place already had a good 15 - 20 in SRO mode between the bar and the tables in the back of the room, so we weren't going to be seated anytime real soon; and
(b) about half their seats are likely to leave you in a spot where you have this hovering crowd literally right over your shoulder.

If you like this kind of scene, go for it.  If you have personal space issues, you might want to consider another place.  We left.

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay.  My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December.  So, take this more as  directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

I loved this hotel.  I traveled to New York a decent amount in 2007-2008, staying in a variety of hotels at a variety of prices.  Without question, this one night at Le Parker Meridien was the coolest experience and maybe the best overall value.

* The London was pretty sweet, but also pretty expensive and not really designed to get any work done.  

* The Westin Times Square is solid, but doesn't possess the same cool factor as Le Parker Meridien.    

* The Embassy Suites near the financial district provided great space and had the best gym (though I didn't use the one at the Meridien, which looked excellent, too), but that part of town isn't convenient for much (for me, anyway).  

* And the Roger Williams can be a great deal, but the room doesn't come close to what I had at the Meridien.  

My stay got off on the right foot when the agent at the front desk informed me I had been upgraded to a "tower suite".  This was my first and remains my only stay at Le Parker Meridien, so I cannot compare the 'tower suite' with anything else.  But if you're offered an upgrade to a 'tower suite', take it.  

I liked the room as soon as I walked in. It's not the most luxurious room you'll ever stay in, or even the largest.  But the smart design touches really impressed me.

The living room / work area is well laid out.  The desk design is just smart - one area for your laptop and a separate area (the rounded table in the photos) to spread out some paperwork. Maybe a little detail, but just very smart.

The bathroom was beautiful, simple and sleek.  If you appreciate this kind of modern ascetic, this place is for you.

And, bonus for me, no 'rainforest' or 'waterfall' or whatever shower head (I hate those).  

But the pièce de résistance was the way they incorporated the entertainment center into a swiveling half-wall that could be configured to either face the bedroom or face the living room.  As you see in my photos, I really enjoyed this feature.

Okay, so I really liked the whole TV thing.  The room also had some great closet space (you'll have to trust me on this, as I was so caught up with taking pictures of the TV that I failed to grab any of the closets).

Net: Depending upon where prices are, I'll be seeking out Le Parker Meridien whenever I can.  (This night the price was $557 tax included and was competitive with similar class rooms given the timing I needed.  Not sure what the 'tower suite' might cost without the benefit of a free upgrade.)

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay.  My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December.  So, take this more as  directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

I am a big fan of 'apartment hotels', where you get a kitchen or kitchenette in room.  I'm not sure exactly why.  Grabbing some groceries locally and stuffing them in the fridge works for me on a couple of levels.  One, it's more economical than either the mini bar or the hotel restaurant/room service options.  Two, it gives you at least some small sense of 'living like a local' (admittedly, sometimes a very, very small sense -- I don't think the Affinia Dumont's lobby amenities are commonly found in your average Manhattan apartment building, but then again, I really don't know).

So when the wife and I were planning a quick trip to New York for some family activities, I checked out the various Affinia locations looking for the best overall deal I could find.  It was far from 'cheap', but it's New York.  Prices are high across the board, so the question is more about the value you're getting.  After all was said and done, the Affinia Dumont ended up being ~$500/night and the value was just okay.  There were some highs and some lows that balanced each other out.

One of the highs was the view.  We had room 3402, so we were decently high up and the view was pretty cool.  I won't go all the way to 'spectacular', but it was pretty cool.

The space was good.  The room is unquestionably big.  But the furnishings are also unquestionably a bit dated.  

Yes, that is a 29" (maybe a 32"?) old school TV.  

Yes, that desk looks a little bit like something from the Hardcastle & McCormick era.  

The bathroom was decent, though the folks who designed it look like they borrowed some inspiration from the closet of the Hotel Monaco in San Francisco.

