The quirkiest town on the eastern seaboard now has a hotel that can match its sense of… let’s just say nuttiness.
So, where are we?
In the Mount Vernon area of Baltimore, Maryland, five minutes in an Uber from the station with the Washington Monument right there in front of the window. This is apparently still considered Baltimore’s ‘gaybourhood’ but bars like The Hippo and Grand Central Station are long gone and it feels somewhere between grand – the old mansions of the Baltimore elite are up there by the monument – and quirky.
And where we’re staying…?
At the Ulysses, which feels like it’s been here forever but which is, in fact, just a couple of years old, based in a huge Gilded Age block that has been refurbished in such a sensitive way that you’d never know that before the Ulysses, these were offices.
What’s the style?
From the tables and chairs on the sidewalk, The Coral Wig speakeasy on the corner, through the darkened lobby smelling of their signature candle to the smiling staff on reception, there’s a definite feeling of fun about the Ulysses. Retro lighting – so low you can step over it – fun furnishings, all the right fonts on the signage, it’s arty and snooky and sexy with the delicately and deliberately distressed feel of Château Marmont in LA.
And the rooms?
From the canopied four-poster beds with fabric that looks almost William Morris classic, but which, on closer inspection, is dotted with flamingos in honour of Baltimore’s favourite son, gay film-maker John Waters and his most famous movie, Pink Flamingos, the design is cheeky. It may come over as antique with bathrooms that mix quirky tiles with Art Deco lacquer and curtains so heavy you might need a burly lad to come in and draw them for you, but there’s sauciness everywhere, from the pink lacquered wardrobe to the mirror-topped tables, the flamingos holding up the bedside cabinets and the retake on classic American quilting on the bed. Light on amenities – a steamer, a hairdryer and an ice bucket are pretty much it – these rooms feel so snuggly you might not leave it if there wasn’t so much to enjoy outside.
Is there a story?
Conceived as rooms for respectable bachelors back when the building was constructed, there were, until the refurb, a rag-tag (and Baltimore is all about rag-tag) collection of businesses taking up the 10 or more storeys.
And to eat?
Turn left at reception and you are in the Ash Bar, a scarlet lacquered, Deco delight, where everything is colour. Turn right and you’ll find Bloom Bar, which is bigger and lighter with a huge circular bar in the middle. While out of the front doors to the left is The Coral Wig, a cheeky French-style speakeasy.
So, to sum up…
The Ulysses is a delight, pure and simple. So beautifully designed but with such a sense of fun that there’s never even a hint of pretentiousness. An instant Baltimore classic, it fits the mood of a city where nothing may be taken entirely seriously..
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