Positively Providence

If you are looking for someplace special to stay in downtown Providence the Hotel Providence is a very lovely choice. But first things first, the entrance of the hotel is not on Westminster it is on Mathewson. Westminster is a one way street, we had to drive around the block three times to find the entrance. Parking is valet, just drive up to the canopy and leave your car with the valet.

I could write 500 words just about the Lobby, it is a work of art, or I guess I should say many works of art. It is in their own words “an opulent Belle Epoch salon” with antiques, fine art and gilt mirrors. There are flower arrangements and the feeling is of a haven in the midst of the city.

Our room 424 has a king size bed covered with pillows, an armoire made of dark walnut and light tiger’s eye and a beautiful tiger eye maple desk. The décor is gorgeous everything is just beautiful As you walk into the room there is a full length mirror in a gilt frame greeting you. What wasn’t quite as charming was the film of dust on the gilt mirror frame above the desk and the lamp shade of the desk lamp. This was thick enough to write notes in.

The bed was so lush and so comfortable. There are both goose feather and synthetic pillows. The mattress had a downy cushion top but was firm enough to be comfortable. We slept great but again the back of the headboard had a thick film of dust.

On the second floor there is a business center and also an outdoor deck that over looks Grace Episcopal Church. Our room faces Grace Episcopal Church. Early in the evening we were treated to the ringing of the bells. The good news is they were lovely, they rang on the quarter hours and then tolled out the hour. It stops at 9pm and begins at 8am so if you want to sleep in ask for a room on the other side of the hotel. The windows offered no sound proofing from the bells or the street noise, at several times during the late evening we were entertained by rap music the drowned out our TV. There is also a large gap under our door to our room so we could see light from the hall and hear noise. Speaking of the hall there was a tray from room service sitting there when we arrived at 2pm on Saturday and it was still there at 11:30 am on Sunday when we left.



We had a TV in the armoire with cable TV and plenty of pay per view movies. We also have a small coffee maker with both coffee and tea available. There was a comfortable chair in the window area that offered a good place to read. There were several books about Providence and Rhode Island in the room if you want to find something to do.

The hotel has a fitness center. It is on the lower level and access is gained with your room key. We didn’t use it but saw enough to know at least that there is cardio equipment.

The hotel offers complimentary high speed internet access. Now it said that the public areas and the Lobby had WiFI but I had no trouble getting WiFi in our room. If not thre is a cable in the desk drawer that hooks to the lamp for Ethernet.

The bathroom has a pedestal sink, tile floor and tub/shower combination. It was immaculate. They offer Moulton Brown amenities which are among my favorites. There was also a blow dryer and two plush robes. There is even a makeup mirror and a scale in case you need to watch your weight, yah right on vacation.

At the foot of the bed there is a settee which came in very handing for holding all our shopping bags.

Check in could not have been easier and everyone was very friendly. Not only that but since this isn’t a large hotel they knew us every time we came through the lobby. I can’t say enough good things about the front desk staff they were more than helpful.

There is a restaurant attached to the hotel. They also provide room service, beginning with breakfast. On Sunday we received a copy of the local newspaper, which we appreciated.

The real positive about this hotel is the location. it is perfect. You are just a couple of short blocks from the Performing Arts Center and Trinity Repetory Theater and surrounded by great shopping and restaurants.

I wanted to love this hotel and I did but and it is a big but I found housekeeping sloppy. The desk legs and armoire legs were dusty and I saw evidence of spills not only on the armoire but a sticky pink spill on the small table side. The bed was very clean smelling I loved the sheets and pillows but the head board as I have already said had enough dust that I should have written a message to the housekeeper. Maybe I should have. Either that or brought my Swiffer from home. Even the painting in the room was sloppy, when they painted the walls they hit the door frame at the bathroom and never went back to repaint it or to wipe it when they were painting. The attention to detail needs to be looked at. Am I being picky, maybe but this hotel has so much potential to be great that I hate to see it fall short. If you want to wow me it takes more than a great lobby. Come on guys, clean up your act, literally.

It is late March, when we woke up it was in the 20’s . We decided even knowing that as a captive audience we were going to pay for the privilege, to eat at the Hotel.

