Sunday, February 27, 2011

Consol Energy Center, PNC Legends Level

1001 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Grade: A-


Guest post by Chris Flyer.


I was fortunate enough to be invited to a Penguins game in one of the new Consol Energy Center's party suites. In addition to free food, an open bar, and gifts lavished upon us, I expected a glorious restroom. And while not bad, per se, I feel as though it under delivered in comparison to the opulence of the suite.

Don't get me wrong, if this bathroom were in almost any other building, it would be an A+ and perhaps one of the best experiences in my life. For starters, it was large enough to feel luxurious, but small enough to be intimate. Given the exclusivity of the suite level, you don't have to worry about any riff-raff showing up to ruin the experience. I only frequented one of these restrooms, but let's assume they are all the same. This given facility had four urinals and two spacious stalls. I was unfortunately unable to capture an image of the stalls, but let me try to paint a picture. Upon stepping into the first, I understandably mistook it for the handicapped stall, with its abundance of space and helpful hand rails. Imagine my shock when I looked next door to find 
an even bigger stall.

The facilities were always of desirable cleanliness and were never lacking in paper towels, soap, hot water, etc. However, given the opulence of the suite, I expected more. Hot towels, attendants, mints, etc. Despite the luxurious wrapper, this was your standard restroom. In fact, it's a testament to the foresight of the building's designers that the general admission restrooms are nearly on par in terms of fixtures and quality.

Don't get me wrong, this was a great place to do my biz. However, I feel like it was a bit of a missed opportunity to do something really special. Needless to say, I will probably never be back there again, but the memory will last a lifetime.