Think Ritz-Carlton and you usually think opulence, luxury and first-class service. Think Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland and add a dash of rock 'n' roll to the mix.
The property, long host to culture-minded guests visiting the likes of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art, is the posh home-away-from-home for rock stars come to bask in the glory of the idiom's iconography at the nearby Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
It is at the hotel's sixth-floor Lobby Lounge, for example, that less musically inclined guests can rub shoulders with rock's greats while sipping a "rocktail" inspired by AC/DC, U2 or Eminem. Of course, you're more likely to find yourself sitting across from a traveling sales executive from Pittsburgh than you are Mick Jagger; after all, the hotel has 205 rooms to fill.
The guestrooms, which like the Lobby Lounge were updated in late 2009, offer wireless and wired Internet, iPod docking stations, flat-screen TVs and a desk workstation as well as a host of other amenities standard for a luxury property: twice-daily maid service, terry cloth bathrobes, 24-hour business services, Italian marble bathrooms, upscale toiletries and concierge service.
To celebrate its affinity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland is offering guests the Be a Rock Star Package, a plan that combines two tickets to the museum, deluxe overnight accommodations, two "rocktails" in the Lobby Lounge and valet parking. The price of the package is $279.
The home of rock
The 150,000-square-foot Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself is a walkable distance from the hotel for most but a cab ride for those of us old enough to have first heard pioneer rock DJ Alan Freed on 1010 WINS in New York in 1954.
An all-inclusive mix of rock history, concert and induction footage, and miscellanea ranging from the remains of Lady Gaga's meat dress to Meat Loaf ephemera, the Hall of Fame offers permanent exhibits such as "The Roots of Rock and Roll: Blues, Gospel, Country/Folk/Bluegrass and R&B" and "Treasures From the Vault," featuring artifacts from the likes of Donovan, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Sly Stone.
Have I mentioned Elvis and the Beatles? They are well represented, too.
For more, see www.ritzcarlton.com.