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Sneak Peek At the Newly-Revamped Jefferson in DC

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1200 16TH AND M ST NW [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20036

| May 15, 2009 at 12:53 PM | 0 Comments

We mentioned previously that DC’s venerable Jefferson Hotel would be reopening this summer after a two-year renovation (read: total gutting of its interior). Yesterday we got a tour of the place, and we’ll admit: We left more than a little impressed.

Though the Jefferson is still very much a construction site, the guest rooms are mostly finished and look, well, lovely. Gone is the formerly stodgy Federalist look, replaced with a fresh “Parisian apartment” aesthetic intended to evoke Jefferson’s love for France. Each of the 99 rooms (20 of which are suites) has its own theme — we saw the equine-happy Agrarian suite, with the orange and slate gray motif pictured, as well as the Butterfly suite, which glowed with gold and coppery brown.

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Cherry Blossoms, with a Side of Do-Goodery

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1177 15th St Nw [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20005

| March 17, 2009 at 11:22 AM | 0 Comments

January’s inauguration may be just a history book lesson now, but in DC, hope springs eternal. Well, at least when it comes to cherry blossom cheer — from hotel packages to cherry-themed cocktails and menu specials.

We especially like the cherry blossom package at Loews Madison Hotel for its do-good twist. Guests who book the “Cherry Blossom Blooms” package help support the replacement and maintenance of the city’s cherry tree grove along the Tidal Basin, as well as the blossoms in East and West Potomac Parks, considering a portion of each package’s profits is donated to the National Capital Region Cherry Tree Replacement Fund. And if all that goodwill isn’t sweet enough, well, guests can gorge themselves with a pound of very cherry Jelly Belly beans.

Package rates start at $205 a night and are available March 28 through April 12.

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Inside the Lorien Hotel and Spa's Standard Rooms

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1600 King St. [map], Alexandria , VA, United States, 22314

| February 23, 2009 at 11:31 AM | 0 Comments

On Friday we unveiled a few photos of Kimpton’s newest hotel, the Lorien Hotel and Spa in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. All in all, we’re impressed by its, yes, dreamy details, from sweet clawfoot tubs to photography shot by the hotel’s iconic designer, Vincente Wolf. Today, enjoy this video of the hotel's standard guest rooms.

A few things we learned about the place on our tour: Instead of the usual Kimpton happy hour, the Lorien is working out the kinks for an alternative, since the Commonwealth of Virginia apparently prohibits giving booze away for free. Rest assured, the Lorien will be having some sort of convivial social hour, whether it involves drink coupons for use at the tasting room next door or s’mores around the courtyard’s fire pit.

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Kimpton's Newest Hotel, The Lorien Hotel and Spa

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1600 King St. [map], Alexandria , VA, United States, 22314-2719

| February 20, 2009 at 10:00 AM | 1 Comment

Yesterday we hopped down to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, to tour the just-opened Lorien Hotel and Spa. We’ll have full coverage Monday, but for now, here are a few photos and our initial reactions of the Kimpton space.

The Lorien radiates a sleek, contemporary, moneyed feel that’s right on target in Alexandria. Like, you wouldn’t feel weird about coming back here after an afternoon strolling through Old Town’s antiques shops and bakeries, but you’re not going to drown in schmaltz either. The palette is all about soft grays, robin’s egg blues, and whites; old brick meets new slate.

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New Renderings Show Off Interiors for the 1 Hotel Washington DC

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 2201 M Street [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20037

| February 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM | 0 Comments

After seeing demolition at the site of the 1 Hotel Washington DC and with Starwood Capital combining the 1 Hotel and Baccarat Hotel brands into their newly formed SH Group, we know that plans to build and open 1 Hotels are still alive, if not moving slowly.

And today, more news affirming the existence of 1 Hotels arrived--we found more renderings of the 1 Hotel Washington DC on the architect's website. (Yes, we know. We are nerds for caring so much.)

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Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian's Ladder to Nowhere

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 9751 Washingtonian Blvd [map], Gaithersburg, MD, United States, 20878

| January 22, 2009 at 12:46 PM | 0 Comments

You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.

Good lord. When we came across this shot of a view from a room at the Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian outside Washington DC, we seriously got bummed out.

Now, a room looking out onto a roof-ish area (such as what this one appears to be) is one thing, but a room looking out onto the roof-ish area with a ladder to nowhere and what appears to be a service entrance and absolutely nothing else — especially when the rest of the hotel "overlooks a picturesque lake" — kind of a bummer, no?

This shot comes to us via jonlarge's Flickr, and the rest of the view is just as rough: looking the other direction gets you a view of the rest of the roof, some hot wall action and a big bright light.

On the inside, the hotel ain't so bad: all 284 guest rooms were recently upgraded, and all rooms feature the new Marriott Revive beds. So on the bright side, in case you get stuck with a window that looks out onto this, you can at least enjoy sleeping since you're not going to enjoy gazing out at a picturesque lake.

[Photo: jonlarge]

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Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock Fake Nice at Donovan House

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1155 14th St Nw [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20005

| January 21, 2009 at 9:36 AM | 1 Comment

We aren't quite sure how rocker Sheryl Crow ever went from dating Owen Wilson to Kid Rock then to Lance Armstrong. And apparently, Sheryl probably wonders what she was thinking dating the Detroit wild child as well. Page Six reports that the former lovers had an "awkward run-in" at Donovan House in DC yesterday during all the inauguration festivities.

Sheryl Crow is the hardest-working woman in Washington. She played three different private parties before getting ready for the MTV gala at the Hilton. But before she left for that, she had an awkward run-in with her ex, Kid Rock, in the lobby of Donovan House. The two dated for several years before he dumped her for Pamela Anderson in 2007. At the time, Crow was devastated - but she kept her cool yesterday. Crow "calmly reintroduced him to her parents and then walked away," our spy said.

