Adrie Reinders

Brick’s Chicago, 1909 N Lincoln Avenue, Chicago

I had a new experience yesterday – a meeting held at Brick’s. One of those landmark restaurants that sits in between being sportsbar, a pizzeria and a diner. Brick’s attracts an interesting mix of visitors, men coming in to watch baseball (it was the Cub’s opening game), parents with their small children and locals that came to hang out at the bar or for a quick bite to eat.
The restaurant is located in a cellar and has very low ceilings which means sounds amplify beyond their normal levels. Very difficult if you want to hold a good business conversation in such an environment. Comfort was OK, service mostly quick and professional and pretty much in line with what you should expect of a restaurant where pass through quickly. Bricks’ is famous for its beer collection – with bottled and tap beers from all over the world. For food I had the pizza Petaluma, which was an excellent choice and well prepared.

if you are looking for a quiet place to sit down, this is not it. But it is a unique place where you definitely can pick up the local atmosphere and get served good food whilst you are at it.

Food: 7.5
Service: 7
Comfort: 7
Price/Quality: 7.5

Bricks Chicago
www.brickschicago.com

1909 N Lincoln Ave # 1
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 255-1490

W Hotel, The Court, 39th Street,  New York, NY

To me, the W Hotels are almost like a lifestyle hotel. About 6 years ago, I stayed in the W Court Hotel in New York once a month on average, W Hotels were a novelty then still. Each W is presented as a Hotel with a hip and trendy bar, the latter getting busy after 5 pm with people meeting up after work. Later in the evening, these bars become more of a club with loud music and different lighting.
When I was at the Court Hotel 6 years ago, it came across as a new experience, a novelty which appeared refreshing in the staid hotel world. I the meantime, as regular readers of this blog know, I have been to many other, and more modern W’s. So my return to the Court after all these years was a disappointment – the hotel really can do with an upgrade. It has clearly been overused, not to say abused and the rooms no longer what I have come to expect of a W. Small, old-fashioned type bathroom, small room which did not look very fresh – in short, it fell below my expectation. The breakfast room is fine, the service always excellent – even including some staff that had been there 6 years ago who still recognised me.

All-in-all though – I would not recommend the Court for your stay in New York

Comfort: 6
Service:  8
Price/Quality: 7

Comment: The Starwood Hotel group should not just continue to add W hotels at a high rate, but keep updating and refreshing the older hotels in the chain to ensure the overall experience stays at the highest possible level.

Hilton Hotel. Apollolaan, Amsterdam

The Hilton Hotel on the Apollolaan in Amsterdam is a true landmark. By now it is over 45 years old, having been opened in 1962. It has managed to maintain a modern vibe, and the building is well looked after and renovated at very regular intervals.

This week, the Hilton has a special exhibition on – in memory of the famous “Bed In for Peace” held by John Lennon and Yoko Ono at this hotel between 24th and 30th March 1969, 4 days after they had gotten married. It was a unique event, a demonstration against wars in general and Vietnam in particular. The exhibition shows previously unseen footage and pictures of those days.

The Hilton seems to attract world famous actions, good or bad. The largest criminal in the Netherlands, Bruinsma, was shot outside its doors. And a famous singer and painter, Herman Brood, ended his life by jumping of the roof of the hotel only a few years ago.

These days, the hotel and in particular the bar and the wonderful outside terrace, is used by business people for meetings, since the hotel is located favourably in terms of the motorways around Amsterdam, close to Schiphol and on the outskirts of Amsterdam’s centre.

Comfort level is very high, although a little old-fashioned. Service is good, food reasonable although at a hefty price.

Comfort: 8.5
Service: 7.5
Food: 7
Price/Quality: 6
Location: 8.5

Bryant Park Hotel, 40W 40th Street New York, NY

With our company – E.Factor, www.efactor.com, we held a special event for Entrepreneurs interested in the Fashion Industry at Bryant Park Hotel on Friday 13th. At first sight, this appears to be a regular hotel – almost past glory if you don’t know any better. The hotel is the centrepoint for the fashion industry during Fashion Week. Once inside, it turns out to be a hip and happening place, typical New York style. No wild surprises, but cool, professional and of course very loud.

To start, we had a bite and a drink in the hotel’s bar/restaurant KOI. KOI is a typical fusion style restaurant, with french/asian food. All the items were well prepared and presented, service somewhat distant but professional. The E.Factor reception was held in the Cellar Bar, down in the basement of the hotel – a nice room which turned into a club-style area later at night. The real event was held in the Screening room, a wonderful amphitheatre, decorated in red and the perfect environment for an event of some 100 people from the fashion world.

All in all a surprising environment with many different faces. It had the potential of being a logistical nightmare, but with some careful direction it worked out fine. After our event ended, it turned out just how popular this location is during Fashion Week – an immense row of people was queueing outside, waiting to get in.

Comfort: 8.5
Food: 8
Service: 7.5
Price/Quality: 7.5
Location: 9