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Kindra Clineff
The Ivy Hotel
Bedroom Suite
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Gary Jackson
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Gary Jackson
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The Ivy Hotel
Bathroom
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Kindra Clineff
The Ivy
The Ivy, Baltimore, MD
By Bob & Tanya Waite
As Tanya and I pull up to The Ivy Hotel in Baltimore, we see the valet parking. Tanya noticing the exterior of the building says, “Looks like a mansion.” I too am smitten by the 19th century exterior and the addition that is newer but was seamlessly added. I say to myself, “Hope we’re not here too early for check-in.” All my nervousness dissipates as a young woman approaches the car and asks who we are. I tell her, we are the Waites. And she says, “Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Waite, we’ve been expecting you. Is your luggage in the trunk?” I answer yes, and she takes car with keys and luggage and then we are escorted into the hotel. We cannot tip her because The Ivy Hotel has a no tipping policy. We meet Nina Arnold, the assistant general manager in the Conservatory. The walk through the corridor to this spacious room is gorgeous in itself, but the Conservatory is over-the-top beautiful. Tanya is delighted. Her eyes dance as she looks at all the small sitting areas, the large and small plants, the grand piano and the eclectic collection of furniture—the choice of noted interior designer Joszi Meskan, whose genius can be seen in every nook and cranny of The Ivy Hotel. Nina hands us each a glass of Champagne and tells us about the history of hotel. How it was originally built for banker and industrialist John Gilman in 1889 and designed by the famous architect, Charles Carson who was to build a home regal in appearance yet having a feeling of coziness that fostered intimacy. I can vouch for Carson’s success. After taking us on what seems a whirlwind tour of the hotel, Nina takes us to our room, Tanya is getting worked up. I can see she is in a high state of exuberant expectation. She is actually clenching her fists and is about to start pumping her arms up and down. I see it coming, but she restrains herself. Our Room, to our happy surprise, is a suite—Room 9. As Nina opens the door and we get our first glimpse, we realize it is beautiful beyond our greatest expectations. I notice that our coats and luggage are there. Tanya is suppressing a loud “Yes!” Our suite is called and octagon suite because the living room has eight sides. On three sides of this eight-sided room are double sets of windows, which when the wooden blinds are open, flood the room with outdoor light. Coming into the room we see a table set with a tray of cheese and crackers and a bottle of Pinot Noir. The room is furnished with a sofa and chair and a decorative lavender and tan ottoman. There is a working gas fireplace and a TV. In the room and pleasing to the eye is a colorfully painted armoire, which is also a barmoire. Inside the distinctive piece is a refrigerator that is stocked with beer, a bottle of wine, water, S. Pellegrino sparkling water, various juice drinks, kombucha and more. Besides the refrigerator, there is a teapot and tea and coffee. In drawers are goodies: chips, pretzels, nuts, candy, cookies and mints. Ivy amenities such as a stocked barmoire, daily breakfast, private car service, afternoon tea, cocktails at the Mansion Bar, two free movies rentals per night, turn down service, concierge assistance, and more are inclusive in the room rate. The only things not included are dinner and the spa. Nina shows us the bedroom and bathroom and then leaves us alone. Now Tanya can let loose, She no longer has keep her composure. Her dark eyes look like bright lights and out of her mouth comes a loud scream that had been suppressed during the tour. After the scream, I hear her say, “This is beautiful. Wow! Yes!” And then she examines every detail. In the bedroom the central attraction is the four-poster canopy bed. Tanya loves the green colored canopy with hints of purple. And at the foot of the bed is a rustic painted chest with a distressed finish. The dresser has two drawers on the top and bottom for clothing and in the middle are faux drawers that contain a portable ironing board and a safe. The television is built into the wall above the dresser. Next to the dresser is the closet in which there is an iron, a sewing kit, a long shoe horn, a small flashlight and a lint brush. In the closet there is also a robe and two pairs of slippers. The bathroom, through the sliding door is stunning. A large, shiny white soaking tub is begging my wife to fill it, jump in and relax. Tanya says, “I can’t wait to get into this tub.” Time is flying and we do not want to miss the Afternoon Tea. I call James, the concierge on duty, and he lets the Tea Room servers know we are coming. In the Tea Room are small enclaves of furniture arranged in such a way that you can have privacy and yet be in a room with other people. On the walls is a 1920s ballroom scene mural painted by David Wiesand. We are escorted to the Tea Room by Anthony, one of the servers. Gary, our server, dressed impeccably in black pants, black vest, white shirt and gray tie, sets the table and brings us a tea menu. He comes back with a sample box of the various teas from which to choose. I choose the Dragon Well, a green tea and Tanya chooses Chamomile Citrus, an herbal blend. Gary comes back with the tea, cheese sandwiches and some apricot scones. We finish the tea, scones and sandwiches and they are delicious and refreshing. I feel like we are in an English manor. Gary comes back, smiling, and asks us a trivia question. “How many kinds of plants produce tea leaves?” We are stumped. I take a wild guess and say three. Tanya, being more cautious, says she is not sure. Gary, smiling, says, “All true tea, not herbal, but actual tea, comes from one plant.” Then he gives us a lesson on the varieties of tea and why some are white, some green, some orange and some black. Gary clears the table and asks us if there is anything else we want. We tell him that we want to walk around. Our walking around takes