Andaz San Diego: King Suite, Party Suite

Our tour of the Andaz San Diego continues with a few pics of our modernly furnished King Suite. After I caught eye of the bar I was wishing we had a bunch of friends in town to have over in our little living room furnished with a brown leather Barcelona couch.

The work space below was one of my faves from any hotel. The chair was beautiful and comfortable. The room itself had no real view so I guess having two large flat screen TVs was nice. There was one above the desk and the other on the other side opposite the bed. The curtains are drawn in part because the view was not a view simply an opening to other rooms and a peak of the roof top lounge.
When I saw the bar below I was wondering who we could call to come and enjoy it with us. Never before have I had such a complete bar in a hotel room - there even was a pair of slippers and an eye mask just in case you needed a relaxing refresher. The best touch was the drink shaker and jar of olives. It was a true southern California touch to have the non-alcoholic beverages complimentary except for the Red Bull.
Finally the bathroom, the sink was separate from the toilet and shower room. Which I always think is a nice touch when you have more than one person staying in a room. All in all we had a great stay and it was fun to live this modern glam SoCal life for 24 hours.

I heart Mod Portland, Oregon

This past weekend we were up in Portland for a glamorous wedding at the Hotel deLuxe. The hotel used to be the Mallory Hotel and we have many fond memories of the bar (Driftwood Room History). Mr. Monkey and I were pleased to see that not much has changed in our favorite room. The walled mirrors, wooded ceilings and overall dark atmosphere continue to exude sexy whispered conversations of years past. The drinks were delish and the food was lip-smackin'. The rooms are small reflective of their 1912 construction date and smartly appointed. We loved our silver bar trolly complete with 3 kits - sewing kit, first aid kit, and the oh so important intimacy kit. Aveda products can be found in each bathroom as are menus for various types of pillows and spiritual readings. All staff were welcoming and made each guest feel special. Mr. Monkey and I were able to purchase vintage duds at Puttin' On the Ritz(350 East 11th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401-3246; 541.686.9240). The ladies a POTR did a great job of helping us find the necessary high quality clothing. I've included a picture of me at the end of the evening - so my fresh luster was gone and my darling shoes with a retro feel from Miss Meers are cut off but you get the general idea. If you are headed to Portland and interested in a retro glam experience with a modern twist you'll be pleased as punch at Hotel deLuxe.

Seattle Times: Hip Hyatt Hotel

Well Friday evening Mr. Monkey and I headed up to Seattle, WA to visit our good friend Music Monkey. We were there to see Music Monkey sing in the Seattle Men's Chorus with none other than the Unsinkable Debbie Reynolds! She exhibited a spunkiness for a 30 year old let alone her actual age 77! She's quite the inspiration. Once in Seattle I surprised Mr. Monkey and we stayed at a hotel instead of Music Monkey's apartment.  We stayed at the Hyatt at Olive 8 (Olive and 8th Ave.). I was first attracted to the Hotel during my Trip Advisor search by their Grand Opening special - stay 2 nights, get the 2nd night half off. My attention was also caught by their clearly modern design and the promise that this may be the first hotel in Seattle that receives LEED certification. I was not disappointed by the rooms. Although a touch small (typical of big cities I guess) they had some space savers that I've never seen in a hotel room.

 Next to the bar is a bench that I wish I had taken a picture of. The bench is built in, firm, but covered in a green shiny fabric - it's better than I'm describing. Three other major space savers are 1) sliding doors for the closet and the bathroom, 2) a sliding surface that slide out from under the dry bar, and 3) bed side tables that are attached to the wall, are floating and so can have bags and bed pillows placed under them. 

Other great details  - check out this electronic board! I was pretty in love with it even though I didn't even get to use it. We had my laptop but not the cords to hook it up - I suspect that we could have played a movie from my laptop on the T.V. Also in regards to electricity the only way to engage the lights in the room was to place the key card in a slot next to the door when you entered the room. This way folks can't leave the lights on unless they leave their key card in the slot in the room. It also helps scatterbrains like me to know always where the key is! Love it! We also checked out the bar Urbane - you'll have to check out Hyatt's webpage to view a pic - super sleek white and silver  - and the spa where we went for a swim in the saline pool and jacuzzi. We were disappointed that the steams rooms weren't open. Anyway this was the first time Mr. Monkey has been to a swanky hotel like this and while he's not super impressed by fancy money environments he did like the green edge to everything. Apart from a B & B on the Oregon Coast called Ocean Haven it was the first hotel we've stayed at to have recycling in the rooms. Hopefully good modern and green design will move beyond trendy to common practice. Be modern, live well. 

Living Modern in Boston

Greetings Friends. Well I've been on the road like Willie but instead of a bio-diesel bus I've been in boxy hotel rooms. The one I'm in now is spacious but gaudy - it's going for ancient Italy but it's capturing an "Off-the-strip" Vegas version of Italy - yes, it's that bad. Needless to say I won't be highlighting my current crash pad here at Eugene Modern Monkey. Instead I have a highlight for you from my recent trip to Boston. I was left out of the conference hotels - Westin, Sheraton, and the Marriott. I registered too late and was forced to find a room close by. Boy was I ever thrilled! Here are some pictures from my luxurious accommodations at the Copley Square Hotel. 

The back story: The hotel has been recently remodeled and just reopened in February after a year long 17 million dollar renovation. Let's just say it was worth it. Some aspects of the hotel are still a work in progress - their restaurant was not yet open but that meant they were offering a complementary breakfast. Another perk - in the evenings from 5 - 6pm the have "wine hour" in the living room like lobby. As for the rooms I had an especially spacious one with this comfy chaise lounge. Overall I loved their use of patterns in the rooms. Even though the room was an array of shades of gray it felt light and airy. The floor to ceiling curtains were a great touch and the layering of patterns gave the room a rich feel and was not overwhelming at all due to the same color palette.  I'd like to work on the layering of patterns in our modern monkey cottage. In time . . . once my plane lands back home and rests there awhile I'll share with you all the updates that Mr. Monkey has installed in the front yard.  If you're in Boston check out the Copley and even if your house does not embody modernism in every inch you can catch some inspiration by visiting this small hotel with smart and chic design!