And the kitchen was serviceable.  Not ideal for entertaining, perhaps, but it suited our needs.

Additionally, they do have a pretty good gym, which you can check out on their web site.  Small but nice space with a good mix of modern equipment.

My two biggest gripes with the Dumont would be (1) you could hear a lot between the walls, and (2) they negged my request for a late check out.

Regarding the walls, maybe it varies by room, but we heard screaming kids in the morning.  Part of this is the hotel's issue (some insulation please?) and part of it is the parents/nanny issue (really?  screaming/shrieking for 45 minutes?  a little exuberance is understandable, but how about some consideration of your neighbors?  45 minutes of shrieking before 10am in a hotel isn't cool).

While the acoustics were annoying, my biggest gripe with the Affinia was that they would not accommodate us even a little bit regarding our request for a late check out.  I'm not the biggest road warrior in the world, but over the years I've probably racked up a few hundred nights in hotels and I have had my late check out request declined only once.  By the Affinia Dumont.  Extremely aggravating.  Especially because we were requesting it on a Sunday, which is not the busiest check-in day in the hotel biz (someone by all means correct me if I'm mistaken).  But worse, I was able to check their web site for reservation avails that day and there were multiple rooms available for booking (i.e., they weren't full - not close).  So why the flat decline of a late check out?  It's too bad, too, because the Affinia chain does try hard in other ways to tailor their service to your needs and desires. After you've booked they reach out to you via email asking what kind of pillows you'd prefer, whether any of their spa packages are of interest, whether you could use any complimentary toiletries, etc.  Some nice touches.  But for me, all that goodwill was undone by what I perceived to be an unnecessary rejection of my request for a late check out.  

Net: it was decent for this trip, but not a delight by any means, and I'll be looking for alternatives on my next trip to NY.

See this review with photos @ http://travelcasserole...

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay.  My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December.  So, take this more as  directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

The Monaco was a solid option.  Maybe a little pricey @ around $400/night (including taxes and such).  But it provided decent space and amenities along with a helpful staff.

Room 714 was comfortable.  Neither huge nor necessarily luxurious, it got the job done.  Nice bed, reliable internet connection, good bathroom.

One nice touch that I was glad to see and have wondered why I don't see it more often was a recycling bin.  Wish every hotel would provide these.  

And while I didn't take advantage of them on this trip, perhaps on another occasion (or, more likely, in another lifetime), I'll hit the mini bar for everything it's got and bust out the zebra robe, head down into the lobby for some of their complimentary drinks around happy hour time and see where things lead.

Last but not least, they do have a gym.  Not the best or most modern gym around, but it's better than nothing.  I was in there maybe around 8 or 9pm and there was no one on duty, which was only a bother because I couldn't figure out how to change the channels or get any volume going on the TVs.  Small nuisance, really, but it would have been nice to get them onto some news rather than the Rock of Love-esque crap that was being featured.

See this review with photos @ http://travelcasserole...

I hate to Yelp while angry, but I need to relate this ridiculous experience.  

I just walked into this store with a pre-wrapped package of 3 bottles of wine, reusing the styrofoam casing that I had received from a previous wine order.  It measured 5" x 12" x 15".  The guy helping me asked if putting a little bit of bubble wrap around it and maybe some peanuts on the end sounded good.  Ok, sounds reasonable.  So he took it to the back and started to work.  10 minutes later he comes back with a box that could have held a bass drum.  24" x 24" x 18".  WTF?  Really?  I get wine delivered to my office a handful of times per year and I have never seen anything like this.  I could have shipped a barrel of wine in this box.  So I asked them wouldn't a smaller box work, since all the online wine stores manage to get 3, 4 or 6 bottles into something approximately one third the size of the gargantuan thing he had taped up on the scale (which, by the way, would have cost $120 to send via 2-day air).  They say they can't do it.  Some restrictions about how much stuff they need to have around the item, yadda yadda (again, this is already wrapped in a styrofoam container expressly manufactured for this exact purpose).  Not willing to pay $80 + to ship a package that is ridiculously over packed, I suggest that I pay them for the time (10 - 15 minutes) and we part ways, thinking you know, a misunderstanding is a misunderstanding, I'll give you $10 and we'll forget this ever happened.  

