Airline Wine Report : Singapore Airlines Raffles (Business) Class scores 121

This summarizes the wine served aboard a flight from the United States to Singapore (stopping in Frankfurt) in December, 2005. The class of service was Raffles, Singapore Airlines' brand name for its Business Class.

The score is based on the criteria described in this post. Over the next few months, I hope to collect data on more of the major airlines.

• Champagne: Charles Heidsieck, 1995 $50
• White Wine: Laboure Roi, Montagny, 2002 $26
• Red Wine: Chateau Cissac, 1998 $28
• Dessert wine: Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage, 2000 $17

• TOTAL SCORE: 121

I found it a bit difficult to price the Montagny and the Cissac in the United States so I used figures from wine merchants in the United Kingdom. (This is not an exact science!)

I have often heard it said that the quality of Singapore Airlines in Business Class exceeds that of United Airlines in First. This score seems to support that position. United scored 116 in First Class while Singapore gets 121 for its Business Class. Singapore's First Class got 250.

The top scorer is Cathay Pacific in First Class with 280.

Airline Wine Report: Singapore Airlines First Class (SQ) scores 280!

I originally posted this with a silly mistake in the total. A kind reader corrected me. The revised score of 280 positions Singapore Airlines equal in first place to Cathay Pacific.

The following report is based on a flight SQ25 from New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) which I took on December 7, 2005. Comments on this flight can be found by clicking here.

Again, I am applying the same approach that I described in my earlier post. (Click here to see the approach.)

Champagne: Krug Grande Cuvee $140
White Wine: Joseph Drouhin, Meursault, 2000 $30
Red Wine: Cos d'Estournel, 1998 $60
Dessert wine: Warre's Twenty Year Old Tawny. $50

TOTAL SCORE: 280

Singapore Airlines, which is often regarded as the "gold standard" for a First Class airline product scores a very good 280 This is oustanding, and it places SQ in first place equaling Cathay Pacific's score.

I really appreciated being offered Dom Perignon and Krug on this flight and enjoyed tasting them side by side. I concluded that I much prefer the Krug.

Leoville Barton, 2003 -- Found!

Some readers may remember that I put a bet on Chateau Leoville Barton (2003) becoming the wine of the year in 2006.

The Leoville Barton was released at about $75 a bottle, and, predictably, prices have doubled. But the Iron Bridge wine company had a case this morning.

Eight bottles have gone (I wonder where!), but if you jump on it you could get the remaining four bottles of what promises to be a wonderful wine.

For directions to the Iron Bridge, click here. (You definitely want to phone first to see that it is still in stock.)

For my previous comments on this wine, click here.

And if you get to taste this wine, please leave a comment. I would love to hear what you think of it.

Airline Wine Report : United First Class scores 116

The top wines served on a flight UA925 from London (LHR) to Washington (IAD) in February 2006 in United's First Class cabin included:

• Champagne Deutz Brut, 1998 $49
• White Wine Chateau de Davenay, Montagny, 2003 $25
• Red Wine Bouchard Pere & Fils, Monthelie, 2002 $25
• Dessert Wine Sandema's Founders Reserve Port $17

TOTAL SCORE: 116

Note that the prices are my best guess as to their U.S. retail value. (Corrections are welcome. They are used to derive a score to help travelers figure out how seriously airlines are taking wine in the premium cabins.

Interestingly, United had almost a tradition of serving Dom Perignon in First Class back in the "good old days." Also, it was interesting to see that there was no red Bordeaux on this wine list. Almost evert First Class product offers a red Bordeaux as one of the options.

Using the same analysis Cathay Pacific, scored 280, and Virgin Atlantic Upper Class scored 82.

My method is provided on the link below:

Scoring Airlines for their wines in First and Business Class

And my report on Virgin is here.

Le Provence, Vienna, VA

Le Provence
144 West Maple Avenue
Vienna, VA 22180
(703) 242-3777

Mon-Sat 11:30am-2pm (L), 5:30pm-9pm (D), Sun closed

For a Google map, click here.

This small French restaurant in Vienna is a very nice place to have dinner. There is a fixed price menu for about $22 with a choice of fish (tilapia), chicken, and pork. Starters included Caesar Salad or soup. The soup was quite tasty, and the pork was beautifully presented with a delicious sauce. It was also surrounded by nice, fresh vegetables. There was a range of choices for dessert, including passion fruit mousse, creme caramel, creme brulee. I had the passion fruit mousse, which was full of flavor and beautifully presented.

