I don’t know what it is about Kimpton hotels, but I appear to be on a personal vendetta tour with them. The last time I stayed at the Palladian Kimpton in Seattle, I was deeply, spiritually offended by the bathroom setup. This time, at The Madera Kimpton in Washington D.C., I somehow managed to turn myself into a full-blown slapstick routine. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been such a chaotic disaster before, and that is truly saying something. Let’s begin in the bathroom. The layout is… creative. The sink and mirror are outside the bathroom, which is excellent if you
Category: Hotels
Chateau Victoria: I Stayed in This Hotel and Accidentally Tried to Move In
Listen. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels. Some were fancy. Some were weird. One had a mysterious stain in the mini-fridge I still think about with concern. But Chateau Victoria? That place hit different. I miss it. Unironically. I know that sounds dramatic. Who misses a hotel? That’s like saying “I miss that DMV” or “I miss the breakroom at my old job.” But the Chateau Victoria didn’t feel like a hotel. It felt like a secret, beautiful, low-key apartment I didn’t have to clean. And get this: it was actually affordable. No, not “we’ll split the room with three other people and
Le Pavillon: The Hotel That Understood the Assignment
I simply cannot talk about my New Orleans adventures without giving Le Pavillon the love letter it deserves. This hotel was GORGEOUS—like, absurdly so. Statues? Everywhere. Lush greenery? Check. A lobby that looks like it was yanked straight out of an 18th-century French chateau? Oui, oui, mon amour. And unlike so many hotels that have been stripped of their personality in the name of “modernization” (cough corporate beige hellscapes cough), Le Pavillon has character. You walk in, and you feel something. In my case, that feeling was a mix of awe, delight, and the sneaking suspicion that a powdered-wig-wearing aristocrat might saunter by at any moment. The Rooms: Small, Cozy, and
The Quality Inn and Suites – a Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
I’ll be honest. My man and I are snobs when it comes to where we stay. We like boutique hotels. Places with character. Places where you feel a bit fancier than you normally would. So I bet you’re wondering why the hell we stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites. Welllll, there’s a LIMIT to how much we are willing to spend and I am sorry, but hotels in Rehoboth Beach are ridiculous. No way in hell am I spending $400-$500 for one night’s stay. Are you kidding me? It’s not like it’s the Ritz in the middle of New
The Madera, a Kimpton Hotel in Washington D.C.
I don’t know what it is about Kimpton hotels, but I seem to be on a bad streak with them. The last time I stayed at the Palladian Kimpton in Seattle and was hugely disgruntled with the bathroom facilities. This time, at the Madera Kimpton in D.C., I was just an all around hot mess. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve every been such a spaz before–and that’s saying something! It all started with the shower. The bathroom is small which is both good and bad. Good, because they put the sink and mirror part outside of the bathroom so I
The Palladian – A Kimpton Hotel in Seattle, Washington
I never like to give a negative review. However, there are some things you just have to know about. I’m going to do this with a good old fashioned pros and cons list. First con, a VERY big con. They use sliding doors for the bathroom entrance. The door was OFF its runner meaning that it left a very big gap. Privacy much?! PRO: They immediately repaired the runner situation. CON: There was still a huge gap around the door. Big enough that I could fit both my arms around the door while it was closed. I then proceeded to