In a Class by Themselves New Ultra-Luxury Hotels Offer Guests Height of Hospitality by Alan B. Nichols Competition in Washingtonís high-end hospitality market just heated up with the opening of three ultra-luxury hotels: The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, the Mandarin Oriental and the Fairmont Washington, D.C. This impressive trio is out to make a lasting impact on Washingtonís visitors, among them diplomats, heads of state, lobbyists and international corporate executives who expect the highest product and service standards in their accommodations. East Meets West Set to open in March 2004, the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., brings to the nationís capital a hotel that is unique and international in every sense. Located next to the Federal Communications Commission in Southwest Washington overlooking the cityís Tidal Basin and the Potomac River, the Mandarin Oriental is an oasis of Far Eastern graciousness, elegance, style and service with a quiet Oriental respectfulness. Guests sipping drinks in the lounge, enjoying a sauna or health treatment in the spa, relaxing in the feng shui private rooms, conducting a business meeting or dining in one of the two Asian-style restaurants will ex perience a true East-meets-West environment. The diverse, multilingual staff is also sure to provide a truly international atmosphere. Architects from BBG-BBGM of Washington, D.C., and interior designer Hirsch Bedner of Atlanta are creating a hotel that is uniquely Oriental in its simplicity and subtlety. The interior is being designed to accent space and natural light. The lobby, for example, offers a front-to-back vista of the river. The furnishings, including the finest silks and weaves from Italy and the Far East, will accent earth themes. Other features, such as glass table tops, will reinforce the sense of open air and light that is also reflected in the sensitive interplay of furniture and space, so that guests never feel as if they are inside a ìbusyî hotel. Mandarin Orientalís elegance, however, is always understated, never calling attention to itself. The philosophy of the hotel company, which is based in Hong Kong and is the only luxury hotel company in North America not based in this hemisphere, holds that its hotels are an integral part of the community. As part of its outreach to this community, the Mandarin Oriental has arranged to display Smithsonian Museum artwork on a rotating basis in its private guest rooms and public areas, and the hotel will have a public art gallery where the works of artists exhibiting at the National Gallery of Art and other venues will also be on display. The Mandarin Oriental will have 400 guest rooms, including two club floors. These rooms will include more than 50 suites, one of which will be the 3,500 square-foot Presidential Suite. A spa and fitness center that features a 50-yard indoor lap pool and an al fresco deck overlooking the Potomac River will offer Oriental-based treatments. The main dining room, offering contemporary cuisine with a Pan-Asian influence, is being designed by renowned New York designer Tony Chi, whose portfolio includes Azul inside the Mandarin Oriental in Miami, the cityís only five-diamond hotel and restaurant. A second restaurant, also a Chi creation, will feature al fresco dining and spectacular views. The Mandarin Oriental will have 34,000 square feet of meeting space accessible by private entrance. The business-conference area includes a large ballroom. Two boardrooms on the lobby level and one boardroom on the club level will be complemented by a 5,000-square-foot outdoor terrace with river views. High-speed Internet access will be available in all public and private rooms, and the meeting rooms will have flat-panel screens and dedicated closed-circuit television. In summarizing the impact of this newest addition to the Washington hotel market, company Director of Sales and Marketing Patricia Lescoe said, ìThe Mandarin Oriental has a unique position in the luxury hotel market as being the only company that blends both Western and Asian cultures in service, style and design. This appeals to companies with an international focus, especially when attendees will be from a number of countries.î Lescoe added, ìWe provide the opportunity to come to the free worldís most powerful city, to enjoy a luxury hotel experience that is American but yet still sensitive to international nuances in both product and service.î Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C. 1330 Maryland Ave., SW Washington, DC 20024 www.mandarinoriental.com (202) 554-8588 (preopening phone number) Ritz Rejuvenates Georgetown Anyone who comes back to visit Georgetown after a long absence will immediately notice the restored waterfront area with its modern office space, shops, restaurants and midrise residential buildings. Now comes a hotelóthe Ritz-Carlton Georgetownóthat puts an exclamation point on a rejuvenated city attraction. ìLadies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemenî is an appropriate motto for this property. The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown opened April 2, 2003, and is one of the newest additions in the portfolio of Ritz-Carlton, the hotel management company that recently moved its headquarters from Atlanta to Chevy Chase, Md. With only 86 rooms and a service philosophy strictly tailored to individual guests, the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown is one of the most attractive boutique hotels you will see. For guests seeking a historic atmosphere, ultra privacy and assiduous individual attention, this property is a ìmust visit.