At the Ritz with Jeffrey
Oct 19, 2000 | 8:11 am
#1
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
At the Ritz with Jeffrey
Deluxe room
I drove the white Pontiac convertible to secret parking at LAX to pick up Jeffrey, in town briefly for some meetings. I arrived at Gate 14 just in time to meet his US Airways flight along with a striking blonde 20-year-old with steel-blue eyes talking on her cell phone. I resisted the temptation to say, Excuse meif I said you had a beautiful Nokia would you hold it against me? and instead picked up a stray Smarte Carte to schlep Jeffreys luggage.
I gave Jeffrey a big hug when he came off the plane and we went to collect his bags then wheeled the Smarte Carte to secret parking and took off for the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, conveniently located across the street from the apartment where I live so blissfully with Hunnybear, whose birthday it was today but she had to work anyway. I tossed the keys to the doorman and said wed only be a few minutes, just long enough so we didnt have to pay. Jeffrey was returning to the Ritz on a comp because last time they forgot his wakeup call and he nearly missed an important flight. Normally he books this expensive hotel through Centurion Travel, which confirms an upgrade to Club Level. Theres little reason to stay here unless you have access to the Club, the very best of its kind for service, food, and drink that I have ever known.
The desk clerk asked if he preferred a non-smoking king and Jeffrey said, Non-smoking. King. Club level. There was a problem because the reservation was for a deluxe room and did not indicate Club access so the clerk called the general manager but he was unavailable. The front-desk supervisor came out and tried to explain that we could only have what was being offered rather than what we wanted but she didnt succeed in pleasing us. We took the room for the time being and put in a request to speak with the GM when available. The room wasnt ready though so we left the bags with the bellman and went for lunch.
Jeffrey had been craving Apple Pan so we took the 405 to West LA and parked at a meter at Westwood and Pico. Surprisingly there was no wait just after noon so we took a couple stools next to a bookish blonde munching on a plate of fries. A lady to our right had taken the center stool of three available and set her purse down on one of the others. Predictably two men came and asked her to move so they could sit together so in a huff she moved to the other side of the restaurant.
We got waited on by Manny, the best counterman in history, and had a couple burgers and Cokes, mine diet. Jeffrey got a plate of fries so I had just a couple with ketchup. The girl to our left held her hand out and within seconds Manny had inserted a napkin into it. I had told Jeffrey about the napkin trick but this was the first time he had actually seen it. Jeffrey asked the girl how long she had been coming here and she said practically her whole life. Did she ever eat burgers anywhere else? Sometimes she had to but she preferred not to. As a rule I dont eat dessert but Jeffrey and I shared just two pieces of pie, apple and banana cream, with just one side of ice cream. (What flavors do you have? Vanilla.) The big fat guy next to me took one look at the pie, banana slices spilling out beneath whipped-cream moguls, and said, Wow! You must be celebrating! I said I was celebrating the pie. Lunch came to $24.80 so I left $30 for Manny and we vacated the stools for the waiting crowd.
We got stuck in the worst LA traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. leaving Apple Pan and Jeffrey loved it. Jeffreys policy is to love everything. Once on the 405, though, it was clear sailing back to the Ritz. Our keys were ready but they still hadnt granted us Club access so we went up to the room, on a low floor with a partial view, and a thick cloud of smoke burned our eyes. I opened the sliding glass door and tried to call the front desk but the phone was dead. Jeffrey tried to connect to the Internet on the high-speed access but it was dead too. The phone by the bed worked so I held for five minutes waiting for the good desk clerk.
She finally answered and I explained that we would like a room with less smoke in it. While she played with her computer I said, So tell me. Is deluxe your lowest category of room? She allowed as how yes, it was, in fact. I wondered aloud why the Ritz-Carlton would apologize to a Club level guest by comping him to the lowest category of room. She offered to move us to a non-smoking room on an even lower floor but with a full Marina view so we took it. The high-speed Internet access didnt work there either but the phone did so Jeffrey called the help desk and eventually got it fixed.
Meanwhile I read through my new Gold Medallion membership materials from Delta that came with my new American Express Centurion card. It was the least inviting welcome package I had ever seen. I got four 800-mile upgrades not good on any of the cheap fares that I always flew, two luggage tags, a brochure with several pages of warning about how they were going to confiscate my miles if I did anything they didnt like, and a phone number that led to the most frustrating maze of voice menu Id ever heard. Call this number if you have any questions at all, it said. Well I called it to change the address and it took 15 minutes for me to get through the maze, figure out my PIN, and finally get put on hold waiting for an agent. After five minutes on hold I decided I was never going to fly Delta, Gold or no Gold, and hung up.