us first into the library, where I browse several of the books, while Tanya is intrigued by the variety of board games and zig saw puzzles. After hanging out in the library, we go to the Mansion Bar. Gary sees us and asks us if we want anything. There is a nice variety of wines and liquors and everything needed to make a drink: fruit, juices, mixers, sodas, bitters—just everything. And everything is top shelf. Guests can come anytime and make their own drinks, but we have Gary. Tanya asks Gary to make a drink called Sex On The Beach. On the bar is a large mixology book with recipes for every kind of drink but Sex On The Beach. While Gary is looking, Anthony gets into a conversation with Gary about this drink. Gary believes he knows what is in Sex On The Beach, so he makes it and it seems right to Tanya. I have a Scotch on the rocks. We go back to our room and rest a while. The beds are turned down and there is a box of chocolates on the bed. Then we order room service. Nina is at the concierge desk. So we ask her if it is ok that we eat at a table in the library. She says, “Of course,” and sets the table. She also asks us whether we want sparkling water. The table is set with a white tablecloth, water glasses, wine glasses, a cloth napkin and silverware. While waiting for our order we go to the game room and play some pool. Then we eat and return to our room to watch a movie. Morning comes fast. We sleep well in our king-size canopy bed. We wake up refreshed and go to the Breakfast Room. We call the concierge so that they are ready for us. Our server is Anthony, who seats us and brings us the breakfast menu. He is happy to see us and engages us in friendly conversation. The menu has so many delectable entrees that we can hardly choose. I order the Banana French Toast and Tanya has scrambled eggs. We are served fresh squeezed juice and an incredible cup of coffee. There are baskets of warm pastries and a view of the courtyard. We are both impressed by Ivy’s staff. They have to be the most pleasant people anyone could ever meet in the hospitality business. They are genuinely interested in the guests and are more than happy to converse with us. Nina, Anthony, Gary and James are spectacular and each told us that they love their jobs and enjoy living up to the high standards of service at the Ivy. In the breakfast room we meet Eunikoa who has only been working at the Ivy for six months. She is meticulously ironing tablecloths. We have a conversation with her and ask her a few questions about her job. She says, “I love it. We entertain kings and queens here.” I am perplexed. “Royalty actually comes here?” She then says, “Everyone who comes here is a king or queen.” We see James about taking a walking tour of the historic Mount Vernon section of Baltimore and he not only gives us a map, but also suggests many things for us to see. He is a fountain of information on the history, art and culture of Baltimore. We enjoy our walk and see such historic buildings as the Belvidere Hotel, The Maryland Club, The Peabody Library, and the Washington Monument. We also visit The Walters Art Museum, which has an impressive collection that spans thousands of years. We return to the Ivy for afternoon tea. For dinner we head to The Ivy Hotel’s stellar restaurant, Magdalena. We sit in one of the smaller rooms called the Treasury. What is interesting about the Treasury is the vault in the rear of the room. Vaults like this were used by the upper rungs of society to keep various documents and papers, cash and valuable possessions. The menu is has a large array of delectable gourmet offerings. Special cocktails available include Mr. Antibody (Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon, Q Ginger Beer, Scotch Float), The Paddington (Hayman's London Dry Gin, Lemon, Yuzu Marmalade) and other creative drinks. Appetizers include Siberian Caviar Service, Stellar Bay Oysters, Peekytoe Crab, Prime Beef Tenderloin Tartar, Tender Hibachi Grilled Octopus, Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras and more. On the menu that evening are six entrees. Among them are such delicacies as Spice Crusted Venison Tenderloin and Milk Fed Pork Two Ways. Andrew, our server, is a seasoned professional. He tells us about specials, orders our drinks and makes himself available for us. He is a serious server, making sure that we know all we need to know in making our selections. Like the rest of the Ivy staff, the servers and their support team at Magdalena make us feel like royalty. A train of people come to our table bringing us water, a special amuse bouche prepared by the chef, bringing drinks, bread, and food while quietly taking away plates. Ebony, who brings the amuse bouche makes several stops at our table and another server, Anthony, brings the bread and the almond, lemon and parsley seasoned butter. I order a steak, which is topped with an onion marmalade and comes with confit potatoes and Tanya has the New Zealand Salmon with Truffle Sunchoke Puree, White Beans and Country Ham. We pass on dessert. The food is delicious. Tanya loves the Salmon and the way it is perfectly cooked, savoring the taste of the Truffle puree and eating it slowly so she can experience the sensation as long as she can. The steak is tender and cooked to a perfect medium rare. We pass on dessert yet have a satisfying cup of coffee after our meal. Back in Room 9 we lament that we are leaving the next day. Tanya say, “I’m really going to miss being here.” I agree. So Tanya takes a deep soak and I watch a movie, eating some cookies that are in the barmoire. We stay up late talking about our experience over tea and crackers. And in the morning, we prepare to leave. James calls for the car and escorts us through the conservatory. We ask James to take a photo of us in the library, and he happily obliges, making us smile and taking it from several angles. The car is waiting for us, the doors are being held open. As we leave, Tanya waves to The Ivy Hotel. “Goodbye, Ivy, we are going to miss you.” she says. The Ivy Hotel is located at 205 E Biddle St, Baltimore, MD. For more information call 410-514-6500 or visit www.theivybaltimore.com. Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and co-writer of this department.