Category: Europe

Shoreditch, London, UK ~ The Curtain Hotel

September 2018

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After three days in the Cotswolds, we were ready for some city fun. Each time we visit London, we try to check out a new neighborhood. A few years ago, we stayed in Bethnal Green and loved East London. For this five-night holiday, we chose Shoreditch. The area is all the rage right now for its creative vibe, and we had several fun hotels from which to choose: The Ace, Nobu, and The Curtain. After almost going with Nobu (its architecture is great), we chose The Curtain, which opened in a newly constructed building in 2017.

Feeling right at home

We live in the old warehouse district of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the look and feel of The Curtain was familiar. The hoteliers have another property in the meatpacking district of Manhattan, and the hotel felt distinctly American, something we wouldn’t usually opt for, but reviews in The Telegraph, Wallpaper* and Forbes convinced us we needed to experience the New York-in-London feel.

We checked in and headed to our room on the second floor. It was well done but very cozy size-wise (not a problem) and quite dark (a little disappointing). Because we were staying five nights, we decided to ask if another room was available. That led to our choosing an upgraded room, which, quite honestly, doubled the price of the stay (gulp), but we decided it was worth it to have a bit more light and some more space.

 

 

Worth the spend

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The Curtain rooftop

A few things made The Curtain worth the price, even if it felt a lot like home. The floor-to-ceiling windows that opened were great for watching and listening to the Shoreditch street life. The steam shower was a treat. The comfortable bed made it hard to climb out in the morning, even with London waiting. The mini bar provided endless cocktail opportunities (although who wants to make their own drink when talented bartenders await both at ground level and on the rooftop). Speaking of the rooftop, we loved getting afternoon drinks at Lido (the rooftop bar) and studying the construction going on all around us. Of course, that experience depends on the weather, and we had the kind of September sunshine and warmth that made everyone in the city cheerful.

Bring on the art

London’s art scene is unmatched. Each time we’re in the city, we make a point of visiting a few favorites (Whitechapel Gallery, Tate Modern, Wallace) but also seeking out new spots. Shoreditch is known for its art scene, and The Curtain makes its own contribution. We had fun taking in art in the hotel’s public spaces, hallways and guest rooms (we got to see three rooms when we decided to upgrade). This visit truly ended up being a feast for our art senses, and the artistic feel of The Curtain was a fitting complement to our gallery and museum visits.

 

Stay details

  • The Curtain Hotel
  • Shoreditch, London
  • Our stay: 5 nights, September 24-29, 2018
  • Room: Junior Suite

What we saw, what we ate

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Tetbury, The Cotswolds, UK ~ Oak House No. 1

September 2018

We visit the UK with some frequency, and since we’re more city mice than country mice, we rarely stray from central London. But on this trip, we decided to change it up a bit. It was fall, and we thought the English countryside would be nice. Being only a short drive from Heathrow, and since neither of us had been there before, we settled on the Cotswolds for a three-night sojourn. But where in the Cotswolds? We wanted something fairly central since we planned to check out as much of the area as time would permit. Here’s a tip of the hat to The Telegraph travel section for providing excellent initial research–we’re rarely led astray by their travel writers. And their excellent advice led us to the village of Tetbury and to Oak House No. 1.

 

To B&B or not to B&B?

From the review in The Telegraph, we were under the impression that our chosen lodging place was a boutique hotel, which is typically our preference. Had we known that Oak House No. 1 in Tetbury was really more of an upscale boutique B&B, we might have looked elsewhere. Fortunately we didn’t, as Oak House No. 1 turned out to be fabulous.

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Anyone who has enjoyed the hospitality of Oak House No. 1 surely will attest to the hospitality of the proprietors and hosts Nicola and Gary. The property is infused with their vivid personalities, and what personalities! Their life experiences and love of art are evident throughout the property. And any conversation with the two is a work of art in itself. It must be said that Nicola often carries the conversation as Gary can be a bit reticent and shy. All in all Oak House No. 1 was the perfect home base for a weekend exploring the Cotswolds.

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The sitting room

Since this was our first visit to the Cotswolds, we relied on our proprietors’ advice for an itinerary, and here again Gary and Nic were spot on. They provided a bespoke list of villages to see with restaurants and a few country pubs added in for good measure. With our sporty rental car, we were able to visit some of the most picturesque villages in England while enjoying the beautiful countryside in between. And upon returning to our temporary home, Nic and Gary listened with interest while we regaled them with our adventures. And there are worse ways to close out a day than enjoying a glass of complimentary Scotch in the wonderfully decorated sitting room at Oak House No. 1.

