Jill "HOT BREAKFAST!" K.'s Profile

I stayed in two hotels this week: one for business during the first half of the week (a Hyatt Place, which I love), and then we switched to this Best Western for the personal-vacation side of the trip.  And after having stayed in both hotels, I've gotta say: This place rocks.

You may scoff at the Best Western brand, but don't.  I just came from (my favorite!) Hyatt Place, and this Best Western offers many more amenities for free, for a less expensive nightly rate.  Don't know how you can go wrong.

Nice hot breakfast, friendly checkin and housekeeping staff, the option to set what time your room gets cleaned so they're not housekeeping is never knocking on your door when you're half asleep or nekkid.  Fridge and microwave in our room, the rooms are super-clean, the water pressure was sweeeeeet, and the hotel is 100% non-smoking.

The rooms were clean, and there will little, nice touches all over the place.  (Bottle of water and a granola bar in our room at checkin; makeup remover towelettes so you don't crap up their towels/washcloths with lipstick and waterproof mascara, and organic bath products that you'd actually wanna use.

We'll definitely be back. No brainer.

Really cute community theater space, doing a wide range of (mostly) non-musicals... everything from 10-minute play festivals, shows by local playwrights, and plays from names you'd recognize.  

These are good people putting their heart into what they do, and they deserve your support.  Yay, local theater!

They don't offer online ticketing (yet!), but just call their box office and tell them how many tickets you want for when, and they'll be waiting for you.  Easy breezy.

I stayed there last week while contracting for Merck, and this stay was just as great as my others to this property.

Super-friendly staff, totally clean rooms, and that cookie-cutter Marriott Courtyard thing going on (not that this is a bad thing).  

I ate at their bistro for every dinner (I was nursing a cold, and it was freezing out and didn't want to venture out for food), and dare I say for a "do creative things with a microwave," their food was pretty tasty.  Holycrap, their Asian chicken salad is amazing-- the dressing is KILLER.  

I'm taking one star off for the two things that drive me nuts:  1) There's noplace to plug in your cell phone if you want it on your nightstand.  So instead, bring a really long phone charger cord, and be prepared to unplug a lamp or something.  2) The shower pressure is meh.  

Anyhoo, this hotel fills up pretty far in advance given its proximity to Merck, so be sure to book as early as possible.

Short version: Eat here; give them your business!

Long version:

I'm in town for work, and I was jonesin' for Thai food tonight. Yelp pointed me towards Yaya's other location, but I realized that their new location is honestly two seconds from my hotel. Yay!

I called in my take-out order, and the gent was so friendly and cool on the phoneand they were just as warm in person.  And now my friends, I'm sitting in my hotel room eating this freakin' awesome Thai food, and ZOMG I am a happy camper.  Everything is so fresh, bright, flavorful... wheee!  

I ordered a bunch of stuff so I can eat dinner tonight and also have lunch for tomorrow.  Here's the play-by-play:

Appetizer: Thai dumplings.  These are ground chicken and pork in steamed wonton wrappers-- they're not only freakin' tasty, but they're pretty, too.  The dipping sauce is killer-- it's sweet and sooo good.

I got the lab chicken (salad) as my entree, and it's pretty huge!  Lots of fresh lime wedges served on the side, which I love.  

I also ordered the chicken pad thai which I'm gonna have for lunch tomorrow... but I stole a bite just so I could report on it.  Verdict: YUM.  

Lastly, I got the mango and sticky rice for dessert.  Is there anything more perfect?  A Thai friend of mine once said that if you eat too much sticky rice you'll fall asleep.  I think they might be right... food coma settling in.

Next time I'm back in town, I'm here, baby.

Ordered takeout from them tonight, and so far, everything is solid.  The chicken pakoras are really lovely. The veggie samosas are pretty standard; not terribly exciting, but fine.  The chicken tikka kebabs are super-tasty!

Place was hoppin' for a Sunday night-- the buffet looked good, but alas, I was just there to pick up my order.

These folks are great!  I'm a working musician and wanted a set of custom earplugs; the kind that are custom-fit for my ears, and with swappable dB reduction filters depending on how much volume reduction you want.  I made an appointment, and they hooked me right up.  Easy, painless, fun process, and the staff were great to work with.  

Yay!

We stayed here for a long weekend over Thanksgiving.  I love me a Residence Inn for longer stays... the full kitchen was great, the bed was super-comfy, and the water pressure was enthusiastic.  

The check-in process was a snap-- we arrived around 2:00am but since we called ahead our room was happily waiting for us.

I was very happy to see a note in our room saying, "Hey, our housekeeping staff would like to enjoy their Thanksgiving, so they'll be refreshing your room on Turkey Day, but they're not gonna do the usual scrub-down. Thanks for being cool." (OK, I paraphrased that, but you get the idea.)  I like that they think about their employees' happiness while balancing the needs of their guests, too.  

My only gripe was that the wifi signal wasn't very strong in our room.  This is OK since we didn't spend too much time at the hotel... but if I were traveling on business it would have been a problem.

I would absolutely stay here again.

It's off the beaten path in Bear, right on the dock of the Summit Point Marina.  Follow the signs and you'll be fine.  

We were here for an all-day/night music festival and the music was great, the vibes were wonderful, the drinks were tasty and the food was wonderful.  

I'm  not a seafood fan, but there were plenty of things an anti-fishite could enjoy.  

This place really is a hidden gem; don't be afraid to go.  Yes, it's a commitment, but it's totally worth it.  A warm summer night and a mojito... you can't beat it.

Totally clean and comfortable. I travel often for business and stay in "fancier" hotels, but seriously, this Days Inn has all of the necessities: it's clean, comfortable, simple.  Done!

A bunch of years ago, the Sinclairs in Newark stopped serving their cranberry chutney on their turkey sammich, and I was heartbroken. What happened to my beautiful cranberry chutney?  Turns out the owners of Sinclair's sold the Newark shop to focus on the Sinclair's in Kennett Square.  So if you want that cranberry chutney you've been missing (along with the peach habanero salsa-- WOOT!), come to Kennett, my dearie!

I love both Sinclairseseseses just fine.  I think the lunch/sammich selection is better in Kennett Square (again, it's the chutneys man... can you tell I'm all about the dang chutney?  CHUTNEY!), and I think the eggs benedict are better in Newark.  

The prices are slightly lower in Kennett Square, but yer also paying tax.

Like both locations, the service is wonderful, the atmosphere is cozy, and the food is made with care and love.  You can't go wrong!