October 8th, 2008 by Aaron
We recently had the opportunity to stay at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower while we were attending a wedding (congratulations, Rick & Shannon!).
Bedroom
Getting There & Parking
The hotel is about a $45 cab ride to/from O’Hare, including tip, for up to 4 people. Overnight valet parking is $44 at the hotel and $32 at the nearby self-park, so planning to take taxis can actually be as cheap – or cheaper – than renting a car and paying to park.
Checking In
Check-in was quick and efficient. We arrived early (around noon) and did not have to wait in line. I asked for – and received – an “upgraded” room, which was a corner room on the 30th floor of the hotel. Other times of day, I did witness short lines at reception, but it seemed as though everyone’s check-in/check-out was handled promptly.
Bathroom with Separate WC
The Room
The hotel is designed and decorated in a modern style. Our room consisted of a bedroom and bathroom, which were in a slightly different configuration, since we were in a corner room.
Upon walking through the door, a short hallway led to the bedroom. The bedroom contained a relatively comfortable bed, 4-door closet (containing space for hanging clothes, drawers, shoe storage, and in-room safe), desk, chaise lounge, and a small table. The desk and the mirror on the wall behind it were rendered fairly useless by the flatscreen television, which was nice, but seemed like an afterthought in the design of the room.
Desk and Flatscreen Television
The bathroom door was on the right, along the outer wall (next to the windows). The bathroom featured lots of marble, a single vanity, tub, an oversize shower, and separate water closet.
Overall, the room interior was well-executed and about what you would expect for a roughly $300+/night hotel in downtown Chicago.
Dining
The hotel’s single restaurant, Cafe Des Architectes, is open daily from 6am-11pm. Breakfast was the only meal we ate there, but it was delicious and reasonably priced – particularly for a high-end hotel restaurant. There are many other restaurants within walking distance or a short taxi ride of the hotel,
Bathroom Vanity
so dining choices shouldn’t be a problem.
Bar
The hotel features two bars: a small, 4-seat bar at the Cafe Des Architects (perfect for a quick drink, since it was normally empty), and the larger Le Bar. Le Bar is open from 3pm-2am and was standing-room-only the two nights we were there (our party somewhat contributed to that on one of the evenings).
Overall
The Sofitel Chicago is a solid choice for travelers looking for an upscale oasis in Chicago. The rooms, staff, and on-property food and beverage were all good. My one possible complaint would be if I were having to park a car at the hotel, but that is much the same at any other property in the downtown area. If you are a leisure or business traveler and can wait to make your reservation, the Sofitel website seems to offer fairly significant price drops as dates approach.
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April 26th, 2008 by Aaron
This past Thursday night, I was lucky enough to get to experience the new Nationals Park – not quite a month into its inaugural season. As I’m sure is the case with all new stadiums, everything felt neat and clean and the park had a number of nice features not seen other places (such as the huge HD video screen in the outfield.
Our seats were in the “Red Porch” center field lounge section of the stadium and I was very impressed with the experience. I wouldn’t normally think of the last row in center field as a great seat for the game, but as you can tell from the picture, the view was very good. In fact, all of the seats look as though they would have a pretty much unobstructed view of the field. Due to the more vertical nature of the upper deck construction, those seats also have a closer view of the field than older stadiums.
The center field lounge seats offer in-seat food and beverage service from a limited menu (burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, snack foods, beer, wine, and mixed drinks). The Thursday night crowd in the section wasn’t huge, so I would worry about the service level if it were packed, as they only had two servers to take orders. Our server indicated that she had been the only server the previous night and the section had been full! The good news is that once your order is placed, the food and beverage seem to magically appear with almost no wait time.
Another great aspect of the center field lounge seats was the ability to stand up, hang out and watch the game. In fact, I never sat down throughout the entire game, although the padded seats looked comfortable. The $67 ticket price included $20 worth of food or merchandise credit, which won’t get you very far at the game, but overall was a decent value for the seating, view of the game, and the service.