Let me begin by saying this is a gorgeous restaurant. There is a magnificent chandelier as you enter the area between the bar and the restaurant. The wall facing the bar has a monumental mirror that reflects the light, it is just a stunner. Even the desk where the maitre de stands has painted flowers on glass. I felt very upper class.

The dinning room gives you a view of Grace Episcopal Church and on the wall are four old Master paintings in a monumental size. Venus, Mona Lisa and more. The tables have crisp white cloths and blue water glasses. The dishes the food was served on look like faience in blue and yellow.

The menu for breakfast is not immense but the choices cover the full range from cold cereal to omelets and Eggs Benedict.

Kasey opted to have a bowl of Special K and the fresh fruit bowl. I chose the French Vanilla Yogurt with granola and berries and the signature sticky buns.

We started with coffee, tea and I ordered a grapefruit juice. When it arrived it was that sickening sweet pink grapefruit cocktail. I hate that stuff so back it went; I expected fresh grapefruit at the least and fresh squeezed in a restaurant of this supposed quality.

Coffee arrived next but no little pot to pour my own; I was at the mercy of the wait-staff. Kasey got a small pot and got to choose her tea bag which she did, it was a fruit infusion. Check out the pretty color in the photo.

My yogurt came un-constructed with raspberries as the fruit. It was good, not homemade granola by any means but acceptable. The signature sticky buns were frosted first, that isn’t a sticky bun that is a cinnamon roll and they didn’t taste homemade to me, a lot what you get when you buy the Pillsbury in the dairy case. I was very under whelmed.

Kasey's cereal came with whole milk. They never asked if she preferred skim or 1 or 2 %. The fruit bowl was large and included raspberries, a strawberry, pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew. It was attractively served.

All this cost me with tip $36. An outrageous price to be sure. Beyond that when I told our waitress that I didn’t want this grapefruit cocktail she said ‘I didn’t make it I just poured it from the jar" well yeh, but I am the customer and I don’t need any lip from you, a simple apology and I’m sorry it isn’t what you expected would have been sufficient.

Would I return to the restaurant, no. It’s a shame really it is beautiful but it just isn’t up to par. I am more than willing to spend even $50 for two for an outstanding breakfast but this wasn’t even close to that, it was pretty pedestrian. The service needs to rise to the level of the restaurant and stepping up the food wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Following my best Rachael Ray tip we began a discussion on one of the shops on Westminster Street about where we were planning to have dinner. Our hotel has a very upscale restaurant but it was a bit too pricey for Kasey and me. I had decided that we would eat at Blakes Tavern a local pub. The menu looked reasonably priced and had things that we would both enjoy.

The owner of the shop suggested that we try Brasserie Bravo. When she mentioned that they had mussels and frites, I was sold.

Located on the corner of Washington St directly across from the Trinity Repertory Theater this restaurant couldn’t have a better location. Make sure that if there is anything showing at the Trinity that you have reservations. We made sure we did and we actually arrived about 20 minutes early due to a fire alarm at our hotel. Since we had to be out of our room anyway we decided to go to dinner early. Just as well we did, y the time we left there were a lot of people standing waiting for a seat.

It is a very typical Brasserie, very club like with lots of wood, wine bottles as the décor and white tiles on the walls. Our waiter was very attentive but never hovered. I always felt as if he was only a moment away.

As we thought about what to order we feasted on a warm baguette served in a paper bag as if it had just arrived from the bakery. We decided to share a plate of French Cheese, artisan bread and fruit. It also had maple walnut butter. There were four small pieces of cheese all different and very pungent, 4 dates, a sliced strawberry and two pieces of bread. It was perfect to share.

I of course had the saffron mussels and frites. Kasey had a Croque Monsieur. Her sandwich was huge, she could only eat half. It was also served with the most delicious frites. My plate of mussels was enough for two people. I could not finish it, I did finish the frites though. The mussels were tender and no sand what so ever. The broth was delicate and a nice compliment to the mussels.

We were going to take a dessert back to the hotel with us, the profiterols seemed to fit the bill or the flourless chocolate cake. Kasey however decided we should share the sorbet plate. Smart Kasey. It was three balls of sorbet, lemon, mango and raspberry. Served with two cookies it was the perfect finish to a fantastic meal.

Among the specials on the day were there were short ribs that had cooked for nineteen hours. A lot of people seemed to be ordering them.

