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Located two blocks from the White House, this bustling hotel offers the familiar Hilton standards and is something of a hub in DC – the club-like lobby is always humming with political talk. The talk continues inside the large fitness centre and day spa, which lie off the lobby. Spacious guest rooms combine chintz and tradition, while the Towers rooms provide VIP luxury with added space, a private lounge and special services. Meeting space is found on the second floor: 14 rooms for up to 1,200 all one level. You can get a steak at Fran O’Brien’s, but Twigs is actually the better restaurant, serving decent American food.
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Newly renovated, the hotel’s 888 rooms feature a fresher look, of blue and gold furnishings, and updated showerheads and other fixtures in the bathrooms. Meanwhile, the public areas remain amusingly the same: waterfalls, catwalks, 22-foot-high trees enclosed within a 12- story high atrium. Business travellers have their pick of packages providing extras – fax machines in room, complimentary breakfast, and so on – for a bit more money. The hotel lies near the convention centre and MCI Centre in the heart of downtown. Best of the eateries is the Italian with Asian influences(!) Via Pacifica. The Metro Centre subway stop is directly below the hotel. At least 32 meeting rooms accommodate up to 4,000.
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Like other downtown hotels, this one’s just undergone a big upgrade, the better to compete for business generated by events held at the enormous new convention centre. Spruced up or not, the hotel remains rather ho-hum, catering to conventioneers. If that’s you, you may well be pleased by the size of the place, the proximity to the greater downtown, and to perks for executives who pay extra. Thirty meeting rooms can hold up to 2,500. Café Florentine serves American fare, adequate for the easily pleased; food lovers should go elsewhere.
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Washington’s largest convention and business hotel commands 16 acres in a pretty residential neighbourhood a couple of Metro stops away from downtown (the Woodley Park Metro station is at the foot of the property). Wireless internet access is available in the lobby lounge, high speed access in each of the guest rooms. Guest rooms vary widely, the nicest being the suites in Wardman Tower, the older section of the hotel, which overlooks the gardens. With more than 50 meeting rooms, the hotel can handle upwards of 4,400.The restaurant offers a couple of dining options, but you’d be better served heading for one of the quite nice neighbourhood cafés.
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