The Nationals have a beautiful new stadium, so let’s hope they can put a decent product on the field for the local fans. Even if you’re not a Nationals fan – which I’m not – it’s worth a trip to check out the stadium and have a good time!
April 13th, 2008 by Aaron
The Baecker Jazz Worship Service is the name of the composition commissioned by my father for the 50th anniversary of the United Church of Christ. Through the extraordinary efforts and talent of composer John Cooper, the piece came to life as a full-length worship service and (eventually) a jazz album featuring an all-star cast of instrumentalists.
The album starts slowly with “In the Beginning”, which teases the listener with a little bit of Rev. DaNita Bell’s spoken-word voiceovers, which are every bit as wonderful as her vocals throughout the remainder of the album.
“Gospel: John 21″ features a full dose of spoken-word voiceovers accompanied by pianist Matt Michaels’ lively jazz piano.
“St. Anthony’s Light” introduces the power of the full horn section and features solos by trumpeter David Hoffman, tenor saxophonist Chris Collins, and trombonist Tom Garling.
“Offertory” is a rambling walk down Bourbon St. featuring the percussion of David Taylor and doses of the horns in just about every combination imaginable. When it’s all over, you’ll feel like you’ve been out all night partying: tired, but happy.
“Doxology” and “Communion (And Now You’re Gone)” bring the tempo down considerably and allow the listener to relax and enjoy the vocals of DaNita Bell and more of Matt Michaels’ piano. Rick Simerly also showcases his talent in “Communion”.
“This Little Light of Mine” pulls out all of the stops: the big horn section, Jeff Halsey’s bass, and DaNita Bell’s towering vocals. As the closing notes play, it will have listeners hoping for a hidden track 8, but sadly, that’s not to be!
I can’t say that I’ve had anything to do with the production, but I can attest to the huge amount of work that goes into composing, recording, marketing, and performing the work. By purchasing this album, you will enrich yourself and support the fine musicians who made this all possible. Encore!
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Also of note: This is one of the few albums you’ll purchase these days that has good liner notes. They are invaluable reading as you listen to the work, as they give incredible insight into the composition from composer John Cooper himself. It’s also a testament to the fine composition that each time I listen, I hear something new that adds more depth to the piece.
The album was recorded at Chicago Recording Company and mastered by Leon Zervos at Sterling Sound in New York. Leon has worked on projects for Avril Levigne, Gavin DeGraw, NSYNC, Duran Duran, INXS, Aerosmith, and now Garth Baecker.
April 9th, 2008 by Aaron
If you’ve lived in locations along the east coast for long, you’ve probably had the pleasure of eating at “CalTor” a time or two. The food is good for a fast food establishment and the atmosphere is generally lively. It probably helps that they play mostly 80′s tunes, too!
For a chain that prides itself on its extra-spunky cashiers, the service on two of my last four or five visits has left me somewhat soured on CalTor.
The first problem I experienced was when my wife and I ordered a meal and tried to redeem some coupons we had gotten from a previous “spin the wheel night” visit. The cashier ended up charging us for an item we didn’t order and we were missing one of our free items! When I inquired about it, the manager told me that we had actually gotten a better deal. We argued for a minute or two and I gave up trying to teach 1st grade math to him. In the car, I figured out that the total cost difference was somewhere around $4 on a $10 order.
Our most-recent visit was another service disappointment. We waited a total of 27 minutes for an order of fish tacos and a chicken quesadilla! When I inquired as to what might be taking so long, the manager gave me some excuse about the fish needing to cook. Our total compensation for the ridiculous wait was an order of chips and queso. Luckily, we had good company during our wait.
As a result of these service blunders, CalTor is out of the rotation for a while. I love the fish tacos (my new favorite there) and the burritos, but the quality of service is too much for the food to overcome. I’ll try again in a few months when they have a new cast of characters working behind the counter to see if things have improved.
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