The Cathedral is built in the Victorian Gothic Style. It has two very impressive towers over 156 feet high each. It is an impressive sight and even though we didn’t know exactly where it was we found it by finding the towers.


The current Cathedral is the second one on the site. The first was too small for the growing catholic population and even splitting the parish wasn’t enough, it torn down to make way for it’s replacement. . Bishop Hendricken hired Patrick Keely as the architect of the new Cathedral. I am very familiar with Patrick Keely’s work since he also designed not only my own home parish of St John in 1849 but also St Mary’s Church in Newport and St Joseph in Providence. I wondered when I saw the beautiful brownstone exterior if Patrick Keely was the Architect and if the brownstone came from the town where I live in Portland Ct. It does come from Ct so it is from Portland since we have the only brownstone quarries in the state.

It took 11 years to complete the project. The Bishop had promised the people that he would not go into debt to build the new Cathedral, He had to delay the dedication for a year to keep his promise. He was never strong in health only in spirit. The first Mass celebrated in the new Cathedral was his funeral Mass June 11, 1886. The cathedral was finally completed and consecrated in 1889.

The main altar is carved from marble quarried in the French Alps. What will hold you spell bound inside the church is the testa. It is a 3000 pound circle of bronze that hangs over the altar and holds lights that illuminate the altar. It is an amazing sight.

The organ in the north transept is massive and comes from St. Hyacinthe Quebec. It is 36 feet tall and has four keyboards. The rose window on the western side of the church is mostly blue in color and tells the stories from the life of the Virgin mother.


The great window behind the main altar depicts 13 scenes from the life and death of Jesus Christ. The rest of the windows along the aides of the cathedral are from antique Munich glass, the New Testament on one side and the Old Testament on the other.

The columns are beautiful and have carved capitals and even the ceiling is gorgeous. This is a very lovely church and well worth visiting even if you don’t need to attend Mass. They also have a choir that sings Gregorian chant and has performed all over the world including at St Peters in Rome.

They have a Saturday 5pm vigil Mass and on Sunday 10am (with Latin Chant) 1 and 6pm.

Clover
233 Westminster

This is a very upscale shop with both men’s and women’s clothing that looks as if it belongs in New York City. Wow, we really loved some of the things that they had there. We wished we had the $5,000 credit card from ‘What not to Wear” because we could have put a serious dent in that card. For a list of the designers that they carry check out their web site http://www.cloverprovidence.com/

Symposium Book Store
240 Westminster

This is a serious college style book store but they have a wonderful selection of really interesting books beyond just what might be on someone’s class list. They do have a small but excellent selection of children’s books. I bought three books here, one on Madame de Pompadour, Nell Gwynne and one on the best places to have tea in London, how could I resist. Kasey bought one on traveling to Boston with children. The store is small and the stacks are crowded but that is part of the fun, I love this kind of store.


Homestyle
229 Westminster

We fell in love with this store. You would think by the name that it would be a home store and it is but it is so much more than yes that. Yes they had some wonderful home accessories, candles and object d’arte but we had a wonderful time buying baby gifts. I bought a wonderful blanket with polka dots for my next grandchild and had a hard time resisting some very cute stuffed animals. I did buy a millefiore braclet and a tye-dye watch and some cordon blue jelly, yes it is an eclectic store. If you have ever wanted to won a gnome soap on a rope this is your store. The web site is under construction but soon you will be able to shop in line. http://www.homestyleri.com/

Board and Bowl
217 Westminster

Now even though this sounds more like a restaurant it is a home store. This is a great place to poke around. They had the best selection of dish towels that I have ever seen, some great and unusual colors. Kasey and I spent quite some time deciding what we wanted to bring home. Her husband told her to bring him something so he got a set og glass salt and pepper shakers (I don’t think they are what he had in mind). I picked up a meat thermometer and a spatula in a bright red. Lots of nice European brands you won’t find the same old tired brands here. http://www.bowlandboard.com/

Elsa Arms
231 Westminster

This is another very high fashion store that will draw you in. Lovely interior with some styles that can’t be found anywhere in the area. They have been named best by Rhode Island Monthly 2007 and Boston Globe Best of the New 2008. http://elsaarms.googlepages.com/home


So, the next time you are in Providence head to Westminster Street for some great shopping.