There’s a cluster of hotels in downtown Brooklyn including the Sheraton, Aloft, and Indigo. The location is convenient if you need to be close to the federal courthouse or near the financial district.
What a view.
Service
The service is lousy. The front desk is rude. I had a suit pressed and delivered to the hotel. They didn’t bother calling me to say that it had arrived. They did call to say that I had stayed past my ‘late’ 2PM checkout. I said I was waiting for my suit to be delivered. I called the dry cleaners and asked when I could expect it. They said it was delivered at 12. I called the front desk again and they said it had arrived. Too annoyed to fight, I went down, retrieved my suit, changed, and left.
Room
This is a basic room. The night I stayed, the room was going for $800. I can’t believe anyone or any company would spend that much for this.
Elegant
BathroomAmenities
No free bottled water but there is a free glass for water provided.
Overall
This place has zero value. I burned the certificate to avoid paying crazy NY hotel prices.
Hotel Indigo Brooklyn Hotel Review is part of the TPOL in NYC ongoing Trip Report.
Returning to the USA after being gone for seven weeks (see ANA, Take Me ‘Round the World Trip Report and TPOL in Shanghai Trip Report) is anticlimactic. Nobody cares that I am back. I go through immigration with Global Entry and don’t receive a welcome back greeting from the machine. Getting ‘randomly searched’ used to be an inconvenience, but now I would welcome it as a way to show that America cares that I am home. The business class treatment is gone, and I’m back to being another random person lost in a big city, a foreigner in my own country. How depressing.
That could end the debate right there, but allow me to continue.
Service
The service on EVA is impeccable. Regarding my Krug consumption, the flight attendant said, “I will make it more full because I know you like it.” How great is that?
Was only empty for a moment.
Amenities Kit
I have to force myself to throw away amenities kits. I don’t need dozens of them, and I will never use all of them. This one I had to keep. The contents I discarded.
Appetizer
Truly madly deeply, I was ready to eat. The soup was good and the rootbeet creamy salad dressing with fresh lemon was exceptional.
Beef!
The steak tasted like steak instead of airplane meat. It actually had a red center.
Fruit, Cheese, Wine
It’s not often that I find myself saying, “How good is this fruit?”
Beyond my limit of Krug, I switched to a hearty Spanish red.
More of Everything
Unlike Cathay business where I find myself hungry, EVA kept me full.
Espresso
A proper espresso came as no surprise.
FIJI
I won’t buy FIJI water, but I do enjoy it.
Pajamas
Not all business class flights provide pajamas. This one did and they were stylish.
Much like I have a refined palette for quality wine, I have a keen nose for cologne. Since I was a kid, I used to collect bottles. My trove surpassed 50 at one point. Moving from place to place, I lost many along the way though many classics are still at my parents’ house. These include but are not limited to:
Hannae Mori
Dolce & Gabbana
Issey Miyake
Cool Water
Bvlgari (green bottle)
Versace Metal Jeans
Versace MAN
Jean Paul Gaultier
Nautica
Escape
Pasha de Cartier
Eternity
Polo Sport
*Acqua di Gio had to be removed due to overuse by the masses.
** Joop! Had to be removed because everyone would pass out if I wore it.
*** Hugo Boss had to be removed because after a night in Mallorca, it reminded me of tequila shots. It does win the award for clever bottle.
****Not on the list are Fahrenheit and Obsession and Michael Jordan. Those are just spicy nastiness.
*****I won’t reveal what’s in TPOL’s closet today. That’s proprietary. But if anyone has the now discontinued Emirates first-class Bvlgari in the red bottle, please send it over.
When I visit a department store, the employee’s worst mistake is asking, “Can I help you?” After showing me a few samples that I inevitably shoot down, the employee quickly disappears. On rare occasions, I end up with an old-school aficionado and we discuss the history of cologne and the evolution of fragrance. That is a great experience. Still, I typically walk away distraught that nothing innovative has been created. Much like hip-hop, fragrances are recycled and resold as the new hotness (see any Drake album).
With such a sophisticated and particular taste in cologne, I made the most amateur of mistakes by purchasing a bottle on my EVA flight from Taiwan to New York. I relied on the description in the Sky Duty Free magazine to tell me what the cologne would smell like. J. Peterman would have been disappointed by words that did not reflect the odor of this parfum.
To my credit, I thought I was making a safe choice because I have and enjoy the original Bvlgari Man and thought the wood infusion would mix the power of Issey Miyake with the tenderness of Bvlgari (now that’s a line for J. Peterman). It did not. Unlike Strangé, it did not stink so good. It smelled awful. On top of that, I overpaid.
Good cologne is like speakers. Good cologne is like wine. Good cologne is like an automobile. Buying it without sampling it is downright foolish.
TPOL’s TIP: Don’t buy cologne in the air. Don’t buy it in a department store. Buy it online, after you test it, of course.
