James Grandstaff

Review of Raphael Hotel

My wife and I came here for our honeymoon, because...

My wife and I came here for our honeymoon, because she had always wanted to stay here since she was a little girl.

For this review, I will be detailing the Premier Suite with whirlpool. It has a living room/dining room, a three-section bathroom, with a separate bedroom and a chaise lounge.

We arrived on Friday, May 17th at around 9pm. After a busy day with our wedding, plus a long trip, we were tired and wanted to retire for the night. Upon parking in the front, we were met by Phil Martin, a most excellent valet. Rick, the Bellman, gathered our luggage for bringing to our room. My wife and I are asthmatic, so as we were just getting through the doors we encountered some cigar smoke (a smoker's patio area is the ONLY smoking area) and had light trouble. The desk clerk, Curtis, immediately perceived our trouble and had bottled water waiting for us at the counter. He didn't even ask, he just had it waiting. Very astute! He quickly had us checked in and we quickly made our way to our room, which was very close to the front, so not much walking was needed.

Upon entering our room, Rick, the Bellman, began to give us a history of the hotel. It was most illuminating, as was his service. He explained the breakfast card to us so we could have a tasty meal the next morning.

After refreshing ourselves, we decided on a quick bite at Chaz on the Plaza. Upon arrival, we met the most amazing waiter, Tiago. My review is posted for Chaz, so more can be read there.

Upon retiring for the evening, we relaxed with the whirlpool and then a cozy bed waiting for us.

The next morning, we had a lovely breakfast. I had steak and eggs with OJ, where my wife had the Raphael omelette with some tomato juice. It was wonderfully yummy!

There were thunderstorms most of the day, so we decided to spend it indoors relaxing since the barometric pressure change affects us negatively.

That night, after we returned from dinner and some city driving, we decided some dessert was in order. So delicious I would would have had three bowls if I could.

While the stay was, in many ways, perfect, we did experience some unfortunate glitches. But Craig, the General Manager, was gracious and generous in responding to our concerns and ensuring we departed happy guests.

We had another yummy breakfast Monday the 20th and then proceeded to return to our home city of Omaha.

Such a magical experience, one that I will never forget.