Help Deciding a One-Night Birthday Getaway

[8893]

Thanks for checking in!

Hotel: The Graduate. Man, I love this hotel chain! After first staying at the fun Storrs location, the New Haven location definitely captures the history of the original hotel. Our room faced Chapel Street, directly next to the Hotel Duncan sign, which was pretty cool to see lit up at night. We didn't have time to check the Old Heidelberg bar downstairs, but it's an excellent hotel.

Dinner: Heirloom. Located inside The Study hotel. Decor was relaxing (it was fun being a few feet above the sidewalk) and the service was good, but the food was bland. Wouldn't try again, but it was a convenient spot to walk next door for dinner during the heavier rains from last night.

The Show: Another great Beach House concert. My fourth time seeing them in seven years. First visit to College Street Music Hall and I really liked it! Very open, sound great, the only weird thing is the awkward railing blocking views from the balcony.

Today: After coffee/breakfast inside the hotel, we spent a few hours at the Yale University Art Gallery, which was pretty amazing, especially since it's free. Their collection is vast and impressive. No way to see everything in one day, so I'll be back.

Lunch: Bnatural Kitchen. We stopped for a coffee here before the show and stopped by today for lunch. I was expecting like an overpriced lunch bowl place, but it was much better than expected. Super fresh, everything made to order and expansive menu for all types of eaters. Nice enough inside for a casual lunch date but also totally appropriate to order out.

Overall, it was easily my most rich experience in New Haven and had a solid time.

I've never eaten at Heirloom because I've never heard anyone rave about it; good to know I'm not missing much.

Been to College Street a lot and like the venue; I am intrigued by Beach House and would like to check them out next time they come around.

Love the Yale Art Gallery; the British Art Center across the street is also excellent. Incredible collections for a city of this size.

BNatural is in my regular lunch rotation. Agree with your assessment for the reasons you mention, except that adding a fresh-pressed veggie juice--which I like to do--jacks the price up considerably. But that is the same anywhere you get them; they are just damned expensive. I went there last week for lunch and wasn't crazy hungry, but I wanted a veggie juice and something else, and the only "something else" was one of those bowls. So my "light" lunch was $20 plus tip.

Happy birthday!

 

[huskymedic]

Dinner: Heirloom. Located inside The Study hotel. Decor was relaxing (it was fun being a few feet above the sidewalk) and the service was good, but the food was bland. Wouldn't try again, but it was a convenient spot to walk next door for dinner during the heavier rains from last night.

Mea culpa… Open Monday option/walking distance lead to my throwing it out. Sorry to hear the food has slipped.

Boy, can I tell ya stories about responding to the Hotel Duncan when it was a single room occupancy “hotel” back in the mid 80’s/90’s. Quite the cast of characters that lived there and came/went over those days.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I've never eaten at Heirloom because I've never heard anyone rave about it; good to know I'm not missing much.

Been to College Street a lot and like the venue; I am intrigued by Beach House and would like to check them out next time they come around.

Love the Yale Art Gallery; the British Art Center across the street is also excellent. Incredible collections for a city of this size.

BNatural is in my regular lunch rotation. Agree with your assessment for the reasons you mention, except that adding a fresh-pressed veggie juice--which I like to do--jacks the price up considerably. But that is the same anywhere you get them; they are just damned expensive. I went there last week for lunch and wasn't crazy hungry, but I wanted a veggie juice and something else, and the only "something else" was one of those bowls. So my "light" lunch was $20 plus tip.

Happy birthday!

We make juices with our blender at home, which obviously is so much cheaper: apple, celery, ginger and spinach w some water and bam a $1.50 juice that would cost $9 elsewhere.

Oh man, if I were in Baltimore this week I would be dying!

 

[8893]

We make juices with our blender at home, which obviously is so much cheaper: apple, celery, ginger and spinach w some water and bam a $1.50 juice that would cost $9 elsewhere.

Oh man, if I were in Baltimore this week I would be dying!

I bought a great Breville juicer several years ago and used it pretty regularly for a few years, but it took up too much counter space, and it took a lot of time to clean properly, so it made its way back into the box and now sits there in the basement unused unfortunately. I am the only one who wants the veggie juices and it's a lot of work and time for one glass of juice (and I don't like to save extra juice because it doesn't hold very well).

It's kind of like making a salad for one person as compared with buying a salad at a restaurant.

But you're right, it's much less expensive.

 

[storrsroars]

I bought a great Breville juicer several years ago and used it pretty regularly for a few years, but it took up too much counter space, and it took a lot of time to clean properly,

I hate juice demos when I was with Breville. Those things are a bear to clean.

But, one of my contributions to Breville was that I combined juice demos with an oven demo because, if you had ambition, you'd take the pulp and make muffins and breads with it

 

[August_West]

Why? I've used it to book 4- and 5-star hotels and gotten free nights.

Use it to curate your list and then call the hotel directly. You will always do better. Not to mention more flexibility. Don’t ever run into a problem with your room if you booked through a 3rd party site , the hotel is not responsible for remediation.

 

[nomar]

Use it to curate your list and then call the hotel directly. You will always do better. Not to mention more flexibility. Don’t ever run into a problem with your room if you booked through a 3rd party site , the hotel is not responsible for remediation.

I can assure that you that I have absolutely come out on top of my bookings through Hotels.com. It's not even close. Multiple free nights at $400+ rooms.

(Psssst: You're ignoring business travel.)

 

[Waquoit]

Use it to curate your list and then call the hotel directly. You will always do better. Not to mention more flexibility. Don’t ever run into a problem with your room if you booked through a 3rd party site , the hotel is not responsible for remediation.

FWIW, just last month I had a hotels.com reservation declined upon arrival. I called them and they put us in a better place for the same price. And I've noticed that the original place isn't on hotels.com anymore.