Jeffrey spent the afternoon in meetings but I got a call around 6:30 saying the Club situation had been rectified. I had no doubt it would be. Hunnybear and I met him around 7:30 in the Club lounge, had a couple glasses of Ritz brand champagne, and headed down to the Terrace Restaurant for dinner. The food was OK and the service was great. We ordered a bottle of Meridian pinot noir that tasted funny. I waited for it to open up but it never did. I think it must have oxidized. They took it off the bill and brought Hunnybear a flourless chocolate volcano with a candle on it for dessert. Then a big party at another table offered to share their birthday cake with everyone else. As a rule I dont eat dessert but I had just a couple slices of the good birthday cake in addition to helping Hunnybear out with her volcano. We said goodnight to Jeffrey and walked across the street home.
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
I drove the white Pontiac convertible to secret parking at LAX to pick up Jeffrey, in town briefly for some meetings. I arrived at Gate 14 just in time to meet his US Airways flight along with a striking blonde 20-year-old with steel-blue eyes talking on her cell phone. I resisted the temptation to say, Excuse meif I said you had a beautiful Nokia would you hold it against me? and instead picked up a stray Smarte Carte to schlep Jeffreys luggage.
I gave Jeffrey a big hug when he came off the plane and we went to collect his bags then wheeled the Smarte Carte to secret parking and took off for the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, conveniently located across the street from the apartment where I live so blissfully with Hunnybear, whose birthday it was today but she had to work anyway. I tossed the keys to the doorman and said wed only be a few minutes, just long enough so we didnt have to pay. Jeffrey was returning to the Ritz on a comp because last time they forgot his wakeup call and he nearly missed an important flight. Normally he books this expensive hotel through Centurion Travel, which confirms an upgrade to Club Level. Theres little reason to stay here unless you have access to the Club, the very best of its kind for service, food, and drink that I have ever known.
The desk clerk asked if he preferred a non-smoking king and Jeffrey said, Non-smoking. King. Club level. There was a problem because the reservation was for a deluxe room and did not indicate Club access so the clerk called the general manager but he was unavailable. The front-desk supervisor came out and tried to explain that we could only have what was being offered rather than what we wanted but she didnt succeed in pleasing us. We took the room for the time being and put in a request to speak with the GM when available. The room wasnt ready though so we left the bags with the bellman and went for lunch.
Jeffrey had been craving Apple Pan so we took the 405 to West LA and parked at a meter at Westwood and Pico. Surprisingly there was no wait just after noon so we took a couple stools next to a bookish blonde munching on a plate of fries. A lady to our right had taken the center stool of three available and set her purse down on one of the others. Predictably two men came and asked her to move so they could sit together so in a huff she moved to the other side of the restaurant.
We got waited on by Manny, the best counterman in history, and had a couple burgers and Cokes, mine diet. Jeffrey got a plate of fries so I had just a couple with ketchup. The girl to our left held her hand out and within seconds Manny had inserted a napkin into it. I had told Jeffrey about the napkin trick but this was the first time he had actually seen it. Jeffrey asked the girl how long she had been coming here and she said practically her whole life. Did she ever eat burgers anywhere else? Sometimes she had to but she preferred not to. As a rule I dont eat dessert but Jeffrey and I shared just two pieces of pie, apple and banana cream, with just one side of ice cream. (What flavors do you have? Vanilla.) The big fat guy next to me took one look at the pie, banana slices spilling out beneath whipped-cream moguls, and said, Wow! You must be celebrating! I said I was celebrating the pie. Lunch came to $24.80 so I left $30 for Manny and we vacated the stools for the waiting crowd.
We got stuck in the worst LA traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. leaving Apple Pan and Jeffrey loved it. Jeffreys policy is to love everything. Once on the 405, though, it was clear sailing back to the Ritz. Our keys were ready but they still hadnt granted us Club access so we went up to the room, on a low floor with a partial view, and a thick cloud of smoke burned our eyes. I opened the sliding glass door and tried to call the front desk but the phone was dead. Jeffrey tried to connect to the Internet on the high-speed access but it was dead too. The phone by the bed worked so I held for five minutes waiting for the good desk clerk.
She finally answered and I explained that we would like a room with less smoke in it. While she played with her computer I said, So tell me. Is deluxe your lowest category of room? She allowed as how yes, it was, in fact. I wondered aloud why the Ritz-Carlton would apologize to a Club level guest by comping him to the lowest category of room. She offered to move us to a non-smoking room on an even lower floor but with a full Marina view so we took it. The high-speed Internet access didnt work there either but the phone did so Jeffrey called the help desk and eventually got it fixed.
Meanwhile I read through my new Gold Medallion membership materials from Delta that came with my new American Express Centurion card. It was the least inviting welcome package I had ever seen. I got four 800-mile upgrades not good on any of the cheap fares that I always flew, two luggage tags, a brochure with several pages of warning about how they were going to confiscate my miles if I did anything they didnt like, and a phone number that led to the most frustrating maze of voice menu Id ever heard. Call this number if you have any questions at all, it said. Well I called it to change the address and it took 15 minutes for me to get through the maze, figure out my PIN, and finally get put on hold waiting for an agent. After five minutes on hold I decided I was never going to fly Delta, Gold or no Gold, and hung up.
