A Weekend in the Hampton (Inn). Cleveland. October 2026.
Cleveland. The Sixth City. The Rock and Roll Capital of America. Here we go.
Steph is on hiatus so I (Tzvi) will be writing this short adventure to Cleveland. She will return next week with the long overdue journal from last month’s Israel trip.
Early on Friday morning we embarked on our trip to Cleveland for the wedding of Steph’s cousin Katy. We had a seamless check in at American Airlines, got bagels at Dunkin, met Steph’s parents at the gate and boarded on time. When we booked this, for some reason the cost to book first class seats (which included free bags) was only $8 per person more than the cost of a regular seat plus bags. Hallie has been very excited about flying first class, although we tried to temper her excitement about how wonderful first class would be in the tiny Embraer 250.
We boarded and were pleasantly surprised by the size of the seats. We were also offered orange juice immediately upon sitting down, which was nice, even if it was in a plastic cup. The flight was easy, a quick hour and a half.
We landed, got our bags and then went to get our rental car. For this trip we had rented through the Turo app, which is like Airbnb for cars. We’ve used this app before and usually the owner leaves the car in a parking lot and leaves the key in a lockbox attached to the window. This was a different experience. We rented a Kia Carnival (which is kind of a cross between an SUV and a mini van). The owner, Jonathan, met us at the curb to deliver the car. This was very convenient. We could immediately tell we were in the Midwest by the fact that we could park this car curbside at an airport for fifteen minutes while we completed the check in and photographed the car, and no one said a word. Then it got weird as Jonathan asked which way we were heading and offered to drive us to our hotel because it’s closer to his house and easier for him. He also helped us load all of our suitcases into the trunk. This was all quite strange to me but my mother says that this is normal in the Midwest where apparently people are just nicer. Jonathan was very friendly; he had previously lived in NY and worked as a video editor for MTV. Nice guy.
For the weekend we are staying at a Hampton Inn in Beachwood, which is where the bride and groom had reserved a block of rooms for the wedding party. You know that thing, where someone really doesn’t want to be responsible for something so they do it really poorly so that you never ask them to do it again? Apparently Steph doesn’t want to be involved in booking travel. Before departing the airport we decided to call the hotel to see if the rooms were ready. That was the point where Steph started looking for a confirmation code and realized that she had never actually booked a room.
So there we were barreling down the Cleveland highway, the six of us and Jonathan, heading to a Hampton Inn where we didn’t actually have a room to stay.
Unfortunately, the hotel had no more connecting rooms, but they did have an accessible room with two queen beds that would fit four people. Amazing.
We made it to the hotel, parked, said goodbye to our new pal Jonathan and checked in. There was not quite the same fanfare that you get when checking into the Four Seasons despite Tzvi’s diamond status. The lobby is leanly staffed - just the two women at the front desk and a security guard. I wondered whether the guard actually needed the cane or whether it was a diversion for would-be criminals.
We got our room immediately. It’s actually quite spacious and could probably fit two or three wheelchairs. We dropped all of our stuff and then headed out across the street to Pinecrest, which is basically a nice outdoor shopping center. We had originally told ChatGPT we had three hours to see Cleveland and get a flavor of it and asked what to do. We opted not to see the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame because we didnt think the kids would appreciate it and it seemed like just too much of a hassle. The original recommendation from Chat was to visit downtown Cleveland where there were local restaurants and shops, but Jonathan told us he didn’t think that was worthwhile. We think he maybe just didnt want us taking the car into downtown Cleveland, but either way we were hungry and needed to eat so we opted for Pinecrest.
We had lunch at a place called Kitchen Social, which was actually delicious. We ate fried cauliflower, fish tacos and other things. I spent most of the meal sitting outside the restaurant on work calls. After that we walked around and got a coffee at Heartland Coffee Roasters. The coffee was delicious but it took forever, mainly because the cashier was spending lots of time talking to each customer. My mother would love it here. Then we walked some more and I bought a sweatshirt at Alo.
After that we wanted to get ice cream, so we looked up local ice cream places and found Mitchell’s a ten minute drive away. We walked in and realized the place was kosher and the local yeshiva must have just let out. The ice cream was delicious.
We got back to the hotel and Steph realized she had forgotten to bring a book to read, so I drove five minutes to Barnes and Nobles in another shopping center down the road. I think Cleveland is just made up of lots of shopping centers, or at least that’s what I’ve seen of it. It took me five minutes of browsing to pick out a book for Steph and ten minutes to wait online while they helped the three people in front of me.
We got ready for shabbos and walked across the street, trekking up a hill and through the Porsche dealership, to the Courtyard by Marriott where we were having dinner, because our hotel didn’t have any kind of private space. So we had shabbos dinner in the Courtyard boardroom. Katy’s brother Joel and his wife Jenny arranged the entire dinner (and entire shabbos portion of this weekend). The food was from a local kosher caterer and kind of reminded me of the food we used to eat in college. BBQ chicken thighs, potato kugel, beans. It was all pretty good, except Jenny said it was nothing that she actually had ordered. It was nice nonetheless, and then we walked back to the hotel and went to sleep.
We woke up Saturday morning and went downstairs for our free hotel breakfast. Once again we told Hallie to temper her expectations and explained this would not be like an Israeli breakfast buffet. It wasn’t horrible. There was coffee, waffles, eggs we wouldn’t touch, oatmeal, yogurt, toast, some terribly sweet muffins and scones, and cereal. No one starved, especially because at 10:30, just minutes after breakfast ended, Joel and Jenny came into the lobby with kiddush! Kiddush involved lots of pastries and muffins from a local kosher bakery.
