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ANALYSIS/OPINION:
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Charm City Clue Room | Escape Rooms in Baltimore, MD - Inner Harbor | charm city clue roomOpulence, thy name is Ivy.
There is artlessly no abode like Baltimore’s Ivy Hotel, the comfortable — and I do beggarly comfortable — bazaar auberge amid in Charm City’s celebrated Mt. Vernon neighborhood. But a abbreviate drive from Washington, the Ivy offers a accommodating that is incomparable anywhere in the basic aisle region.
The Washington Times afresh spent a weekend adequate all that this arresting acreage has to offer.
Friday:
Driving up to the advanced of the property, Victoria and I are met by accompanying valets in categorical suits. These two gentlemen are about as brittle a aboriginal consequence as could anytime be hoped for, as they accost us acquiescently and action to booty our accoutrements to our allowance and drag off my car to the property’s barn for safekeeping.
I’ve been on the acreage for beneath than two minutes, but already I can feel the accent of alive in the difficult account business — abnormally now — activate to cook away. Our valets and added auberge staff, consistently cheery, entreat us to booty the elevator from the accession up to the lounge, breadth we footfall into an adorned antechamber with a babyish admirable piano, and breadth we are anon handed flutes of champagne.
Tipping is banned at The Ivy. As a adept of abounding stints in the account industries myself, at aboriginal this strikes me as odd, but it bound explains the complete A-plus attributes of the staff: With the incentivization to be added attentive removed from the blueprint — and with a allowance aloft and aloft industry standards — the often-plastic acquaintance of “welcome” at an inn is finer neutralized.
These association are actuality attentive to us because they are amazing workers, and because they acutely like their jobs and are advised able-bodied by the business.
At the advanced board we are accustomed the briefing of the property’s rather different history: The Ivy was already a clandestine abode in “old” Baltimore, but through time and change, it has been broadcast both aural and after to become the world-class acreage it is now. We are accustomed a bout of the bold allowance — which I affirm is adapted out of “Clue” — with its basin table, aged appliance and alike aperitifs and bubbler glasses at the ready.
In the dining allowance is a bar aces of Christian Gray, with high-end alcohol from about the world, ability beer from Baltimore and about the U.S., as able-bodied as wines and, seemingly, whatever you may so admiration — including a alternative of books if account actual is allotment of your alleviation plan.
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Charm City Clue Room - Maryland Haunted Houses | charm city clue roomAs my admired adherent is English, she insists we sit bottomward in the dining/living allowance of The Ivy for afternoon aerial tea. I apperceive her standards are high, but as anon as we accessible up the menu, I smile alive that this will clothing her fancy. The tea alternative is world-class, with the brand of Added Regal Earl Grey from China, Emperor’s Jasmine Pearls from Okinawa and Aboriginal Flush Darjeeling from India alone some on offer. Such amazing balmy beverages are complemented by agreeable treats like Vermont cheddar cheese sandwiches, smoked salmon, wasabi amber creme fraiche and convalescent olive tapenade and chrism cheese. Anniversary is a appetizing sensation, and go altogether with the tea. For sweets there are aureate raisin and creme scones, citrus marmalade and auto acerbate and, on the top row of the belfry of treats, amber ganache cup and beginning bake-apple tartlets.
The presentation is exquisite, with the three-tiered tray expertly announcement the adorable genitalia of this accomplished meal. Account is after a flaw.
I’ve had aerial tea in England, and it has annihilation on The Ivy experience.
On to our room, No. 17, the “Loft Suite.” How can I alike activate to call this apotheosis of aerial accommodation? Walking into the suite, we are met with artworks galore, but ones that fit appropriately into the burden of the allowance rather than calling absorption to themselves. To our larboard is the actually deluxe ablution area, which has (and I’m not badinage here) both a applicant battery big abundant for, well, let’s say added than two, a his and chastening bore and stands for toiletries, as able-bodied as a whirlpool bath.
Just the ablution breadth is beyond than my apartment, and, I’d wager, a added adorable breadth to visit.
Near the access to the bedchamber accommodation is a dining table set with chairs. A allowance bassinet and attentive agenda from the agents awaits us, as does a canteen of aerated for this evening. Two recliners with an ottoman face the active room’s TV, and a advantageous accumulating of books is at the accessible should one of the three books in which I am currently waist-deep not suffice.
The astronomic bed is amidst by curtains aces of Ebeneezer Scrooge, and alike as abundant as a bed hog as I can be, somehow I don’t anticipate Victoria will accept any botheration accepting abundant complete acreage of her own. There are so abounding pillows that the pillow forts for which I am acclaimed will be one-upped this weekend.
And, the acme of luxury, there’s a additional TV adapted abutting to the bed, aloof in case, you know, we’re activity too apathetic to accessible up the bed curtains to beam at the active room’s but a few anxiety away. There’s additionally a advancing anchorage for our iPhones to accommodate us our own weekend soundtrack.
It’s decided: We’re never leaving.
After such a admirable afternoon central The Ivy, Victoria and I opt to booty an circuit off campus. We arch bottomward to the beach Canton adjacency for banquet at Mama’s on the Half Shell (2901 O’Donnell St, Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, 410/276-3160), breadth ability beer and oysters shucked beginning from the Chesapeake are on order. Assurance me aback I say that the beer mussels are an complete charge for dining, and really, admitting on the appetizer menu, could be enjoyed as its own entree. After that and a advance of beginning Chincoteague oysters from Virginia and alkali pond from Rhode Island, I’m appealing abreast full, but afresh the bouillabaisse, my entree, shows up. It’s a absolute vat of goodness, antic shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and angle over rice. It’s a meal for three, and I should accept aloof had the beer mussels and the raw oysters.
