The lobby of the dusitD2 constance pasadena.
There are a lot of ways to consider luxury. There is the quiet, understated, quality materials, attention-to-detail approach one might find in an upscale 5-star luxury hotel, and there is the attention-getting, in-your-face, take-a-look-at-this kind. Either one can work, depending on the audience, naturally.
The dusitD2 constance pasadena (They take a lower-case approach) is a renovation and re-imagination of the historic 20s-era Constance Hotel, and is an edgy and flashy bit of stylish elegance somewhere between raucous and refined. Just opened last fall, the dusitD2 offers a youthful, hip playfulness couched in just a hint of Asian style.
The Thailand-based dusit hotel chain is making its US debut with this property, and by our accounts, it’s quite the success. The luxury boutique hotel features 136 rooms, including 12 suites. Each of the guest rooms features a tablet computer right on the nightstand, that acts as a virtual concierge, allowing guests to adjust room controls, play music, make housekeeping requests, retrieve their cars, or arrange dining reservations. Need to shop? You can do that, too. Ours crashed the first time we used it, but the helpful tech staff was there in less than a minute to set things right. We used our tablet as a music system, as our alarm, and as our car valet. Very useful, for the record.
Phase two of the dusitD2 constance pasadena.
We stayed in a deluxe room, which was both sleek and stylish with the usual accoutrements. There was the standard large flat-screen TV, the free wi-fi (more and more of a necessity than a luxury these days), and a bed so deliciously comfortable that only the self-loathing would ever schedule an early meeting while staying here.
Owing to the hotel’s edgy nature, this is a place for couples who like each other a lot. The hotel’s shower and toilet facilities, with appropriately frosted glass designs, sit behind glass enclosures that are positioned ominously close to the sleeping area. Be friendly. Be very friendly.
The hotel is also expanding as we speak, with plans for an additional wing and pool area, due to be opened in 2016.
But our biggest surprise by far was the unique and dazzling D2 restaurant menu. It was just being introduced the night before our arrival—so new that the wait staff was still learning its intricacies.
It’s complicated, but I began dinner alone with a marinated cocktail shrimp served with an edaname horseradish puree and cocktail sauce—meaty and flavorful. This was followed by a Tandoori chicken. Presented simply, it was a large portion, delicately spiced, and bursting with juices. I made short work of it.
I was quite ready to walk away following a dessert of assorted berries topped with lemon yogurt foam.
Then my guest arrived. He opted for just a coffee and dessert, but I quickly dissuaded him from such restrained thinking.
So we ordered truffle salmon sashimi, with black tobiko and pickled cucumber. The delicately sliced fish was as good as any Little Tokyo restaurant. This was followed by some exquisite ahi tuna Poke—a lot of ahi tuna Poke, actually, served in a tilted glass dish, with rah-yu, which is a spicy sesame oil, toasted garlic, avocado and cucumber.
The Albacore Burger at dusitD2.
The piéce de resistance arrived next—an albacore sandwich served on a black squid ink bun,with cucumber lettuce, and tomato. This was seriously something to e-mail home about. It was surprisingly light, but so flavorful. At $15, it makes a perfect economic upscale lunch entree. And it will bring you back in for more.
We finished with a chocolate mousse with more fresh berries and the yogurt foam. Can one ever have too much of that? We’re gonna go out on a limb here, and say “no.”
There are so many ways the dusitD2 constance pasadena can lure you in, from its intimate luxurious rooms, to the remarkable food offerings. And did we mention that the hotel is parked right on Colorado Boulevard? This past year’s New Year’s Eve was sold out, as guests watched the floats roll by from their windows high above the parade. Do we need to say anything more about that?
Actually, speaking of reminders, the hotel is now offering guests a “Notes of Love” package for that yearly celebration of love that is coming up, like very, very soon. You can get a deluxe king room and tickets to the Pasadena Symphony with rates beginning at $399 plus tax, if you use the promo code “LOVE” to get the deal.
The whole “Notes of Love” package includes overnight accommodations for two in a deluxe king guest room, sparkling wine and roses in-room upon arrival, Valentine’s dinner for two at D2 Restaurant, and two tickets to the Pasadena Symphony’s Beethoven’s 7th at the Ambassador Auditorium.
Readers can book the package at https://gc.synxis.com/rez.
DusitD2 constance pasadena is at 928 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. (626) 898-7900. www.dusit.com/dusitd2/pasadena.
