Hotels Update

Whether your attendees prefer to stay in top luxury properties or convenient, family-friendly hotels, you can rely on the WCTC convention sales team to connect you with hotels to suit your budget and your location preferences. Here's a look at what's new on the Washington, DC hotel front.

DC's Top Properties Invite Travelers to Experience luxe DC

Since 2001, Washington, DC has seen nearly $400 million in new luxury hotel construction, while existing upscale properties have poured more than $200 million into extensive renovations. The results have paid off, and industry standard-bearers have taken notice. The District's top hotels have earned distinctions like a Mobil five-star rating, AAA four-diamond ratings and inclusion on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List and Travel + Leisure's Top 500. In 2006, Institutional Investor readers even named a Washington, DC hotel the world's top choice for business travelers.

Now ten of the District's most celebrated properties have joined together with the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation to create luxe DC, a collective marketing program designed to introduce business and leisure travelers to upscale travel options in the nation's capital. In the project's first phase, running through Mar. 31, discerning travelers are invited to visit a dedicated website, luxedc.org, where they can take advantage of value-added extras like complimentary parking, breakfast for two, and food and beverage or spa credits. The participating hotels are exploring future efforts to collaborate with meeting planners seeking a variety of high-end experiences for their clients.

"We've laid the groundwork for successful collaboration between Washington, DC's top properties with luxe DC," said William A. Hanbury, president & CEO, WCTC. "With the logistics for this promotion in place, we're now ready and able to work with our customers to help them deliver this luxury experience to their most discerning delegates."

Participating luxe DC hotels include:

• The Fairmont Washington, D.C. Hotel, whose Fairmont Gold is an urban oasis for those who desire exclusivity, privacy, pampering and extraordinary service.
• Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C., the city's first and only Mobil Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond Hotel.
• The Hay-Adams, which recently claimed the Gold Award in The Leading Hotels of the World's annual Leaders Club Awards-a reflection of the appreciative letters the club has received from its members.
• The Mandarin Oriental Washington, recognized most recently as the world's top hotel for business travelers by Institutional Investor in 2006.
• The Park Hyatt Washington D.C., which reopened in June 2006 following a $24 million renovation, boasting a new design by Tony Chi.
• The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, a AAA Five-Diamond hotel, built on the site of Georgetown's historic incinerator building.
• The Ritz Carlton Washington, D.C., a AAA Five-Diamond hotel in DC's dynamic West End.
• The St. Regis Washington, D.C., which joins luxe DC later this year when it unveils the results of an extensive renovation, adding fifteen elegant suites to its inventory.
• The Sofitel Lafayette Square Washington, DC, a Condé Nast Gold List member housed in a historic building constructed in 1880.
• The Willard InterContinental Washington, a historic treasure trove whose general manager, Hervé Houdré, was named Independent Hotelier of the World by HOTELS magazine in 2006.

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Luxurious Historic Properties Await Makeovers

There's a new chapter in Washington, DC's luxury hotel story currently unfolding as two of the city's most celebrated properties undergo makeovers. The St. Regis Hotel Washington, D.C. has temporarily closed its doors as it embarks on a major renovation of its guest rooms, public spaces and dining areas-with a total investment of $150,000 for each of its 178 guest rooms.

Slated to reopen in fall 2007, the new design will put the 80-year-old hotel into new leagues of luxury through personalized amenities and service. While all rooms will undergo a complete renovation, the hotel will reduce its total guest room count from 193 to 178 by adding fifteen luxury suites. All public areas, including the lobby, ballroom, fitness center and all meeting rooms will be reappointed, and the picturesque Crystal Terrace garden will enjoy new landscaping to create a European feel. Guests will also enjoy a new amenity as the Reméde spa opens its doors, with separate floors for men and women.

All guest rooms offer wireless Internet, 32" Plasma televisions with surround sound, DVD players, personal fax machines, Pratesi linens, Reméde amenities and Waterworks bathrooms with mosaic tiles and custom-designed fixtures. The hotel will continue to meet its guests' needs with its one-of-a-kind personal butler service. After the renovation, guests will need only press the "Butler Button" on their guest room phone in order to make their requests.

Another storied property, The Jefferson closed its doors on Mar. 1 to begin a major renovation. The 100-room hotel's re-design is being carried out by ForrestPerkins, specialists in the luxury hospitality field, and is expected to reopen in late fall 2008.

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Renaissance M Street Hotel Plans Spring Opening

Washington, DC's mid-town neighborhood, nestled between Georgetown and Dupont Circle, will welcome a new lodging option in April as the Renaissance M Street Hotel opens its doors. Formerly the Wyndham City Center, Marriott International invested $25.2 million for the property's renovation and re-flagging. The 355-room hotel, located at the corner of M Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW, has completely redesigned its guest rooms, meeting space, lobby, restaurant and bar.

The hotel's lobby bar is outfitted with wi-fi, 32" HD plasma televisions, a lending library of best sellers and XM Radio enjoyed through a Bose sound system. In the guest rooms, you'll find the 2007 Renaissance bedding package: 300-thread count, cotton rich sheets and a four-inch mattress topper. Each guestroom is also equipped with a "Jack Pack," a wall mounted technology panel that allows guests to simultaneously connect their iPods or MP3 players, digital cameras, video cameras, and laptops directly to the 32" HD plasma flat screen televisions - and to play music, surf the Net and watch TV on the same screen, at the same time. All guestrooms also feature the ability to connect to internal laptop chargers in the in-room safes. Guests can also take advantage of the hotel's new "Cardio Theater," featuring treadmills with personal viewing LCD screens. In 2008 the hotel is planning further growth, incorporating two new guest room floors and a rooftop pool.

Meeting planners will find an inviting, technologically advanced meeting space, outfitted with miles of fiber optic cabling to handle voice-over protocols, wireless Internet and Bose sound systems.

Guests and neighborhood residents will also enjoy three new dining venues developed by Executive Chef Darren Anklam. The hotel's American-style bistro restaurant will offer unique breakfast, lunch and dinner selections like S'mores Pancakes, Green Eggs & Ham, Illy Espresso, Rubbed Flat Iron Steak and Truffle Tater Tots. Caffé, the hotel's coffee café, will serve fine Italian illy coffee and products.

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Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation
901 7th Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 789-7001 | washington.org