Summer in the USA
June 2004
We've been asked about hotels in the USA by many customers and have set about to check many out for ourselves. However, before we add our words about the hotels and a few restaurants, we would like to say a few words about the ubiquitous DUCK Tours that now seem to be everywhere. WE have now taken these tours in Boston, Baltimore, Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington DC. The DUCKS are restored amphibious crafts that take you around the main tourist attractions of the city and out on to some body of water for a different perspective of the city and its skyline. We have found that it is an easy way to get a perspective of the cities and though the "Wachy Quackers" get old it is usually a fun experience. In Chicago, skip the DUCK for the "Gangster Tour." You see all the quarters of Chicago in a light-hearted and agreeable manner.
Seattle: Olympic Fairmont Hotel. An old hotel, a little on the order of the Drake in Chicago, but not quite as impressive. Having said that, the Olympic Fairmont is centrally located and was very pleasant. But we feel the great attraction in Seattle is still the Canlis Restaurant (Canlis.com). The "Canlis Salade" may not be as well known as the "Caeser Salade", but it is right up there in taste. The view of Lake Union is also quite beautiful...can you pick out the houseboat from "Sleepless in Seattle?" SafeCo Park is a must for baseball fans and the Space Needle and Pike's Market, and the pleasant people of the northwest make this a fun trip almost anytime.
Baltimore: The Renaissance Harbor Hotel. I think it has something to do with the Marriot chain, but the suites overlooking the beautifully renovated inner-harbor area are delightful. Easy water taxi access to Fort McHenry and Little Italy and all the rest make this 'blue collar town' a fun place to visit. You're starting to run out of things to do when you run off to see where Edgar Allen Poe is buried and visit the Babe Ruth Museum, but in Baltimore you just go with the flow. When the best restaurant in town may be Ruth Chris's Steakhouse you just make do! Again, for baseball fans, Camden Yards is a must!
Philadelphia: Four Seasons Hotel, Logan Circle. This hotel is what HoteldeParis.com readers have come to know is our standard. From the Club rooms you can see the steps to the famous Rocky scene and are close to the museums. We found the Museum of Fine Arts in Philly one our favorites, which included Van Gogh's 'Sunflower' and many of the great works by american artists. We were very pleasantly surprised. The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the former 2-story brick house that once housed our "Senate" (upper-floor) and our House of Representatives (lower floor)historically interesting, but surrounded by, well, Philadelphia! We skipped the Philly cheesesteak sandwhiches and instead headed to our favorite restaurant in Philly: Dependable and fun, "Davio's".
Washington DC: Four Season's, Georgetown. This lovely hotel is definetly HoteldeParis.com top quality and close enough to the memorials and sites during the day and far enough to be away from DC in the evening. Georgetown is charming and filled with very good restaurants, though we could not find one that we thought was really outstanding. And don't forget to hire a private car and driver for three hours or so to see the sites. The memorials and other sites are a long ways apart and even with a car and driver demands some stamina in the heat and humidity. The big hit: The International Spy Museum. We didn't make a dent in the Smithsonian and will leave that to the voluminous tour books.
Denver: The Brown Palace Hotel. This old Hotel with it's ties to "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (she and her husband, the original owners, were on the Titanic; she made it, he didn't)is a beautiful relic but simply too old. There is a line in the sand between charming and having to call an engineer to turn off the antiquated A/C system with fans that are loud and cannot be turned off! And the plumbing! Yikes! A millimeter to the hot and it's scalding, a millimeter to the cold and you might as well be at 14,000 feet in the Rockies. I suggest you check for better accomodations and visit The Brown Palace for lunch. Pike's Peak, Estes National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park, are the the main attractions here. But the downtown area from the capitol to the 16th Street pedestrian shopping area is well done and easy to get around. And, for you baseball fans, Coors Field is a fun Park.
Thanks for all the e-mail regarding your favorite places, please let us know what you're finding out there, as things change much faster than any of us can keep up with them and still have a place called home.
Finally, we hope this is the last year we will be boycotting many of our favorite places around the world owing to international events. It is simply a time we thought we would spend our dollars supporting the establishments in America!
Bon Voyage,
HoteldeParis.com
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