There was a good wine list although many of them seemed rather expensive. (I think Chateau Gloria was priced at $85.) We had a louis Latour Ardeche and a Cote du Rhone.

The total bill, including tip, for a party of six with two bottles of wine was about $265. Recommended if you are in the area.

Best Western, Fairfax, Virginia

Best Western
3535 Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax City
Virginia
22030-2703

Phone: 703-591-5500
Fax: 703-591-7483

I used to avoid Best Western hotels, but after staying in a couple of nice ones, my mind opened on this chain. Now, my mind has closed again. The Best Western website provides the following description of this property:

Welcome to the suburbs of Washington D.C. and the heart of Fairfax, Virginia. We are a boutique property in a quiet, peaceful setting with the largest outdoor pool in our area, which shines like a fountain in winter.

Admittedly, the pool looks quite nice. And they do provide wireless Internet service, but everything else about this hotel is not particularly pleasant. The rooms are dismal, and they smell of mildew. These motel-style rooms overlook balconies so that, if you open the curtains, everyone can see into your room. If you don't the room is dark and dreary.

There was a restaurant on the premises, but that has now closed so that you can't even get breakfast here!

The public areas are badly in need of renovation. The staff are not particularly friendly. When I asked them to credit my Best Western Gold Crown Account for the night, they told me that they would because I was "not paying for my stay." Now that is a wonderful incentive for the business traveler to return! And return to this hotel is something I would never do.

This is an expensive area. When I compared its prices to other hotels in the area, this hotel seems to be fairly reasonably priced at around $140 a night.

Airline Wine Report : Virgin Atlantic Upper Class scores 82

Using the analysis I applied to Cathay Pacific First Class, I scored the wine list from Virgin's Upper Class 021 in February 2006. (This is the London to Washington flight.) I gave the wine list a score of 82.

As I said in my earlier post, this is really not an exact science, but it is pretty clear that Virgin spends much much less on its wine than Cathay Pacific, which score 280.

Click here to go the article that describes my criteria for scoring wines on airlines.

Of course, this does compare a Business Class product to a First Class one.

Also, I could not get a US price on Berry's White Burgundy so I used the price at Berry's shop in London.

Finally, remember that this scoring scheme is like Oscar Wilde's auctioneer, who knows "the price of everything and the value of nothing." Berry's does an extraordinarily good job of selecting wines, and I am sure that you could have a very enjoyable wine experience on this flight.

Here are the wines, and my best guess at what the retail price would be in the United States.

• Champagne: Laurent Perrier Brut nv $30
• Red Wine: Chateau Lucas, Lussac-St. Emilion, 2002 $19
• White Wine: Berry's Own Selection White Burgundy, 2003 $13
• Dessert: Graham's Port $20

• Total Score: 82

Airline Wine Report: Cathay Pacific First Class scores 280!

This is the first airline that I have tried to analyze based on the criteria described here. And I have a funny feeling that no airline is going to beat this amazing score!

• Krug Grand Cuvee ($140)
• Puligny Montrachet Les Grandes Marches, 2002 ($25)
• Chateau Lynch Bages ($85)
• Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port ($30)

(Wouldn't you have loved to be a passenger on that flight!)

Total Score for Cathay Pacific in First Class would be 280!

Bear in mind that very few airlines, if any, are going to get a score as high as Cathay Pacific, which offers about the best First Class service of any airline in the world. (Also, I took a wild guess at the value of the Puligny Montrachet.)

Scoring Airlines for their wines in First and Business Class

I have been reading wine and travel magazines for longer than I care to remember, and I have never seen anyone do a thorough job of analyzing the quality of wines that are served by airlines in Business and First Class.

In the next few months, I am going to put up a few airline wine lists and I propose a score that is based solely on price. Generally speaking, an airline will serve four classes of wine: Champagne, white table wine, red table wine, and a dessert wine.

What I propose to do is to take the most expensive wine in each category, get the best estimate of its retail value in the United States, add the four numbers together, and that will be the score. (If an airline does not serve Champagne or a dessert wine, it will receive zero for that category.)

Is this perfect? Not at all. For example, Virgin Atlantic is doing clever stuff these days. They have engaged the services of Berry Brothers and Rudd to select its wines, and many of the wines they serve are interesting wines from southern France. They are often wonderful wines, but the retail price is low so that will be reflected in the score I give.

