Apparently my luck for finding good food around Cleveland is pretty good, 2018 was no different. Be sure to visit the Feistaurants link for previous Cleveland based entries, but for this year we have two to add covering dinner and breakfast.
Click on any pic to see a bigger view and cycle through all of them. Oh, and please read the entire PJs review to find out why I might sound a little mean to start 😉
I have experienced some pretty good customer service in my life. Some came with the cost of whatever I was doing, so you would kind of expect it, and some was pure luck. Once, what I believe was a case of mistaken identity* got me the penthouse overlooking Tumon Bay in Guam, and that had some ‘perks’. That said, I think every previous customer service experience was bested by the staff at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg this past weekend.
For Irish Dance readers, you don’t need much explanation, but since I expect others to see this, a little back story.
My daughter (TGC – the girl child) is a competitive Irish dancer.
We booked this hotel so we could go to Oireachtas (pronounced o-rock-tas), a regional championship for Irish Dance. The Mid America Oireachtas is always Thanksgiving weekend. There are several others in November and December. An Oireachtas will have several thousand dancers with all the parents, siblings, etc.. that come along with it.
You may have gathered already that I blog as What The Feis (pronounced fesh). A feis is a smaller more local competition. I am also whatthefeis on Facebook, and several other social media outlets. The What The Feis Facebook page as over 5000 followers. The hotel staff DID NOT know this beforehand.
I originally documented this on my Facebook page, but the hotel posts are mixed in with a lot of Oireachtas posts, foodie posts, things about my dancer, and my typical snarky ramblings, so I gathered all of them here, for easier, albeit a bit lengthy, reading. All the indented, italicized items are the posts from the page.
For my Facebook friends, you know TGC is dealing with a medical issue that may end her competitive career, we are still checking into all that since that news is recent. I only mention that because we went into this weekend thinking this could very well be her last competition. It really made the staffs efforts even more special, to me anyway.
I kept the hotel a secret until the writing of this post. I didn’t want any dance drama when other parents found what they were missing out on, and could very well be in the same hotel as me.
So, here is what happened… sorry again for the length, but in this day and age, this kind of caring is hard to find, especially when it comes from people who do something nice because they want to, not because they have to.
NOTE: You can click on any smaller pic to scroll through all of them in a bigger view.
My introductory post about an email I received from the hotel.
Getting ready to travel for this Oireachtas, I just have to share an email I received from the hotel where we will be staying. I will finish this story (and share the hotel) at the end of the weekend, but I wanted to set the stage now.
A snippet from an email from the hotel: “I am looking forward to your arrival on Wednesday, and wanted to reach out beforehand to see if you had any requests prior to your arrival. We would like to make your stay with us as enjoyable as possible! Please feel free to respond back to me directly….”
My response:
“Thanks for the note!
Actually we always request non-feather pillows. A roll away would be appreciated (please confirm this one). Lastly, we are there for the Irish Dance Regional Championships, so an upper floor at the end of the hall where my dancer can get some rest would be great if at all possible.
My wife asked for champagne on arrival, and my daughter would like a pet goldfish, mints on the pillow every night and for the towels to be folded into animal shapes, but if you could handle the items in the sentence above, that should suffice. 🙂
Thanks so much for the note. Looking forward to the stay!”
PLEASE NOTE: Mrs WTF and TGC do not expect those things, but they asked, so I included them in the email. Also noteworthy, this is one of the hotels in the block, not the Ritz.
Yes, that is my actual email. I received a response today saying he is working on it.I will let you know how it went when the weekend is done. 🙂
The ArrivalJust got to the hotel, into our room and found this. If you have been following my posts, you get it. An exceptional welcome after a very long drive and OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE!
I failed to mention in my posts that the rep sent me an email in the interim. He had noticed we had a room with two doubles where a rollaway would not fit. He asked if we would like king with a rollaway instead. I jumped at the chance. That is what we usually get, but it was not available we we made the reservation.
Also, not only did he get us a quiet room, it was top floor, end of the hall. Irish Dance Hotel Nirvana.
OMG!
I was going to comment on the no champagne, joking of course, but anyway…
I took the luggage cart down to the lobby as TGC and Mrs WTF freshened up. As I was getting on the elevator, hotel staff walked by with a tray with a bottle of champagne. I thought, nah, couldn’t be..
