Hotel Duval

T had a great first week of school so in what is quickly becoming a tradition for us, we are celebrating by spending the night at a hotel. (See our adventure at Tallahassee's Aloft last year here and here.)

Today we'll check in to Hotel Duval. This newly renovated hotel opened last October on Monroe Street in downtown Tallahassee. I visited Shula's restaurant and Level 8 lounge (both in the hotel) not long after it opened, but this will be my first chance to see the rooms, and get the whole Hotel Duval experience. Luckily there is also a third restaurant in the hotel, LeRoc, which features more casual lighter options than Shula's (which is a steakhouse).

Meat and potatoes fest at Shula's 347

View of sunset and downtown from Level 8 at Hotel Duval October 9, 2009

It was a beautiful night!

Here are some snippets from the LeRoc lunch menu:

SALADS

GARDEN SALAD

Fresh Greens topped with Tomato, Carrots,

Cucumber and Croutons 5 | Add Chicken 9

TUNA-STUFFED TOMATO

Chunky Tuna and Vine-Ripe Tomato over

Mixed Greens with 10-Year Balsamic Drizzle 9

TUSCAN CHICKEN SALAD

Pesto Chicken over Fresh Greens with Toasted Pine Nuts 10

CITRUS CHICKEN AND SPICED PECAN

Chicken with Mandarin Oranges, Spiced Pecans

and Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing 10

SANDWICHES & WRAPS

SERVED WITH CHOICE OF SIDE, OR PAIR YOUR

CHOICE OF SOUP WITH A HALF SANDWICH

TURKEY & HAM CLUB WRAP

Roasted Turkey, Smoked Ham, Applewood Bacon, Cheddar,

Lettuce, and Tomato on Spinach Wrap with Basil Mayo 9

THE MELT

Choice of Chunky Tuna Salad, Turkey or Ham with Tillamook Cheddar

or Emmentaler and Sliced Vine-Ripe Tomato on Wheat Berry 9

HAM OR TURKEY AND SWISS ON WHEAT BERRY

Choice of Smoked Ham or Roast Turkey and Swiss Cheese with Dijonaisse 10

PRESSED TUSCAN

Pesto Chicken with Fresh Mozzarella and Sliced Roma Tomato on Ciabatta 10

Stay tuned for more on Hotel Duval tonight and tomorrow!

Adventures in Tallahassee @ new Aloft

The new Aloft Hotel by W opened this week. As a reward for my austistic son (who loves hotels) for a great first week at school, I booked a room Friday (no mean feat) and spent the night there Saturday.

The hotel itself is beautiful, somehow managing to blend industrial chic with friendliness. The large lobby has concrete floors, high ceilings, exposed duct work, lots of trendy colors and geometric lounge seating. It's one big open area that includes the wxyz lounge which has indoor and outdoor seating. We particularly liked this outdoor seating arrangement with fireplace:

Check-in was fairly quick, once the staff member learned how to do it. Easy to forgive since the hotel's only been open a few days. We checked out the pool area, which is adjacent to, but fenced off from, the outdoor lounge.

And then headed to the wxyz lounge for drinks and snacks. I loved that they had a drink called the "Tallahassee Lassie." It was tasty, as was the Classic Mojito. We tried the Asian Glazed Wings ($8), which my son loved, and Steamed Edamame ($8) which were not bad, but not as good as our favorite edamame at Masa.

The bar staff infuses three flavors of vodka in-house - from left to right: cranberry, bubblegum, and blueberry. For the bubblegum, they use a whole tub of Bazooka gum. I had a little taste; it was amazing how the flavor of the gum really transfers to the vodka. wxyz uses it to make a Bubbletini.

We also shared and enjoyed a club sandwich on crossaint and a chicken Caesar salad. Later we treated ourselves to a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, a real bargain at only $3.50 from the 24-hour re-fresh gourmet take-out area in the lobby.

For breakfast this morning, we shared a breakfast sandwich (egg, sausage and cheese on an English muffin) for $3.50, a banana and a chocolate milk.

Next up, more about our room!