I like hotel bars

"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats) 08/14/2017 at 21:08 • Filed to: None

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They’re quietish and have fewer people between me and my booze. Plus I can charge it to my room, which makes money feel not real.

lone_liberal > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:11

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I’m with you. Not only are they usually quieter and less crowded but a lot of the time the bartenders are better.

Honeybunchesofgoats > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:11

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As an aside: Four different people have ordered $8 Yuenglings. Yuengling is not an $8 beer. “It’s from Pennsylvania” “oldest brewery in the US.” THAT IS A BEER THAT YOU PAY $3 OR LESS FOR.

I scream internally while drinking $6 Corona.

benjrblant > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:13

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Sounds like a hotel bar?

Honeybunchesofgoats > lone_liberal 08/14/2017 at 21:13

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My bartender is filling in for the actual bartender. She’s never tended bar before. “Every time I think I’m messing up, I just do bigger pours.”

It may be time to order some scotch.

functionoverfashion > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:13

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I like ones that have personality. Most are generic and look like they could be literally anywhere on Earth. There are good ones, though. We used to frequent a few in Boston, and we stayed at a place in Montreal where the bar attracted tons of non-guests, it was great. But then it defeats your desire for it to be quiet-ish. It was not quiet, not even a little bit.

crowmolly > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:16

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$8 gets you a six pack of that stuff. Hell, maybe $5. Ouch.

WilliamsSW > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:16

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As long as they’re not big chain hotels that measure every drop of booze running through there, yeah.

Sounds like you are in a good one though-

lone_liberal > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:17

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I think she would appreciate it and besides, when is it not a good time to order Scotch?

ranwhenparked > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:20

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Agreed, I hate noisy bars with lots of crowds. A competent bartender and maybe a piano are fine. 

OPPOsaurus WRX > crowmolly 08/14/2017 at 21:20

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i like going out but I hate going out for that reason right there. a couple beers like Troegs gets you a $15 bill. by the time you add in a tip, I could have had a 12 pack out by the fire pit.  

Honeybunchesofgoats > WilliamsSW 08/14/2017 at 21:21

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Well, this is a Hilton.

crowmolly > OPPOsaurus WRX 08/14/2017 at 21:22

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I’ll have a Nugget Nectar.

$12, sir.

ranwhenparked > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:22

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I find a lot of people from outside Yuengling’s market area don’t “get” what it is. They’re not a craft brewery, they’re an independent brewery, big difference. It competes with Budweiser, just not nationally. Better quality than Budweiser, sure, but same price segment.

My citroen won't start > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:24

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For me, the good thing about hotel bars is the same good thing about airport bars, everyone here is either as melancholic as me or on a business trip.

Also, Corona is good beer, anyone that says otherwise can die on hot tar.

WilliamsSW > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:26

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Either they aren’t measuring or the bartender is ignoring it, so a win either way.

I’m used to Chicago neighborhood bars - once you’re there a while, if it’s not too crowded, the bartenders will occasionally buy you a drink and vice versa.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:27

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Yuengling was my college beer of choice. I’d drink bud light but Yuengling was cheap enough that I could make a case for it when being all boujee

wafflesnfalafel > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:29

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completely agree - generally quieter, more intimate, many people there are from out of town, most folks are dressed well, less hipster/frat/hammered patrons, great people watching with hotel customers coming and going.

Honeybunchesofgoats > My citroen won't start 08/14/2017 at 21:29

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That’s a great point.

I have another burner, try to guess it! > ranwhenparked 08/14/2017 at 21:30

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Same with Lone Star beer in Texas. Although Idk if they’re actually independent.

The Stig's Missourian Cousin > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:38

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One of my craziest drinking stories comes from a hotel bar. Some friends were in town and they were staying at what was then a Holiday Inn, but it was the shittiest Holiday Inn i’d ever seen. We went to the steakhouse next door and then decided we wanted to drink. I decided to be the DD so I remember everything from that night and all I had to drink was some water and a glass of beer. The bar was dirty, dark, and there was a convention for recovering addicts going on in the convention center. My friend had brought some of the legal “moonshine” in a mason jar in. They started taking shots at the table while the bar tender looked on. Eventually a few drinks in, she came over and started taking shots with them. About 30 minutes later she was trashed and took off her work shirt and was just in a tank top. She started making out with random guys at the bar. One of the guys I was with thought he had a shot with her (he didn’t) and was looking on with extreme jealousy. it was sad and funny at the same time. Eventually, some guys walked up to the bar looking for some drinks, and one of my friends who can hold his liquor started making drinks for these gentleman. Whiskeys, scotch, etc all just giving away for free. The bar tender came back and immediately dropped an entire bottle of Jack which shattered. My friends swept up the bottle (so no one got hurt) while she continued to make out with the guys at the bar. We left shortly after that. We never got our bills, and we all left $20 on the table to hopefully cover it. We never went back and never knew what happened to that bar tender. The hotel lost it’s Holiday Inn designation not long after, got damaged by a tornado a few years later and is always empty when i’ve seen it. I haven’t hung out with those guys in a long time, but that night was something I’ll never forget.

Honeybunchesofgoats > WilliamsSW 08/14/2017 at 21:39

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My best bar experience was in Hong Kong. It was empty and I was slumped against the bar and suddenly I hear “Hey! Shots!” Then the three Nepali waitresses I made friends with and I did free shots until closing.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > My citroen won't start 08/14/2017 at 21:40

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Except Modelo is better and for basically the same price :)

IIRC they’re brewed by the same company. Which I can believe because Corona sort of tastes like watered down Modelo.

