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Trump DC Will Open Across The Street From The White House
It was announced this morning that, after much consideration, Trump will be the one to revive DC's floundering architectural relic, the Old Post Office, by turning it into a 250-room hotel. According to the Washington Post, quite a few investors and developers (including Hilton) had their eye on the building, which dates back to the 1890s.
Though Trump and his daughter Ivanka have plans to do it up Trump-style (think wall mosaics, temperature-controlled chocolate labs, Louis Vuitton-inspired wine bars), the plan—for now, at least—is actually to preserve the hotel's heritage.
"I think the historic facade of the building will be the greatest signage of all," Ivanka told journalists yesterday. Because, as we all know, it's what's inside that counts.
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Are Hotels Becoming The Next Rock 'n Roll Venues?
Yesterday, the widely-read indie music blog Stereogum published a second installment of their new "Stereogum x W Hotel Suite Session" video series, which features up-and-coming bands performing at a W Hotel of their choice. No fans, no stage, not even any fancy lighting or effects. Just a regular old rock band taking over a regular old hotel room—and making you wish you could be snuggled up in bed for a front row seat.
But this isn't the first time we've seen this. Back in April, Aloft hotels were running a near identical partnership with Pitchfork called the Video Surveillance Series, where the "footage" was made to look as though it "caught" the bands in action. Same idea, different effect.
And while the trend is certainly proving a success, we have to ask: what's going on here? Is this the next generation of live music? Will bands eventually give up on the traditional venues and just embark on national chain hotel tours?
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Twitpic Of The Week: Look What Conan O'Brien Found In His Hotel Room
There is one particular trend @HotelChatter happens to quite enjoy: candid hotel photos. These pics range from stunning views to anti-views to celebrity tomfoolery and everything in between. And we can't get enough of 'em! Every Monday, we commemorate our favorite hotel-themed snapshot du semaine. Got a favorite of your own? Want to show off your sweet suite? Send it in!
We don't know quite what to make of this photo @ConanOBrien tweeted from his DC hotel room yesterday. On the one hand, we're happy that he was greeted by such a thoughtful, though slightly bizarre, gesture. On the other, we're a little jealous. Seriously, a phallic cookie? With frosting? Normally, we count ourselves lucky just to get a few apples when we check in. Ah, life at the top...
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Obama Receives A Special Guest From The W Hotel. Again.
For the second year in a row, the W Washington DC graciously offered to host the lucky turkey that had been spared his 400°F fate. The turkey traveled from Pennsylvania to Washington DC in order to get pardoned by the President himself, and while in town, got to spend the night at the hotel. Pet-friendly amenities and all.
A custom room was offered up to the turkey, including: added sawdust on the floor as well as a W-branded "munchie box" filled with soy, corn and cranberries. Wow, they really step it up for these birds! We can't remember the last time a hotel modified its regular room service menu options for us. Though we're pretty sure it involved some sort of extra fee.
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DSK's Own Version of Whatever, Whenever at the W DC
While a porno spoof based on the life and trials of Dominique Strauss-Kahn seeks donations for filming, we think we may have a good location suggestion for the shoot--The W D.C. where DSK allegedly shacked up with a $500-a night prostitute, according to a new report in a French paper.
Apparently, DSK flew a Belgian hooker to the U.S. to accompany him on the job while he was head of the International Monetary Fund. And now one of the girls is talking. In an interview with Nord Eclair, the girl spoke of flying to DC in January of 2010, posing as DSK's "assistant."
Hotel Openings / Capella Hotels / Washington DC Hotels / Political Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Capella Georgetown Set to Open in December 2012 (with Personal Assistants!)
Day.
The posh nabe of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. is about to get even more swish in December 2012 when the Capella Georgetown opens. Yes, Capella of the luxury hotel collection, Capella Hotels and Resorts.
Now, we know how much political leaders love their fine hotel accommodations and the Capella Georgetown, at 1050 31st Street, NW, will not disappoint. According to a press release, the hotel will feature just 49 "magnificently appointed rooms and suites in a highly private and secure environment, and will provide unmatched levels of customer service and room finishes."
Additionally, the hotel promises to cater to "a sophisticated and discerning clientele including global industry leaders, heads of state and other visitors."
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Angella Reid Says Bye-Bye Ritz Carlton, Hello White House
Almost three years ago, America welcomed its first black president. This week, history was made again when the White House hired its first-ever female Chief Usher, Angella Reid.
OK, fine, not quite as ground-breaking as Obama's inauguration. But still! One small step...yada yada. Reid will leave her post as general manager of the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City to take over the coveted position, which entails housekeeping duties like property inventory, state dinners, and Inauguration Day house moves. That last one's gotta be a doozy—moving the president isn't exactly your standard U-Haul by-the-hour operation!
Two decades of work for the Ritz Carlton brand (at properties in Miami, New York, D.C., and Rocky Hill, CT) should have prepared Reid for the role, which former Chief Usher Gary Walters told C-Span is "not always easy".