Stay details

  • Oak House No. 1
  • Location: Tetbury, The Cotswolds
  • Our stay: 3 nights, September 21-24, 2018
  • Room: One-bedroom suite with garden view

What we saw, what we ate

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St. Petersburg, Russia ~ Rossi Hotel & Spa

June 2018

Russia had been on our travel list for a very long time, but each time we started planning a trip, it seemed not to be a good time to go to Russia. We finally realized that it was probably never going to be a good time to go to Russia, so we bought the plane tickets (easy), booked the hotel (easy), and then jumped into the visa process (easy-ish, but also time-consuming). We almost opted for a relatively new hotel run by the Hermitage; it looked elegant, but potentially a bit fusty. Instead, we heeded reviews in guidebooks, on booking.com and in the London Telegraph and chose the Rossi, a boutique hotel in a historic building right on the Fontanka Canal near Nevsky Prospect.

A happy room

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We arrived in St. Petersburg in mid-afternoon after a decently long, but not horrible, trip. When we walked into our room for the first time — after climbing to the 5th floor because the lift was down — the sun shone right in the two large windows that looked out to the Fontanka and a small park. It’s always nice to arrive at a hotel and know right away that it’s a place we’ll enjoy spending time in. This was the kind of feeling we got in our Rossi room. It wasn’t the most lavish place we have ever stayed, but it had a really nice feel, and we knew it would be a nice retreat from adventures out in the city. Plus it was easy to settle in. With plenty of storage, we could put our things away and stash our suitcases out of site, taking away any reminder that vacation would inevitably come to an end.

Experiencing white nights

We were fortunate to be in Russia during the famed White Nights, the days when the sun goes down for only a few hours. On our first night at the Rossi, we both woke up in the middle of the night with a bright sun streaming in the windows (we hadn’t closed the drapes). Because we were a little jet-laggy, we figured we were just seeing the clock wrong, but sure enough, it was 3 am. On subsequent nights, we were woken by the clippety clop of horses trotting down the quiet streets. It was an odd sound in the middle of the city, but we loved it and made sure to leave our windows open so we could listen for the horses. We’re not sure if the horse riding was a white nights thing, but we liked to believe so.

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St. Petersburg on the verge of darkness outside the Rossi

Remnants of Soviet days

All in all, St. Petersburg doesn’t feel very Soviet; it definitely bears the mark of its European-loving founder Peter and the empresses who followed him — Elizabeth and Catherine. However, reminders of Soviet days do linger on and can be noticed if you’re paying attention. At the Rossi, the lobby felt a little like a  room from the days of communal living, except of course for the very prominent desk for the administrator. Additionally, the hotel restaurant was always full of staff doing their best to keep busy. We were amused each morning by the wait person who carefully polished a collection of wine glasses. This is certainly not a bad thing — we certainly appreciate wine glasses without smudges or dishwater spots — but the restaurant was never very busy. We imagined the glasses got a daily rubdown whether they had been used the day before or not. And, of course, there was the elevator. We enjoyed the walk up the stairs, but had we needed the elevator, it seemed to work about half the duration of our stay.

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Looking out the window of our room

It’s always nice to arrive at a hotel and know right away that it’s a place we’ll enjoy spending time in. This was the kind of feeling we got in our Rossi room.

 

Perhaps our favorite Soviet remnant, which we encountered in the hotel but also in many other places, was the challenge obtaining small bills or change. We used the ATM in the hotel freely (even though we weren’t completely confident that the data transaction was secure — the hotel’s WiFi was open access). However, the ATM dispensed large bills in the neighborhood of $5,000 ruble notes (the equivalent of about $75 US). Trying to spend a bill that large is a challenge, but trying to get smaller bills is even harder. The first time we tried at the hotel, we got a lot of drawer opening and paper shuffling before the very-kind receptionist said, “Vasily can help.” Vasily, the bell hop, did help, but we quickly figured out that this couldn’t be a regular request. About halfway through our stay, we did learn from our Finnish friend that subway ticket offices are one of the few places in Russia where it’s easy to get change. So noted.

Classy…but not too classy

Almost everything in our Rossi room was a good choice for both functionality and style, but we did get a chuckle from two features. The first was the sliding glass door that served as either a shower door or a door between the toilet and the rest of the glass-walled bathroom. As you might imagine, this provided a small puzzle when one of us was showering and the other was using the toilet. For the sake of keeping the bathroom dry, the person in the shower usually got use of the door, but not before the other had accidentally slid it open when going into the toilet nook.

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And speaking of toilets, the diagram on the toilet lid gave us a laugh each time we saw it. The hotel thinks enough of its guests to provide them with Hermes bath products (they smelled very good) and fluffy monogrammed towels and robes, but apparently those same guests need a reminder not to flush feminine hygiene products, condoms, and, of course syringes.

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U Visit Russia

Once we booked our room — by the way, our credit card was charged right away — we started receiving emails from an organization called U Visit Russia. Mostly we just deleted them because they didn’t look totally legitimate, but we both heartily endorse visiting St. Petersburg. Whether you stay at the Rossi or somewhere else, this city is fascinating historically, architecturally, culturally and, of course, politically.

Stay details

What we saw, what we ate

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Some of the best ballet in the world at the Mariinsky

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