LastFirstMI is my name > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:40

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Budweiser needs to rebrand itself as “Büdveiser” with a cool small batch label. They could charge double.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > My citroen won't start 08/14/2017 at 21:41

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Or the case in AirPort bars, their fight had a flight delay. When leaving Orlando in March my flight had a 3.5hr delay, as soon as they announced that 15ish people including me walked to bar.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:41

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Never drank Yuenglings, but no Corona is worth $6. Get a Modelo!

Honeybunchesofgoats > The Stig's Missourian Cousin 08/14/2017 at 21:42

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That’s an amazing story

OPPOsaurus WRX > crowmolly 08/14/2017 at 21:42

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at least that is $12 well spent.

Honeybunchesofgoats > LastFirstMI is my name 08/14/2017 at 21:43

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They already sued Budvar, so they should just take that name.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:43

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That feel when you get a free complementary drink with your room but you aren’t using it because of the med cocktail you’re on for a lung infection :(

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:45

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A few months I was out with friends, the one bartender asked to cash out. My friend “they charged the same for top as bottom shelf Scotch.... ____ you’ll have to direct us back we’re getting fucked up”

WilliamsSW > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 21:47

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Now that’s a good bar right there.

Marriott was the chain I was thinking about earlier. They nickel and dime you to death.

Honeybunchesofgoats > WilliamsSW 08/14/2017 at 21:52

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Far and away my favorite bar anywhere in the world. Plus they were named Ned Kelly’s Last Stand, which is the best bar name.

ranwhenparked > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 22:28

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Hiltons are always consistently quality hotels, though. Not like a Crowne Plaza or Best Western, which are total crapshoots.

ranwhenparked > LastFirstMI is my name 08/14/2017 at 22:29

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“The Beer of Czech Kings” - the advertising writes itself.

Chariotoflove > The Stig's Missourian Cousin 08/14/2017 at 22:35

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“No, I’m not a bartender, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

WilliamsSW > ranwhenparked 08/14/2017 at 22:35

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There are some awesome Best Westerns. And some that appear to double as crack dens. I don’t get that chain at all.

WilliamsSW > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 22:36

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Sounds like I need to go to Hong Kong.

Honeybunchesofgoats > WilliamsSW 08/14/2017 at 22:37

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It’s easily my favorite city.

Honeybunchesofgoats > WilliamsSW 08/14/2017 at 22:38

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I’m at the point in my life that if I’m not in Europe, I just search for four stars or above and say screw it. Bad hotels are too and to be worth bothering with.

WilliamsSW > The Stig's Missourian Cousin 08/14/2017 at 22:41

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This is worthy of its own post.

Seriously.

Chariotoflove > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 22:43

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Best bar is the one you find at the end of a long trip.

My wife and I were staying at the Victoria Palace in Paris. We decided to go to Mass at Notre Dame and then go back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the family for dinner. After Mass, we couldn’t find a bus or cab anywhere to get us back. So, we started walking toward the hotel though the dreary, wet Paris spring. We finally got back to find the family chilling in the small, baroque, well stocked bar. Well, basically taking it over. Few times in life have I needed a drink more than that night.

I loved that hotel. I’ll stay there again if I ever can. The owner had a pristine XJS in a private garage down the street.

WilliamsSW > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/14/2017 at 22:44

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Yep, same here. In small towns I search out a Hampton Inn or similar, but otherwise it’s Hyatt/Hilton or the like. Vacations we end up going even higher the last few trips because with a 1 year old, we’re in the hotel more than we used to be.

ranwhenparked > WilliamsSW 08/14/2017 at 22:51

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Yeah, total crapshoot. I’ve been in some that wouldn’t be out of place under the Westin banner, and some that were a step below a Rodeway Inn. Makes no sense at all.

WilliamsSW > ranwhenparked 08/14/2017 at 23:03

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I’ve never understood why the nice ones don’t bail.

I’d never stay at a Best Western without a solid recommendation - but I’ve stayed at plenty of them.

RPM esq. > My citroen won't start 08/14/2017 at 23:12

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As a guy who travels a lot for work and fun and thus does a lot of drinking in airports and hotels, this was a pretty depressing comment.

But only the second part. The first part is great.

RPM esq. > lone_liberal 08/14/2017 at 23:15

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If the hotel bartender is better than the bar bartender next door, you are either in an American city that sucks very badly (because it shows that the only people with any taste are from out of town) or are in a part of the world where tourism is the best game in town. In good American cities, I’ve only ever had a half-decent bartender in a hotel when the city is a nearly worthless place to drink otherwise.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > OPPOsaurus WRX 08/14/2017 at 23:48

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That’s me and my neighbors pretty much every Friday night until it starts to snow. I can’t imagine how much $$$ I’ve saved them from not having to go out to a bar and drink. Instead, they come over to my house, and we drink beer and converse about life around the fire pit I pull out onto my driveway.

X37.9XXS > functionoverfashion 08/15/2017 at 07:32

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Me. also

Mr. Palazzi makes the best Martinis on the planet, bar none

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/15/2017 at 07:34

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I’d throw in that extra $2 for Yuengling if the option was $6 Corona.

Heck, if it was free Corona.

I hate Corona.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > My citroen won't start 08/15/2017 at 07:37

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Corona is shit, and I’ll take that offer before you get me to say anything otherwise.

functionoverfashion > X37.9XXS 08/15/2017 at 09:11

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Actually one of the coolest places I’ve sat for a drink was at a hotel in Chicago that had a west-facing wall, probably 30' high, all glass, behind the bar. We sat and watched a mean set of summer thunderstorms come in, it was a cool backdrop to a bar.

X37.9XXS > functionoverfashion 08/15/2017 at 12:38

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If you are ever in San Francisco, try the View in the Marriott Marquis

functionoverfashion > X37.9XXS 08/15/2017 at 13:02

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That doesn’t suck, as they say.