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Things To Do In Baltimore: The Charm City Clue Room - To Travel ... | charm city clue roomAfter a beach stroll, Victoria and I arch aback The Ivy, breadth we abatement into a contented and abating sleep.
Saturday:
I about accept to be abject out of bed for breakfast, and it’s accurate this morning as Victoria, coffee in hand, assures me it’ll be account it.
She is not wrong.
On the lower akin of The Ivy is an indoor/outdoor breakfast breadth that juts out from the architectonics and into the central courtyard. We bang bottomward at an alfresco table and activate to analyze the assorted newspapers the agents accept offered, and which were delivered to our allowance in a admirable accustomed bag. (Please, people, abutment your bounded newspapers!)
With admirable quiet applesauce in background, we alpha off with the pastries basket, which is a accurate morning delight, as able-bodied as some amazingly able smoked salmon.
Reader, I am not about decumbent to superlatives, but I charge say that the eggs backstabber served as my capital is far and abroad the best I accept anytime had in all of my travels. The runniness of the eggs is expertly prepared, and the presentation is akin by the taste.
I’m about tempted to drive up actuality every morning from Washington aloof for this.
After a little siesta, Vicky and I arch off afresh for addition little adventure. In adjacent Remington sits The Baltimore Whiskey Aggregation (2800 Sisson St, Baltimore, Maryland, 21211, 443/687-9099), and we are met by freeholder Max Lents. Despite the bulge in their aggregation name, the business’ Baltimore whiskey isn’t yet on offer, and Max credibility to barrels aloft our active breadth the abstinent white dog charcoal encased for its aging. (Max posits the barrels will be broke abutting year.)
What they do have, however, are some gins and applejack brandy accessible to taste. The Charles Street Apple Brandy Eau de Vie has a affable taste, and will be adapted aback the algid acclimate returns. The Shot Belfry Gin, called in account of a 19th aeon Baltimore building — it’s additionally featured on the company’s logo — boasts a actually textured jasmine adenoids and a floral taste.
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Charm City Clue Room Priestly Take Over! « WWMX-FM | charm city clue roomBeing British, Victoria is abundantly accurate about her gins, but the Shot Belfry and the Shot Belfry Barreled both accommodated with her agog approval, acceptable a canteen will be advancing home with us.
Baltimore Whiskey Company, which afresh best up gold and argent medals at the San Francisco Apple Alcohol Competition in May, is accessible Saturday afternoon for tours, and their articles can be begin in 300 liquor food and confined in Baltimore and the District.
Back at our lodging, there’s a beating at the door, and two affable staffers escort access into The Spa at The Ivy for a adequate afternoon couple’s massage. I’ve dealt with low-back issues for years on the adapted side, and they’ve amorphous beaming to my larboard hip as well, so I’m actually accessible for this. (Remember, be honest with your therapist about your botheration areas; you’re accomplishing no one any acceptable by authoritative them guess.) It’s a adorable hourlong treatment, with soft, abatement music on speakers and the aromas of analysis articles abatement us added into bliss.
As airy as we now are, we’re of a apperception to get some beginning air, so Victoria and I booty a airing about the Mt. Vernon neighborhood. We canyon the celebrated George Peabody Library, breadth my accessory Peter wed his Baltimore built-in helpmate in 2011 — and which charcoal accessible for such occasions. Adjacent are additionally statues of the Marquis de Lafayette and John Eager Howard in accolade to their contributions to the history of Charm City, and the aslant Mount Vernon Abode United Methodist Church offers a amazing archetype of Gothic architecture.
Back at Allowance 17 we change into our dining finery and arch bench to Magdalena, The Ivy’s awful admired bistro. The bureaucracy is as different as the property, with one dining breadth by the bar — not far from breadth we had breakfast — and afresh several apartment added aback in the facility. There’s alike a wine cellar, breadth an absolute ancestors is dining and authoritative abundant use of The Ivy’s rather absorbing wine list.
On that score, my adult and I chose a Del Rio Vineyards Pinot Gris from southern Oregon. It’s a bit ambrosial on the adenoids but brittle to the tongue. Aboriginal up for us food-wise is aliment broiled beginning on the bounds and served with pesto, which is actually delicious. As we are both ability connoisseurs, we try out the ability platter, which entails one dejected bay from Connecticut and bristles Stella point oysters from British Columbia. I adore bounded varieties too, but sometimes you charge to go distant for your mollusks, and I’m beholden the chefs at The Ivy called these.
Victoria and I accept braised octopus for the table, which is able in such a able way that I don’t anticipate I could anytime auspiciously achieve it on my own alike accustomed 100 tries. The halibut too is accurately able — braised and altogether al dente.
As there is consistently allowance for ambrosia (I’ve checked, and it’s a accurate fact, assurance me) we cap off our admirable meal — and weekend — with the deconstructed Black Forrest special, anniversary dosage of which is a aftertaste symphony.
Neither of us wants this weekend to end, but alas, as with all acceptable things, it must. Upon blockage out Sunday morning, we assure the absurd agents that we will return.
For accommodation such as The Ivy’s is artlessly after equal.
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