This week has completely flown. Looking forward to an extra long weekend in Chicago and the beginning of college football. Go Huskers! Like I mentioned in my earlier post, my husband and I recently spent four days in Pittsburgh. While there, we actually stayed at a different hotel every night: The Westin, Hotel Monaco, The Ace Hotel & Sheraton at the Airport (we had a 5am flight-painful).
If you are traveling to Pittsburgh I would recommend a stay at the Hotel Monaco or The Ace Hotel.
Hotel Monaco was my absolute favorite. It is located in downtown Pittsburgh; a good home base to travel around the city. The service, decor, dining on site — cannot lie, but it completely blew me away. Upon check in, the staff was so tentative and remembered us the entire stay. The rooms were spacious, well kept, and had the coolest design details. The hotel also offers a free beer/wine hour for all guests from 5-6pm in their “study” area. Always a treat.
Finally, I would like to mention the on-site dining for Hotel Monaco was incredible. They have a fun rooftop bar, Biergarten, and a spectacular full restaurant in their basement, The Commoner. I’ll give more of a review in a later post, but yum. We spent the rest of our evening at these restaurants after the Andy Warhol Museum.
One note: We were given a room on the top floor, which is the same floor as their rooftop bar. If you are an early bed person, I would recommend NOT staying on this floor. There will be people in the hallway until the bar closes. It didn’t take away from the experience, but I could see if being an annoyance for some travelers.
The Ace Hotel was an entirely different experience. It is located in Shadyshide/East Liberty neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, farther from downtown and much more of a Logan Square vibe (for my Chicago people). The hotel is an old YMCA that It has been converted which gives it so much character. It reminded me a lot of the Chicago Athletic Hotel (my guide here).
The lobby had a great coffee bar in the morning that converted into a bar at night (such fun staff) and the service was excellent. Opposite of the bar, is the restaurant, Whitfield. We hit it up for breakfast in the A.M. Top-notch. I went for the classic eggs, bacon and toast, and it was exactly what I needed after a long night out. I definitely want to make a reservation for dinner in the future!
Walking past the lobby, you will run into the old YMCA gym. Such a genius idea. They have left it fully intact and filled it with picnic tables, a large protector screen, cornhole, board games, and the best, ping pong tables. Needless to say, we spent some time in here. I should also note, this is open to non-hotel guests as well.
When it comes to the rooms, I would recommend sticking with the basic room. We upgraded to a larger room on the top floor, and felt like it definitely was not necessary. There are so many fun places to hang out in the hotel, no reason to spend time in your room.
Which hotel suits you?
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