I no sooner got to the lobby then Mrs WTF texted me a pic. TGC also texted me ‘come back upstairs, trust me.’
I went back to the room to find this.
Not sure what I did in life, but I am glad I did…
Trying to show our gratitude.
OK, I got the scoop…
I went to the front desk to find who delivered the tray since the Mrs had no cash, and I wanted to make sure the person got a tip.
The nice lady at the desk said it was all from the front desk staff, they had all seen my email, it made them laugh, and they wanted to make it happen, and that tipping wasn’t necessary.
For once, I am without words, but I have a heart full of gratitude. 🙂
I know it sounds braggy, and I am sorry, but this story just keeps getting better.
Got back from dinner, and realized we were going to save the bottle for tomorrow, so I went to find more ice.
I got to the elevators, and saw an older gentleman mopping the floor. I stopped to ask about ice, he saw the ice bucket and bottle, and said, ‘oh, you are here’ with a smile on his face.
I must have looked confused, because he followed up with the fact that he was the one who brought the rollaway to the room.
I got his name, thanked him repeatedly, and found the ice.
Don’t worry, I already have a plan in place to thank these wonderful people, in addition to reviews I mean, but I also realize I need to do a little more research to make sure I am thanking all of them appropriately.
So far I have 4 names, but I think it goes deeper 🙂
I thought it was over, and went back to my normal snarky posting…And this morning, I found the towels shaped into animals. The bath mat is a snake.
OK, so maybe that was a stretch, but they literally did everything else in my email.
#customerserviceheroes
THE HOTEL… I really thought it could not get any better…
Since we were up early to get TGC tanned, and then got brunch, the room had not been cleaned by the time we got back. Contrary to what you might think, we are really not high maintenance, so we put up the do not disturb sign so TGC could rest. She is still trying to beat that respiratory infection.
I put my head down too, and was startled awake by the phone. It was housekeeping. She asked if we needed service, and I told her we were fine, but thanks for checking on us, and then she said, ‘can I bring by the animals?’
I kind of laughed, and asked if she was serious, she said yes. Of course I said yes, and two minutes later she was at the door with what is in the pic.
I thanked her repeatedly. She smiled as she left and said, maybe there will be more animals tomorrow.
I really don’t know if I will ever be able to stay with a different chain in the future.
#customerservicerockstars
Another question answered…
For those of you that were wondering, and I was wondering, I am fairly sure that this WTF gig had nothing to do with my welcome at the hotel.
As I sat polishing tonight, another family I know IRL checked in and we chatted. They got the same email, and the only connection we can see is that we are both members of the hotel rewards program.
Oh, and the other family did not reply to the email 🙁
HOTEL UPDATE… Well, returning to the hotel after 15 hours at the venue, I am both sad to report, and yet a little relieved, that the surprises appear to have come to an end. They literally got everything on my list, plus a few extra things, so I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting everything that happened either.
Tomorrow I will hopefully meet the Mastermind. I will let you know how that goes. I have a little something for him and his co-conspirators.
Stay tuned…
The ‘extra things’ I mentioned are in the pic but were not in our email (the snarky part of the email). They included chocolate covered strawberries, 3 cookies the size of softballs, and two ice cold glasses of milk.
The Hotel, Final Chapter? Hell, I don’t know…
So earlier today, I met the people who lead the challenge sent in the email, although I still stand by the fact it was sarcasm.
Anyway, I had bought a card and some gift cards for some drinks and appetizers for hopefully all the people involved, and gave it to the guys, with my sincerest thanks, and a little lump in my throat considering what a rollercoaster the last few days have been. Their thoughtfulness has made this Oireachtas memorable for so many reasons more than Irish Dance.
I also told them about you guys, how I have documented every new chapter in this story, how so many people have commented on the story, how you want to know what hotel it is, and why I am stalling sharing the hotel, etc… and I gave them my business card, and told them where they could see the posts. I said thanks again, and I thought that was that.
