Writes of Passage

Michalakopoulou 50,
Athina 115 28

… more pix on google maps

Will return for good shower pressure.

Overall: 3.5/5
The location: 4/5
The property: 3.5/5
The amenities: good
The room: 4/5
The bathroom: 4/5
The toiletries: Apotheke
Cleanness: 4/5
The service: good (didn’t need any)
The charging banks: 5/5
Bottled waters: yes

Large and lush towels (J. Sakalidis) that are very absorbent. Heavy doors. Our room has a small balcony. Plenty charging banks with various outlets, including US, and a USB port.

The shower has strong pressure, but the water blocker/panel is too short, causing water to spill out.

Bathtube looks inviting. It has two bars that help get down and up; the 空格 bottom of the round-shaped wall handle is practical.

The 6th-floor unmanned lounge provides finger foods and drinks. Beers and wines throughout the day, and liquors are out at night.

The swimming pool is tiny, but the desk is spacious, offering a lovely view. The 7th-floor restaurant looks out to the St. George church on Lycabettus trail and the sunset.

Many good restaurants within five minutes walking time, such as Taverna Vlassis.

• sunset
• the swimming pool and restaurant
• solar water heaters

The cylindrical object is the hot water storage tank.

^{View from my 7th floor room at Hyaatt Centric}

821 S Marquette Ave 30th floor,
Minneapolis, MN 55402

This building was competed in 1929, modeled after the Monument in Washington DC. The 32 floor building was the tallest skyscraper in the city, is added to NRHP in 1978. Currently, it houses Foshay Tower Museum and the Observation Platform, and W Hotels, part of Marriott’s brand.

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615 2nd Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55402

… more pix n videos on Google Maps

May return for the location. Weak shower and damp room.

• location: 4/5
• the room: spacious 
• shower pressure: weak
• on-site amenities: a huge gym, and nothing else 
• toilerties: BeeKind 

Upon several steps is their lobby and the Six15 Bar, with high ceilings. Hyatt brands this as a boutique hotel.

It was raining when we arrived, but they had run out of umbrellas. The staff member explained, “We stopped buying them because the guests don’t return them.” 

… but isn’t this is the price of doing business? 

I, for one, always return borrowed items to avoid the next guest having to face such a dilemma.

The young staff member is kind to check us in at 10 am: thank you. I was planning to leave the carry-on at the hotel.

The building has over a hundred years of history. It was the only building on the block back in 1915 (at least) when it was used as an Athletic Club. The last major renovation was done seven years ago. Next to the stairs at the entrance is a dumb waiter for your luggage.

The room is spacious, but the TV isn’t small, and I had trouble following the Taylor Fritz and Djokovic match at the US Open in New York.

The bathroom is spacious, but it lacks a fan (a vent above the toilet). They provide BeeKind toiletries. The shower pressure is very weak (a massive no for me), and the turner isn’t exactly fantastic.

A massive mirror by the two desks; the double door closet is big, but no luggage rack or sleepers.

The gym on the third floor is the biggest hotel gym I’ve seen so far, likely because it was once an athletic club. Then where is the swimming pool? – Ok, this is wishful thinking.

300 Reunion Blvd,
Dallas, TX 75207

… more pix n videos on Google Maps, Yelp & TA

May return for the tunnel to the Union Station.

Thanks for having the French Open (tennis) in your tv lineup.

The tiny swimming pool is a deterrent for me: unbelievably small for the size of the hotel!

Choosing this hotel, is due to its proximity to the Union Station, due to me being a train head. The 1,120 rooms hotel is decent, close to Dealey Plaza but it’s in nowhere land: “Downtown” label is bit misleading.

Our room is spacious, with a good view looking out west, Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Trinity Overlook Park, etc. The water pressure is good as well. The second luggage rack bought in in less than ten minutes after my request (why don’t hotels provide two when they expect two people are checking in?)

Hyatt is part of redevelopment project by the city, with two other components (Union Towner/Crown Block and Union Station). It’s very convenient to pop over to the Ball to have a drink, watching the sunset (dinner needs reservation).

When we checked in at 10pm, there was one lone staff who was distant. As he was checking us in, I tried to start a small talk, asking him the best way to Fort Worth.

“Uber.”

“Not train?” My homework tells me, the train station is only 8 minutes walk away.

“Nay.”

The same staff also told me the pool is 7am-11pm (unusually long). So after putting down my luggage, I rushed to the pool: the door is locked. It was only 10:30. SO is this lack of training or what? The following morning I went to the pool again, to find a tiny pool surrounded by rather unappetizing deck. Oh well.

The following morning, I ask for the direction to the station (tunnel is closed according to online comments…). Two employees (valets) gave us Google Maps direction, which is the road way.

It seems non of the staff know about the tunnel.

The tunnel between the hotel and EBJ Union Station is clean, well lighted and maintained. A city staff walks it once an hour (don’t know about weekends but it opens at least on Saturday), and it closes at 7pm. Room key gets you into the hotel.

