Hotel Review: My First Out of Town Hotel Stay During a Pandemic

I was invited to try a newly renovated hotel in Baltimore, MD, Hotel Revival. So I didn’t actually go too far away from home, but the trip still felt like a new experience. I have never been in the neighborhood where Revival stands, Mt Vernon.

I love a boutique hotel, and as soon as I stepped inside I knew this place was different. From the locally made items encased just near the check-in counter, to the sign in the lobby that reads “Let Your Life Proceed By Its Own Design.” The design was clean, and cohesive, yet nostalgic. The typewriter in the lobby, the ships in bottles, it all pulled at my heartstrings. I don’t know what it is about antiques but I just love everything about them. 

Backing up a bit, we felt comfort in the fact that the first sign we saw was ‘face mask required.’ Revival took other precautions also, like 48 hours between guests in each room, hand sanitizer throughout the hotel, and limiting the amount of guests in the elevator at one time. We observed the guests and staff following these guidelines, which allowed us to relax during our stay. There was hand sanitizer right by the elevator, which is convenient. Though we saw a few folks walk through the lobby when we were checking in, we felt like it was just us, which worked out well.

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The Rooms

We brought along our own disinfectant supplies. We sprayed soft services with disinfectant and used wipes for hard services. We had to call down for another pillow and the wifi code, but all in all everything was set up nicely. The room was large, we had a suite. There was a sofa to relax, a desk with a bookcase, and a table to enjoy a meal. When we looked out the windows we saw monuments and a nice park, great views on every side. The bathroom was sleek, black and white, with a shower. My favorite part of the room may have been the little trinkets by the bed. Everything was on brand but there were plenty of plugs for my electronics, which is winning in my book. 

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The Neighborhood

After checking out the room we took a peek around the hotel and we toured the park across the street. There is actually a restaurant on the bottom floor that looked nice, but is currently being renovated. The art work, the design in general was amazing. I particularly enjoyed the wallpaper along the stairs going from the first to second floor. At first you may think you’re just looking at a heart, but if you look closer, you’ll see many beach balls that came together to create the bigger picture. I don’t know a lot about art but I do know I like nice art. Because we could see a water fountain from our window, we decided to take a quick walk through the park. The greenery was so nice. There were also some lovely statues throughout the park. After a quick walk around we headed back to our room to relax.

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The Food

Included in our stay was a dinner from the new chef. Service inside Topside restaurant is currently limited to 50% capacity. We decided to dine in our room, we have not dined inside a restaurant just yet. The room service menu was conveniently located on the TV and our food was delivered right on time. The sous chef was actually one of the people who delivered our meal. He was able to answer all of my questions and I was delighted to learn that the produce were locally sourced. We had a crab cake, edamame hummus with wonton chips, a creamy cheesy crab pasta, and roasted chicken. The chicken was the best we’ve ever had, it was nice, juicy, and well seasoned. The edamame hummus was the perfect appetizer, we never had anything like it. The hummus was creamy and the chips were crispy. My favorite was the crab pasta. The Gouda cheese and the squid ink pasta were the perfect combination. I’m not sure what the chef did to that food, but it was really one of the best hotel meals we’ve ever had. I also ordered a flour-less cake that was dense, but the chocolate was cut by the wild berry coulis.

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The Real Deal

After a busy few months, not to mention exhausting, this getaway was what we needed. From the artful design, to the amazing meal, and the comics so gently tucked away in a bookcase in our room, it all added to the whole experience. The bed was nice and comfy, the views were everything, and we had the perfect set up to enjoy our coffee and tea in the morning. Our stay at Revival was truly re-energizing. We loved the food so much, we’ll definitely be back to try brunch, but overall I would stay at this hotel again just for the feel.