My spouse and I stayed at the Kimpton Monaco Pittsburgh for
two nights on a weekend in late September - early October 2017. We booked our
stay online using the Kimpton website. At that time, we also signed up for the
Kimpton Karma frequent stay program. (Years ago, we were members of Kimpton
InTouch, but our membership either lapsed or did not transfer over to the new
program.) The Kimpton brand was created in 1981, and has since opened over 65
hotels in 30 cities under the brand Kimpton or the sub-brand Palomar or Monaco.
In 2014, the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) brand acquired Kimpton. (IHG owns the Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn
Express, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Indigo, EVEN, and
Hualuxe brands.) Our last Kimpton experience was dining at the Brabo
Tasting Room at the Lorien Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia in May 2015.
The Kimpton Monaco Pittsburgh opened in January 2015 in
Downtown’s 1903 Beaux-Arts James H. Reed building (which was once home to
Duquesne Light as well as a law office) at the corner of William Penn Place and Sixth
Avenue. The hotel building lies
across the street from Mellon Square, a park that provides green space,
seating, and fountains atop a city parking garage. The garage offers an
excellent value for weekend parking ($6 per day), but it is more expensive
during the workweek. (FYI: It is likely the same garage that the hotel valets
use.) This downtown hotel
occupies a good location if you plan to attend a Pittsburgh sporting or
cultural event. You can walk (or ride the “T” train/subway system) to Point
State Park, Fort Pitt, PNC Park, Heinz Field, Carnegie Science Center, Consol
Energy Center (now called PPG Paints Arena), the David L. Lawrence
Convention Center, Station
Square, and the Rivers Casino. Numerous restaurants, other hotels, and stores (pharmacy,
beer and liquor stores) are located within walking distance. The hotel loans
bicycles if you want to explore.
As you approach the front door to be greeted by the parking valet
/doormen, look for the ceramic
Great Dane statue outside. (The Great Dane is the state dog of Pennsylvania,
unbeknownst to me, a lifelong resident of PA and once “auntie” to two Danes,
one Harlequin and one Black.) In fact, the
Monaco is pet-friendly; we overheard a valet tell a guest “We allow any pet
that fits through the door!” Pass through either the revolving door, or one of the two
stationary doors to enter the black-and-white tile foyer crowned by an enormous
chandelier and a front desk designed to look like a regular desk (with faux
drawers on the customer side) and side lamps with “chicken feet” details. From
the lobby, you can glimpse the living room/library upstairs (with similar
chicken feet chandeliers) and a restaurant downstairs. Public areas and amenities include a
fitness center and two dining options: The Commoner and the Biergarten. (We
visited both restaurants; see our separate reviews.) On weekdays, the hotel
also offers the Commoner Corner, where you can eat breakfast or lunch at a
counter, or buy a takeaway snack or beverage from a to-go window. Wi-Fi is free
to Kimpton Karma members. Conference/ event/ meeting space is also available. A
social hour that offers complimentary wine, beer, and snacks is held every
evening from 5:00 to 6:00 pm in the Living Room gathering space. (The young
woman who hosted the wine reception on the night that we attended was friendly
and gregarious, and we enjoyed conversing with her and the other guests.) Near
the front desk, the hotel offers complimentary coffee in the morning and fruit-infused
water around the clock.
The Monaco offers 248 rooms and 13 suites in a variety of categories. Room
types include Queen (253 sq. ft.), King (333 sq. ft.), 2 Queens (347 sq. ft.),
Park View King (342 sq. ft.), Park View 2 Queens (336 sq. ft.), Deluxe King
(319 sq. ft.), Corner King (399 sq. ft.), Corner 2 Queens (463 sq. ft.), Spa
King (448 sq. ft.), Corner Spa King (460 sq. ft.), 1-Bedroom Suite (789 sq. ft.),
Luxury 1-Bedroom Suite (922 sq. ft.), and the Emperor Suite (1,008 sq. ft.). Because
of some reduced rates on the weekend that we visited, we splurged on an
upgraded Corner Spa King room. At 460 square feet, our room contained a long
hallway with a big closet. When the closet doors swung back (they did not slide
on a track), a fun wallpaper (colorful neckties interspersed with images of a
Great Dane) was revealed affixed to the back of the closet. In addition to
plenty of hangers, two fluffy gray bathrobes were provided (although no
slippers), as well as a yoga mat, an umbrella, an electronic safe, and an extra
pillow and blanket. Our bedroom featured textiles of many different patterns,
colors, and textures, from the black-and-white hounds tooth curtains (which
covered two sides of our room and framed a view across Grant Street to the
fountain and courtyard at the USX Building), to a green tufted headboard that
occupied one entire wall and surrounded both the king-size bed and a nightstand
on each side), to the leather armchair (with a reddish needlepoint pillow of a
Great Dane riding a scooter), and the colorful floral-patterned standing-lamp
shade. Other notable décor included a yellow penguin-shaped lamp (in a nod to
the city’s hockey team), a bedside chandelier ensconced in a birdcage, and a
black-and-gold armoire that held the TV and the minibar. (Kimpton Karma members
receive a $10 “Raid the Bar” credit for each stay. Alternatively, you can use
the credit against charges in one of the hotel restaurants/bars.) As mentioned
in the name of our room category, a spa bathroom was a big feature with a nice
vanity (including a single sink and generous storage space), a separate room (although
without a door) for the toilet, and a huge walk-in tile glass-enclosed shower
area that held not only the showerhead (which was not a rainfall model) and a gorgeous
free-standing soaking tub. The hotel provides Atelier Bloem toiletries
(shampoo, conditioner, body wash), but in the regular large household-use size.
Only the hand lotion and bath salts were in portable sizes. As most hotels, the
Kimpton offers a forgotten item program; however, their offerings include
less-seldom-seen items including straightening irons, phone chargers,
humidifiers, adapters, lint rollers, stain-remover wipes, and anti-static
spray. The handwritten (although not personalized) notes from housekeeping upon
arrival and at turndown added a homey touch. We also appreciated the various
emails that we received prior to our stay informing us of hotel amenities,
offering a (paid) upgrade, and warning us of a local event that might affect
traffic on the street in front of the hotel. (However, what we really needed
was an email warning us that the last segment of the “Parkway” (Route 376 East)
would be closed that weekend, necessitating an exit at Wilkinsburg and travel
through Shadyside and the University/Hospital area, a detour that took
approximately one hour to travel what should have been less than four miles!)
We loved our stay at the Kimpton Monaco Pittsburgh, and
we hope to return soon!