100 E. San Francisco Street
Santa Fe, NM

La Fonda, “the inn” is the hotel of all Santa Fe hotels. It’s on the Plaza, has been a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, since 1991.

The site has been a hotel/inn since 1609. The history museum has it:

“In 1924, Ford Harvey sent his son, Fred, to find a Santa Fe site for a new hotel. Fred proposed the Exchange Hotel on the city’s historic plaza; the location had been an inn of some sort since 1610. The AT&SF snapped it up. The Fred Harvey Company hired young architect John Gaw Meem and seasoned designer Mary Colter to renovate the renamed La Fonda Hotel. The two added a new wing and a fifth floor that expanded the Spanish Pueblo-style hotel from 46 to 156 rooms and filled the spaces with handmade furnishings that emphasized regional craftsmanship. It reopened in 1929 and became a hotspot for Santa Fe residents, tourists, Los Alamos scientists, and Hollywood stars.”

There are many shops and eateries.

• the Bell Tower Bar: on the roof
• La Plazuela: lovely atrium on the ground floor
• …

^{From our small patio, the Cathedral is visible.}

828 Paseo De Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501

… more pix n videos on Google Maps, Yelp & TA

Will return: good location, comfortable bed, patios on the ground floor.

A roof top bar, next to the small swimming pool and Jacuzzi, and the Kitchen + Bar on the ground level.

The second floor is a big eating hall: from breakfast in the morning to drinks in the afternoon.

One odd offer: three drinks from 5:30 to 7pm, that comes with dogs, popcorn, pasta, all are average but are free, so is the breakfast.

The patios on the ground floor are great.

• The Rooftop
• Kitchen + Bar

Washer and dryer are on 4th floor, $2 each, if you don’t want to pay per piece.

21719 US-160
Durango, CO 81301

… more pix on Google Maps, Yelp & TA

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Durango is on the outer edge of the town. Walkable but we didn’t bother.

Hotel is clean. Slow elevator – one for each floor (I think). Jacuzzi is out. Front desk is vacant at time, such as during the breakfast time. Weak water pressure, slow WiFi; no usb ports. When I ask for a lotion, they ask me to go down to get it.

Breakfast is chaotic. Diluted orange juice. Not enough seating and outdoors is too cold.

488 N Main St.
Moab, UT 84532

… more pix and videos on Google Maps, Yelp, TA

Will return.

Hampton is part of Hilton group, locates at the edge of the town.

It has cookies ready for the guests in the late afternoon, apples are the constant in the lobby. They have a tiny pool and a weak jacuzzi on the ground in the back, outdoor. Laundry room is on the ground level, $3 per load.

The gift of bottled water and notebook, not sure it’s for our tour or for everyone – I love the notebook. My current notebook for bridge has few pages left, so this would be a prefect replacement.

The bathroom is decent, so is the room. The door is heavy – especially in light of our previous hotel in SLC that doesn’t even close. Plenty of outlet and USB ports.

555 Main St,
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

… more pix & videos on Google Maps, Yelp, TA

Won’t return: food isn’t not fresh.

It’s convenient, directly opposite our hotel, Little America, and sort of reminds me of the Palm Court @ Plaza in NYC.

It was empty at 9:45am on a Monday (May 9th). Bright, high ceiling, fresh single tulips, linen napkins, elegant coffee cups. Two styles of interesting lighting features are interesting.

The bagel and lox looks good but the cream chees isn’t fresh.

The outdoor section is full of flowers.

^{The red building on the right is Little America, the white on the left, behind the trees is Grand America.}
500 Main St,
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

… more pix & videos on Google Maps, Yelp & TA

Will return: decent swimming pool, and intense water pressure.

The hotel is huge, with multiple buildings, and is stodgy, clean, and dated, located opposite the Grand America hotel.

The Little America hotel features a main high-rise building with elevators. The marbles on the second-floor elevator bank in the main building have beautiful patterns. It’s where everything, from the front desk to the lobby, to the restaurants, is located.

They’ve countless event rooms on the ground floor and elsewhere. Every day, we pass by companies that rent out their event spaces: some are used for seminars, while others feature catered food and bars. Our tour meet and greet is arranged on the second floor.

The wing our tour group is in is an old low-rise, like the roadside motels – they might have been. (I didn’t know the different living quarters when I made the reservation – we arrived two days early, to do such as The Family Search …) The most inconcivable thing is: the stairs. HOW do they expect guests to lug their suitcases up and down the stairs?!!? We’re ok with two carry-ons, but we’ve seen older guests with large suitcases… Build a ramp for Pete’s sake if you’re so stingy.

Other noticeable items:

• Two luggage racks, thanks.
• The bad is comfy
• No bathrobe – but they sent after asking
• One hook in the bathroom
• Two staff clean chandeliers at 11pm
• A huge terrace, but two sides are brick walls, as if they just added the additional building without planning.

The fitness center on the second floor is open from 4:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. It features two jacuzzis and two connecting swimming pools: one indoor and one on the terrace, separated by a heavy curtain. A few swimmers like me did laps through the curtain. Chairs always have neatly folded towels. There is an outdoor pool on the ground, away from the main complex.