Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
You may be thinking "why is she posting travel content when there is no travel for anyone right now" well I hear ya, but (and it's a big BUT) I quite simply miss my travels, and as I'm craving a bit of normality in my little life right now, and I traveled a lot last year, I thought it would be good to write up some of my travel-related content, and keep sharing with you all.
Starting with my stay across the pond from my favourite hotel brand, The Hoxton. The fifth hotel in The Hoxton series, but the first hotel of theirs to open up in the US, it’s exciting to see a British-based, small but perfectly formed hospitality company set up in NYC.
The brand has kept to what they know, and have launched a hotel in the Williamsburg neighbourhood boasting 175 rooms, three restaurants, a rooftop with views of Manhattan, lively public spaces, and The Apartment – a great meeting and events space that’s home to The Hoxton’s rolling cultural events programme. Since their launch in September 2018, they have gone on to open hotels in Portland, Chicago and L.A.
The sunken ground floor is predominantly public space, scattered with instagrammable vintage sofas and floral armchairs that you want to take home - it’s the perfect space to sit with your laptop, and call your office for the day, or curl up and read a book whilst people watching.
The bar and restaurant have a slicker aesthetic with a square, brass-topped central bar and a vast glass wall that opens onto the courtyard. In the Summer they hold outdoor film viewings, BBQ’s and also events.
Although it was -6 when I visited, and the rooftop restaurant and bar, Summerly was closed for the season, I couldn’t help but take a sneak peek up there. Taking inspiration from New England’s eastern seaboard, pastel-coloured loungers, floral-topped bar stools and unobstructed Manhattan skyline views - perfect for a Summer evening with cocktail, and some delicious seafood.
Bedrooms. Divided into two categories: ‘Cosy’ and ‘Roomy’ both are compact, but they’ve made clever use of the spaces, with large drawers under the king-sized beds to stash luggage and shoes (as well as my shopping - perfect hiding spot from my husband!) neat fold-down desks with a kettle, mugs, tea and coffee. A rail and coat hooks are in place of a wardrobe, and the floor-to-ceiling windows give you views across Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Hox perks remain the same as their British and European brothers and sisters, with breakfast bags, helpful little notebooks offer information and tips on the area, along with a map and bookshelves curated by their ‘Hox friends’, made up of local business owners and artists.
Klein’s, the main restaurant at the hotel serves up American classics and local favourites throughout the day from breakfast to dinner. You can pull up a stool at the open kitchen and watch the chefs cook your food, or take a seat in the seated restaurant area by the bar. In warmer months, the courtyard is open to sit and eat.
Location wise - Williamsburg is a great neighbourhood, filled with delicious restaurants and bars. Boutiques, independents, and a few big brands have all set up in the area, with some of my favourites, Catbird, Bulletin, Baggu, and Awoke Vintage a quick stroll away. It’s super easy to get into Manhattan, with the nearest subway a 5-minute walk away, and Union Square 3 stops away.
It’s a perfect base for your stay in the city.
Address: The Hoxton Williamsburg, 97 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249, USA
Telephone: +1 718-215-7100
Website: thehoxton.com
It's been nearly a year since my last post - time does fly.
I'll be honest with you, I had sort of fallen out of love with blogging, and wasn't sure if I wanted to keep going.
Nearly a year on, and I've had a change of heart, and with the current climate we're in, I needed a distraction.
So I've decided to start writing again, and give the ol' blog a little redesign.
I'm looking forward to sharing current, relatable content, plus what I've been up to over the last year.
Boy, do we have a lot to catch up on!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Instagram. One minute I love it, the next I’m moaning about how the algorithm is total bollocks, but then also waxing lyrical about how it’s where I find out about places to go, stay and eat and drink when travelling.
When doing some research for my work trip / holiday to Washington DC, I went straight to Instagram, and found two hotels I wanted to stay in once work was over. One, I’ve already written about (see here), and now it’s time for the other one.
Which, brings me nicely to The LINE DC.
Let's go on in...
The second LINE hotel, with the flagship located in Los Angeles, and the third in Austin, is based in the Adams Morgan area of Washington DC. Housed in a renovated neoclassical church, the property has 220 bedrooms, two restaurants, bars, a coffee shop, meeting rooms, gym, and its very own radio station, Full Service Radio, that broadcasts live from a lounge in the lobby. The station, which streams online, plays music and conducts interviews and round table discussions with local and visiting artists, and musicians. Although this building isn’t officially a church any more, for interior and architecture geeks like me, it is definitely a place of worship.
With over 3,000 pieces of original artwork and photography from local artists, a stunning chandelier made from repurposed organ pipes from the original church organ, and pews, saved from the church, and now repainted and placed all around the public spaces in the hotel.
