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Palomar is a small boutique hotel, part of Kimpton Hotels located on Market and Fourth St. The hotel itself is not that big, it's only 9 stories high, however, it was very homey and...
Palomar is a small boutique hotel, part of Kimpton Hotels located on Market and Fourth St. The hotel itself is not that big, it's only 9 stories high, however, it was very homey and inviting.
Positives:
- Location is perfect, a few blocks away from Union Square, less than a block away from Sony Metreon and San Francisco Shopping Center. So a lot to do, a lot to eat.
- We are big on Customer Service, so that was the first thing that we noticed when we arrived. Everyone was friendly and very approachable. They always greeted us with a big smile and was willing to help.
- During check in, we were upgraded to a Suite without even asking. Perhaps because we are members of the Kimpton? They also greeted us with a welcome bag which consisted of a bottle of distiled water and an apple. It's not a big thing, but it's a nice gesture.
- We have stayed at many different hotels in San Francisco, but we have never encountered hotel rooms so quiet before. We were on the 8th floor and we could not hear the busy streets at all. We were expecting to hear a lot of noises, (I even had my earplugs ready) so this was a nice surprise.
Some of the problems we encountered during our stay:
- I usually don't use shampoo and conditioners provided by Hotels, but Kimpton usually provides great amentines, so I decided not to bother to bring my own. The shampoo (Aveda) really dried up my hair. Not a big deal really, for I was downtown- an easy walk to get my regular shampoo.
- The pillows were small. We are used to having either queen/king size pillows on a king size bed, but these pillows provided were the standard pillows. They were so small that they looked out of place on such a large bed and they were somewhat uncomfortable.
- The bathroom was nice, and the tub was big enough, however, the water in the tub took forever to drain. In fact, the water reached my ankle when I was taking a shower. We let the hotel know about this, but we were encountering the same problem the whole time we were there. The toilet wasn't flushing properly also. We had to flush at least twice or three times each time.
Overall, we had a great stay at Palomar, and most likely will return. For downtown SF, $200/night is a pretty good deal.
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The restaurant is located in the Irvine Spectrum, close to where the AMC theater is located. From the outside, it does not look like a Mexican restaurant. In fact, that's what got our attention the...
The restaurant is located in the Irvine Spectrum, close to where the AMC theater is located. From the outside, it does not look like a Mexican restaurant. In fact, that's what got our attention the first time. It kind of reminded me of a Moroccan Building. For a long time I thought it was a Moroccan restaurant. That's how I ended up here actually.
Wanting to try something different, we thought we would try some Moroccan food. We got there around 6pm, but it was already crowded. We decided to stay anyways when we found out it's not a Moroccan restaurant. It's always crowded, so it can't be bad, right? The place is always crowded, so come early. In fact, we had to wait an hour. No harm done though. Since it's located at Irvine Spectrum, there are plenty of things to do while waiting.
The bar area is not that big, and it gets crowded very quickly. The dining area is not that big either. The tables are small. In fact, a lot of times they ahve to combine a lot of tables together for large groups. One thing I didn't like was how close together the tables were. Not only that our table was small, we were so close to our neighbours that I could hear everything that our left and right neighbours were saying.
Service was moderate. In fact, we were sitting there for a while before we were served our water (we had to ask for it too). But people don't come for the service, I guess, they come for the food. The food really was good. Lots of variety... lots of seafood dishes. The enchillada and chimicangga we ordered were really good. Overal presentation was nice, and they actually tasted as good as they looked. The neverending Chips&Salsa were really good too.
Next time, I will probably try the other Javier's located in Laguna. I really did like the food, but I wasn't too happy with the service, or cramped I felt.
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After spending winter in Hawaii recently, not only have I fallen for the island, I fell for the food. So I was really excited when by accident, I drove pass a mini "cafe" (not really sure what to...
After spending winter in Hawaii recently, not only have I fallen for the island, I fell for the food. So I was really excited when by accident, I drove pass a mini "cafe" (not really sure what to call this place actually) with a "Hawaiian" sign.
This is not really a "restaurant". It's more like a fast food place. It's a place to go to get a quick bite. The place itself doesn't really have the Hawaiian atmosphere.
Since it is known for the BBQ, they serve a lot of different type of BBQ dishes. BBQ chicken, BBQ beef... There are other dishes like kahlua pork, musubi, seafood, etc. Kahlua pork was nothing like I've ever tasted in Hawaii. In fact, I got so sick after I ate it. I do have to say that their BBQ chicken was not bad though, although I would not consider that a Hawaiian dish.