Another flaw is that the plan is regrettably US-centric, but it is a world that I know. Also, the United States probably still offers a wider selection of wines than anywhere else in the world so it will be relatively easy to find the price although some wines will be hard to find at the retail level. (In Europe, it is hard to find good American wines, and countries that produce good wine tend to dominate their domestic markets.)

But at least it will allow readers to gain a general sense of how much an airline is putting into its wine selections. An airline that spends $250 on its top four wines is likely to be taking wine matters more seriously that an airline spending only $50.

Comments are invited as I would welcome the thoughts of anyone who can think of a better way of doing this.

I would love to hear comments on this approach.

As a matter of interest, when Bordeaux was classified in 1855, the only criterion used to rank the wines was price.

Sushi Sono, Columbia, Maryland

Sushi Sono
10215 Wincopin Circle
Columbia, MD 21044-3408
(410) 997-6131

For a Google map, click here.

Sushi Sono has one of the highest Zagat ratings for food in the Baltimore area. It also is in a nice setting down by the lake in Columbia, Maryland.

We went there for lunch. The menu is a relatively predictable lunch menu for a Japanese restaurant in North America. We started with very good miso soup with the tofu cut into tiny pieces. Then we all had bento boxes for the main course. I had California rolls, tempura shrimps and vegetables, and rice. The food was freshly cooked, and the service was friendly. My guests had similae boxes with triyaki chicken. All the lunch dishes were between $9.00 and $12.00.

This is a nice place for lunch, but there was nothing extraordinary about it. Perhaps I should return in the evening to give them the opportunity to really show off their cooking. Also, I am sure that tasting this restaurant's sushi would also provide that opportunity. In that respect, this is a somewhat incomplete report.

Chateau de Fesles, Bonnezeaux, 1997

Two Botrytis-affected Loire wines in as many weeks! Life does not get much better than that. Chateau de Fesles makes a marvelous sweet wine, which we had it with an assortment of fruit pies.

Made entirely of Chenin Blanc, this wine is highly concentrated, but the balance of relatively high acidity keeps it fresh and lively. I last had this wine a couple of years ago, and it has become noticeably darker during this time. Just in case you wondering about its condition, it was stored in a wine refrigerator at a constant 55 degrees (12.77 degrees Celsius). There is some taste of apple, honey, and a wild flower perfume to this wine, and it was very far from fading. They say that you can easily keep this wine for 20 years and it just grows in complexity.

It is absolutely delightful, but, sadly, this was my last bottle of this precious liquid. Although this wine is hard to find and pretty expensive ($35 or so for a half bottle), I can think of no dessert wine that I have enjoyed more than this one. Outstanding!

I wish I had been able to taste it next to the to this wine:
Domaine de Baumard, Quarts de Chaumes, 2001.

Ridge Lytton Springs, 2000

Ridge Lytton Springs wine is very much an old favorite of mine, and it is a little different every year. The 2000 was made with 80% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Syrah. It has smoothed out with time, and is an exceptionally well balanced wine rather than a stereotypical "in your face" over-alcoholic California Zinfandel. It has notes of blackberries and dark cherries with relatively gentle tannins. The oak was present, but it was certainly not overdone.

It seemed like this (summer of 2006) was the perfect time to drink this wine. Priced at slightly over $30, I like to buy some of this wine every year. It always satisfies!

Non-stop flights from Washington (Dulles) to London

This was revised on September 3, 2006. Note that starting on October 1, the MAXJet flight will leave at 20:15 (8:15 in the evening.) Click here for details.

The traveler looking for a non-stop flight from Washington Dulles (IAD) has a variety of options. Here they are with a few comments:

Flight: BA 224 (British Airways)
Departure: 08:05
Arrival: 20:15
Flight Time: 7 hours 10 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777

British Airways offers four classes: First, Club World, World Traveller Plus, and World Traveller, which mean First, Business, Economy Plus, and Economy respectively. The First Class product is outstanding. Business Class offers a completely flat bed. World Traveller Plus gives you a significantly better seat than World Traveller, but there is no difference in the food and wine service.

It is rather nice to be able to leave the United States and arrive in the United Kingdom last thing at night, and frequently there seems to be great availability of this flight. Free drinks in all classes.

The serious shortcoming of British Airways is that, if you fly on a discounted ticket, they reward you with only 25% of actual miles, which means that you need to fly 50 times before you get a free ticket!

British Airways uses Boeing 777 on this flight, which is a good modern plane.