Jeffrey spent the afternoon in meetings but I got a call around 6:30 saying the Club situation had been rectified. I had no doubt it would be. Hunnybear and I met him around 7:30 in the Club lounge, had a couple glasses of Ritz brand champagne, and headed down to the Terrace Restaurant for dinner. The food was OK and the service was great. We ordered a bottle of Meridian pinot noir that tasted funny. I waited for it to open up but it never did. I think it must have oxidized. They took it off the bill and brought Hunnybear a flourless chocolate volcano with a candle on it for dessert. Then a big party at another table offered to share their birthday cake with everyone else. As a rule I dont eat dessert but I had just a couple slices of the good birthday cake in addition to helping Hunnybear out with her volcano. We said goodnight to Jeffrey and walked across the street home.
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Oct 19, 2000 | 9:18 am
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 46,817
"Meanwhile I read through my new Gold Medallion membership materials from Delta that came with my new American Express Centurion card."
I hadn't known you'd obtained this! Must have missed it elsewhere!
Will this now be favored over the SPG Optima?
Any way others can possibly get in on the access to the Ritz Club lounge without the premium price?
Reputedly, Pinot Noir is a VERY tempermental grape, as you probably know!
Yet I've had generally good luck with them!
Oh, yes - and welcome to the ranks of the DL ELITE!
Thanks!
BTW- I heard that Pam Sue Anderson was ironically on TV the other night. I think it was actually the Howard Stern show!
I hadn't known you'd obtained this! Must have missed it elsewhere!
Will this now be favored over the SPG Optima?Any way others can possibly get in on the access to the Ritz Club lounge without the premium price?
Reputedly, Pinot Noir is a VERY tempermental grape, as you probably know!
Yet I've had generally good luck with them!Oh, yes - and welcome to the ranks of the DL ELITE!
Thanks!
BTW- I heard that Pam Sue Anderson was ironically on TV the other night. I think it was actually the Howard Stern show!
Oct 19, 2000 | 11:47 am
#3
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: WILD ANIMAL PARK (SAN), CA> GOLD-CO, MARRIOTT, HH, STARWOOD, HYATT,
Posts: 1,373
QL, Across the street from the Ritz, isn't there a merky looking pond full of homeless street ducks there? And some MEAN looking large pipes, that look like they are carrying lethal gases, sticking up nearby. That seems to be my recollection of the area from driving through the Marina many times since the 60's.
I wonder where that secrete parking spot is at LAX. There are a lot of secrete spots, that are not on any of my maps.
Wish I had bought property there back then.
------------------
It is never too late to have a HAPPY CHILDHOOD!BEEP! BEEP!
I wonder where that secrete parking spot is at LAX. There are a lot of secrete spots, that are not on any of my maps.
Wish I had bought property there back then.
------------------
It is never too late to have a HAPPY CHILDHOOD!BEEP! BEEP!
Oct 19, 2000 | 5:34 pm
#5
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: source of weird and eccentric ideas
Posts: 40,035
Yes, happy birthday Hunnybear! I'd love to do dinner with you and QL sometime again soon...
I was remembering other haunts on the westside -- have you tried
1. Tito's tacos -- ever eat there? I haven't in so many years but it is a classic!
2. Raes Restaurant also on Pico -- uuummmm, their biscuits and gravy breakfasts
3. Digression to Cupids hotdogs in the val' (yes, I know everyone talks about Pinks and that is good too, but Cupids has a purity that can't be beat)
4. La Salsa grill al carbon -- yeah!!
5. of course FATBURGER!!!!! I LOVE Fatburger!! (Better than Five Guys in No. Virginia)
6. Juniors (also on Westwood at Pico) overpriced, surly service, but still...
I was remembering other haunts on the westside -- have you tried
1. Tito's tacos -- ever eat there? I haven't in so many years but it is a classic!
2. Raes Restaurant also on Pico -- uuummmm, their biscuits and gravy breakfasts
3. Digression to Cupids hotdogs in the val' (yes, I know everyone talks about Pinks and that is good too, but Cupids has a purity that can't be beat)
4. La Salsa grill al carbon -- yeah!!
5. of course FATBURGER!!!!! I LOVE Fatburger!! (Better than Five Guys in No. Virginia)
6. Juniors (also on Westwood at Pico) overpriced, surly service, but still...
Oct 19, 2000 | 6:10 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: WILD ANIMAL PARK (SAN), CA> GOLD-CO, MARRIOTT, HH, STARWOOD, HYATT,
Posts: 1,373
The best DELI in the country is in the VALLEY, where Every Sandwich is a Work of ART!
ART"S DELI on Ventura Blvd In Sudio city 1 1/2 blocks West of Laurel Canyon! The place had been expanding since 1965 and only gets better.
ART"S DELI on Ventura Blvd In Sudio city 1 1/2 blocks West of Laurel Canyon! The place had been expanding since 1965 and only gets better.