DC Travel Guide
Thanksgiving Hotels / W Hotels / DC Hotels / Obama Hotels / POTUS Hotels / Animal Hotels / → All Tags
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.
W Hotels / Dominique Strauss-Kahn / Hotel Sex / Prostitutes / Hotel Scandals / DC Hotels / → All Tags
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."
Hotel Emergencies / Hotel News / W Hotels / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Deaths / → All Tags
Tragedy Strikes Yet Another W Hotel, This Time in DC
UPDATE, Thursday June 30th, 4:38pm: A spokesperson for W Hotels released
this statement:
"The W Washington D.C. extends our sympathies to the family touched by this tragedy. While the investigation is ongoing and we continue to cooperate with the Metropolitan Police Department, we can confirm that the victim was not a registered guest at the hotel, and it is not certain whether she spent any significant length of time at POV prior to her death.
The Washington Post is reporting this as a suicide, quoting a D.C. police official speaking on the condition of anonymity. We ask that any questions regarding the case be directed to the Metropolitan Police Department at 202.727.4383."
This has simply not been a good week for hotels—especially the W. It feels like just yesterday that we wrote about the W Austin's forced evacuation due to kamikaze glass window panes (and now you can read the hotel's apology letter to guests here)—oh wait! That was just yesterday. We woke up this morning to news of a separate W tragedy—this time at the W Washington DC, where a woman fell to her death from the hotel's 11th-floor rooftop bar.
The W Washington was installed in 2009, replacing another hotel inside the 120-year-old building—but inheriting every square foot of the building's prime location (the hotel sits directly across the street from the White House). If you remember, we even gave their rooftop a shout-out two weeks ago when recommending places to see the DC fireworks on Jul 4. We have a feeling the mood this weekend—if there even remains to be any party at all—will be decidedly less festive than originally hoped for.
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.
Snapshot / DC Hotels / W Hotels / Hotels Near the White House / Killer View / → All Tags
Spying on the President From The W DC
We’ve watched the President of the United States from our hotel bed many a time, but that’s usually via the magic of TV. But on a quick overnight stop in DC on Sunday, we found ourselves spying on the White House from our bedroom at the W Hotel.
Room 1017 of the hotel looked over 15th Street, with the Treasury in the foreground but, behind that, the White House itself. At first we got very excited because the flag was at half mast on Sunday night, but raised to full height on Monday morning so we assumed that it was like the flag on Buckingham Palace and meant that POTUS, FLOTUS and baby OTUSes had come home overnight. But then a DC insider person told us that it only meant that the Treasury had been mourning someone on the Sunday.
Hotel Art / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel Design / Washington DC Hotels / For the Sake of Hotel Art / → All Tags
For the Sake of Hotel Art: Four Seasons DC's Andy Warhol
Is the WiFi free? Does the gym have good machines? All these things get noticed when checking into a hotel, but what about the atmosphere of the place—specifically the art on the walls or on the floor? All this week, we'll be highlighting properties around the world that do their artwork right, and the specific pieces you should stare long and hard at when next you drop by.
Today: The Four Seasons Washington DC's Andy Warhol.
When you check into the Four Seasons on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of Washington DC, you may expect a pretty sweet view of the White House, but you may be even more surprised to find that you're staying in a hotel with an art collection of over 1,600 pieces, including this rare "Indian Head Nickel" screen print trial proof by Andy Warhol. It was done in 1986, only a year before Warhol's death, and the style is typical Andy.
Hotel Fires / DC Hotels / InterContinental Hotels / Hotel Emergencies / → All Tags
All is Well at The Willard InterContinental Hotel in DC
This morning we had asked for some reactions from guests who were staying at either the W Hotel and Willard Intercontinental Hotel when an electrical fire broke out on Saturday night and we've got two updates today--including one from the parents of the bride whose wedding reception was delayed for a while.
A Lin Hilton (no relation to the Hilton Hotels, at least we don't think) writes in:
It was our daughter's wedding that was evacuated from the Willard Hotel on Saturday. The staff of the Willard handled the situation with the grace and aplomb one would expect from such a first rate hotel. When we were permitted to re-enter the hotel, the reception was as planned and it was perfect. We thank the management and staff of the Willard for making our daughter's day a most memorable occasion, even with the interruption.
Hotel Fires / Hotel Emergencies / W Hotels / DC Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Electrical Fire Prompts Evacuations at The W and Willard Hotels in DC
UPDATE: Go here for some after-fire reactions from the Willard Hotel.
It was not quite the fun-filled Saturday night that guests of the W Hotel and Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, DC had in mind--although there were some sparks. An electrical fire broke out at around 8pm at 1400 block of F Street NW where both hotels are located. It appears a transformer below the sidewalk had blown out, causing the fire.
The hotels, both of which have over 300 rooms and are just blocks away from the White House, were evacuated immediately and a wedding reception scheduled for the Willard was moved to a nearby JW Marriott. The Washington Examiner reports:
Edition Hotels / Hotel News / DC Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
The DC Edition is Set to Open in October...2014
With all the news coming out about Edition Hotels--Waikiki, Mexico City and Miami Beach, we can't believe there's still some left to go around. But it looks like the DC Edition at 1770 Euclid Street NW is trying very hard to get published.
In an article in the Washington Biz Journal about a property tax break on the location, we learn that hotel will open in the existing structure of the First Church of Christ, Scientist but will also incorporate the WPFW-FM radio station and get this, the offices for the Washington City paper. How poetic!
Hotel Amenities / DC Hotels / iPod Docks / → All Tags
What If Your Hotel Room Didn't Have an iPod Docking Station?
Way back in 2007, we declared the iPod docking station to be the "Must Have Amenity" of that year. From then on, we've rarely ever seen a hotel that didn't have such a device. Sure, the brands were different and some worked better than others but there was always an output for our MP3 players so that we could always have personal soundtrack with us.
But a friend told us last night that during his stay last week at The Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, DC, there wasn't an iPod docking device, much to his disappointment.
The hotel does have a Bose CD player but let's be real, who carries CDs with them anymore? Still, before we get all indignant on the hotel for their lack of iPod hookups, we have to point out that the Hay-Adams does have free WiFi and you know how much we love that.
Have you stayed at a hotel recently that didn't have an iPod or MP3 docking station? Were you pissed about it or did you not even care? Tell us your strongest convictions on this very serious topic in comments below.
[Photo: Courtney May]
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