Flight: UA 922 (United Airlines)
Departure: 09:28
Arrival: 21:45
Flight Time: 7 hours 22 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 767

The other morning flight. United has really become a little bit spartan during these troubled times, and they no longer server caviar and Dom Perignon in first class. Business class is OK although, unlike much of the competition, it does not offer flat beds. And you have to pay for drinks in Economy. Economy Plus gives you more leg room, but the seat and the food are the same. You usually do not have pay for Economy Plus as this is one of United's ways of rewarding its elite members of the frequent flyer plan, but they seem to be experimenting with charging passengers to sit in this area.

You earn miles in United's Mileage Plus program, and you can spend these miles on any Star Alliance flight. If you are Premier Executive you can earn a free transatlantic ticket with just 11 flights. (That is why I fly United rather than BA.)

The 767s are becoming a little old, and I see that as a disadvantage of this flight.

Sometimes I have found it easiest to get the deepest discounts on this flight.

Flight: UA 918 (United Airlines)
Departure: 18:03
Arrival: 06:20
Flight Time: 7 hours 22 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777

My previous comments on United apply here, but note that UA 918 is on a 777, which is much nicer than a 767. Economy seats on United's 777 at 2-5-2. Unless you get stuck in the middle of the center aisle, which has never happened to me, this turns out to be a pretty nice arrangement. For me, I dislike the timing of this flight because you cannot get a full day's work done and then travel, In other words, it combines the disadvantage of an overnight flight without the benefit of being able to do a day's work.

Flight: UA 920 (United Airlines)
Departure: 18:28
Arrival: 06:55
Flight Time: 7 hours 32 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 767

Too early in the day, and a Boeing 767. Avoid this flight.


Flight: BA 216 (British Airways)
Departure: 18:35
Arrival: 06:55
Flight Time: 7 hours 20 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 747

Although I have not taken this flight for some time, I am beginning to find 747s a little bit too old for my liking. And I don't like the time of this flight. Avoid.

First and Business Class passengers have the advantage of being able to use BA's wonderful arrivals lounge at Heathrow, and they can eat in the lounges at Dulles Airport before they leave.

Flight: VS 022 (Virgin Atlantic)
Departure: 18:40
Arrival: 07:05
Flight Time: 7 hours 25 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus 340

Virgin does everything a little bit differently. The Upper Class is quite an experience, but passengers need to remember that it is a Business Class product -- not First Class, although it beds are certainly comparable to first class beds, the food and wine are not. Two wonderdul features in Virgin's Upper Class are the on-board massages and the bar.

The departure lounges and arrivals lounges are outstanding

Passengers who accumulate miles on Continental and Singapore Airlines will be happy to know that this flight runs as CO 8242 and SQ 2522. (However, although you can fly on Singapore Airlines using United miles, they will not let you book flight SQ 2522 using Mileage Plus miles. A pity!)

Flight MY 200 (MAXjet Airways)
Departure: 19:30
Arrival: 08:30
Flight Time: 8 hours

This seems like a very interesting way to get to London, but I have never been on this flight. You pretty much get Business Class quality at highly discounted rates. The lowest available fare at the moment seems to be $2,503 including all taxes. Note that this flight arrives at Stansted Airport (STN) and not Heathrow (LHR). This is a disadvantage for travellers wishing to go to the West End or west London, but it could actually be good for people wishing to make connections on discount airlines like EasyJet to the rest of Europe. People on this flight get to use the Northwest Lounge in Terminal B. Reports say that there are some beverages, but little food.

I have never traveled on this flight, reviews of this flight can be found here.

Flight: UA 924 (United Airlines)
Departure: 21:53
Arrival: 10:00
Flight Time: 7 hours17 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777

Nice aircraft. Good frequent flyer plan. And you can do a day's work and then fly. This is the flight I usually try to take.

Flight: BA 292 (British Airways)
Departure: 21:55
Arrival: 10:10
Flight Time: 7 hours15 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777

The timing of this flight suits me, and I like British Airways. The only bothersome thing is their frequent flyer plan if you are flying on a discounted seat in economy. I have been on this flight all of BA's four classes. First was the best!

They also gave me a bottle of the delicious Louise Champagne from Pommery as a gift at the end of the flight!

Thai Restaurant, Baltimore, MD

Thai Restaurant
3316 Greenmount Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21218

410-889-6003

For a Google Map, click here.