I started my journey on August 3rd going from Newark to Brussels on United Polaris. It was now the end of September. The desire to drink had passed, to say the least. Even if I wanted to have a cocktail, I would have to be pretty desperate to resort to Jose Cuervo.
More Food
With nothing to do, I kept eating.
The Lounge Itself
The rest of the time I wondered who designed this hideous, futuristic lounge.
Overall
If I was here for a couple of hours, I probably would have been satisfied with what it offers. Staying all day was not my idea of a great lounge time (see Skipping Airport Lounges with No Regrets).
I’ve flown business on Air China many times. It does not get the respect it deserves. While it was a short flight from Shanghai to Taipei, it was a restful one.
Per my policy, I don’t write a review of the lounge if I go and there is nothing to report. I stopped by the Air China Lounge but skipped food after a huge breakfast at the Four Points Shanghai.
Lounge or Burger King? Tough choice.
The Flight
All this travel caught up to me. I took a few photos and passed out. Here they are:
I need this view again but in an apartment, not a hotel.
TPOL’s TIP: Pay the premium to live like you do at home. Otherwise, you will waste time and ultimately cost yourself money by jumping from place to place.
Gym
I stopped working out completely because I did not have a stable home or routine. I eventually found a place to work out, but it was too late. I had turned into a dumpling by then (see Z & B Fitness: TRX Training in Shanghai).
I spent my first two weeks in Shanghai working out my dance skills. I didn’t implement the workout plan until late into my tenure.
TPOL’s TIP: Stick to the same gym schedule as home.
Clothes
I only packed my normal carry on. I showed up with nothing clean, and after a few nights it was unbearable. Instead of going to the Fabric Market and staying fresh, I went to H&M. There’s a reason the shirts are $7. Wash them once and they shrink and remain permanently wrinkled.
I came away knowing that when it comes to bargaining, I still got it
TPOL’s TIP: Showing up with no clothes was a good idea but like the accommodations, buying cheap garbage from H&M was not a solution. Go to the Fabric Market right away.
Schedule
My life in Puerto Rico is hectic. Every Tuesday I have to go down the waterslide at the resort pool #slidetuesdays. I also have to golf three times a week and workout five times a week. There isn’t much to do in Shanghai besides party (see TPOL’s Guide to Libations in Shanghai) and eat street food (see Cheap Eats Shanghai: Morning, Day, Night, Morning Again). In theory, I should have been more productive in this city life than island life. Between trying to find a suitable home and gym, I was not able to get into a rhythm. I tried to change my work schedule to accommodate these disruptions and ended up doing less than at home. Next time, I know to keep the gym and work schedule the same. I only need to change the hours of operation. So long as I hit my weekly goals, it doesn’t matter if I stay out all night and start the workday at 6PM.
I am up in the air if I want to put my ocean view on Airbnb when I live the expat life. I know what an annoying tenant I was, and I am not sure I want anyone living in my house. However, it becomes expensive to live like a king abroad when I have to pay rent and a mortgage.
Before I go on my next expat assignment, I need to set expectations for what I plan to achieve by being in that location. Am I still trying to work remotely but just in a new environment? Or am I trying to expand into an international market? If it’s the latter, I need to set up meetings before I go.
Overall
In 2010, I left Shanghai and swore to come back as a successful expat. I tried to do it with General Motors and was fired within five months of taking a job in Warren, Michigan. Nine years later I did it myself working as TPOL and Bachuwa Law. I give myself an A for seeing it through but a B- for what I accomplished when I was there.
The hotel is beautiful. Dare I say that it is the nicest Four Points in the world? It’s certainly the nicest I have ever seen.
Suite
From trekking through the mountains to this beautiful suite, TPOL has traveled a long way.
Soap
From being filthy and stinky to having soap, TPOL needs a shower.
Bed
Unfortunately, I can’t sleep long because I have an early flight in the AM. Why can’t I stay longer?
Breakfast
One more binge of food is a fitting tribute to end this great time.
Bye Shanghai
TPOL in Shanghai was a success. Now it’s time to go home.
Overall
If you’re a tourist coming to Shanghai, this is not the hotel for you. If you want to sit back and relax after being on the road or if you’re traveling for business, check out the Four Points.
While I wrote a review about the Priority Pass Lounge in Guangzhou, I passed on writing about the preceding flight. I will write a quick review of my experience from CAN back to PVG because the snack was an oversized pork dumpling ( that came in a plastic bag. I’ve had dim sum on Cathay but never a dumpling.
How did it stack up to Yang’s or Yu Garden? I will say that it stacked up quite well. Like a street dumpling, it was soft on the outside and juicy on the inside. Giant dumplings on an airplane – who would of thought? What’s next, lobster thermidor on a plane (see Singapore Airlines A380 Suite Class, My Turn)?
It’s technically a bao, not a dumpling but I say they are related.
Amenities
That could end the debate right there, but allow me to continue.