We stayed in the lobby for a while just talking. I watched House Hunters on the big tv in the lobby. I think we probably spent more time than anyone has ever spent in the lobby of a Hampton Inn. I know I’m a hotel snob, so I’ll be objective and say this hotel is fine. I’m pretty sure it was originally built as some kind of hospital or institution.
We decided to take a walk across the street to Pinecrest where there was a playground. Around 1pm we walked back and ate lunch in my parents room. There were supposed to be “deconstructed” deli and schnitzel sandwiches so things didnt get soggy, but this caterer answers to no one so he made fully dressed sandwiches with potato chips that probably once were crispy and delicious but just tasted like mush.
After lunch we sat by the indoor pool for a couple of hours while the kids swam. Steph and I refused to go in. Let’s hope they dont catch something from that water. At one point a woman came in with a bunch of kids, none older than 10, and then just left them in the pool. Cool.
After that we went back to the room and got ready to go out to Katy’s Saturday night pre-wedding dinner. The dinner was at La Dolce Vita, a bar in the little Italy section of Cleveland. The evening was very nice and I enjoyed the arancini, eggplant parm and bowties with Alfredo sauce. Steph ate four bread rolls. Madeleine seemed to enjoy the crosses and photos of Jesus hanging on the walls. After dinner we drove a few minutes to a different Mitchell’s ice cream, because people needed more ice cream.
When we got back to the hotel we found the parking lot completely full. I was particularly upset because there are a few spots at the front of the hotel that have a sign that say they are reserved for Hilton Diamond members. They were also full and I am quite sure that they were not all diamond members. I had a mind to march right into the hotel and ask whether they had taken an inventory of the Hilton Honors status of each car, but instead I just parked in the hotel driveway.
Sunday morning we got up early. Tzvi and Hallie drove across the street to the same coffee place again and got coffees. We had breakfast in the lobby and then headed out by 1045 so Steph and her mother and the girls could get their hair done for the wedding. I spent an hour and a half walking around a mostly deserted shopping mall. Then we had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, which took almost two hours, because… well, because Cleveland.
We rushed back to the hotel, now late because of the very long lunch at Cheesecake. We quickly got ready for the wedding and made it out by about 315. We had to be there by 4pm to get seated for the 430pm start time.
This wedding is unlike most weddings (or any wedding) we usually go to. We walked in and were greeted by the wedding planner. We saw our place cards but were told we were not allowed to take them yet. The wedding began with the ceremony, so we arrived and chose our seats. Then we basically waited for the ceremony to start. In the meantime we took some photos. Then all of a sudden we heard music and saw Rabbi Joel walking down the aisle…pushing a stroller… with Katy and Chad’s cat. Did I not mention this wasn’t a typical wedding?
The ceremony was lovely. Joel did a great job and spoke very nicely about the couple. He mentioned this was the first wedding he’s ever done, so if anyone is looking for a Rabbi… Because basically no one here was observant, they had to bring in a rent-a-Jew from the Jewish community to be one of the witnesses. Sheldon and I both had sheva brachot, which was nice. And then it was time to party! Wait, nope, cocktail hour. We took some photos with the bride and groom during this time. It was cold outside, but we finished just before it started to rain.
[Steph: I thought it was an interesting observation that we go to shul weekly where we get to socialize with lots of people. Most people don’t have that, so I guess going to weddings and other infrequent events is where they socialize?]
Cocktail hour had some appetizers like tuna tacos and corn ribs and a big veggie platter. They had these seed crackers that Steph was inhaling.
Finally it was time to welcome the bride and groom. Katy and Chad had a first dance that they had apparently taken lessons for. Chad threw out his back a few days earlier, but did a great job. We were then seated for dinner in a gorgeous room. It was all fall themed and very well decorated.
We started off with a salad that was served to us, and then immediately received the main. We could have ordered kosher meat meals, but we opted not to, mainly so we could enjoy dessert. We all had salmon that was very good that came with potatoes and asparagus. Something also of note, apparently normal weddings don’t revolve around food. Odd.
For dessert there were mini tiramisus, berries and cream, and then a cake bar from a baker in West Hempstead. Apparently Chad loves it so he flew them in. It’s called Sydney’s Sweets and it was delicious.
Then it was time to dance. It felt like they played songs in order of the decade, starting with songs from the 60’s and making their way to more modern songs. Except when it got close to 10:00 my parents wanted to leave so we left during the college 2010’s portion of the set.
The girls had a fantastic time at the wedding. Someone had given them disposable cameras and they took their job very seriously, taking pictures all over the place. It was very cute. If anyone is looking for photographers and/or wedding dancers…
We drove back to the hotel, packed a bit, and went to bed.
Sunday morning we woke up nice and early. I went for coffee again at the same coffee place and brought them back to the hotel. We had a quick breakfast in the lobby where we found Jonathan, the owner of the Kia. He was also sitting and enjoying the free Hampton Inn breakfast. We packed up the car and Jonathan drove us to the airport. Check in was easy, but we were unfortunately delayed by a couple of hours including an hour on the runway. Thankfully we had our comfortable first class seats to wait in.
The flight was quick and then we were home.
Nice trip. While we may not have seen much of Cleveland, I feel like we really got to experience the midwestern lifestyle. This long weekend has made me want to be a friendlier, kinder, more patient person.
Or maybe not.
