| |
Guests puff on cigars in the billiards room and a senator or two dine daily in the restaurant – how cool is that? Way cool, at least in Washington, where power and pomposity are often taken for coolness. The George’s bedrooms are designed as minimalist refuges: all creamy white décor, with a leather Ottoman delivering a punch of blue, granite-topped desk and bathroom counter, and with a press of a button, sounds of ocean, wind, and woods flowing from the CD/clock radio. Located down the avenue from the Capitol, Bistro Bis bustles with Hill types, savouring very good French bistro feasts. Four meeting rooms accommodate up to 120, theatre-style.
|
New is always cool, which makes the Mandarin Oriental, which opened in March 2004, coolest. Its setting is unusual for DC: on the waterfront, not far from monuments and museums, in a part of town gradually coming into its own. It helps that the MO lies within a restaurant/office/retail complex. Waterfront guest rooms offer that fine view, while others survey District buildings, including the Washington Monument. Like other Mandarin Orientals, this one is about East meets West luxury: aromatherapy bath amenities, exotic spa treatments, reproductions of artwork from the Freer and Sackler galleries. Too soon to know about the restaurants, but state-of-the art meeting room capacity is about 500.
|
You can have a meeting for 10 inside the historic smokestack around which this Ritz-Carlton is so carefully built. Better yet, have a fire red martini, the signature drink, in Degrees, the hotel’s handsome bar with walls of dark burnished wood and exposed brick. Great place for a rendezvous, business or otherwise, with service so discreet and solicitous, and guest rooms so private and hushed – you close your door and don’t hear a thing. Locals like Farenheit, which serves admirable Italian-influenced American cuisine. In addition to the smokestack is a conference room that holds 32.
|
The Sofitel lies a stone’s throw from the White House, even if the hotel doesn’t directly overlook the president’s house. This location, in the thick of administration and other office buildings, makes it prime for doing business; its top floor rooms are often reserved by visiting heads of state. French in ownership and ambience, the Sofitel is coolly elegant: fresh flowers, cream-coloured duvet, stunning original artwork. Not to be missed is the sublime French haute cuisine turned out at Café 15. And Le Bar is a posh place for a party. Six meeting rooms accommodate a total of 160.
|
| |