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The Hilton Muffin Drama Gently Winds Down
An Inspector General report found last week that the government spent $16 per muffin at a 2009 conference inside a Hilton Hotel. The news, which spread around the internet faster than spilt coffee on a tablecloth, snowballed into a broader condemnation of both the government's extravagance and the hotel chain's greediness.
But everyone can calm down now. ABC News is now pointing out a receipt error that misrepresented the total cost of the continental breakfast, which was served each morning during the five-day conference. So rather than actually serving $16 muffins, the invoice had simply mis-labeled the entire cost of the continental breakfast (which included fresh fruit, coffee, juice, function space, tax and tips) as "muffins."
So if you were saving up for an unreasonably expensive hotel breakfast, you'll now have to look elsewhere.
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Josh Flagg Visits the Inn at Little Washington, Leaves a Cow Lover
Our own Eloise, Josh Flagg recently took a trip down to Virginia where he made friends with a very interesting hotel restaurant"employee." Read on to find out more!
Have you ever met a cow by the name of Faira who serves you cheese table-side? Well I have!
If you visit the uber-chic Inn at Little Wahington (which incidentally is not in Washington D.C., but in Virgina), you will have one of the best meals of your life in this quaint hotel.
The Inn at Little Washington is basically in the middle of nowhere. Driving there, I was sure I had made a wrong turn. Amongst all the goats and tractors, and old abandoned barns, I was sure I was not on my way to a Relais & Chateaux five-diamond resort but alas, all of a sudden, there it was!
HotelChatter Questions / DC Hotels / Thompson Hotels / W Hotels / Affinia Hotels / → All Tags
DC Hotel Help: Where To Send A Stylish Teacher This Weekend
Donovan House
HotelChatter Questions: In which, the intrepid HotelChatter editors and our hotel maven readers answer hotel questions that pop into our inbox. Have a question for us? Send it along. Think you have a better answer than we gave, or better yet, want to give a vote of confidence to our answer? Comment away below.
As hotel geeks we understand the concept of being teacher’s pet at school, which is why, this week, we’re helping out a teacher reader who’s looking for a hotel in Washington, DC. He writes:
I'm going to DC this weekend for Teach For America's 20th anniversary event. If anyone decides to annihilate DC off the map this weekend, this country is sh-t out of luck on the public education/social justice best and brightest front! Might try the Thompson Hotel (Donovan House) there; have you been and do you have a favorite DC hotel?
Yes, sir, indeed we have. We stayed at Donovan House when it was brand new, and we liked it a lot for its comfy beds, stylish digs, Kiehls amenities and, most importantly, its cocoon showers. And, of course, if you meet a lady teacher who gets you all hot under the collar (*Disclaimer: we know neither this reader’s marital status nor his sexual preference), you can smoosh in style at a teacher-friendly price.
Room rates are extremely reasonable, too – they start at $109 this weekend, and include free WiFi if you want to upload some photos to make your students jealous. In fact, the only thing we didn't like about the place, is that there was no view as such - you're looking at the street, and there's not much of interest on that street.
Edition Hotels / Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Hype / DC Hotels / → All Tags
The Edition D.C. May Cost Around $400 a Night When It Opens in 2014
The Edition DC won't be happening until sometime in 2014 but that doesn't mean we can't start saving our pennies to stay there, does it? And it's a good thing that we start saving pennies one by one now because we're gonna need the time.
According to the Washington City Paper, whose offices would be demolished to make way for the hotel, this is how much staying at Edition DC will cost:
[T]he new Edition hotel would start out at an average per-night rental rate of $411, which would rise to $511 in four years. It would consider as its main competition the Ritz and the Four Seasons, and have no fewer than five bars, a cafe, and a restaurant.
Interesting. Edition blatantly competing with fellow sister-brand, the Ritz-Carlton.
In the meantime, we've got some other Editions to save up for--Istanbul, Barcelona, Mexico City, Bangkok, South Beach and London.
WTF Hotel News / Movie Set Hotels / Pittsburgh Hotels / Hotel Fires / Corey Haim / → All Tags
Whoops! Detectives Investigate Hotel Murder Only To Find Out It Was a Movie Set
Given the frightful history of hotel fires, we get rather nervous whenever we see a report of one in the news but this fire at the George Washington Hotel outside Pittsburgh has us somewhat relieved.
When firefighters responded to a call at the hotel two weeks ago for a fire, they found a guestroom that looked like a grisly murder scene complete with "blood-spattered hotel room littered with bottles of alcohol and even a piece of a scalp." Creepy.
Detectives then spent eight hours analyzing the crime scene with the police chief calling it one of the worst crime scenes he's scene in his 35 years of experience. But it turns out, the room was fake.
Instead it was a leftover movie set for the horror movie, "New Terminal Hotel", starring the late actor Corey Haim. The hotel's owner decided to leave the room untouched after filming wrapped in case they needed to come back for reshoots:
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