Well, went to the venue for ceilis and trad sets, saw our dancers do great, including a first in one of the trad comps, sat through just enough awards to see how our ceilis did, and then went to dinner. On the way back into the hotel, TGC wanted dessert and I wanted a beer, so we went to the bar to take some stuff to the room.
As we left the bar, I saw John, the initial emailer whom I had met earlier, and he asked me why I was carrying a beer, and if I had been to the room yet. I said no, and he said ‘you might want to go on up. I read the posts and realized we took care of everyone elses request, and I saw a post that that gave me an idea.’ or something like that. I was kind of in the ‘oh no he didn’t’ mindset. I smiled, shook his hand, told him again what a great job his team had done, and headed for the elevator.
As I was going to the elevators, I got a text from Mrs. WTF that said, ‘seriously, come up here.’ I hadn’t even made it to the room when she called my cell. I didn’t answer, I was 12 feet from the room.
I walked in and found what is in the pics, including the note, also in the pics.
Second time this weekend I was without words. I really cannot think of ANY time in my life when people who do not even know me put this much effort in on my behalf. I rewrote this paragraph a few times, because the words have not been quite right. They still aren’t, but I think you get the picture.
So, hotel to be named Monday, Thank You again. You have done more for the reputation of your company then any effort I have seen by any other person/group/company. I look forward to the next opportunity to stay with your chain, especially if it is anywhere near Schaumburg, because I know where I will be staying.
Oh, and I made the card out to John and the Co-conspirators, and they had no idea I had a FB page with 5K followers. John was doing his job, I was being me, and it just grew from there.
Not really sure how to end this, except for saying I hope every one of you get a chance to experience this kind of service one day. It meant so much to my family, and Hyatt will be our first choice for all our future hotel choices.
* Mistaken Identity Footnote: I think the hotel thought I was the Commander of 7th Fleet (a Vice Admiral), instead of a Commander who worked with 7th Fleet, but that is speculation.
Seems like I only eat on odd years at North Coast, since I have Feistaurant Reviews for North Coast Feis Eats 2013 and North Coast Feis Eats 2015. 2017 is no exception.
For this year, we stayed out in Independence instead of our usual stay downtown. We did not have to get up to early for the feis and we found one of our go to hotels at a very reasonable rate. When we checked in, the front desk staff offered us a area restaurant list that was 4 pages long… now thats what I am talking about. The list had some of the chains, a local Winking Lizard (I reviewed the downtown location in the 2013 Eats link above) and a bunch of stuff we were not familiar with. So overwhelmed, we just went down to the desk to ask for recommendations.
The nice lady at the desk checked off a variety, one of which was a grilled cheese restaurant called Melt. I looked at her with that ‘grilled cheese?’ look on my face and asked, do they have beer? Why yes, and its not just grilled cheese. Since my Winking Lizard recommendation was overruled by Mrs WTF and TGC, we headed towards Melt… at least they have beer.
The sign inside, over the front door, in the waiting area
The album cover Mrs WTFs menu was on the back of…
We got there about 6pm and there was a 20ish minute wait. If we had waited another 30 minutes or so before arriving, we probably would have been seated immediately. Seemed like there is an after work rush, then it slows down. Greeted with eclectic decor, like neon signs, lighted plastic holiday yard decorations and lots of tvs with cartoons instead of sports, it had a 70s kind of vibe. This was confirmed when we realized the menus were on the back of 33 1/3 album covers. Mrs WTF had Babs (the one in the picture), and mine was Captain and Tenille. I don’t recall TGC’s.
They also had a separate menu with an extensive beer list, about 40 on tap plus more in bottles, but I am a draft guy. Also available a variety of mixed drinks.
Wet Hot Buffalo Chicken with creamy blue cheese slaw, crumbled blue cheese… ah, yum.
I was going to go for something other than grilled cheese, until I saw what they could do with grilled cheese. If I had to guess, I would say there are around 40 different ones available, and when I saw the buffalo chicken with blue cheese, I kinda knew what I was eating that evening (pictured). Mrs. WTF had an eggplant parmigiana and TGC had a chicken parmigiana sandwich, and they both ordered half a sandwich. I should have, I could not finish it all.
See their grilled cheese options and full menu here. Definitely worth a visit, or revisit!
Cool sign over the exit at the rear of the restaurant.