I love the name of this restaurant. It is simply called Thai Restaurant. It offers standard Thai fare at reasonable prices (Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, Red Curry, etc). The soup is particularly tasty. Most of the dishes at lunch cost around $8.00. The ingredients are fresh, and they will make the food hot or mild according to your wants. The bill for two was about $24.00 including tax and tip. Prices are higher in the evening although I have not been.

This restaurant offers good food, and I would recommend it for the occasional lunch if you are in the area.

Domaine de Baumard, Quarts de Chaumes, 2001

I love sweet wines, and some of my favorites come from the Loire Valley. Made with the Chenin Blanc grape, Domaine de Baumard Quarts de Chaumes (2001) is an outstanding example of just how wonderful these wines can be.

It is relatively dark in color for a relatively young wine. The taste combines honey, caramel, toffee, orange, and other exotic tropical fruits. Don't think of this as a sickly sweet wine because the intense fruit and sweetness is balanced by high acidity.

This wine would be the perfect companion to foie gras. Although $30.00 is quite a lot of money for a half bottle, compared to sweet wines of equivalent quality from Sauternes, Germany, or Niagara, the Domaine de Baumard Quarts de Chaumes is a relative bargain.

Although this wine definitely tasted more mature than I expected, there is no reason that this wine should not drink well for fifteen or more years.

Domaine de Fontsainte, Corbieres, 2003

I have a friend who rarely drinks Californian wine. Too many of them taste the same, he says. And they are too expensive. As if he was trying to prove his point, he pointed my nose in the direction of Paul's Wine and Liquors, an excellent wine shop in Washington DC, where a case (including tax) of Domaine de Fontsaite, 20003 was just $120.

This brambly wine (Carignan, Grenache, and Syrah) is definitely different. It is packed with black currant and raspberry fruit with the herb overtones that evoke the South of France. The wood gives it a cedar almost smoky flavor. The Wine Spectator gave this wine a score of 86, which means "Very Good."

Check out the wine maker's philosophy on their website. There are interesting comments about not being a technology-driven wine although they still aspire to being modern. Perhaps this is how they can truly take advantage of their terroir and microclimate to make a wine that stands out as being different from the rest.

Recommended.

Paul's Wine & Liquors

5205 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC

(202) 537-1900

House of India, Columbia, MD

House of India
9350 F2 Snowden River Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045

For a Google map, click here.

We have tried all the Indian restaurants in Columbia, and we have found this to be the best. It serves a good buffet on the weekends for about $8.00. They usually include Goat Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandoori Chicken, Palak Paneer, and a few other vegetable dishes. There is always a starter (pakora or something similar). Naan is brought to the table. There is also a salad and dessert.

For people who travel, this is by no means an outstanding Indian restaurant, but if you want to have an Indian lunch, and you are in Columbia, this restaurant is probably the best in the area.

House of India sells alcoholic drinks, including Indian beer.

Babich, Hawkes Bay, Chardoonnay, 2004 New Zealand

Babich, Hawkes Bay, Chardoonnay, 2004 New Zealand (Unwooded)

For people, looking for the short version, go for it! It's great. For people, who also want reflections on Chardonnay, and a bit of a diatribe, read on.

All people who love wine have a few raw nerves. There are just things in the wine world that iritate us. For me, one of my hot buttons is a blind prejudice against Chardonnay.

I frequently hear people make a blanket pronouncement that they don't like Chardonnay very much -- sometimes they go so far as to say that they actually hate Chardonnay! When I hear that, I get a little bit cross because the assertion fails to recognize so many great wines that are made from this wonderful grape. Encouraging these folks to approach a Montrachet with an open mind is a rather expensive experiment, but it is worth reflecting a little what provoked the prejudice in the first place.

(Some Chardonnay bashers are not even aware that Chardonnay is the only grape used to make Chablis, Montrachet, Meursault, and Pouilly Fuisse. And, of course, it is the only white grape used to make Champagne.)

I am pretty certain that your average Chardonnay hater has only limited exposure to Chardonnay. Typically, they have tasted cheap generic Chardonnay in a pub or a restaurant where Chardonnay is one of the "house wines." Often, this drink, which is sometimes simply called "Chard," is served at the wrong temperature in a horrid glass. And this generic Chard often tastes of oak rather than wine, which might appeal to a woodpecker rather than a wine lover.

As I said the alternatives (Chablis, Montrachet, etc.) are often a bit expensive, but Babich Chardonnay (2004) from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand is a terrific opportunity to really taste the fruit at a reasonable price. This dry wine, which has had no exposure to oak whatsoever, has tastes of crisp apple, melon, and peaches, and it has a nice clean finish. It is very highly recommended.