Let’s talk rooms, bedrooms. All 220 of them have been designed to promote a sense of calm and relaxation. Walking into our room, felt like walking into someone’s very cool, chic studio flat, complete with long hallway leading to the main room. The bed was huge, and there was even a seating area, with chairs, a coffee table and used books sourced from a local bookshop. Plus, the mini bar was stocked with essentials, plus a few extras. The bathroom was gorgeous, featuring a huge walk in shower, toiletries from holistic brand American Medicinal Arts, and bathrobes from Frette. 
There’s plenty of food and drink to go around, with five dining and drinking spots in total: Brothers and Sister; Coffee shop; The Cup We All Race 4; an all-day restaurant, A Rake’s Progress, an Asian-inspired restaurant and bar called Spoken English, and A Rake’s Bar, whose primary focus is on local distiller’s and brewers products.
A one night stay was definitely not long enough!
Amen to that.
The LINE DC
1770 Euclid St NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA
Washington D.C — the capital of the US, and home to some very iconic, famous landmarks, and the President of the United States. If you can get over the latter of those, Washington is a totally awesome city, and a place that stole my heart with the sheer amount of history, culture, award-winning chefs, and a vibrant arts scene.
The thing that surprised me the most, is how calm the city is. Bearing in mind it’s the capital of the United States, it didn’t seem as intense as cities such as NYC, Chicago and Philadelphia — the roads aren’t as busy, the buildings aren’t so high, and no one seems to be in too much of a rush to get from A to B.
Stay
I stayed in three hotels during my time in D.C. All very different styles to each other, and all had very different price points.
The Willard Intercontinental
I’m very lucky to stay in some very swish hotels for my job, but this one was another level! My bedroom view was of the Washington monument and Lincoln Memorial, we were within spitting distance (tempting) from The White House, I had two HUGE beds, and the hotel lobby was so posh, I felt totally out of place every time I stepped in!
1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW. washington.intercontinental.com
The Avery Georgetown
Based in the Georgetown area of D.C, this was a small guest house with lots of charm. You can read more on my stay here,
2616 P St NW. www.averygeorgetown.com
The Line DC
Possibly THE coolest hotel I’ve ever stayed in (it’s up there with The Hoxton hotels) I won’t go into too much about it now, as there’s a separate post incoming. Located in the Adams Morgan area of the city, in an 110 year-old church.
1770 Euclid St NW. www.thelinehotel.com/dc/
Eat
There are so many good places to eat in the city, you could spend a good week just eating your way around.
Federalist Pig
Two words: BBQ MEAT. Go hungry, and ready to tuck into some seriously good BBQ. I’m still thinking about the ribs we ate (separate post incoming).
1654 Columbia Rd. NW. federalistpig.com
Unconventional Diner
The name says it all really — this place is not your average diner. During the day, it serves up pastries, sandwiches and a few main dishes. But, at night, the chef gets more playful, especially with snacks. The tastiest of the lot: an assemble-it-yourself PB&J with foie gras custard, dehydrated peanut butter, grape jelly, and triangles of white toast, the fries with their ‘sexy sauce’, the fried chicken and the cheeseburger were the dishes that went down a treat on our table.
1207 9TH ST., NW. Unconventionaldiner.com
Blagden Alley
Now this is a place I really wish we’d had more time to explore! Blagden Alley is a system of interior alleyways with a booming commercial core of craft cocktails and coffee, street art, and some of the city’s most popular new restaurants. Tiger Fork, The Dabney and Supra all come highly recommended. We grabbed cocktails at Columbia Room — a perfect pre-dinner spot.
See
The Smithsonian
This is a rather large category as the Smithsonian is made up of several museums and galleries throughout the city — depending on how long you’re there, I recommend choosing a couple of favourites rather than trying to squeeze them all in. Highlights for me were: African American History Museum, Natural History Museum, and the American History Museum. There’s something for everyone within the Smithsonian and, best of all, most of these museums are free to visit.
www.si.edu/
Memorial’s
The Lincoln Memorial was my favourite place to visit during my stay in D.C. It’s such a beautiful and powerful memorial. It’s also very central, and if you’re able to, walk down to the Washington Monument, via the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, and the World War II Memorial. If you have the time, walk across to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. I think I’ve said the word ‘memorial’ enough. You get the picture.
The US Capitol Building
Another highlight was going on a tour of the US Capitol Building. You can book in advance, or queue up inside, which is what we did. Go early and get on to the first tour if you can (8:40am) it’s fascinating, and the building itself is beautiful. Plus, the tours are free — yes, you did read right!
There you have it — Washington D.C. A city that totally blew my socks off, and has something for everyone. I can’t wait to head back there at some point to do more exploring.
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