He charged me $19.03.  Nineteen bucks for, say, 12 minutes of UPS store clerk's time and 3 square feet of bubble wrap.  Un-be-liev-able.  Is he paying his counter staff $80/hr?  (If so I'm in the wrong business).  Is bubble wrap the new platinum?  WTF.  You just guaranteed that I will take ZERO percent of my shipping business to you in the future, even though I live steps away from your store, generally can't be bothered to deal with post office chaos, and have occasion to ship a number of things per year.  But you got my $19.03.  Congratulations, and nice judgment.

After meaning to try Broadway Cellars for well over a year, my wife and I finally gave it a shot last Friday night.  And it was great.

The place has a nice vibe.  Stylish but not stiff.  The decor is cool and contemporary, but has something of a personal or DIY feel.  

I don't know exactly how to explain it, but it just didn't strike me as the rote implementation of a templatized corporate design or the pristine vision of some highly paid hotshot designer, but rather it's just the concept of the owners/management who may even have done it themselves and pulled off something pretty cool.  (I could be totally wrong about this, but, for what it's worth, that's the impression I got.)  Any slight imperfections kind of add to the charm.  For example, it's hard to imagine an experienced design pro going with the unfinished wood wine racks in the back.  

The artwork on the wall also provides a nice local feel.  Applying the local coffee shop aesthetic to a sophisticated yet comfortable dining experience.  I suppose it has the risk of coming off as pretentious or contrived somehow, but both my wife and I felt like it worked.  (Though, personally, I wouldn't be lining up to pay $425 for any of the pieces on display.  That seems like a stretch.  But then, I suppose having $50 price tags on them would run sort of counter to the semi-elegant vibe they are aiming for).  

The mood is set from the beginning with the table setting.  Sometimes the little details are everything, eh?  Here, the wine list is angled to reflect the votive light, the bread is warm and they set the oil and Parmesan dish up for you right off the bat.  Voila.  And the paper menu reinforces the casual, almost rustic kind of feel.  The dishes may be sophisticated, but the atmosphere makes everything feel quite accessible.

We opted for the "Let's Hop a Cab" wine flight, despite my aversion to the cutesy name.  One from California, one from Chile and one from Australia.  Three 3oz pours for $15 - not inexpensive, but decent value for the option to sample such a range by the glass.  

Our meal began with the crab cakes appetizer, which was excellent.  
It took a little while to come out, but once we dug in it was clear that the time was more a function of perhaps a 'slow food' approach than any kitchen dysfunction.  The dish was hot and fresh, the taste and texture of the cakes was sublime and the sauce added just the right spicy notes.  Some places try to wow you with crab cakes the size or your head and some maybe crank out so many of them that you can tell they were made assembly line style yesterday morning, and others use so much oil that you might enjoy the first bite but need an iron stomach to get beyond two.  These felt and tasted like they were made on the spot just for us.  Really, really good.

For the main course, Judy ordered the seafood risotto and raved about it. Seriously, every other bite triggered a "this is so good".  She can be an easy grader at times, but she knows her seafood and this was the most exuberant she's been about a dish in a while.

I went with the Penne special of the night, which involved sausage and sweet peppers.  The sauce was nice, the sausage was good, but the Penne were a little overdone.  The taste overall carried the dish, but it could have been excellent were it a bit closer to al dente.

Finally, though we were stuffed, our server got us to try the gelato.  Apparently it's locally made by a woman in her kitchen, very Recipe for Success-like.  It was good.  I wouldn't say it was amazing, but it was definitely good.  Of the three flavors we tried -- chocolate, graham cracker and cinnamon -- the cinnamon was the stand out.  My wife was hoping for a bit more actual cracker in the graham cracker scoops and I agree it was maybe more subtle than it needed to be.  But honestly, I was concentrating on the Selaks Ice Wine (just one of many nice postprandial options on their dessert menu) and the gelato was just an afterthought.