Oh god, we totally forgot that she was dumped by Kid Rock too. In other inauguration hotel news, James Taylor reportedly fell and received 50 stitches. The word according to Page Six is that "It involved a wooden parrot in his hotel room." Anyone with details on the wooden parrot and the hotel, must email us.

[Lobby Photo: Flying Mermaid]

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D.C. Buzzing Over Obamas, Oprah, Other Words That Start With O

| January 20, 2009 at 9:13 AM | 0 Comments

Holy crap: It’s finally inauguration day! After endless speculation, the big day has arrived. As predicted, it’s freezing in D.C., but a bevy of celebs and, of course, “biggest-celebrity-in-the-world” Barack Obama has transformed our nation’s capitol into the hotspot of a lifetime.

But even through all the Obamarama hope-mongering, we know you’re at least secretly still interested in another A+-lister. That’s right, Oprah’s in town, and her star is not the kind to get overlooked — no matter the occasion.

As we reported way back in December, the Queen of Chat is staying five nights in the Royal Suite at the Four Seasons (at $15,000 a night). Among the suite’s perks are a personal shopping assistant, private exercise room, and “a sculptural bathtub [with a] crystal fixture elegantly draped overhead,” according to the Washington Post.

And today, Oprah will do her second live show in Washington. Yesterday’s show was at the glittering Kennedy Center, but today’s will be held at Capitol Hill’s newish Art and Soul Restaurant at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel—which makes perfect sense, considering the James Beard award-winning chef, Art Smith, was formerly personal chef to Oprah. Rumored guests include Jon Bon Jovi and Forest Whitaker. Not that you have any chance of snagging a seat at the show or anything. But hey, that’s why it’s on TV.

[Photo: Sun Times]

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Where Are the Hotel Inauguration Parties At?

| January 19, 2009 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

It's time, people: the frenzy of parties, celebrations and drink specials surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration have kicked off, and D.C. — though a bit congested at the moment — has turned into patriotic party central over the weekend.

Naturally, hotels in the area are doing more than just playing host to the hundreds of thousands of psyched Americans overnight: they are, of course, hosting some of the most anticipated official and unofficial soirees too. According to the AP's uber-helpful comprehensive schedule of events going down for inaugurapalooza, here's what's happened and what's planned at which hotels and where.

· On Saturday, the People's Inaugural Gala Celebration went down all day long at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Festivities kicked off with a breakfast and continued with a Women's Leadership Luncheon (Gloria Steinem was there!) Sunday, attendees took in a gospel concert and a jazz concert, and the gala's grand finale will be the black-tie People's Inaugural Ball on Tuesday evening.

· And yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton, the California State Society held the Presidential Inaugural Luncheon & Fashion Show.

· Tonight at the Gaylord is the Texas State Society's famed Black Tie and Boots Ball — which, according to the online invitation, looks like it honors the Texas-born outgoing president a 'lil more than the incoming one. But: black tie and boots! And country music, too!

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Sleep Over at The Donovan House for Only $98 on Quikbook

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1155 14th St Nw [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20005

| January 15, 2009 at 11:50 AM | 0 Comments

DC’s Donovan House is running a nice rate deal through Feb. 28. (Maybe as recourse against the New York Times’ less-than-flattering review?) Inauguration weekend notwithstanding, Quikbook users can score rooms from $119 a night — or, even better, rooms from just $98 a night if you stay three or more nights.

Not only is that a 30 percent savings, but if you book for later in February there’s a pretty good chance you might actually get to eat at the so-called soon-to-open Todd English restaurant. Last time we walked by, construction crews suddenly seemed hard at work on the hotel, which we can only translate as progress (or, uh, wishful thinking). That said, Quikbook rates are higher over V-Day weekend. But DC probably isn’t your dream romantic getaway anyways, right?

Also, like we already mentioned, don’t believe what you read in the newspaper: Donovan House is not — we repeat, not — a drive away from trendy restaurants and bars. It’s just a couple blocks’ walk in multiple directions, we promise.

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Inauguration Hotel Party Watch: The Willard Intercontinental

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20004

| January 14, 2009 at 9:22 AM | 1 Comment

We’ve talked a lot about inaugurapalooza, but so far have largely ignored the best part about the quadrennial event. No, dweebs, not the witness of democracy — we’re talking about all those parties! After all, two million folks aren’t heading to D.C. just to stand outside in the freezing cold, craning their necks to see Obama’s face on a Jumbotron.

With 10 official balls and gobs of unofficial ones — literally, gobs — hotels in the area are keeping more than busy hosting all the revelry. To be honest, there are just way more than we have time to write about (and, hopefully, you have attention span to read about), so we’re going to be a bit choosy in our coverage.

That brings us to the Willard Intercontinental’s inauguration parade brunch, to be held 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.

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Will the Donovan House Ever Open its Restaurant?

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1155 14th St Nw [map], Washington, DC, United States, 20005

| January 6, 2009 at 11:14 AM | 0 Comments

Maybe the rendering of the Donovan House's lounge should be updated to include cranky, hungry guests wondering if the restaurant will ever open.

On the heels of the NYT’s abrasive write-up of the Donovan House in D.C., we thought we’d do a little checking of our own to see what the hold-up is with the hotel’s bar and Todd English restaurant.

So we emailed their PR people, who said, simply, the resto opening is “as scheduled.” After further prodding, they explained that while the restaurant will open for an inauguration event this month, the full opening “was always scheduled to open late Jan early Feb.”

As always, the Thompson Group is clear as mud with their opening dates. We’ll keep you posted if/when something ever actually happens over there.