Melt Independence: $$ – We paid about $55 for 3 of us, which included 2 beers each for me and the Mrs.
Just wanted to post the entire 2015 business list from the 24 Days of Irish Dance Businesses in case you missed one, or as an easy reference when you shop with these fine people again (especially #24, no pressure 😉 ).
Until next year 🙂
If you don’t already know, I occasionally mention some of the good eats we find while we are on the feiseanna trail. You can find the complete list in my Feistaurants section but for this post, I wanted to point out a few places you may want to consider the next time you are up Cleveland way. BTW – Cleveland and North Coast both have a few previous feistaurant entries 😉 Read more
Congratulations to the winners of the Shamrock Soaps Giveaway! They are (names as listed in the original comments):
Heather from Shamrock Soaps has your email and will be in touch on how to collect your prize.
Congratulations Winners!
Missed the contest? Be sure to check out Shamrock Soaps! They have a line of body products locally made in Wisconsin. With a line for Irish Dancers, and products for their support teams (aka us), I think you will find something you like, I did!. You can find the site at Shamrock Soaps and can purchase on line at Shamrock Soaps on Etsy. They are also on Facebook at Shamrock Soaps.
Heather, the owner contacted me and asked if I would like to write a review or possibly host a giveaway to help promote her business, and we decided to do both. Please take a minute or two to read the first product review by WTF. Details of the the Giveaway are below the review.
The CompanyShamrock Soaps is a line of body products locally made in Wisconsin. With a line for Irish Dancers, and products for their support teams (aka us), I took it upon myself to review one of each. You can find the site at Shamrock Soaps and can purchase on line at Shamrock Soaps on Etsy. They are also on Facebook at Shamrock Soaps.
I have always had an issue with dry skin on my feet, so bad, I am sad to admit, they could be on one of those infommercials. They can get so dry and cracked, it hurts to walk. When Heather offered me the chance to try a product, and I saw she had something for dry feet, I figured, what the heck.
I have tried lots of other options, lotions, creams and butters. They are messy to apply and make me slide around in my socks. I never stick to a program with those products even though I know I should. I’m still a guy, remember. So, honestly, I did not know what to expect when I said I would try the foot balm.
I was very pleasantly surprised. The foot balm comes in a tube, kind of like a pushpop, and is very easy to apply. Rubbed a little into my heels, put on some socks and went to bed. The next morning I saw a noticeable improvement. After a few days, my heels looked like normal people feet, and I have used the balm every day since. I can honestly say my feet have not felt or looked this good for a very long time. The instructions say use at night, but since I really don’t like sleeping in socks, I put it on my feet after my morning shower, don the socks, and head off for my day.
If there was any negative, it would be the fragrance. Let me try that again, the fragrance is fine, for a woman, or a girl, but when your 6’5″ and built like an ex football player, you probably should not smell like flowers. I think it is Lavender, but that’s a guy guess. Obviously I didn’t mind and am secure enough with my masculinity to have used it everyday for nearly two weeks. Actually the smell is relaxing, but would probably not fit most mens grooming routines.
I recommend this highly, 5 stars (out of 5) and will continue to use it. You can see the product on the Shamrock Soaps Etsy shop at Kick Your Bum Foot and Body Balm
Subtle hint to Heather, maybe a balm that smells like the beer soap? No pressure 😉
And speaking of beer soap, how could I not try something made with Irish Stout.
Great soap, lathers really well and has a nice smell which is described as hoppy on the website. Not sure I would say hoppy, as that makes me think of an IPA, but it is a very nice, natural scent. Not at all like beer, so you don’t need to worry about smelling like a six-pack when you get to work. The site also recommends using it as a shampoo, which I did not try, sorry. It did not dry out my skin like some soaps.
Any negative would be it only lasted two weeks, but thinking about that a little more, I have never judged long how long a bar of soap lasts, so maybe that is normal.
I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. You can see the product at the Shamrock Soaps Etsy shop at Irish Stout Beer Soap.
Shamrock Soaps will be giving three lucky people the product of their choice and free shipping for that product. To see the products, visit the website and the online shop.
