Destination Guides
Washington, D.C.
by Agatha GilmoreJanuary 1, 2012
Why Here?
Washington, D.C., is more than just our nation's capital. It's a
meeting city at its very core, designed and built to house influential
groups coming together to make important decisions. As a result, it's
home to 2.2 million square feet of event space, scores of great
restaurants, historic monuments and more.
Noteworthy Natives
D.C. is the hometown of legendary musicians such as Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown and Marvin Gaye (to whom the restaurant Marvin DC is dedicated).
Plan It Out
For some great local itinerary ideas, go to bit.ly/v4lEOS
Local Update:
The 1,175-room Washington Marriott Marquis
broke ground this past fall. When it opens in summer 2014, the
LEED-certified property will serve as the official headquarters hotel
for the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, to which it will be
connected via a pedestrian bridge. The property will feature its own
100,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 30,000-square-foot
grand ballroom, two 10,800-square-foot junior ballrooms, an
18,800-square-foot indoor event terrace and a 5,200-square-foot rooftop
terrace. The building will also include five restaurants and a health club.
The downtown site of the District's former convention
center is being redeveloped into a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly
neighborhood to be known as CityCenter. The project will be
undertaken in three stages, the second of which includes a 350-room
upscale hotel. Completion is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Also coming to the downtown area is a new luxury Me by Meliá
hotel from Sol Meliá Hotels and Resorts. Financing for the property is
still being secured, but initial plans call for 260 guest rooms, a
restaurant and a jazz lounge.
Just north of downtown, Roadside Development has broken ground on a new 182-room Cambria Suites hotel as part of the massive CityMarket at O,
a $300 million, 1 million-square-foot mixed-use complex now under
construction. The all-suite Cambria property will feature an expanded
dining area, a rooftop pool, a fitness center and an outdoor patio.
On
the boutique front, ultra-upscale Capella Hotels and Resorts announced
plans to redevelop an existing five-story building in the Georgetown
neighborhood into the Capella Georgetown. When it opens in 2012,
the property will have 48 rooms and suites, a premium restaurant, a
lounge, a rooftop pool, a bar and a spa. Meanwhile, Marriott is moving
forward with plans to rehabilitate the Seventh Day Adventist Church in
the heart of the Adams Morgan neighborhood into an Ian Schrager-designed
Edition Hotel. Construction should begin in 2014, and plans call
for 174 guest room, a restaurant, two bars, a fitness facility and a
rooftop pool.
Chef Bryan Voltaggio, nominated for a James Beard Award and a finalist on the sixth season of Bravo TV's hit show Top Chef,
plans to open two new restaurants in the District. The first, as yet
unnamed, eatery will be a bistro/steak house hybrid in the Chevy Chase
Pavilion, near the Embassy Suites. The second restaurant will be called North Market Kitchen and is slated to open in Voltaggio's hometown of Frederick, Md.