The Wine Spectator gave this wine only 85 points, with the following comments:

“Tart, with intensity and vibrancy to green banana, green pear, lime peel and honeysuckle flavors that will show best with food. Drink now."
I agree with the "Drink now" bit! (If forced to score this wine, I would have given it 90. And there was no green banana there for me although the citrus bit is on target.)

If you are looking for oak and butter, though, stay away from this wine!

Like a lot of wines from New Zealand, this wine comes with a screwcap. For a Wikipedia article on screwcaps, click here.

I bought this wine at The Iron Bridge Wine Company in Maryland. It was one of their monthly specials in May, and was priced at $12.00 a bottle. (I usually buy a case of their monthly specials, and this gave me a 20% discount.)

Parking at BWI

It is not often that things get better and cheaper, but this has actually happened with parking at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. (I think BWI has the longest official name of any airport I know!)

For years, there was parking available very close to the terminals, but the price crept up to $30.00 a day, which seemed too high even when traveling on an expense account. The satellite lots were too far away and, after digging my car out of snow after a winter trip, I began to seek alternatives.

From the Columbia perspective, Columbia Cabs provide service that is only barely acceptable. Previous problems include arriving late, drivers who talk loudly on the cell phone while driving, and drivers who find their credit card facilities are not available despite assurances to the contrary when making the reservation.

Columbia Airport Shuttle has provided me with good service (click here fore a description) although I have used them only when I have traveled out of Dulles Airport (IAD).

But I have recently had two good parking experiences. The first was on a recent business trip to Boston. I was in a hurry, and it was a two-day business trip. I got an on-line coupon here, and was able to park in the hourly lots right next to the terminal for $15.00 a day. These spaces are also sheltered in case you are anticipating snow.

Another experience was a trip where I was paying for myself. I used Econopark Express. (A coupon from this site allows you to park for $5.75 per day; otherwise you pay $6.75.) As soon as I arrived, they told me the exact spot where I could park, and the bus was at that spot ready to whisk me off to the terminal. On the way back, I called their number from my mobile phone. A friendly driver was where I needed him within five minutes, and I was taken back to my car. To make matters even more pleasant, the bus had a cooler full of bottles of water to refresh the weary traveler. Good value and friendly service!

If you want to get to the Econopark lot, and you are traveling on I-195, make a right (Exit 1-B) and go south on Route 170 (Airport Loop). After about one mile, make a left. Follow the signs to the employee parking, and the Econopark lot is just to the right of the employee parking lot. Click here for their directions.

Hotel @ MIT

The bedcover is decorated with physics formulas!

The huge and very comfortable bed

Stylish bathroom!

The Hotel @ MIT seems to really understand that some travelers need to work!

Hotel @ MIT
20 Sidney Street
Cambridge, MA 02139

General Comments

This is a really nice stylish hotel with a modern hi-tech decor. The staff are really helpful, efficient, and welcoming. It creates an MIT theme very effectively. The bedcovers have physics formulas on them.

The Hotel @ MIT is a Doubletree so you get Hilton points and miles if you stay here.

Pluses

• Clever decor and use of the MIT theme
• Really comfortable beds
• Good bar and restaurant (See review of the Sidney Grille)
• Internet connectivity (Ethernet and wireless) for free
• Ability to send print jobs from the room to a printer at the front desk (free)
• Nice pen! (How many hotels provide nice pens?)
• Attractive stationery in the room -- MIT-themed cards with transparent envelopes.
• Excellent work space in the room
• Good public lounge
• Good bath robes (dressing gowns)
• Nice rosemary/mint Aveda shampoo and conditioner
  
• Self-service business center with free facilities (photocopier, fax, computers, etc.)
• The bedcovers -- you can solve formulas as you go to sleep!
  

Minuses

• Some "old fashioned" stuff that was inconsistent with the "hip," modern theme. (A clunky analog thermostat, old bath fixtures, old fashioned television.
• No body wash -- a hotel of this class should offer liquid soap as well as the solid kind.
• No mouthwash -- ditto!
• No on-site pool (but you can use the MIT sports facilities for a fee.)
  

Recommendation

Stay here if you ever get the chance. It is a really special place.

Cost

$204 plus $11.63 State Tax, $8.16 city tax, and $5.61 city tax. A lot of taxes!