To enter, simply add your name, email and a short comment in the comment section below (emails will not be displayed and will be used ONLY for the purposes of this giveaway). Entries will be accepted until midnight on October 31st, 2014 and the winners will be chosen at random on November 1st from the comments on this post. Entrants must also either LIKE the Shamrock Soaps Facebook page OR sign up for the Shamrock Soaps newsletter on the sites homepage to be eligible to win.
One of the reasons I like to travel is for the food, and when I find a family friendly place near the venue I like to point it out, especially when it is a ‘local’ place that might be easily missed. I found one this weekend during the Halloween Feis.
After having spent the previous week on the coast, I was actually tired of seafood, so when Mrs. WTF asked what I wanted for dinner, I said chicken wings. We did a Google search and found there was a Buffalo Wild Wings nearby, but those are everywhere. We also found a little place called Wings, Suds and Spuds that had some favorable ratings, so we gave it a shot.
A small place in Moon Township, about 10 minutes from the Hyatt, WSS is a family-run business. When we pulled in to a packed (albeit smallish) parking lot, I knew we were on to something, and once inside, I could smell the ‘wingy’ goodness. The restaurant is small, but is family-friendly and serves hot wings and cold beer as well as salads, sandwiches etc… You can see the full menu here.
I like wings and these were pretty good, better than some I have had at the big-name restaurants. The wings were wet, and you could get them really wet, so they were messy, but the sauces were really good. I did half and half with half hot, and the other half hot cajun. Everyone else got boneless or tenders and curly fries and there was very little left by the time we were all through.
WSS has 5 or 6 different beers on tap and all the usual suspects in bottles. I was surprised that there were no BIG name brands on tap, not even Yuengling or Iron City, which I think is against the law, but nobody seemed to care.
Prices were comparable to the chicken chains, maybe a little higher, but it was worth it.
So, if you are looking for something other than hotel or fast food next time you are at a Pittsburgh Feis, look these guys up.
As always, WTF is not compensated for these endorsements…. if I could only find a way 😉
This is a follow up to a post I wrote last year, and some of the references may make more sense if you read that first. This is a bit more ‘story-tellish’ than most of my posts, and the story does not do it justice 🙂
So a year after our discovery of a hidden gem in Montague, MI we returned to the Muskegon area for the 2014 Michigan Feis. It started with a Facebook message to Valerie, the proprietor, saying we were on the way. She let us know that she had other guests this year and that breakfast would be at 930. I replied that we would need to leave about 8 to get to the feis on time, and she need not worry about us, but shortly after, received a response saying we would not be leaving without breakfast, and that we could eat at 730.
We arrived after dark and the front light was off, so we parked near the back and went in through the back as the kitchen light was on. Valerie met us in the kitchen with hugs and a smile. NOTE: I think we got the hugs because we were repeat customers. She had warm cider and home made donuts and cupcakes waiting, and after we got settled in our room, we came back down. We met a young German couple, B & K, also repeat guests, who had also stumbled across Amanda’s for their first visit. We sat around the table and swapped stories about whatever, ate donuts, drank cider, and somebody had snuck in some beer. We laughed and acted like people would have before the onslaught of technology. I am beginning to think this house has that effect on people.
The next morning I got up early and while Mrs. WTF and TGC got ready upstairs, I went downstairs and found Valerie, once again in dress and apron getting breakfast ready. There was a large skillet of sausage gravy and the blue coffee pot on the stove. John was there to, and he got me a cup of coffee, and I moved off to a seat in the corner of the kitchen and took it all in. Sitting in that kitchen is like going back in time, not just the decor, but the feeling. There is just a sense of calm and maybe it is because it reminds me of my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s kitchens, I don’t know. Doesn’t matter why.
The women folk came down, and we were seated. For breakfast we had fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, scratch biscuits, sausage, gravy, toast, a homemade cinnamon jelly, and more coffee. John and Valerie joined us and had coffee while we ate, making sure our cups stayed full and that we were well fed. Everything was as it has been, wonderful.
