Suite Deals Room Packages for Fall, Winter Abound at Area Hotels by Anna Gawel When it comes to choosing a hotel, everyone wants a deal. Whether youíre a prince looking to splurge on an outlandish Washington excursion or a pauper trying to save a couple of dollars on your next business trip, thereís no shortage of options at Washington-area hotels. The Four Seasons, the Willard, the Hay-Adams, the Radisson BarcelÛ, the Morrison-Clark and scores of other hotels deliver packages that suit everyoneís needs and tastesófrom love-struck honeymooners to budget-conscious familiesóand these deals are providing travelers with an ideal gateway into some of this cityís premier hotel establishments. But beyond generic room specials and discounts, many top-tier hotels are offering custom-made packages designed to not only lessen the cost of your stay, but make the most of your stay as well. In keeping with the popular trend of coupling an overnight stay with a dinner out at the latest hot spot, the Radisson BarcelÛ Hotel Washington has paired a three-course dinner for two at the award-winning nuevo Latino restaurant Gabriel with a deluxe room in the heart of Dupont Circle. The E mbassy Nights package runs $159 per night and is available Oct. 1 to Nov. 16. Eager to tap into Washingtoniansí seemingly insatiable appetites, legions of other hotels are offering packages that revolve around tantalizing the taste buds. The Omni Shoreham Hotel, for example, offers a Leisure With Breakfast package that runs between $149 and $159 (weekends through Dec. 31) and includes breakfast for two at the hotelís restaurant. The Four Seasons Hotel goes one better with its Bed and Breakfast package, which caters to both the hungry and lazy guest by literally offering breakfast in bedóthrough room service, that is. And on your next trip, when youíre trying to shed those extra pounds from having had too much breakfast in bed, take advantage of the Four Seasonsís Healthy Escape package where you can munch on healthier fare and pamper yourself with two one-hour spa treatments or, if youíre feeling more adventurous, two fitness workouts. If libations are your pleasure, turn to the Morrison-Clark Historic Inn & Restaurant for its intoxicating deals. Thereís the Morrison-Clark Inn Fall Wine Festival on Oct. 26 where guests can sample an array of wines and partake in the Asian, Creole and Caribbean concoctions of chef Richard Thompson in the Morrisonís award-winning restaurantóa sweet deal for only $25 per person. The inn also features a regular happy hour throughout October known as the Big Easy on the Verandaóevery Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.ówhich features Southern mint juleps, hurricanes and Steel Magnolias served with complimentary hors díoeuvres. And for those Southern belles, hand-held fans are available to fend off any leftover summer heat. For the more do-it-yourself approach, the inn hosts Regional Cooking of the Chesapeake classes for $25 per session every Monday night in October, helping participants prepare the quintessential Chesapeake Bay meal for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Satisfying the stomach is just one way that hotels are lightening peopleís walletsótugging at the heartstrings is another effective way. Whether going on a honeymoon, celebrating an anniversary or just in need of some time away with that special someone, couples can revel in the wide range of romance packages hotels are offering throughout the year. Leading the pack is the Willard Inter-Continental Washington with its seductive Capital Night of Romance in the hotelís posh Jenny Lind Suite. The extravagant one-night love-fest includes champagne, chocolate-dipped strawberries, a book of poetry (for those who canít quite find the right words), some mood music (for those who donít need any words), a candle-lit Jacuzzi hot tub complete with rose petals and bath salts set against a stunning backdrop of the Washington Monument, and a gift certificate for one nightís stay in a standard room next year. An optional in-room massage is available for a mere $250 extra. However, you may want to reserve the Willard package for those truly special occasions (or when you need to do some heavy-duty apologizing, whatever the case may be) because this romantic romp carries a hefty price tag: nearly $2,000 per night. If youíre looking to shower your mate with some love for a more modest sum of money, you might opt for the Park Hyatt Washingtonís romance package, which runs $315 per night for an Executive Suite and also includes parking, champagne and strawberries, or try the Hay-Adams Hotelís romance special, which starts at $345 for a deluxe room overlooking historic St. Johnís Church and features a bouquet of fresh flowers and chilled champagne in your room as well as a full breakfast. Two other moderately priced romance deals can be found at the Omni Shoreham, where the Rendezvous for Two package runs between $149 and $164 Thursday to Sunday, and at the St. Gregory Luxury Hotel & Suites, whose Sweet Romantic Escape costs $179 Fridays and Saturdays and includes champagne and breakfast in bed. The Hotel Washington, on the other hand, provides families with an economical alternative through its Capital Family Plan. Geared toward children under 14, the package tallies up at a reasonable $115 per night and includes four people to a room (parents and children), a full breakfast, and is valid on weekends, holidays and throughout the month of December. Other hotels are using their imaginations to design offbeat packages for their guests. The River Inn in Foggy Bottom has created a birthday package that entitles the birthday boy or girl to a complimentary upgrade to a one-bedroom suite, fresh flowers, champagne, birthday cake, and cocktails and hors díoeuvres for two in the Club Lounge. The River Inn has also tailored a package for the busy traveleróthe $165 Room and Zoom package, which includes a free Enterprise car rental and free drop-off at Reagan National or Dulles International airports. To melt away the winter blues, the Monarch Hotel has designed the Winter Warmer package (Nov. 22 to Jan. 31). For $186 per night, guests are treated to two breakfasts in The Bistro, a nip of two cocktails to keep you extra toasty at night and a complimentary holiday photo. As the temperatures drop, rates at hotels also tend to dip, so keep an eye out for similar packages to surface in the months ahead. Of course, many hotels are simply relying on discounted weekend rates to attract clienteleórates that, depending on where you look, take a major tumble from the regular weekday prices and are well worth checking out. One frugal find is at the Omni Shoreham, which is offering a weekend rate of $111 per night until Nov. 18 and a paltry $103 per night Nov. 18 until the end of December. The promotion features a late (5 p.m.) check-out time but is conditional on a Friday night stay. The Governorís House Hotel and the St. Gregory Luxury Hotel & Suites, both owned by Capital Hotels, are making a weekend offer any thrifty bargain-hunter would be hard-pressed to resist: Stay any Friday, Saturday or Sunday night for the regular price of $199 and get the second night for a whopping $1. In addition to these nifty finds, the Web is a virtual bastion of bargains. Unfortunately, many Internet packages are not revealed until the last minuteóand the fact that they are last minute is usually why theyíve been so aggressively discountedóbut at the same time you might luck into staying at arguably some of the best hotels in the city while saving a significant chunk of change. Starwood Hotels & Resortsóthe hospitality conglomerate that encompasses the regal St. Regis, Washington, D.C., and all of the Westin and Sheraton properties in the areaóoffers last-minute getaways through its Web site, www.starwood.com. The cities targeted by the package deals are scattered throughout the globe and vary each week, so you might not instantly find the destination youíre looking for, but Starwood lays claim to hundreds of hotels so options are plentiful, and packages also incorporate airfare. The Willard is another online source for savings with its Weekend WebSavers program. Each Monday at http://washington.interconti.com/news/weekendweb.html, the illustrious ìresidence of presidentsî offers its lowest published room rates for the upcoming weekend for all of its hotels around the world. But you donít have to scour the globe to get a bargain. Washington-area hotels are really beginning to discover that thereís plenty to market in their own backyards, and they are developing packages that capitalize on everything the nationís capital has to offer. The Washington-area Marriott properties have partnered with the D.C. Heritage Tourism Coalition to come up with a 96-page local guide book, ìMarriot t Celebrates Washington, D.C.: More Than the Monuments.î The book showcases the cityís less-publicized treasures and is a helpful tool for both tourists and locals. To launch the endeavor, area Marriott hotels are introducing the Marriott Heritage package, which includes (up to four) one-day Metrorail passes, a copy of ìMore Than the Monumentsî and reduced rates starting at $99 per night. The Marriottís Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, dubbed the Grande Dame of Washington, D.C., is celebrating her own storied history with a new coffee table book by Diana Bailey that traces the legendary hotelís role in critical events throughout the nationís history. To promote the book, the Mayflower is offering a special weekend package (through March 15) featuring a discounted rate of $279 per night, free valet parking, a free copy of the book, two passes for an Old Town Trolley tour, afternoon tea for two at the hotelís CafÈ Promenade and some of the other essential tourist trappingsómap, brochures and more. In its bid to attract the coveted foreign delegation market, which is capable of bringing in large-scale bookings to a single hotel, the Willard is offering its Special Delegation Package. Starting at $179 per room, bookings include one complimentary room for every 25 rooms occupied, one upgrade to the Executive Suite at the group rate, two free garage spaces during the official visit, and a complimentary embassy office with free fax and phone installation. The package is only valid Nov. 22 to 30, Dec. 15 to Jan. 31, and July 1 to Aug. 31, and runs $279 for all other dates that fall outside this range. But perhaps no other organization explores Washingtonís unique attributes better than the National Trust Historic Hotels of America (www.travelingamerica.com/historichotels). The group is a treasure trove of packages that mold to each visitorís needs by honing in on a particular aspect of Washingtonian culture. Accommodations for the packages primarily center on three hotels, each with its own distinctive flavor: the Hay-Adams Hotel, a landmark destination for Washingtonís politically elite, the Bailiwick Inn in Fairfax, Va., an oasis of Southern hospitality, and the Phoenix Park Hotel off North Capitol Street, NW, which mirrors an 18th-century Irish manor. Highlights offered through the Historic Hotels series include The Best of the Best package ($499 for three nights, per person, including taxes), which covers the definitive ìmust-seeî list of things to do for first-time visitors; Art Treasures of Washington ($559 for three nights); Beyond the National Mall ($359 for two nights), which takes visitors off Washingtonís beaten path; Civil War Memories ($299 for three nights); Northern Virginia in Black and White ($329 for three nights), a tour of colonial-era sights through an African-American perspective; Kennedyís Washington ($219 for two nights), which examines some of JFKís favorite D.C. spots; and Americaís First Families ($479 for three nights), a look at the personalities that have taken up residence at the White House. So whether youíre looking to take a trek through history, be coddled with excess, or simply find a reasonably priced refuge, thereís a hotel package for virtually anyone. Of course, all of these packages come with the requisite caveat: They are all based on available space and subject to changeóso snatch them up while they last. Anna Gawel is the assistant editor for The Washington Diplomat.