Service was horrible. It reminded me of some fast food places with grumpy employees.
I probably would never go back to this place. If you expected to find a good Hawaiian food, this is not the place to go.
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To celebrate the end of the week, my coworkers and I decided to have dinner at Joe's. This was my first time at Joe's, so I was pretty excited. My coworker told me to have my camera ready for some...
To celebrate the end of the week, my coworkers and I decided to have dinner at Joe's. This was my first time at Joe's, so I was pretty excited. My coworker told me to have my camera ready for some excitement. N boy, I wish I had listened to her. I can only kick myself now for not bringing my camera.
Please be aware that this place can get really loud, so if you want a quiet dinner, this is not a place to go. This is definetly a place to go when you just want to have fun and let loose.
Obviously, they are known for their crab dishes, but they serve other seafood plates for those who don't like crabs. I had what they call a fisherman's bucket, I think, and I got an incrediable amount of food. Unfortunetly, when you order your crab meals, the plates are kinda of small.
They also serve different kind of blended drinks. I personally thought they were okay, not great.
In the middle of our meals, our attentions were called to the table next to us. The bday boy (an older gentleman probably close to 70 yrs old) next to us was dressed in a horrible old lady's customes by the waitress. He then had to dance and walk around passing out candies to children at other tables. The whole time, a loud music was playing, the waiters and waitresses were dancing. The Bday boy was good sport. The highlight of the night, when this older gentleman started freaking the waitress lady. It was the funniest thing ever. Again, those who don't like to get crazy probably won't enjoy this restaurant.
In conclusion, food is good (good crabs, but small plates), drinks are okay, but this is definetly a fun place to be.
A little side note, this restaurant can get really crowded, so if you have a big party (12 or more), make sure you make a reservation. They don't accept reservation for below 12.
My only con is there's only valet parking ($2/car I believe). N it's almost impossible to find street parking.
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We received a $20 off coupon from Alaska Airlines for dining at McCormick & Schmick's. I called in to make a reservation. The person on the other line was very nice and friendly. So far, impressed...
We received a $20 off coupon from Alaska Airlines for dining at McCormick & Schmick's. I called in to make a reservation. The person on the other line was very nice and friendly. So far, impressed with the service.
Many people are not aware that you are not required to valet your car. Right next to the restaurant is a parking building. Instead of waiting in line for the valet people to take our car, we decided to park the car ourselves. There were plenty of parking when we got there. Perhaps because it was a Sunday night. Since we had never dined there previously, I cannot be sure if the parking is usually that empty.
The waiting area is pretty small but you can always wait at the bar area. At first, we were not happy with the service. We stood there for 5 mins before someone greeted us and took us to our table. First, she took us to a table that had not been cleaned. How could she had missed the dirty dishes on the table? But she quickly realized and took us to a clean table.
Our feeling about the restaurant changed instantly when our waitress came. She was friendly, polite and very helpful. She explained everything in the menu. The menu is changed daily depending on what fish they have available, so guests can always be sure everything they have is fresh.
The food was excellent... from the appetizer Spinach salad to the Chocolate lava dessert, everything was prepared beautifully. Our waitress was very hand-on. She checked on us every few minutes to make sure our drinks were always filled.
Restaurant is not cheap. It can get a bit pricy depending on what you order. However, knowing that everything is fresh and tastes great, spending $20 plus per dish is probably worth it.
We will definetly be returning to this restaurant.
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We attended a company's party at El Adobe recently. El Adobe is pretty well known as one of the historical landmarks in California. It's a well known fact that Richard Nixon loved the Mexican...
We attended a company's party at El Adobe recently. El Adobe is pretty well known as one of the historical landmarks in California. It's a well known fact that Richard Nixon loved the Mexican dishes served here.
The restaurant itself looks small from the outside.. In fact, unless you know the area, you may drive by and not notice the restaurant. There are plenty of parking in the back.
Our party was held in called Palenque Room, which is supposed to be their biggest and most popular room. This room has a separate entrance and courtyard from the main restaurant.
I personally think the room itself is not very big. The dance floor is pretty small, and so is the stage. There are see through windows that separate the room from the main restaurant. People can look in to the room while enjoying their lunch/dinner in the main room, so there's not much privacy.
Since it's a company's party, we didn't get to choose the dishes ourselves, so I can only review the food served: spanish rice, chicken fajitas, enchillada, tamale, steak, giant shrimp cocktails, chips & salsa. Out of all dishes served, my favorite was the tamale. Other dishes were good, but nothing special. I did enjoy their chips & salsa though.. their salsa I thought was excellent. Margaritas served were so-so...
