Revisiting ACE Hotel and Stumptown

And so finally I’m back at my favorite hotel ACE (remember the 5 W review?). This time with an admittedly smaller room (man, I do miss the turntable + vintage vinyls) but with a killer view of The Empire State Building from the 10th floor. There is something about this hotel that makes me feel at home right away. They’re not try-hards like a lot of other upscale hotels, but they somehow still manage to treat you like a prince. And it is a very nice touch to get the “Hi Walter” the minute I stepped in the door. It is after all 2 months ago that I was here last.

We are working with a hotel client at the agency, and going here reminds me that no design in the world, no website, no campaign can replace a killer behavior from the staff. Friendly and good staff is just such a big part of the overall experience. You can tell that the staff is proud of working here too, a factor that is irreplaceable in terms of brand communication. Mental note.

And, of course, we have Stumptown coffee in the lobby. You can’t help but marvel at the casual yet passionate style of the baristas of Stumptown. The line is always super long around 9-ish at Stumptown and still this girl in the awesome hat (they all have awesome hats) reaches over the expresso machine handing me a fresh cup of black love potion with a “…you just HAVE to try this new Guatemala roast we’ve got. Try it!” while I was waiting in line fiddling with my camera. Touché.

Look at how happy it made me.
This is also a really great match of brands. ACE and Stumptown feel like brothers and sisters.

After a while I got to the counter and got picked up my 5-star lattes and some French toast (sinful, but amazing).

Still a five W review then? Well – I did like the other room better, but I held back a bit on the budget for this trip and opted for the smaller one on my own initiative. Really can’t blame nobody but myself for that one. But that said – the five W review certainly remains.

Love from W.