I'm not a Yankie Doodle Dandy - are you? (Nassau Inn (Princeton, USA))

Member Name: koshkha

Product:	Nassau Inn (Princeton, USA)
Date:	24/08/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant hotel in a great location

Disadvantages: Not as great as it thinks it is, but not bad

For many years I worked for a company that had a US office in New Jersey which I used to visit several time each year. This was a dreary place on a soul-less industrial estate in Dayton that had little to attract visitors. However, it wasn't too far from the university town of Princeton and since many of my colleagues lived in that area, it wasn't hard to persuade the travel secretary who booked our hotels to book in Princeton. It was less horrible than the rest of the area and we could save a fortune on taxi fares by getting lifts with our friends.

The favourite among these hotels was the Nassau Inn. I've stayed there about 10 or 12 times and would say that the best thing about the hotel is the location. Locals would tell you the key reason to stay at the Nassau is for its historic importance (it dates to the 17th century so I guess it's older than the country) and rather cheesy 'olde-worlde' ambiance but for anyone from Europe, this place is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. I've lived in small villages with more interestingly historical buildings than this - hell, my own house is 400 years old - but in the USA, a land of undistinguishable chain hotels in which hundreds of identical places are scattered around the highways of the land, the Nassau is something special.

Princeton likes to think of itself as the Oxford or Cambridge of the United States when in fact it's nothing like either and should just be proud of being what it is instead of trying to pretend to be what it isn't. It does however attract a wealthy student body and they attract their parents who seem to adore the Nassau and be willing to pay a lot to stay there. And why not it's not a bad place.

~Location ~

Nassau Inn is on Palmer Square, a chic shopping zone right in the middle of Princeton. This is an area where you can buy overpriced things you don't need for your home from lots of shops selling 'interiors' and European cookware. The Inn's location does offer visitors the opportunity to eat in some great restaurants as there is no shortage of places within a short walk of the hotel. It's also really nice to stay somewhere where you don't need to have a car to get out and do anything. Many of the Princeton hotels on the outskirts of town have nothing around them except highways and chain restaurants. From the Nassau you can walk around the campus, visit a wide variety of shops and art galleries and fantastic bookshops. There's even a teensy cinema near by. In a land where walking is a minority activity, the Nassau is refreshingly well located.

It is however only fair to say that the photo on this listing is deceptively cutesy. Most of the Nassau really doesn't look like it's an English country village street.

~Reception ~

Entering the hotel by the main entrance, you'll find a large lobby with a concierge desk and a long reception desk. Go straight through reception to the bar and restaurant or take the lifts opposite the reception up to your room. The décor in reception is a bit twee and chintzy but there are some comfy chairs and you can usually pick up a free coffee from a table near the door which comes in handy if (like me) you can't face negotiating a full breakfast first thing in the morning.

~ The Rooms ~

The rooms are not particularly impressive - neither very large nor equipped with anything out of the ordinary. I've been freezing cold in winter, scorching hot in summer and suffered extremely noisy air con units that dripped and rattled throughout the night. On one visit I had the handyman sent to my room three times to try to fix different things that were defective and that's not much fun when you've got jet lag. The rooms have all the furniture you'd expect and really nothing that you wouldn't. There's a TV, bed, desk, bedside table, comfy chair and so on and from what I remember internet access sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. Wardrobe space is adequate and the small bathrooms have powerful showers. The décor is again a homage to Euro-chintz - fun for Americans but a bit cheesy for others.

~ I'm NOT a Yankee Doodle Dandy ~

The hotel is very proud of its bar which is called the Yankee Doodle Tap Room. It takes its name from a wall painting in the bar of Yankee Doodle which was painted by Norman Rockwell in the 1930s. The drinks bar is a horseshoe shape with bar stools all round or you can eat at smaller restaurant tables. Personally I found the service to be a bit too aggressive and stopped using the bar after a colleague was 'bullied' into giving a large tip by a very 'assertive' waitress who told her "That's how we do things over here. ma'am". It might be, but it's still rude to demand tips. Mind you, it was a shame because she made a great margarita. The bar has large TV's for watching sports and an open fire is lit during the colder months.

~ How do you like your eggs? ~

Breakfast was often included in the room rate when I stayed at the Nassau and worked on a coupon system. I found this really difficult to manage as it was never explained what was and was not available with the coupons and even if you used them, you still got presented with an invoice after each meal so you had a chance to tip your server and if you didn't tip you found your eggs took a long time to come the next morning or weren't quite as you expected them. I'm sorry if this reads like a Euro-whinge but I do believe it's time American hotels paid their staff properly and reduced the ceaseless quest for tips. When paying a lot for a room you shouldn't have to keep putting your hand in your pocket to keep the staff happy.

~ Lest you forget where you are ~

The Princeton University theme is strong throughout the hotel with many of the suites and meeting rooms named after alumni. There's an Albert Einstein suite, one named after Christopher Reeve and dozens of photos of famous ex students decorate the walls.

~ Other Facilities ~

The hotel doesn't have a car park but has arrangements with an expensive public car park round the corner. There's a gym and a business centre but I've not used either so I can't comment on the quality. At the height of the summer it could really do with a swimming pool but it doesn't have one. You'll have to make do with stealing the icecubes from the ice machines on each floor.

In summary, this isn't a bad hotel despite my snobby European attitude to over-blown claims of historic significance. It certainly beats the atmosphere of the chain hotels if not the facilities, and the location is second to none. If you can get a good price, it's well worth a visit

Summary: It's a bit like a European theme hotel. Mind the chintz!