Overall, I had a good experience at the restaurant. I would go back again and but I will definetly try other dishes.
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I have been wanting to try this restaurant for a while, but we never got around to it. So a few weeks ago, we finally made a reservation and were really looking forward to it.
We waited for a...
I have been wanting to try this restaurant for a while, but we never got around to it. So a few weeks ago, we finally made a reservation and were really looking forward to it.
We waited for a while despite the reservation. Finally we were seated way in the back corner where noone was sitting. I thought, it may be nice, it's quiet and definetly we had a lot of privacy there. Unfortunetly, noone came to serve us. We had to get up twice to ask someone for our server but all we got was, "she will be right with you." We sat there for 20 minutes without being served. It got me feeling like we were seated way in the back because we were the only Asian there and that we were not served because we're Asian. Finally, the server came. No apology whatsoever for keeping us waiting. She didn't come back to check on us either. Once again, we had to get up and ask for someone to get us our check.
The main dishes were okay.. if you like fondue, you may enjoy it... very expensive for such small dishes though. One thing we did enjoy was the dessert.. chocolate fondue... very yummy! but again, probably not worth the price...
Even though we enjoyed the dessert, we will never go back. For how much they charge you, you would think they would have better service....
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I usually do not like hamburgers. I have tried many many kinds, and the only one I like is In & Out Burger's, so I was not expecting anything out of ordinary when I visited Island's. I ordered the...
I usually do not like hamburgers. I have tried many many kinds, and the only one I like is In & Out Burger's, so I was not expecting anything out of ordinary when I visited Island's. I ordered the "Hula" on a wheat bread. It was excellent... exceeded my expectation. My only complaint is you have to order fries separately.. but for a few bucks, you get a huge basket of fries.. so it's worth it!
They have plenty of great cocktail drinks. Lava Flow and Rust something (sorry, I can't remember the name, it's banana cocktail drink) were excellent. Probably the best Lava Flow in the mainland.. made me wish I was sitting by the beach in Hawaii :)
The restaurant gets crowded on weekends, so make sure you come early. But you can alway sit at the bar, which serves full menu and drinks!!!
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I had high expectation because friends and family had stayed at Pan Pacific hotels around the world and had always been happy.
This was my experience at this particular location:
First, the...
I had high expectation because friends and family had stayed at Pan Pacific hotels around the world and had always been happy.
This was my experience at this particular location:
First, the goods:
- We were assigned a room with only a shower and no tub as promised. We asked to be reassigned and the nice man who checked us in previously was able to reassign us another room with a tub. He was very friendly and accomodating.
- The room was nice and modern and most importantly it's very spacious for SF.
- The bed was comfortable. Lots of extra fluffy pillows and you can always ask your "butler" for more
- A perfect location. One block from Union Square. Close enough to walk to the shopping area, but not smacked in the middle of the crowd.
- Loved the big bathroom. A small TV in the bathroom was a nice touch. Loved taking a bath and watching my favorite sitcom at the same time.
The bads:
- The "doormen" were unfriendly. Not even once they ever said hello or smiled at us when we walked by. In fact, one time my husband said hello and was ignored even though he clearly was looking at us.
- Another bad experience with the unfriendly "doormen." We were told the hotel provided a car service. We asked a doorman if the car would take us to Japantown. He started laughing and condesendingly said, "That's 15 blocks from here." A simple "no" would do.
- During check in, the nice man I mentioned above mentioned I should take advantage of the butler drawing bath for guests. It sounded nice, so I thought, why not. So, when we got to the room, we requested the buttler to draw me a bath. First of all, the butler lady was so puzzled when we requested it (I checked, it was listed as one of the services they provided guests). When she came to our room, she asked me if I would do it myself. She gave me a bowl of bath salt and left. I didn't mind doing that myself, but you cannot advertise your service and not deliver.
At the end, I could only rate this hotel 3 out of 5. Maybe what their employees need is a class on "Customer Service."
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The supermarket offers different variety of Asian (mostly Japanese) food, snacks, drinks. In addition, this market also offers small shops like bookstore (where you can find Japanese magazines,...
The supermarket offers different variety of Asian (mostly Japanese) food, snacks, drinks. In addition, this market also offers small shops like bookstore (where you can find Japanese magazines, comics, CDs, etc), video store, sanrio-like store (where you can find the cutest stationery), and they even have a food court. I love the food court, which offers shops with lots of choices of japanese food.
this is a fun place to visit!
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