US - Baltimore
Love the inner harbor. Love the power plant section. Love Fells Point.
Baltimore always seems like a great night away from DC kind of option, if the weather is nice. When it’s gorgeous, the place is just hopping, and at night the bars are spilling out everywhere. Like DC, the hotel selection is really really fucked. I don’t understand why cool boutique hotels (in good locations) haven’t made it everywhere, but I will continue to seek them out.
Notes to self:
-Wit and wisdom restaurant was fantastic. Four seasons restaurants have become great all of the sudden, but maybe that’s just because I love Bourbon Steak in DC so much (this place actually sold the Bourbon Steak burger). The layout is nice and dark, with a giant bar area and a giant outdoor area (the dining room is off to the side and seemed kind of boring). The bar menu is full of fun snacks just like Bourbon Steak. The chicken sandwich was killer, and ginormous.
-Pier 6 venue was kind of lame. Chairs going all the way back (no front stage dancing area). They don’t take credit cards anywhere (though they do have good ATM action). All of the concessions are like you’re at a carnival or something. Other than being right on the water in the inner harbor which is cool as shit, this venue blows dick.
-Larry Flynts Hustler Club is on a strip club block pretty close to the inner harbor. The street always feels pretty seedy to me, but this club is pretty nice. There is always a cover to get in but you can get free passes in a variety of ways, including buying them for 5 bucks right outside the front door sometimes (door fee is usually 10 to 20). The main floor has 2 stages (only 1 is usually open on weekdays) but offers great views and the servers are good and observant. Dances cost 15 for a public one song job, or 40 bucks for 2 songs upstairs in their more private area (rooms were about 300 for a half hour with a bottle of champagne). Private tables downstairs just requited bottle service. Upstairs they also have a stage and a bar and this is supposed to be their VIP area. For us it was just kind of boring…but no one was up there that night. The 40 dance is a must and if things are going well just keep adding on. When the boys went we visited a much better club but I cannot remember it. Gotta find that place again.
Sheraton Inner Harbor - Jul 2014
Lobby area has a Morton’s but is pretty standard otherwise. Standard rooms. You can have a “stadium view”, but while you are technically looking at both stadiums, you aren’t exactly close…it was fine. Inner Harbor is about 2 blocks away, and even then you are sort of on the end of it, and not the great end. The bar is on the second floor and is pretty business hotel standard. Room did not have a mini bar. The pay per view was decent and it did have 24 hour action. Room service menu was not bad but it did end at 11. The place has a pool but it is just a joke. Bathroom was meh, and the shower had no chance of accommodating 2 people and the water pressure was kind of lame.
Notes
-This hotel could work in a jam but it shouldn’t be the first choice.
-On second thought…nope. It’s dead to me.
Hotel Monaco Baltimore - Oct 2014
This spot immediately reminds one of the Monaco in DC by the Verizon center. That one is built inside the old post office, this one is built half inside the old railway station (I say half because the other half is for an office/residential building…which makes the elevators a little bit of a bitch). Inside these old giant buildings you get huge lobby’s (this one is on the second floor which sucks anus) and huge hallways…though the floors above tend to be somewhat more normal. The restaurant at this spot is actually on the first floor but it is in fact bad as shit. Great bar area, great menu, cool scene, very popular. Exactly what you want in a hotel bar/restaurant. Location is downtown so depending on what you’re there for it can be quite good.
Rooms were a very good size even for the standard level. Bathroom was also bigger than your average Kimpton. TV was the typical small bullshit. We did have a major snafu with room service where they never picked up our breakfast card from the door knob the night before. The dudes were super nice though, even after fucking up the order I called in (gave us the portion they forgot “to go” without my asking for it). Dude emailed later on to apologize again and comped the whole thing as well…not bad.
Notes
– Room service menu is really good but it does end at 10pm. Pay per view is good and modern with 24 hour action. Mini bar is stocked.