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Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Monday, August 30, 2010

Traveling Kimpton Style


I’ve recently had a few people tell me how much they love hearing about the hotels we stay at and often ask about them.  This blog is about those hotels and may seem a little like an ad but I really enjoy these hotels and decided to blog about it. So here it goes.

We recently took a trip to Chicago & Michigan. Ever since our honeymoon we have become huge fans of the Kimpton boutique hotel chain.

entry way to Hotel Allegro

We’ve stayed at 3 different Kimptons just in San Francisco, (Argonaut Hotel, Titan Hotel, and Hotel Palomar), Hotel Solamar in San Diego, and now Hotel Allegro in Chicago. Our honeymoon was at Pacific Palisades in Vancouver however they no longer own that location.  All future trips, if there is a Kimpton, you know we’ll be there.

Why do we love these hotels so much? To name a few….
·      A hosted wine hour every night  - we checked in after it had past and they gave us complimentary vouchers to take to their restaurant since we missed it.
·      In the morning there and coffee & iced coffee in the lobby
·      In the afternoon, there was lemonade and iced tea in the lobby
·      In San Francisco they had fresh baked cookies in the evening
·      Free high speed internet….I know most places have this but it’s still nice to have
·      Pet friendly…although we have never taken our lovely beagle on a trip, some of the hotels have an in house pet that seems to go along with the theme of the hotel.
·      The restaurants are delicious and beautiful.
·      Great concerge service
·      Every hotel is a little different and unique to the surrounding area
·      As "In Touch" members we have received snacks and drinks in our room upon arrival and received discounted rates on rooms

Most recently Kimpton has been doing a summer program to their twitter followers. If you follow them they gave a code word to say at check in. Each hotel gives out a different freebie. Last month in San Diego it was free appetizers at the restaurant. This month we received a free room upgrade we had signed up for as "In Touch" members. Instead of paying the discounted rate for the upgrade, they gave it to us for free! Our favorite perk so far!

All that listed above is quite wonderful however my absolute favorite thing about this chain of boutique hotels is the great design. These hotels are colorful and full of different textiles, patterns, shapes, and textures.  I’m always so excited to explore the details of these hotels.

For your viewing pleasure I have attached some photos from our most recent trip to Hotel Allegro. I highly recommend you check out their different hotels. One day I hope to visit the George in Washington DC, Sky Hotel in Aspen, and many more. 

lobby view
stairway








so much in the detail

elevator doors

double-sided fireplace
living room of hotel room
jacuzzi bath tub
bedroom chair 

Do you have a favorite chain or hotel we should check out? What do you love about it?

Monday, June 21, 2010

Summer Goals

Summer

I’ve seen a few of my fellow blogger friends do this and it seems like a great idea. I’m one of those people that like to list things out so that I can check them off. That and the fact that I often forget the things I wanted to do. With today being the first day of summer, I thought this would be the perfect time to plan some fun events that I always talk about doing and never seem to get to..


The street view walking to our car from Disneyland

  • go on the architectural tour when we go to Chicago
  • take a funny face picture of the nieces when we go to Michigan
  • take a full family photo when we go to Michigan
  • dance at a summer wedding
  • go to the dog beach (maybe a few times)
  • go to Disneyland just for the fireworks
  • go to the animation class at California Adventure 5 times
  • save for a kayak
  • tweet up with Chicago Twitter friends
  • walk around the Queen Mary, possibly take a tour (beautiful Art Deco interiors)
  • host at least 2 game nights
  • bike ride to Huntington Beach
  • ride the AquaBus and walk around Shoreline Village
  • ride a water bike
  • go through our closet and find clothes and other items to donate
  • go to the Belmont Brewery
  • start refurbishing the alley chair
  • girls day at the spa
  • have a sunset picnic at the beach
  • make a summer mixed drink
  • try at least 5 of the gazillion recipes I haven’t tried
  • walk around downtown Fullerton
  • tour the Gamble House by Greene & Greene in Pasadena (Arts & Crafts)
  • walk up Signal Hill and back down it
  • walk to the local farmers market


A lot of these things are local activities. So often we don’t get to experience the great things that are right in our backyards. Living in Southern California, we’ve been blessed with some pretty amazing weather. I want to take advantage of these blessings.

Do you have a similar list or any fun summer plans?