We finished up and went on our merry way. The feis was good, made all that much better by TGC’s (The Girl Child in case you have stumbled upon this and are not familiar with all the players) great results in the competition. Since she had done so well, she was invited back for the Parade of Champions at the Michigan Irish Music Festival (MIMF) which coincides with the feis weekend. Since we would have to be back that evening, we skipped going to the MIMF right after the feis which had been our norm, and went back to the B&B for a little rest between the events. I was not surprised to find fresh made fall pies waiting, but we would have to wait till Sunday morning before partaking. There were still donuts and cider though.
We opted for rest instead of exploring the yard, seeing the chickens and ducks and rabbits as we had last year, and since the last time, they added a small pond. Plus, since we were back at the festival in the evening, we missed the opportunity for a bonfire which was another of the highlights of our last stay.
The MIMF was fun as always, but a lot more crowded in the evening than we were used to in our afternoon visits. Suffice it to say the crowd was a bit more ‘boisterous’ as well, so we retired before 11 and went back to Amanda’s Bequest.
Sunday greeted us with another wonderful breakfast, starting with the pies made the day before. The Sunday morning pie tradition, we found out later, had been going on for about a year, and we believe we were the first (or one of the first) guests to enjoy this new tradition in 2013. The fall pie was excellent, but I really prefer the Heritage Apple Pie Valerie makes (shh, don’t tell her). A breakfast bake followed, with fresh salsa made from ingredients from the garden in the back yard, toast, jam and coffee, and excellent company. The German couple had been replaced by a ‘foodie couple’ who both worked in the industry, and the conversation was lively and educational. It even came out that Valerie had developed a curriculum to teach children the basics of heritage cooking, and that she had not only successfully taught her program, but that it has been gaining popularity in Michigan and was being adopted by various agencies to help children.
Some time later, with bellies full and minds freshly expanded, we said our goodbyes to Valerie and John. It isn’t often that I am so taken by a place, but the genuine relaxation I find there, plus Valerie’s cooking and the hospitality of both her and John make Amanda’s Bequest a must-see in your getaway plans if you are in that area. Admittedly, it is more expensive than local hotels, but it’s really hard to put a number on what you will walk away with. My hope is your experience will be like ours.
Haven’t posted a feistaurant review in a while, but stumbled across some worthy entries this past wekeend.
Italian Nachos
I have never (if memory serves) reviewed a chain restaurant, but we liked this place so much, TGC wants to move to Kentucky.
Be sure to click the pictures to see a larger version. No filters on the pics, the food looked that good and tasted even better.
Spaghetti Pie
Old Chicago is a western chain that is slowly making its way east, and if you are lucky, you have one near you. If you have not tried it, go, or at the very least put this one on your todo list for next years Bluegrass Feis.
On top of an outrageous menu, they have a nice selection of beers and the service was excellent!
We started with the Italian Nachos, a pasta (yes, I said pasta) chip covered with cheeses, sausage, pepperocini, and served with marinara, “Dio mio!… that is Italian for OMG. Fried and carbs, can it get any better?
Chicago Fire Calzone
TGC had a hard time selecting from the vast menu but decided carbo loading was the way to go. She went with the Spaghetti Pie, a wedge shaped piece of spaghetti noodles with Alfredo sauce set atop marinara.
I went with a calzone called Chicago Fire, a spicy blend of meats and veggied in a huge dough case, served with ranch. Anyone of you who knows me is going to find this hard to believe, but it was too much, and on top of the nachos, um, and beer, I couldn’t finish it.
And don’t let the ‘Italian’ list fool you, we went traditional, but they also have wings, salads, and specialty pizzas like THAI PIE with chicken and teriyaki. Oh, and did I mention they have a nice beer selection? 😉
Highly recommended.
Our own Mellie Wilkes recommended Spaulding’s to me when she heard we were headed to Lexington. Known for their donuts, she told me to get there early on Sunday if I wanted a chance to get some.
Well, considering the meal the night before (see above), and the fact we did not have to rush to the feis first thing Sunday, we took a pass on Spauldings. So why is it listed you ask?
As we drove to the feis, we took side streets through some of the older neighborhoods. In one area, I could see a line of people out the door, and considering the neighborhood, I literally thought it might be a soup kitchen. I was surprised to find it was Spauldings, and Mellie was right, there was a line out the door and around the building.
So sorry Mellie, maybe next time, but if you guys have the chance in the meantime, sounds like it is worth a visit.
