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The Kitchen Table

Nate's favorite hotel (I've stayed there)

18 years ago

On Oprah today, Nate talked about his favorite hotel in the U.S. Â the SoHo Grand, in NYC. I stayed there once.......but not in the $5,000-a-night penthouse suite.

I can see why he likes it. It attracts a young, rich, trendy crowd. I thought it was okay, but I'm neither young nor rich. And I'm especially not trendy. :-)

What's your favorite hotel in the U.S.?

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Comments (13)

czech_chick
18 years ago
Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii

Great rates, free phone calls to the mainland, and location, location, location! It's right in the center of all the action in Waikiki!
golfergrrl
18 years ago
1. Venetian, Las Vegas...all suites
2. Bellagio, Las Vegas...exquisite
3. Desert Springs Marriott...Palm Desert...beautiful

However, when we travel, we mostly stay in Choice Hotels.
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Annie,that looks like Radisson Blu - nothing objectionable, spacious and comfortable. Just too much plain white. BTW, beyond the bed is a big window into the bathroom area with an electric shade that one can lower if one needs privacy. (My room in Beijing had that too except it had a wood blind with glass on each side.) I would stay at the Radisson Blu in Shanghai again. It has a good location not too far from my company's office there, train station, airport but still in a reasonable area if one has some free time. It just seems too white like they forgot some of the decorating. At least it is well lit. I was wrong about which hotel I'm staying in now in Tel Aviv - it's the Crown Plaza (Intercontinental was last trip). I'd like to avoid it - mostly those black encased lights and the kind of dismal pictures are bugging me. I'm here to visit some of my colleagues in the area between two meetings in Europe - but I have a day or so when I need to do prep for the meeting next week which I had planned to do in my hotel room so I'm in the room more than usual. It's on our company preferred list and in a better location for business than the other one that's currently on the list, but I think next time I may stay elsewhere. I'm not against modern though I prefer a more woody Danish modern look, but I hate the execution in this room. Terriks, if you ever get a chance to go to China, I'd recommend Yangshuo in Guilin, Xian (which has a very nice old city with most of the wall still intact in addition to the terra cotta warriors near by) most of all. Those and Beijing are what my husband and I enjoyed most of all when on a vacation. Most of the time, I'm in China on business - Shanghai is mostly a very big, modern city, though it does have some tourist interest Yu Gardens and the old area around it are very nice. Near enough Shanghai for a day trip is Suzhou which has lovely gardens to visit.
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The Nate Berkus show is a snorefest, it's just simply boring. I'm not sure who is producing the concept for each show but everytime I watch I want to scream - it's that painful. First, his set is so dull and has no personality. Same with the way he dresses. And him always holding those big blue Nate cards as if he has to have something 'show hosty' in his hand out of insecurity. Lastly, the so-called "decorating" segments are very lame. Today I couldn't believe the props he used as examples; some were tattered, worn, stained and just plain didn't go with and shouldn't have been used for display. Today the couple he was supposedly showing how to choose and intergrate each others tastes just seemed to have to go along with the lame staging. I almost felt sorry for Nate - he seems to be out of his element as a host and does a lot of irrelevant 'talking' that is awkward. At best his advice for decorating comes off amateurish in this venue even though on Oprah I think he did much better.
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Love it, Leslie. I hope all this fun has given his mind a break from some of the tough things he has been through or yet to come. HE must be thrilled to have his new phone message. That's cool! (haven't said 'cool' in sometime :)
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mtn- I grew up in the Saratoga area, spent many evenings at harness racing- fun. BTW harness racing is also something to do in Maine at Scarborough Downs. Since you will be going to Saratoga in August the regular season will also be open. The town I grew up in is Schuylerville. At the time of the revolutionary war, it was actually called Saratoga and it is where the General Burgoyne surrendered to General Gates. I remember vividly cross country practice always included running up the monument steps. To this day I remember there are 184 steps. A couple of regional suggestions, see if you can fit in the Corning Glass Museum. RE the fingerlakes region I recently read What She Left Behind by Ellen Wiseman and got re-fascinated with the histrory of the treatment of the mentally ill. I say re-fascinated because when I was around your daughter's age I read everything I could about Nellie Bly and of course her expose about Blackwell's Island was pivotal in her life. This might make interesting tie-ins. And as you approach home territory, the Storm King Art Center and its fabulous sculpture garden is one of my most favorite places in the world.
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ronf_gw
18 years ago
My favorite place would have to be a tent on the shore of Cliff Lake in the Bighorns of Wyoming. Lousy beds, non existent room service, the bathrooms leave a lot to be desired, but, as czech chick says it's all about location, location, location.