î Situated below M Street and across from the colonial-era Episcopal Church, the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown occupies the space of the old Georgetown incinerator, the symbol of Georgetownís once thriving waterfront industry. Occupying a space of such historic significance, it is not surprising that all of the hotelís amenities and design elements, from the dÈcor to the glassware to the names of the public rooms, have a theme of warmth. While preserving the exterior of the former incinerator, the innards were gutted to create a warm, cozy hotel with an atmosphere far more residential in feel than most public accommodations. In fact, part of the hotel complex includes 28 privately owned residences. Contemporary wood and glass furniture grace a small living room-style lobby, the centerpiece of which is the large restored incineration unit that now serves as the fireplace. On the other side of the room is a low desk where a guest relations agent checks you in during a paperless check-in process. The agent then shows you to your room, doubling as the concierge. The intimate feel of the lobby carries over to the 86 sumptuously appointed private guest rooms, including 29 executive suites and five luxury suites, one of which is the 3,000-square-foot Royal Potomac Suite. Hardwood bookcases and comfortable contemporary furniture enhance the homelike feel of the rooms, which are also equipped with flat-screen televisions, high-speed Internet access, Bose 321 DVD players, faxes and other communications capabilities. In addition to the 950-square-foot Brickyard Meeting Room, the hotelís centerpiece public area is the Degrees Bar and Lounge. Situated at the back of the complex on the lobby level, this cozy bar serves drinks with such ìhotî names as Mercury Rising and Fahrenheit 5. With its intimate layout and dÈcor, enhanced by the display of early 20th-century medicine bottles and other historical items, the bar has quickly become ìthe place to beî among the local Georgetown set. The hotel offers several packages including a spa package, where guests enjoy facials, massages and other treatments in the intimate, boutique-style spa and fitness center. That intimacy continues with the soon-to-be completion of a small, private dining room being built inside the restored 130-foot-high circular smokestack that presides over the Georgetown waterfront. Designed to seat 14, this private dining area will feature a glass ceiling that offers views of the top of the structure. The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown also has a package called the Mercedes-Benz Key to Luxury that includes a suite and use of a Mercedes vehicle for the duration of your stay. Similar to the other two hotels described here, rates at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown generally vary from $400 to around $5,000 per night. The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown 3100 South St., NW Washington, DC 20007 www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/georgetown/ (202) 912-4100; fax (202) 912-4199 Fairmont Gold In the heart of Washingtonís business district and fashionable West End is the new Fairmont Washington, D.C. Situated on 24th and M streets, the hotel occupies the property of the erstwhile Monarch Hotel. Many new and exciting things are ahead as Fairmont prepares for the mid-Septemb er opening of its ìhotel within a hotelî concept. Also referred to as Fairmont Gold, this new service being offered to the hotelís preferred guests. As Cynthia Scherer, Fairmont Washingtonís director of sales and marketing, explained, ìWith this product, weíre taking the concept of hospitality, product and service to the next level. Designed for top executives, Fairmont Gold is a sophisticated oasisóan exclusive hideaway on a private level where soothing luxuries will be provided by a staff dedicated exclusively to the Gold floor, which will include its own concierge and manager who interacts directly with the Gold guests,î Scherer said, adding, ìWe sometimes refer to this product as fingerprint service, where service is entirely customized to each individual guest.î The Fairmont Gold level encompasses the entire ninth floor of the hotel, which includes 48 rooms, three presidential suites and a lounge with international food, spirits, music and literature, all equipped with state-of-the-art communications and electronics. The interior dÈcor of the Fairmont Gold rooms and suites reflects the essence of Washington, embodying international savvy and sophistication. ìOur design approach to the Gold rooms and suites was to create an environment that feels like a private residence that reflects comfort as well as sophistication with an international appeal,î Scherer said. The Gold rooms and suites feature fabrics in tones of rich gold and autumnal red, reminiscent of gardens and landscapes in Washington during the fall. The custom-designed mahogany furnishings and seatings are traditional in form with clean, transitional detailing that creates a handsome, tailored feel to the room, all of which is complemented by stylish fixtures. The sun-splashed atrium lobby looks out over a spectacular garden courtyard whose profusion of plants and flowers and quaint open areas make it ideal for weddings, receptions and small parties. As of early September, the Fairmont is set to undergo lobby and lounge renovations, after which the hotel will have a brand new look that preserves the tradition of the building while adding modern touches to enhance guest convenience. Likewise, the Bistro, the hotelís signature restaurant, is being redesigned and will premier in early 2004. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is based in Toronto and its well-established, world-class properties include the Plaza in Manhattan, Fairmont San Francisco and Fairmont Ch?teau Laurier in Ottawa. The Fairmont Washington, D.C., is expected to continue this tradition of excellence, offering an atmosphere that, in the words of Scherer, consists of ìcontemporary refinement, modern sophistication, not hip or trendy.î It is an atmosphere, she said, that caters to ìsophisticrats.î The hotel has partnered with Porsche to provide the Cayenne Capital Tour package that includes one night at the Plaza in Manhattan followed by two nights at The Fairmont Washington D.C., use of a new 2003 Porsche during the stay, tickets to a Broadway show, a guided tour of Washington, valet parking and other amenities. The package starts at $8,000 and is available until Dec. 31, 2003. The Fairmont Washington, D.C. 2401 M St., NW Washington, DC 20037 www.fairmont.com (202) 429-2400; fax (202) 457-5010 Alan B. Nichols is a freelance writer in Bethesda, Md.