home away from home.

here’s a small recap of our lodging during our summer excursion from san francisco to nyc.

i shall put to use my new cosmetics based hotel rating system that occurred to me on our trip: "the promise" is what you'd expect from their marketing (not to be taken literally, they don't usually promise anything), "you get" tells what you actually get and "the verdict" is how the previous even out. impeccably accurate and comprehensive, if i may say so. *ha*

number uno: the historical fairmont hotel.

located on the top of nob hill, the grand building was the site that held the international conference which lead to the birth of the united nations. known predominantly among locals for its long history, their exclusive restaurant, tiki bar and piano bar, it served as the centre of the city's nightlife for decades after ww2.

these days i would, however, steer clear of the food after hearing about the state of their kitchen with their pre-prepared dinner plates...

after long working days it was my sweetie's entourage's only proper night out and we ended up continuing the party at our suite. oh, the decadence... except the hotel was going through a mini bar upgrade and ours meant that there was a new fridge with nothing in it and although it had been asked to be filled several times during the stay, somehow this luxury hotel could not handle the request...

the next morning we switched hotels – personally the old world glamour of fairmont is not something i’d ever choose and even though we had a great deal with them, i did not want to spend my holiday there.

1. the front 2. the glitzy lobby 3. the suite after a night of partying.

rating:

the promise: molton brown
you get: some vaguely and supposedly british set of products that only fools never-been-to-europe americans.
the verdict: when luxury days are gone, fake it till the very end...

***

number two: small design hotel diva located in the hub of touristy union square.

not worth intensive praise nor complaints, the diva was all right – except that their rooms were too small for a couple traveling with a suitcase and carry-on each. thus, note to self: opt for a suite next time.

although the hotel was marketed as a design hotel, the term has definitely gone through an inflation of a sort; the trend of small, exclusive hotels seems the norm these days, but somehow many of them cannot go through with the promise of carefully thought out design and other details that really make a hotel special.

to remain fair, there were cute little things, like a diva! temporary tattoo and a saucy blind, but as per usual, the promise of the website was not delivered. in all honesty, a bertoia chair does not a design hotel make.

1. the airiest pic of the room i could get. small, eh? 2. the temp tattoo 3. a sombre (=stylish) bed.


rating:

the promise: korres
you get: a no-name organic lemongrass set of products
the verdict: going over where the fence is lowest or the i-don't-quite-get-it shows.

***

from sf we took the redeye to new york city.

***

number three: hotel on rivington in the lower east side.

a spacier room with a balcony and the best stocked mini bar i have ever seen (fairmont seemed such a disgrace in comparison) created a feeling of home away from home. at this point my sweetie was so tired of traveling that a comfortable room was our minimum prerequisite.

as far as manhattan locations go, i cannot imagine one to outdo this one. the lobby was a little shabby and torn from all the use, but our room was impeccable.

1. enjoying brekkie at the lobby. fyi, best bagels in nyc are from h&h. 2. the winning set of bath products. 3. urban balcony and yers truly.

rating:

the promise: malin+goetz
you get: davines
the verdict: up to date quality.