You can just make out the tent on the left side of the shore.

And one other thing; the water is of superb quality.

Ron
lindyluwho
18 years ago
At the risk of sounding stupid, who is Nate?

Linda
linda_in_iowa
18 years ago
Fairmont Towers in the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco. 20th floor, view of the SF Bay. Ummmmm.
alisande
Original Author
18 years ago
Linda, Nate Berkus is Oprah's cute decorator-in-residence (on her show, not in her house).
bigfoot_liz
18 years ago
just saw the show and while the soho grand is not my style i love the view which is very big in my book for expensive hotels. i can be a hotel snob because i am a service fanatic and like to splurge on vacations. when i am on vacations i am out of my regular routine which only adds to my stresses so i make sure to have a wonderful hotel to go back to that alleviates stress.

my fav place is the peninsula in chicago and even thou i have a place still in chicago i stay atleast a couple nights of each visit at the penn. it's definitely a treat, they have promotions for holidays and luxury rooms come down to $600 or so. there is NOTHING like shopping all day downtown, running over to the hotel (on Michigan Ave) to get ready for dinner and a theatre show or opera and going back late into the night and soaking in a garden tub w/ a view over the beautiful city all lite up. i love love love it! as much as i hate cold weather i will leave warm orlando just to spend a few days in chicago there lol. there are only 3 in this country and the chicago one is fairly new and very beautiful... the breakers in palm beach is also a very nice hotel but i don't get that giddy excited feeling about going there like i do for the penn.~ liz

Here is a link that might be useful: chicago peninsula
mcmann
18 years ago
We don't travel that often but I have a few favorites. In New York City - The Essex House with a view of Central Park, especially in the winter when you can watch the ice skaters. The Sunday Brunch is wonderful.

We've stayed at the Fontainebleau in old Quebec several times.
Lindsey_CA
18 years ago
My favorite hotel is the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa. We've stayed there many times, but never for more than 8 nights straight. (I'd love to spend a month at a time, at least!) Hubs has to drag me out of there each time...

The first few times we always had a "partial ocean view" room and then we stayed in a full-on ocean view room. We both agreed that we prefer the "partial ocean view" rooms because you get a great view of the ocean, but you also get a great view of their fabulous lagoon. So, except for the one time, we've always booked partial ocean view rooms/suites.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grand Hyatt Kauai
alisande
Original Author
18 years ago
Oh, no! I realized this morning that I did not stay at the SoHo Grand. It was the 60 Thompson, also in SoHo. I swear, the pictures on Oprah's show looked just like it! Well, I was close. LOL
socks
18 years ago
Kahala in Hawaii/Oahu. Out of the Waikiki congestion, private, elegant, wonderful.
margad
18 years ago
Several favorites are Chateau Frontenac, Chateau Lake Louise, Banff Springs, Drake Hotel in Chicago, St Regis in New York, Brown Palace in Denver.
patti43
18 years ago
I love that cute Nate! He has some great decorating ideas. My favorite place was a week at the Balsalms, a resort hotel in Dixville Notch, NH. Your meals come with the room rate and the food was not to be believed. I bet I gained 10 pounds. Unfortunately, I was working a trade show so I didn't get to take advantage of a lot of the stuff they have to do there.

I would love to stay at the Palmer House in Chicago. It's so old and elegant.

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