See this reiview with photos @ http://foodcasserole.b...

Star scoring scale:

5 = Spectacular
4 = Better than average, really enjoyed it
3 = Average, don't regret it
2 = Disappointing
1 = Abysmal

Finally.  

I've lived across the street from Zanzibar's Bryn Mawr/Kenmore corner for 6+ years and it's great to finally have something useful and pleasant there.  It's infinitely better than the depressing convenience store that used to fill this space (though that's an admittedly very low bar - an ATM and a newspaper box would've been a huge upgrade over that joint).

Last night Zanzibar had all the telltale signs of a just opened small business.   Shelves not fully stocked.  Customers outnumbered by an eager to help staff.  Self appointed members of the neighborhood welcome wagon greeting / interrogating the owner.  And a spotless, stage crafted look that will hopefully ease into a more 'lived in' feel over the coming months.

While their pastry and cake cases were a little thin last night, their ice cream counter was ready to go.  I'd estimate they have two dozen or so flavors, all of which sounded pretty good.  To his credit, the guy behind the counter offered me the try-before-you-buy tasting opportunity, but I felt confident with my order:  one Espresso Oreo and one Snap-o-Lantern (spicy pumpkin ice cream with bits of ginger snap cookies).  Both were excellent.  Great texture and consistency - fresh and light.  Nicely done.  

Looking forward to having Zanzibar in the neighborhood.

Our neighbor referred us to Tyra @ Smarty Pets a couple months ago.  We now have them taking the dogs out 2x / week and it's a huge help.  The dogs like the exercise and my wife and I like not having to stress out about who can get home for the hounds.  

Tyra has been very reliable and friendly.  The dogs like her and she provides nice update notes after each outing for the wife's peace of mind.  Would definitely recommend her to others.

Some rooms here might merit a 4-star rating, but room 910 gets 3.  

I wanted to like this place more, but it fell short on a couple of fundamental things.  

On the positive side:  

- the room was huge
- the bed was huge and comfortable
- you can open the window a little bit (I love fresh air, so this is great for me)
- the bathroom is big and modern
- they have a nice little flat screen tv in the lobby near the elevators, which does help distract you during what can be kind of a long wait for the car to arrive
- there is an mini fridge and microwave in the room (and the brilliant, well stocked Cafe Duke is a 1 minute walk away, so giddy-up)

On the negative side:

- there is no mini bar in the room (I prefer the fridge anyway, but it's worth mentioning since some people need the mini bar)
- the TV is dated and the reception is rough on a few channels
- the temperature control in the shower stinks out loud
- there is no wireless internet and room 910 did not have an ethernet jack, even though the front desk and the guy who trucked up a cable to my room tried telling me it did.  There were a couple of dial up jacks, but really?  2008?  $535 room?  Dial up?  No.

Add an internet connection and this is easily 4-star for me.  A colleague I was traveling with had a better experience, getting an enormous room with a full kitchen and living room (and a working internet connection).  So, check out your room carefully before unpacking and maybe request an upgrade or something.

Brilliant.  I was staying at Flatotel, which provides a mini fridge and mini microwave in the room, but no mini bar.  I checked in at 11:15 pm and I wanted to get some water, maybe a juice, something small to eat in the morning.  Nothing big.  I ask the front desk guy where I might find a little store.  He directs me to Cafe Duke.  I was hoping for at least a hole in the wall to buy a bottle of water, but I found an oasis of variety in a clean, well lit place.  Belgian beers.  Fine cheeses. At least 5 different kinds of refrigerated Starbucks drinks.  Genius.  I might even elect to stay at Flatotel again (really just a 3 star experience) just so I could make another run to Cafe Duke.